One thing my highschool did well was speech.  Everyone in the school was required to take two years of speech.  It didn't matter what track you were on, whether it was college-prep, vo-tech, or business, you took 2 years of speech.  In speech class we learned about different speeches.  Each week we were required to give a speech before our class.  Most people are aware that the greatest fear of the average adult is public speaking.  That was never a problem after having to give a speech before your peers every week for two years. 

Children today aren't that lucky.  The opportunities for public speaking in this technological age become fewer and fewer.  Today's resource will give your child an opportunity for public speaking, but, more than that, the author of this e-book has written it for shy children.  When implementing the lessons in Say What You Mean A Creative Speech Course, you can take a child from shy to confident in 18-weeks.

Today's midweek markdown is being offered at a great price.  Normally selling for $24.95, you can get Say What You Mean a Creative Speech Course for $15.97.  That's a savings of 36%!  This is a really good sale for a subject that is often neglected in the homeschool.

Don't let your child's education pass without a speech course.  By conquering a fear of public speaking, you will enable your child to wtness to hundreds, maybe thousands, of people in their lifetime about the love of Jesus Christ.  We certainly need to encourage that in our children don't we?  So, get your copy of Say What You Mean a Creative Speech Course for $15.97 today.  And don't wait, because tomorrow it goes back to the regular price of $24.95!

Can you believe we are almost to the end of January already!?!  I think I was just setting my goals for 2010 yesterday and already a month has passed!  The resource I have to share with you today is to prepare you and your homeschool for February.  Fortunately For You Books is allowing us to offer you their Pockets of Love CD for 20% off the regular price.

This CD contains all the copywork you would need for February.  Since February has President's Day and Valentine's Day, Pockets of Love focuses on quotes, poems, and lyrics that talk about love of others and love of country.

Not only is this CD useful as copywork, but you can also focus on one or two quotes and have your children memorize a special poem in honor of love this month.   Or maybe, one of these poems would make a great valentine to give to Daddy or Grandpa and Grandma.  I'm sure you can think of many uses for Pockets of Love - CD.  But think fast!  You can only get it for the 20% off price for one day only, Wednesday, January 27, 2010.

As a side note, this CD does not have any reviews.  If you have used it in the past, please consider submitting your unbiased review of Pockets of Love here at the Schoolhouse Store.  You can review any product that you have used in the past.  We'd love to hear what you think of products in the store!

I'll be back next week with another midweek markdown.  Until then, enjoy the journey!

The Winter Olympics will begin on February 12, 2010.  We've watched almost every olympics as a family ever since we've been a family!  This Winter Olympics will be no exception.  We are all looking forward to watching as much of it as we can.  For years, we have tried to study some facet of the Olympics prior to and during the olympic games.  Some years we would read a biography of a famous olympian.  Sometimes we would do a geography study of specific countries that we wanted to follow.  We have read about the original Greek olympics and the olympics throughout history.  There is always a lot you can learn concerning the olympics.

Today's resource will help you and your family learn about many facets of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.  E-Book: 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games– A Unit Study... is not only a unit study but also a lapbook project.  There are puzzles and games included in this lapbook.  Geography, Language Arts, Math, and History are just four subjects included in 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. 

Take some time out from your normal Winter studies to do this lapbook.  It will be a fun and informative break.   You can get  E-Book: 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games– A Unit Study... today only for $5.00.  This e-book normally sells for $7.  This is almost a 30% savings!  But it's for one-day only.  January 20, 2010.   If you didn't pick up the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games book last week when it was at a special price, do it today.  This will be your last chance to get it at a discount before the olympics begin on 2/12!

Hello again.  Are you ready for another great one-day sale?  Me too!  But first I want to tell you about another featured item in The Schoolhouse Store.  The Winter Olympics in Vancouver begin February 12, 2010 and Grace Bound Books has put together a very thorough unit study so that you and your children can watch the Olympics fully-informed. 

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games: A Unit Study & Lapbook Project is not only a great and timely product, but it is also on sale until January 16, 2010!  Regularly priced at $7.00 you can get this unit study for $5.95.  Pick it up now so that you have plenty of time to print the necessary pages and gather the craft supplies.  You and your family will get more out of the Winter Olympics than ever before if you complete this unit.

Now, onto today's midweek markdown.  When I approached Values Driven Family about participating in a midweek markdown for January, I was thinking that January is a great time to hone up my parenting skills.  I can ALWAYS use help!  Our resource today is a limitless resource for parenting as well as character buidling in our children. Today you can download  E-Book: Values-Driven Discipleship Biblical Instruction and Character Training Manual  for 30% off of the regular price.  This e-book is a great resource when trying to deal with specific discipline issues.  Character traits and behaviors are listed with specific bible verses that deal with those issues.  The bible verses are typed out completely so that you have a one-stop resource.  This is also a great e-book to use for family worship or morning devotions with your children.

But that's not everything!  When Values Driven Family agreed to participte in our midweek markdown, they offered to include an audio if you purchace your e-book today.  When they receive notice of your purchase, Values Driven Family will contact you with the audio:  Family Visioning: Proactive Planning to Achieve the Desired Results.  In this audio, Marc Carrier explains how to make your vision for your family become a reality, EVEN while you are homeschooling!

So if you get the e-book:  Values-Driven Discipleship Biblical Instruction and Character Training Manual today for the special price of $9.00 you will also get Marc Carrier's audio from Values Driven Family.  Pick your copy up today.  And I'll be in touch again next week with another Midweek Markdown!

Here we are in January!  Can you believe it?  I sure can't.  I just don't know where the time goes.  The year speeds by so quickly!

This week we are offering a lapbook unit-study from A Journey Through Learning.  If you're not familiar with this vendor, they have some wonderful resources.   Their lapbooks and unit studies are so thorough.  The boys and I finished their lapbook on Amphibians this Fall and it was "print and go."  Everything you need is in the e-book!  A Journey Through Learning was reviewed by the TOS Homeschool Crew you can read their reviews here.

The lapbook they are offering today is If You Lived At the Time of Martin Luther King.  This lapbook is based on the book by Ellen Levine with the same title.  This book can easily be found at the library, and many of you may already have it on your shelves!  There are many questions that this book answers, but some of the things your 2nd to 8th grader will learn are:

• Did black and white children play together?
• Did they go to school together?
• What were sit-ins?
• What were freedom rides?

If you pick up this lapbook from A Journey Through Learning today, you will have plenty of time to print the pages you need and get all your lapbook components ready for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 18, 2010. 

I really enjoed the lapbook we did from A Journey Through Learning.  I'm sure you will too!

Enjoy!

Well, Christmas has passed and we are making plans for the new year at our house!  Part of those plans include setting goals for 2010.  My husband and our two sons and I are setting goals in lots of areas.  Some of those areas include health, reading, financial, and spiritual.  As part of all of our spiritual goals I've been searching out new devotionals for each of us.  Today I've got one for YOU!  And I think this might be my new 2010 devotional as well.

Today's midweek markdown comes to us from Angel Arts.  The two e-books on sale today are companions to one another.  Becoming God's Bride Topical Bible Study would be a great mother-daughter study, but is also appropriate for a personal bible study.  There are over 100 scripture references and worksheets appropriate to copy and use with a group.  Becoming God's Bride will help you to fall even more in love with Jesus.  Regularly priced at $5.00, this study is available today only, December 30, 2009, for $2.50.

We are also offering the companion e-book, Falling In Love With the Bridegroom.  This is an interactive workbook that you will use in tandem with Becoming God's Bride.  This e-book not only works with the Becoming God's Bride study, but also includes a bible reading plan and forms you can print to guide your daily time in The Word.  There are also forms in this companion guide that you can print to use if you choose to do this bible study in a group setting.  Regularly priced at $3.00, this companion guide is $1.50 today.

So, for $4.00 you can begin a great new study in 2010 and put a check-mark beside "make time in The Word my priority" on your New Year goals.

And please let me take this time to wish you many blessing in the upcoming New Year.  As I type this, I pray that whoever reads it may have more Jesus in 2010.

Well, are you ready?  In just two more days we'll be celebrating the Savior's birth!  The energy in our household is measurable on the richter scale right now!

If I may, I'd like to jump you ahead to the first week of January.  As the New Year fast approaches, I thought we could think about new studies for the new year, 2010!  The New Year always gets me thinking about making changes to my health, and my family's health.  So, I'm really excited about today's midweek markdown from Ruth Wacker.

For today only, you can get the E-Book: Nutrition & New Food Pyramid Unit Study for half price!  This unit-study normally sells for $4, but for today, December 23, 2009, you can get it for $2!  This is a healthy-eating unit study that uses the USDA's Revised Food Guide Pyramid to teach children and adults about healthy eatting habits.  Each chapter includes lots of activities that will encourage your family to make positive changes to their diets in the new year.

The only catch is, you have to act today!  You know that our midweek markdown is a one-day sale only!  So, swing over to The Schoolhouse Store and get your copy of Nutrition & New Food Pyramid Unit Study today.

And let me take this time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  I'll wish you a Happy New Year next week.

Have you checked out the latest sale at The Old Schoolhouse Store?  Almost everything from TOS is half price!  But here's the catch, you only have until December 17th!  So check it out and hurry.

When our boys were small, keeping them quiet in church could be a challenge.  One thing that always made the boys sit quietly was paging through picture books.  I kept a bag of some of their favorites with us so that they could sit beside me and page through their books while I listened to the sermon.   This week's midweek markdown would certainly be a great little addition to your totebag for Christmas Eve service to keep your little one's quiet.

Today you can get two of the beautiful picture books from Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. for 25% off.  We are offering the E-Book, The Christmas Angel for $3.75. This downloadable picture book is about a family that travels west on the Oregon Trail.  Each family member is allowed to bring one personal item with them.  Young Melissa chooses to bring the porcelain angel that has always graced the top of the family Christmas Tree.  This fabulous book is not only a picture book, but also a mini-unit containing links to activities about the Oregon Trail, as well as a map, and five extra activities, plus much much more.

Our second book from Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc is the sequel to The Christmas Angel.  Pick up One Family's Christmas.  You'll be enchanted as a family in Oregon needs to replace their tree-topper.  They find an old porcelain angel with a family history and resurrect it, and it's traditions for Christmas.

You can get each of these e-book picture books for $3.75.  That means both books would only cost $7.50!  What a great deal for two quality books that you can add to your Christmas picture book collection.

Wow!  There is so much going on at the Schoolhouse Store this week!  If you are still looking for that perfect gift, I have LOTS of ideas to save you money:

1. Our 12-days of Christmas Sale is still ongoing.  Check out the specialBuy One Get One Free offers from lots of vendors.  And you can still get a free package of e-books on any purchase over $25.  All of the details of this sale can be found here. 
2. Our book sale is underway until December 12th, in addition to the12-days of Christmas sale.  Pick some of your favorites from Grace and Truth, Salem Ridge Press, Perfect Praise Publishing, and Scripture Sleuth.
3. We also have a toys and games focus going on until December 12th.  Check out the special prices from Barker Creek, Berthume Enterprises, Math a Big Deal, Sylvan Dell, We R Fun Games, and DNA-Educational Games.

Remember, if you purchase $25 worth of merchandise in the store you qualify for the free e-books in the 12-days of Christmas Sale, even if everything you buy is on sale!  So what are you waiting for?  Go shopping!  Oh wait, don't go yet!  I want to tell you about this week's midweek markdown.

Around our house, my husband has a rule about Christmas music.  I have collected a small stack of Christmas CDs, but I am not allowed to play them until after Thanksgiving.  Well, it's after Thanksgiving and I have a CD for you to add to your Christmas collection.  Fill your house with Christmas praise and worship from Steve Sensenig today only at a special price. 

Regularly priced for $14.95, you can get Steve Sensenig's Christmas Solitude CD for 25% off.  This brings the price down to $11.21 and remember, free US shipping!

Christmas Solitude contains 16 tracks of your favorite Christmas hymns, as well as a song written and sung by Steve's wife Christy.  Her song is a lullaby from Mary's viewpoint.   Why not purchase a bit of peace to fill your house during the rest of the Christmas season?  But do it today because if you wait until tomorrow, the price will be back at $14.95.  Get it today for 25% off.  This CD is very popular, read the three reviews of it at the store.  Or learn more about Steve Sensenig and his music by reading an interview with Steve Sensenig.

And I'm still looking for those comments about all the great bargains you've picked up during the midweek markdown!  I can't wait to hear from someone!

Until next week,