Homeschool Bargains



Sep. 18, 2009
F R E E Homeschooling Book

While supplies last, Laurel Springs School is giving away free copies of “Homeschooling and Loving It!” by Rebecca Kochenderfer.

This popular homeschooling book normally sells for $15.95.

To receive your free copy (normal shipping charges apply)
Go to: http://store.laurelsprings.com/.
The Coupon Code is: LSS
Limit 5 copies per person.

Due to popular demand, delivery may take 2-3 weeks.

I ordered 5 of these and paid a little more than $10 for shipping.  I then sold the other 4 books to friends for $2 each to help cover the cost of shipping.  A great deal for everyone!


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Jun. 2, 2009
Ultimate Home School Expo 2009
Check out the Ultimate Homeschool Expo! Cindy Rushton is the hostess of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo, the very first online homeschool convention. This is the second year and it is already turning out to be a fantastic year!  She is recording Preview Chats for the Ultimate Homeschool Convention RIGHT NOW! Join her wonderful guests FREE as they count down to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo (June 1-5, 2009--BUT IT IS NEVER ENDING because it is an ONLINE Convention!).

Check out all of the details here!

Click on the BlogTalkRadio player on the left side of your screen for previews.


You can preview the live sessions free during this week while they are being recorded.  If you want access to everything, plus all the door prizes, tickets can be purchased at any time -- now or in the future.  This is worth every penny -- count it as "continuing education for the homeschooling family."

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May. 1, 2009
CurrClick.com SALE

You can't afford to miss CurrClick's
Spring Back from the Recession Sale!

Now - May 15th
Discounts up to 75% OFF!
40 participating publishers

Click here for a list of fantastic, recession-busting spring discounts on hundreds of great homeschool books and resources:
http://www.currclick.com

CurrClick recognizes that times are difficult for a lot of people. Homeschool families, often on a single income, are especially vulnerable during this time. That's why this spring, together with our publishers, we have done our very best to bring you some of the biggest sales and discounts we have ever been able to offer. Because many of our publishers are homeschool families themselves, we sincerely hope that this sale will be a mutual blessing for customers and publishers alike.


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Mar. 11, 2009
Shopping with Coupons
I am currently trying to learn to use coupons and sales to shop for groceries . . . and save money in the process.  Here is a website that was featured on the local news last night -- www.afullcup.com.  Looks like a website full of helpful information and coupons.  (Did you know you can print coupons from the internet to use at the grocery store???  Something I just recently learned!  I'm really behind in this area.)  Feel free to leave ideas of how you save money on groceries or helpful websites in the comments. 
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Mar. 10, 2009
Apologia Sale

Check out the Apologia Science Page.  Save money on Apologia curriculum kits, elementary texts, and full-course CD-ROM's when you buy them at CBD.

We have used and enjoyed the following Apologia books . . .

Exploring Creation with Astronomy (elementary)

Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day (elementary)

Exploring Creation with General Science

Exploring Creation with Physical Science

Exploring Creation with Biology

Exploring Creation with Physics


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Feb. 16, 2009
Free eBook

This is a great bargain from Currclick.com -- get it while it's free even if you save it to use at a later time.

Encourage the practice of copywork and enjoy the study of great art of both Lincoln and Washington.

Picture Study:
Portrait of George Washington
George Washington Crossing the Delaware
Abraham Lincoln Reading to His Son Tad
Abe Reading
Abe the Rail Splitter

Copywork:
Famous Quotes of George Washington
Famous Quotes of Abraham Lincoln

Stories:
The Cherry Tree
Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance

Free!


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Sep. 29, 2008
Planning / Record-keeping Pages

I'm not a big fan of buying lesson plan books, but I came across these planning / record-keeping pages for high school that I downloaded.  After looking through them, I will actually use these.  It will give me an easy way to keep more details of what we are doing instead of just my excel file that I have used up to this point.  You can use these forms ahead of time to plan out your schooling . . . or use them to write down what was done to keep track of the many things a high school student does that can fit into a subject for their transcript.  These pages will work great for a variety of homeschooling styles -- from traditional schooling to very relaxed schooling.  They are usually $10 but are free this week only.  (In my opinion, it's probably worth the $10 if you miss it during the free week).


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Sep. 8, 2008
Great Website!

I have downloaded lots of great, educational freebies over the past few weeks and have saved a lot of money by doing so.  The only "catch" is that each item is free only for one day.  If you sign up for the "heads-up" notifications, they will send you an e-mail at the beginning of each week telling you about the free offers for that week.  I just make a note of what I want to download on the different days and make sure to click over to the website on the day it is offered for free.  Check it out!

HomeschoolFreebieOfTheDay.com


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Jul. 1, 2008
Free Printables

 

Free printable activities and worksheets for Fourth of July

Lots of F R E E printables


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Jun. 9, 2008

The Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2008 has come . . . but not gone!

GREAT NEWS!

If you missed the huge online seminar, it's not too late to purchase a ticket.  You can still buy your ticket and have access to all of the great audios, free doorprizes, and downloads!  The membership website with all of these will be available to all who purchase their ticket!  (It will probably take until next summer to get through all of the great stuff here!)

Virtual Seminar Series
With 50+ Speakers!
Virtual Vendor Hall!
Free Gifts!
Special offers!
Mp3 Downloads for all audios (over $2000 in workshops!)

Tickets Now On Sale!

Get More Details Here

(Scroll down to the bottom to find the link for purchasing)

Fair Warning:  It's my understsanding that the ticket price will more than double once everything is uploaded to the membership website.  It is a great bargain!


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Apr. 29, 2008
Free Audio Workshops from Cindy Rushton

Here are a couple of free audio workshops from Cindy Rushton.  Right-click on the link and click on "Save Target As."  I just save them to my desktop until I have listened to them.  This makes it where you can either put them on an MP3 player or just wait and listen to them at your convenience.

Scheduling ABC’s Audio Workshop with Cindy Rushton

Oops! My Cup is Empty and My Coffee Pot is Broke!

I have been attending some of the live seminars to Cindy's Ultimate Homeschool Expo seminars this week and am so glad I already purchased a ticket!  The membership website has three parts so far --

the Vendor Hall -- with tons of freebies from lots of sources

Seminars and Workshops -- where you will find all of the preview chats that were done leading up to the Expo, plus where all of the Expo chats, texts, etc. will be uploaded

the Mommy Grab Bag -- where you will find tons of door prizes that were given away during the chats by various people

All of this is available to you as soon as you purchase your ticket.  It's not too late to get your ticket -- worth every penny (and then some)!  Grab your ticket here and join in the learning and the fun!

 


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Apr. 28, 2008
Vision Forum - 4 Days Only

For four days only — April 28-May 1, 2008 — for every $95 of Vision Forum merchandise purchased, you will receive a free $50 in gift certificates(passport), redeemable between June 1 and December 31, 2008, good toward any items from the three Vision Forum catalogs.

Click Here to Shop


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Apr. 27, 2008
Easy Record-Keeping

Easy Record-Keeping for the Reluctant Homeschool Mom!
By
Cindy Rushton


      Record-keeping!  Does your hair stand up when you think of record-keeping? Do you begin to grind your teeth?  Did you feel like skipping this article just because it seems impossible for “EASY” and “Record-keeping” to ever go together??

     Relax.  I know that there is not a “one size fits all.” I know that in spite of how hard we may search, there is not a perfect system for every mom!  That is OK! My prayer is that if you are in need of some ideas to make a couple areas a little easier or if you have no idea of where to begin, that you will find a few ideas as you come home with us to see how simple record-keeping CAN be.  Ready for some quick tips??? Here we go…

--> Find what is mandatory. Every state and school district has differing requirements. Find other homeschool families in your area and see how each of them manages their homeschool records. Find the easiest way possible to meet the requirements. Make it as DOABLE as possible!

--> Choose what works for YOU. Every mom has her favorite method that works JUST for them whether a planner with reproducible pages… a ready to use planner… a simple spiral notebook… binders… a filing cabinet… computer… etc, etc, etc!  Before you consider anything else, look at who you are.  What makes you feel more comfortable? What helps you to feel more accomplishment?  Whether formal or informal… detailed or not even written down… YOUR way is the best way!  Decide what works best for you!

--> Document daily! Don’t let it build up. Jot it down throughout the day. When my children were little, I kept one journal for everything. I kept it out on my desk so I could just jot down what we were doing as we did it. It was amazing how much easier that was than even waiting till the end of the day. As they got older, I transferred this process to them. I had always made it easy. So, transferring it to them did not overwhelm them. I began this process by letting them keep up with their reading log. The rest was easy after that. They now keep their records just like I used to. At the end of the month and again at the end of the semester I go through making sure that everything is on target and also look to see how well they are keeping up with my overall schedule. Without good records, this would be impossible.

--> Keep all of their work in Notebooks. We keep ALL of our written work in a binder of some sort.  Then, we take it further… we keep ANYTHING that can be pressed in binders.  Anything left?? Yes! Then, we take pictures and keep THEM in the binders! (Hehe!)  ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that can be studied can also be kept in Notebooks in some way.  We keep anything that would expand a study and build a great collection of information on topics we study… great quotes, definitions about a subject being studied, diagrams, character sketches, pictures, coloring sheets, art prints, poems, Bible verses, narrations, Bible word studies, on and on!  Our main reason for Notebooking in this way is that if our children are going to spend their time DOING something, it ought to be worthwhile enough for us to KEEP IT.  This teaches them to value their work, do a great job on all they do, and that ALL areas of life are truly educational.
 
--> Scrapbook events, activities, fun studies, and projects! Scrapbooks/Yearbooks for what are REALLY doing throughout our school year is not only fun, but it helps to preserve the memories of ALL that we are doing in our family.  There are just some things that our children are learning that are impossible to document without scrapbooking! Get out of the old “school” box and really document your family’s education. You won’t be sorry!

--> Use planning sheets designed JUST for homeschooling. Don’t let commercial record-keepers keep you from homeschooling with a lifestyle of learning! Look for printable pages that are designed just for the homeschool mom. You can find great options everywhere!

--> Buy resources that are designed just for you. We have an entire line of resources that we now have available through our bookstore. Check out our Make Your Own Brain-in-a-Binder Printables. It is designed specifically for the homeschool mom who wants pages designed for every area that must be balanced in the busy homeschool family. Also, check out other great resources by homeschool writers and even pages that are included in many homeschool books (we always try to include pages that we use in our books).  Now, you may be like me. You may prefer to make your own planning pages. That is perfectly fine! You can tailor your pages to fit exactly with your family needs. Just be sure to use what works for you!

--> At the end of the school year, file all records together. This may seem to be a mute point, however this will save your brain! At the end of our school year, I gather everything together and add them into one big binder. I date the binder and store it away for my children’s permanent file. Be sure to pull all of your records together into a set and safe place. When you get discouraged along the way, just look back and see how far you have come—it will be a HUGE blessing!

Ok...So, Are You Ready?

     So, what about you?  Still scared about Record-keeping?  Why not think through YOUR OWN way?  Try your spin.  Use what is easy, simple, and will give you more time with your little ones while helping to keep things in place for you.  Most of all, find a way that can capture all of these precious memories of these days for you so you will have them to look back upon tomorrow!  Have fun! EVEN with Record-keeping! 

*******************************

Need MORE Help?
 
Check out our Ultimate Homeschool Expo! When you purchase your ticket you get MORE help with record-keeping--you can immediately download two Bonus Gifts that will help you today:

Let's Get Ready for the New School Year Super Set
A Quick Start for Notebooking Mini-Set!

Yep! Both! Complimentary!  Get your ticket here.  


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Apr. 23, 2008
50% off at CurrClick.com
   
 

Happy Earth Day from CurrClick!    By being a CurrClick member and using eBooks, you are helping the environment! eBooks can be paper-free and use no fuel to deliver! So, to thank you for doing your part, our fantastic publishers are offering up to 50% OFF on Earth Day-related titles!

To find the half-price items . . .

Click on the CurrClick banner on this page and then click on the "listing of discounts" link.  There are some great bargains here!  As far as I know, these prices are good just for this week.


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Apr. 22, 2008
Feeding a Family for $300 a Month

Feeding a Family for $300 a month?
By Tawra Kellam
www.LivingOnADime.com

I do something that most people think they can't do today. I feed my family of 5 for $300 a month. Most people say that's an impossible feat, but what boggles minds even more is that I do it without using coupons.

How do I do it? First, I use what I have. If I don't have milk in the house, I don't make a special trip to the store for it. The kids won't die from malnutrition if they miss drinking milk for a day or two. If I'm out of bread, I'll make some cornbread or muffins. If I'm out of fresh veggies, I will use canned or frozen instead. Stop going to the store for one or two things. I shop for food 2-3 times a month and that's it. You'd be amazed how much this saves on the cost of gas.

Shopping the clearance sections, I regularly find milk on clearance for $1.20 a gallon. My store marks the milk down a few days before the "sell by" date. The great part is that milk stays fresh for 1 week after it's opened. I generally only buy the milk when it's marked down and I buy enough to last until the next time I find a great deal on it. I throw several in the freezer and then I don't have to make a special trip for milk (or pay the premium price). Just thaw, shake and serve.

Purchase meat only on sale or on clearance. Again, butchers mark down their meat a day or two before the "sell by" date. Generally, meat is good for 3-4 days after the "sell by" date in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

I never buy meat unless it's on sale for $1.99 or less a pound. If it's not on sale, we don't eat it. (Even so, we never have a shortage of meat in our house.) You can get some great unadvertised deals just by watching the meat counter's clearance items. I found 5 lb. rolls of hamburger for $2.95 each just the other day. Of course, I stocked up and will have enough hamburger to last the next 6 months.

I can get "soup bones" with enough meat on them to make a great vegetable stew for under $2.00 for the entire family! Add some rolls and you have a complete meal for 5 for less than $3.00. When chicken is on sale for $1.66 per pound, I stock up. I do this with all my meats. This way we can always have a variety of meats."

Another important tip: Ask. Most people are intimidated by asking, but I regularly ask when things will go on sale or be marked down. By asking, I've found out that bananas, milk and meat are marked down each morning. I try to shop in the mornings to get the best deals. When we lived in Texas, the stores marked things down in the evening, so we made it a point to go shopping in the evening. Adjust your shopping times to find the best deals.

Serve your family proper portions of food. Most parents give their kids way too much milk, juice and soda. My kids get soda on special occasions only. They eat milk with their cereal. For snacks, they eat a piece of string cheese, fruit or one or two cookies. The kids don't sip on milk or juice all day long. They drink water and are just fine with it.

As a general rule, I try to give them one vegetable and one fruit for lunch and dinner and then a piece of fruit with cookies or cheese as a snack. This way, they get their "five a day" in very easily. Stop letting kids just "graze" on chips and other snack food all day. My kids get one small "bowl" of chips (1/2 cup to 1 cup depending on the size of the chips) a day and that's it.

So what do we eat? Here are some of our menus:

  • Slow cooked roast, brown gravy, onions, carrots, potatoes, buttermilk muffins and a fruit plate

    (The next day, the leftovers from the roast are used as barbecue beef along with potato salad, green beans and strawberries or grapes.)
  • Pizza (homemade), tossed salad and fruit
  • Maple glazed chicken, scalloped potatoes, glazed carrots, applesauce and dinner rolls
  • Sloppy Joes, cucumbers and tomatoes
  • Tacos, refried beans, green beans, sliced apples and tortilla chips w/ honey

With savvy shopping, you to can cut your grocery bill even when prices are going up!

***

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the editors of http://www.LivingOnADime.com/. As a single mother of two, Jill Cooper started her own business without any capital and paid off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $1,000 a month income. Tawra and her husband paid off $20,000 debt in 5 years on $22,000 a year income. Tawra and Jill teach thousands of readers each month how to save money on their grocery bill and get out of debt.

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Apr. 16, 2008
Another Free Gift from Cindy Rushton

 

  A Quick Start for Notebooking Mini-Set! 

Need ideas for encouraging your young writers and QUICK?  Ready for a FUN way to encourage your most reluctant writer to write AND like it??? This fun-filled, hands-on workshop is one that you simply CANNOT miss!!  Cindy Rushton, who has become known through the years as THE BINDER QUEEN, uses Notebooking for EVERYTHING! She will show you how to begin whether your child is a toddler or the most skeptical high schoolers.  This workshop is sure to light a fire that will equip YOU to help your children deepen their studies and document learning all along the way!

TOPICS FOR THIS WORKSHOP INCLUDE: Hey! Do I Have A Chance At This??; Why On Earth Notebook???; Down to the Nitty Gritty...WHAT Do I Need and HOW Do I Do It?; Step-by-Step Through Notebooking; Scrapbooking! YES! You CAN Have Fun Homeschooling; Hey? What is Legal?  What All  Goes Into A Notebook???; Developing FUN Studies That Teach and Inspire!!; Copywork...Answers to ALL of Your Questions; Taking the Writer From Reluctant to Researching; Ideas, Ideas, Ideas, There’s Gotta Be One for You; PLUS Much, Much More! PLUS! Cindy doesn't stop with the workshop, she also includes the Q/A Session after the workshop AND her handouts/samples of student notebooks.  

Let’s Try Notebooking Workshop Downloads 

Cindy's Workshop - audio file 

Questions and Answers - audio file 

Handouts (pdf file) 

Samples of Student Notebooks (pdf file) 

This is only ONE of the many great gifts included on the Membership Site of the Ultimate Homeschooling Expo.  There are hundreds more! 

Take my word for it; you will WANT a ticket to this event and access to all of the wonderful resources.  It is worth every penny!  Grab your ticket here.


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Apr. 16, 2008
Alpha Omega Sale

Now through April 30th, get 20% off all Alpha Omega curriculum! For even greater savings, take advantage of free standard shipping on all Switched-On Schoolhouse primary subject curriculum. Find everything you need for a fabulous year of homeschooling at Christianbook.com!


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Apr. 10, 2008
Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2008 - Freebie

I just got an email from Cindy Rushton.  She is so excited about her upcoming Ultimate Homeschool Expo that she has just shared a sneak peek into her Membership Site.

You see one of the neat things about the Ultimate Homeschool Expo is that everything is ONLINE. Cindy builds a private, exclusive Membership Site that includes everything from the UHSE in one place--it has audios (from all of the sessions and from the bonus gifts that her speakers give to us), ebooks, complete unit study guides, articles, printable notebooking pages, cookbooks, on and on. I can't believe all of the things that we receive for only $40. It is truly ULTIMATE!

Anyway, back to the reason that I am posting this...

Cindy just sent me permission to give you a sampler of one of her free gifts that is included on the Membership Site. I am so excited to give it to you! It is a audio and ebook set that she actually sells on her website, but she is giving away on the Membership Site. Here is the link:


Let’s Get Ready for a New School Year Super Set!

Let’s Get Ready for the New School Year Mommy Planner…
Ebook by Cindy Rushton

Need some help gearing up for the new school year? Wish you had a friend to take you by the hand and help you plan your year? You will LOVE this! It includes a quick Mommy Planner with a potpourri of planning sheets from all of Cindy's products to help you get started on the right track with your homeschool planning. It is full of goodies! AND YOURS...

Download Part One
http://www.cindyrushton.com/pdfs/GearingUp1.pdf

Download Part Two
http://www.cindyrushton.com/pdfs/GearingUp2.pdf


PLUS! Companion Audio! :)
Let’s Get Ready for a New School Year–Audio

Download by Mp3
http://www.cindysdesktop.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/GetReadyNewSchoolYear.mp3

 

 Isn't that GREAT?

You know the saying that a picture captures a thousand words,well...what about a a gift like this???  And, just think...this is only ONE of the awesome gifts included on the Membership Site. There are hundreds more!

Take my word for it, you will WANT a ticket to this event and access to all of the wonderful resources. Grab your ticket here:

Utlimate Homeschool Expo 2008

Things like this make me really appreciate using the internet! 

I plan to post more freebies here leading up to the Expo so check back often.  Thanks!



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Apr. 5, 2008
Fab Friday
CBD has some great bargains this week on their Fab Friday sale page.  It says the prices are good only until Monday, but when I have tried clicking on the links I have posted for previous Fab Friday sales, the sale prices still show up.  It might be worth clicking on the other Fab Friday links here on my blog to see if they have anything that you're looking for listed with a bargain price.  Enjoy!
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Apr. 2, 2008
Spring Fever Sale

Check out CBD's Spring Fever Sale.  They have all kinds of items listed for $5 or less!  I might start doing some early Christmas shopping!

 


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