Help children with autism with your vote on Facebook – deadline Friday!

Vote Now!

Voting ends tomorrow in the Chase Community Giving Campaign on Facebook. Our friends at the National Autism Association – moms and dads with children with autism – need your help today. Read their message below and please vote to help children with autism and their families. Thank you!

Save lives in Haiti ~Emergency Alert – Your Help is Needed

	CARE is deploying additional emergency team members to the devastated city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, where the worst earthquake in 200 years destroyed houses and left thousands homeless. While the exact death toll from yesterday’s 7.0-magnitude quake is not yet known, it is expected to be catastrophic. Please help us rush lifesaving aid to Haiti by making a gift to CARE now. Early reports from the media and CARE staff report that the capital city is in ruins. Most of the buildings have collapsed, including hospitals, homes and schools. “We’re particularly worried about the children, because so many schools seem to have collapsed,” said Sophia Perez, CARE’s country director in Haiti. “In Haiti, children go to school in the afternoon. Children were still in school when the earthquake hit, so there are many children trapped. It’s horrifying.” Your gift to CARE today will help us support survivors of this deadly disaster. Haiti is already one of the poorest countries in the world, and this earthquake will make things worse for impoverished men, women and children there. Please give now to help CARE deliver lifesaving aid to the people of Haiti as soon as possible. Thank you for your generosity at this critical time. Sincerely, Helene D. Gayle, MD, MP President and CEO, CARE

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting root causes of poverty. Our U.S. headquarters is located at 151 Ellis Street NE, Atlanta, GA, 30303-2420. Federal and state compliance notices.

Great Homeschool and Educational Freebies from Currclick

CurrClick.com Weekly Newsletter

Free Product of the Week Snow Mini Helper by homeschool bits A homeschool bits Freebie! I hope you enjoy this Snow Mini Helper. This mini helper is suggested for grades K-2 but is very flexible for lower & higher grades. FREE! Other Featured Titles ALL titles from St. Aiden’s Homeschool On Sale Now thru December 31st! Animal Children ~ Poetry & Copyworkby St Aiden’s Homeschool, South Africa When God made the world He planted the flowers and the grass and the trees to make things beautiful to look upon; He swung the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky to make things bright; He put the birds in the trees to fill the air with music, and when He made the animals we believe that he intended them to be the friends of man. Why, isn’t the dog the best playmate that a boy can have? Did any one ever hear of Towser or Gyp being false friends? And the soft, dainty, cunning bit of a fluffy ball of a kitten who comes rubbing its downy sides against the tiny girl’s skirts begging for a return caress, is there a play-fellow more lovable? And the squirrel who comes begging at the window for nuts; the bunny rabbit who snuggles its delicate nose, trustingly, under the little boy’s chin; the horse who has been man’s friend in times of trouble and of peace, bearing his burdens or scampering with him over the fields and roads in play; the cow who has sent her good milk to the babies of all time; the sheep and the goats who have given of their wool to keep us warm,—we love them all dearly. This delightful book contains poems for all the animals listed in the Index. For each poem there are pages for Tracing and Copywork, training lines for very young learners and for the enthusiastic learner I have included Cursive Copywork Pages at the end of the book. The truly exquisite illustrations were created by by M.T. Ross. Retail Price: $4.95 Our Price: $2.50 1st Step Elementary New Year’s Unit Course by 1st Step A History/Creative Writing unit course, 10 lessons all about New Year’s from 1st Step. This course delves into Vocabulary and Geography while teaching the student the history of our yearly celebration of a new start, showing the student selected videos from around the world. Then the course guides the student through the creation of his or her own New Year’s short story, while teaching some of the essentials of story writing. Finally, the course helps the student use New Years as a tool to plan future endeavors. A fun, chanllenging course that can be done in about two weeks, for students ages 6-8. Retail Price: $15.00 Our Price: $7.00		How To Homeschool if Mommy- Wasn’t Good in School! I knew this wasn’t going to be good.. Mrs. Treyton has coming over to my desk. Oh No! All the other kids were turning to see what would happen. “Come with me,” she said. With desk under strong arms we marched into the elementary school hallway. And without a warning, DUMP! All the mess of papers, and books, and odds and ends were strewn all over the floor of my Elementary school, and I was left to pick it up, and make it “in order.” Oh how humiliating those days were, I can still feel the sting in my eyes and heart from feeling like “I just didn’t do ANYTHING right!” Unfortunately that wasn’t all- throughout my school years I had trouble studying, and hence received bad grades on tests. Finally I was barely making it to school at all. My kinder teachers always told my parents and I, “Your daughter has so much POTENTIAL.” But, you can live on potential for only so long, before folks start to expect some results. So, as you can imagine, when my family heard that I (of all people) wanted to homeschool- the questions came! “Are you going to be able to homeschool, you don’t seem able to be a self starter.” “You don’t want your children going to school in a mess!” “You never learned how to do your chores right, how are going to teach them to your kids?” With all these strikes against me, I was wondering the same thing! Yet, I know the Lord called ME to homeschool. I love the sheltering influence homeschool has on a child. I love the hands-on fun that that you can giggle over for hours. I love the family bonding that nothing out there seems to match- not even family vacations or nights out at the ice cream parlor. I love the rooting out of discipline issues that happens during a typical homeschool day. “Old blue eyes” sang about my home state New York, “If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere.” It is the same with homeschool! If your family can make it- being together in often stressful situations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week- than I with my green eyes I say “You’ll make it ANYWHERE!” There was one time when my childhood schooling went successfully. During a move I was forced to homeschool with professional teachers in my home for approximately 2 months. In that short amount of time, my whole world was changed. I wasn’t an idiot, a mess, or a failure after all! I received “As” on my work, and had a happy heart (as I call it with my kids) towards school. My teachers liked me and I liked them. Math was (all of sudden) both easy and fun! To be quite honest I am not sure what it was that made the difference so dramatically during those two months of homeschooling. Was it having kind teachers, having a one on one tutor, were they teaching to my learning style? I don’t know. All I know is that I could do it! And with that knowledge I know that ANYONE could do it. It just took the right kind of teaching. If I can learn, than by golly, I can teach. It might take exploring curriculum that helps me keep organized. Or it might mean using curriculum that keeps things fun and hands-on. If you are someone out there who can relate to this story I want to tell you that thanks to the Lord “YOU HAVE POTENTIAL! AND..YOU HAVE THE CAPALITIES TO HOMESCHOOL!” Evonne Mandella is married and homeschools her 2 children in Alabama. She is the Founder of the “Read Hebrew Today” Publishing Company and the School of “Wholesome Learning.” She is a frequent Speaker at Homeschool Conferences. She can be found at www.wholesomelearning.com
Pick of the Week
Artistic Nature Unit Studies: Sea Mammals (CHK Magazine: Aug-Sep 2009) by LightHome Publications The theme for this unit study is Sea Mammals. This issue of the popular Creative Homeschooled Kids Magazine (in PDF format) contains 76 pages of delightful pictures, poems, articles, and art lessons about dolphins, porpoises, whales, and seals—from the up-to-110 foot blue whale that can hold an entire football field on its tongue, to the cute little 5 foot long ringed seal that can dive down 1,640 feet deep. We have included fun tables for your kids to compare the sizes of whales, speeds and leap heights of dolphins, and deep diving records of seals. Your kids will read about dolphin intelligence, whale watching, and our editor’s experiences petting a baby killer whale. They will learn about pinnipeds and cetaceans, including deep ocean cachalot whales, singing humpback whales and a man who composes cello music to go with their songs, delightful white beluga whales, and even a little whale with a long horn reminiscent of unicorns! They will learn about 3-ton (6,000-pound) elephant seals, trick-performing sea lions, cute little furry harp seals, and walruses feeling their way around in the dark depths of the Arctic Ocean, eating over 6,000 mollusks from the ocean bottom each day. How are they able to dive down so far and stay down so long without running out of breath? At each turn we share with your kids the understanding that these incredible feats of nature can only happen through design by an intelligent Creator, God. In this issue we have included more than 20 coloring pages, beautifully done, in most cases with our colored picture examples for your kids to learn from. They will definitely improve their art abilities as they learn about color gradations, as the light aqua water at the ocean’s surface fades gradually into darker shades of turquoise and darker and darker blues. We show them how to portray the ocean’s sunshine surface as a sea mammal looks u pward from beneath the water. And they’ll learn about reflecting sunset skies in the water, too. This issue contains more than a dozen paintings of the sea (including sailboats) by famous artists for your kids to enjoy, discuss, and in some cases seek to replicate, in order to learn the simple art principles that they convey. We feature artist Winslow Homer and discuss how he creates cheerful or anxious moods depending on the colors he uses. And we share our own family drawings of dugongs, beluga whales and seals (drawn by our kids at ages 13 and 15.) We also teach children how to draw sweet eyes on animals. In addition to all this, you get 4 different word search puzzles that include all species of whales, dolphins, and seals, word games, dot-to-dots, mazes, and words to unscramble. Plus we include math, music, health, P.E., history and geography lessons that fit our sea mammals theme. Best of all, we give you an exciting 2-page article about archeological discoveries that may confirm the crossing of the Red Sea by Moses and the Children of Israel by God’s incredible miracles. We also share many other Bible verses placed among our art and nature illustrations. So get ready to be inspired! Buy this issue only, or save over 60% on the cost of 6 issues by buying an annual subscription to this bimonthly magazine, and download your August-September issue of Creative Homeschooled Kids Magazine today. Our Price: $4.50
New at CurrClick.com
All About the Winter Olympics: Grades 2-3 (Enhanced eBook) by S&S Learning Materials Celebrate the Winter Olympics in your classroom. Stimulate interest and awareness of the history of the games; traditions carried out prior to the games and during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies; types of sporting events; your countries athletes; sporting equipment used; its location and sportsmanship. This enhanced eBook gives you the freedom to copy and paste the content of each page into the format that fits your needs. You can post lessons on your class website, make student copies, extract or rotate pages, and edit the contents of the file. Our Price: $20.99 Also available: The Winter Olympics: Grades 4-8 (Enhanced eBook)

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StoryNory Podcast free MP3 Audio Books for Children PArents & Homeschool

via StoryNory Podcast.

StoryNory Podcast

For some fun Christmas stories listen to the latest podcast episodses on the StoryNory Podcast. Hear the entertaining story of The Christmas Cherry Tree and Christmas in Space, along with dozens of other great stories for young and old alike.
Podcast Website:
http://storynory.com/

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Part Two

Author: Storynory
Mon, Dec 21, 2009

Sir Gawain faces must meet his destiny at the hands of the Green Knight on New Year’s Day. In the meantime he must overcome a more delicate challenge to his honour.

Download File – 24.7 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Part One

Author: Storynory
Mon, Dec 14, 2009

An audio drama. King Arthur’s noblest knight, Sir Gawain, goes on a quest which tests is honour as much as his valour. A Storynory Special, adapted for the Medieval text.

Download File – 22.3 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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The Christmas Cherry Tree

Author: Storynory
Mon, Dec 07, 2009

A medieval story for Christmas about a medieval knight who was so generous at Christmas that he gave away almost everything he had. A miracle of a cherries out of season restored his wealth.

Download File – 14.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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Christmas in Space

Author: Storynory
Tue, Dec 01, 2009

The “Wicked Uncle” Jeff arranges for his relatives to spend Christmas in space. His generosity gives an ordinary family from London a chance to feel the marvel of creation and life at Christmas time.

Download File – 30.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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Tyger Tyger Burning Bright

Author: Storynory
Tue, Nov 24, 2009

Download the audio (right click, save as) ( Of course, in modern English, “The Tyger” would be “The Tiger”.) We present three “songs” by the poet and artist, and Londoner, William Blake (1757-1827). His Songs of Innocence and Experience were intended to be sung, but the melodies are now lost. Many [...]

Download File – 4.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor

Author: Storynory
Sun, Nov 15, 2009

An Ancient Egyptian tale about a shipwrecked sailor who is washed up on a desert island and meets a giant serpent. One of the oldest stories ever written down, it is really several stories within a story.

Download File – 9.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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The Luck of the Wicked Uncle

Author: Storynory
Sun, Nov 08, 2009

Do you believe in luck? – the mum in this story does – and her stars say she’s going to have a terrible weekend. Uncle Jeff (who is not really wicked) believes we make our own luck, and comes to the rescue.

Download File – 19.0 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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Samson and Delilah

Author: Storynory
Sun, Nov 01, 2009

The epic and tragic story of the man who combines the strength of a lion with the sweetness of honey. And of course of Delilah who is his downfall.

Download File – 16.9 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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The Watermelon Prince

Author: Storynory
Mon, Oct 26, 2009

A story from Vietnam that tells how the delicious fruit, the watermelon, came to Vietnam. A king adopts a boy who grows up into a wise prince. His bother plots against him and he is banished to an island where he discovers a sumptuous new fruit.

Download File – 9.3 MB
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Life is a Circus

Author: Storynory
Sat, Oct 17, 2009

A single song by the chiX our fictional girl band. This is the chiX first “Single” and their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest – Save it on your iPod – send it to all your friends !

Download File – 4.5 MB
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Gladys and the Eurovision Song Contest

Author: Storynory
Sat, Oct 17, 2009

the chiX reach the Eurovision song contest : includes their song “Life is A Circus” – the climax of our story about a fictional girl band and their brainy younger sister, Gladys.

Download File – 30.6 MB
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The Wicked Witch of the West

Author: Storynory
Mon, Oct 12, 2009

We bring you a single chapter from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by y L. Frank Baum. We chose this chapter in the spirit of Halloween – so expect a few scary moments when with wolves, bees, crows, and winged monkeys.

Download File – 28.0 MB
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The Raven

Author: Storynory
Tue, Oct 06, 2009

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!’ Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.’

Download File – 10.4 MB
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The Wicked Prince

Author: Storynory
Mon, Sep 28, 2009

A dramatic story by Hans Christian Andersen about the overbearing arrogance of a prince who wages war on God. A tale of hubris and nemesis.

Download File – 10.2 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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Tim The Tadpole’s Exams

Author: Storynory
Mon, Sep 21, 2009

Tim the Tadpole is very upset because Colin has called him stupid for not doing well at school. Bertie decides to help Tim with some advice on how to pass exams.

Download File – 13.8 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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The Lioness and Small Respect

Author: Storynory
Mon, Sep 14, 2009

Two Aesop fables in one about a lioness – first her encounter with a mosquito, and then with a mouse. Plenty of wisdom to be had from these tales all round.

Download File – 6.4 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

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The chiX: First Round

Author: Storynory
Mon, Sep 07, 2009

The chiX perform in the first round of the Eurovision Song Contest and find out if they will represent Britain in the final in Istanbul

Download File – 14.1 MB
Listen To This Podcast (Streaming Audio)

Give a Child a Book ~ Download 100s for yourself, write a review and Make a Child Smile

NEW RELEASES AVAILABLE TO READ ON LINE TO TO DOWNLOAD FOR FREE

MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR ME ARE THE HIGHLIGHTED PARAGRAPHS BELOW

Give A Child A Book – We’re Buying!

In the spirit of the holidays, Free-eBooks.net wants to provide children in need with their first books and… we need YOUR HELP, please!

No, no, we’re not asking you for money. WE want to make the donation FOR YOU!

Simply write a HELPFUL book review (25+ words, negative or positive, but helpful) in any of our book listings and we’ll donate $1 to FirstBook.org per helpful review left from now until the end of December.

First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy—access to books.

Help our authors, your fellow readers and children in need now – leave 1, 2, 5 or more reviews and you get to “GIFT A Child” in need his or her very first book!

Thank you in advance and as always you can access any of the books below at no charge simply by clicking its title.

Happy readings and ‘reviewing’ from your friends at Free-eBooks.net!

The Seasons of Our Lives

Body & Spirit, by George Pan Kouloukis

The moment you have finished reading this book, you will be able to know whether the years just ahead are good or bad for you, and how long this season will last. You will be able thus to act accordingly: if there is a storm on the horizon, you will take shelter in time; if sunny days loom ahead, you will take advantage before the chance pass. The seasons of our lives alternate according to a certain pattern, which I explain in the book.

How To Sell Social Media

Business, By David Bullock

How can you sell this evolving and misunderstood channel called social media? This is a primer for learning to sell social media as an effective business tool. Business has embraced social media as a valid channel for business to consumer communications. The business power of social media is often times mis-applied. This ebook is a powerful and thoughtful look at this new media and provides an orientation to this new dynamic space.

Buddha’s Tooth

Fiction, by Robert A Webster

Some people are born to be heroes. Some people earn it through years of trying. Allow me to introduce you to three likely lads who had heroism strangely dropped on their heads. Please enjoy the first adventures of Nicholas (Nick) Godfrey, Stuart (Stu) Wilson, and Spock, three unattached, English, thirty-something lads as they almost battle with evil forces, almost rescue damsels in distress and almost rescues a country from total destruction. They definitely do however, drink copious amounts of amber fluid and have lots of horizontal fun.

The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu

Mystery, by Sax Rohmer

The first of the popular mystery series introduces a pair of English detectives to their archnemesis, the diabolical Dr. Fu-Manchu.

The Chimes

Fiction, by Charles Dickens

The second of Charles Dickens’s Christmas books is both a topical satire and a plea for human charity.

The Alchemy of Awareness

Psychology, by Terry Findlay

Drawn from recent discoveries in neuroscience and research in developmental psychology The Alchemy of Awareness is the story of a natural ‘alchemy’ that our brains perform in making a series of life-changing transitions. Albert Einstein is reported to have observed that we can never solve a problem on the same level of awareness as that at which the problem was created. But what is awareness?

Biblemerica

Religious, by Jack Brackitt

This is a unique modernization of the Bible. It brings the stories of Moses, Samson and Jesus into 20th century America. It retains the original Bible’s chapters and verses, but it replaces Jerusalem with Chicago, and it modernizes the language.

The Jew of Malta

Drama, by Christopher Marlowe

This edition is based on the only surviving text, the 1633 quarto, which has been carefully examined and is shown to be more authentic and reliable than most earlier scholars were prepared to allow.

Happy Holidays ~ St Aiden’s Homeschool, where YOU can make a difference

Hello once again

I am grateful to have had this opportunity of interacting with so many of my loyal St Aiden’s Homeschool SUbscribers and thank you most sincerely for your support throughout this year. TO my wonderful new friends, colleagues and acquaintances, I am grateful that this year has brought you into my life.

A very short update this time, with a focus on the Holiday Season and Christmas.

While chatting to a mum of 7 little people recently it brought home to me that while we, as parents, worry and fuss about stretching the family budget to make this time special for our families, there are those who simply just cannot do it… regardless of how they try – circumstances for one reason or another do not permit… So I thought about what I could do, if anything, from way over the other side of the world to put a smile on a little face on that special of special mornings…. Not much alone I’m afraid, BUT with some help you and I can do it together.

For many of those who will for one reason or another not be celebrating Christmas, Holidays, gift exchanging, our thoughts are with you all. If we can all in some small way make a difference – make a child smile, an elderly person clap hands with delight, share some of the love we all have contained within us – to a group of children who otherwise would not experience the love that every child deserves and is entitled to, I would hope and ask that we find it within ourselves to be THE ONE person who can and DOES make a difference.

Inspirational Christmas Poem By Oren Arnold

Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.

To an opponent, tolerance.

To a friend, your heart.

To a customer, service.

To all, charity.

To every child, a good example.

To yourself, respect.

Our Thousands of free Christmas activities can be found at this link. Please take your time and browse around. While there may not always be something you would require for yourself or your family, there may be the little person down the street that would be thankful to receive a book, a puzzle, a song, as a Christmas Gift. Please help yourself to whatever is available on these pages. There are some extraordinary downloads available, and with a little imagination (and a printer) YOU can make a child’s (or adult for that matter) Christmas special. Make up a package with some activity boxes, jigsaw puzzles, printable cards – the possibilities are endless…

Some of our Links you may be interested in are:

Christmas Activity Books

Christmas Stories

Christmas Music

Christmas Puzzles & Activities

Christmas eBooks (for the whole family)

Christmas Crafts

Our free Educational Christmas Activity Books include:

• Santa Activity Book
• Snowman Activity Book
• Christmas Phonics
• Christmas Counting
• Bible Verses Copywork
• Christmas Games & Activities
• Mega Christmas Activity Book
• Christmas Alphabet Song Activity & Copywork Book
• Christmas Picture Dictionary Alphabet Activity Book
• Christmas Animal Picture Dictionary Activity Book
• 12 Days of Christmas Copywork & Activity Book

OF course there are many more Free Activities, eBooks and downloads covering a wide range of topics.

ACTIVITIES

Our Activity Pages are for the most part curriculum-based (And also based on our Educator’s Calendar), and include links to all major holidays, themes, unit studies, important dates in history, printables and downloads, Biographies of Historical Figures, fun-themed international “days”, celebrations, events. Within each of the listed ACTIVITY Titles, you will find links to download ebooks, printables, worksheets, unit studies, software, interactive and downloadable crossword puzzles, interactive and downloadable jigsaw puzzles, and parent and teacher resources, teaching plans, ideas, lesson plans, crafts and more. These inter alia printable documents are suitable for international purposes and are not geography specific. I know that you will find something within this section to cater for your very young learners, right through to much older learners.

To the wonderful people I have met through forums such as Twitter, Facebook and other Social Media Networking sites, I hope to continue a long and rewarding association with you and thank you for taking the time to get to know me!

Wishing you and yours a safe and blessed Holiday Season and trust that 2010 will be a most rewarding and fulfilling year for all.

I look forward to hearing your comments, feedback and suggestions.
Donnette E Davis

Author Cheryl Howard – Donate a Book, Proceeds 2 Global Warming & Fire Prevention

I received a beautiful email from a lovely soul, Cheryl Howard, and would love to help spread her message, an important one for parents, educators and children the world over:

Sharing the news from Author Cheryl L. Howard;

I do a great deal of charity work and this year I am asking those that can to make a book donation to their hometown grade school, church school, or their children’s grade school. The proceeds from my books will mostly go toward global warming research and wild fire prevention research.

Duster Dustbunny and Mikhael the Mighty are now available, at strategic publishing group. Duster Dustbunny is two books in one and is the only book in the world that effectively teaches the spelling of the days of the week and the months of the year and Mikhael the Mighty teaches you to be true to who you are deep in your heart.

The beautifully illustrated new children’s classic Mikhael the Mighty records the exploits of a heroic knight.

Mikhael dreams of a princess in need of rescuing, so he sets off with his faithful mare to rescue the damsel in distress. Along the way, they come upon a magical pond, where Mikhael offers his mare a drink. But the moment the mare drinks the magical water, she becomes what she truly is deep in her heart, a beautiful baby unicorn with the ability to speak!

Mikhael the Mighty and his unicorn, Rosy, continue on their quest. They travel through a forest where danger lurks at every turn. Beware the evil magician, the fearsome dragon and other surprises, all designed to test the brave knight’s courage.

This wonderful children’s adventure will become a favorite in your family. And, you will discover if Mikhael is successful in saving the princess.

How Do You Spell F-U-N?

Learning to spell the days of the week and the months of the year is fun with Duster Dustbunny!

This dusty little rabbit likes to fly his kite, play soccer and go fishing for pond lilies, but what he loves to do best is help children learn the days of the week and the months of the year.

With its charming illustrations and a fun spelling teaching style, Duster Dustbunny makes learning these hard to spell but commonly used words a snap!

About the Author

Author Cheryl L. Howard was born in Fresno, California, and now lives in Texas. She is working on several writing projects through Strategic Book Group, including Twilight Sun, It’s Turtle Time and My Little Teddy Buddy, and has recently completed Howard_cheryl

www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/DusterDustbunnysSevenDaysOfTheWeekAndTwelveMonthsInAYear.html

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/MikhaelTheMighty.html

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Duster-Dustbunnys-Seven-Days-Of-The-Week-And-Twelve-Months-In-A-Year/Cheryl-L-Howard/e/9781608607877

http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=Mikhael+the+Mighty&box=Mikhael%20the%20Mighty&pos=-1

http://www.amazon.com/Mikhael-Mighty-True-Never-Wrong/dp/1608607607/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257743168&sr=1-9

http://www.amazon.com/Duster-Dustbunnys-Seven-Twelve-Months/dp/1608607879/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257743168&sr=1-8

Ten Activities for Making Holiday Drives Fun #Homeschool #Education #Parenting

These exceptional resources are offered via reprinting this article, with permission.

My grateful thanks to Dianne and Rebecca for so willingly making these resources available.

Welcome to Homeschool.com’s bi-weekly E-zine, developed specifically to help you with your homeschooling. Please feel free to forward this issue to friends, family and associates! Ten Activities for Making Holiday Drives Fun December 7, 2009 Sign Me Up! for this e-zine Send to a Friend

CurrClick Homeschool Freebies ~New Special Education Titles

Pleased and honoured that one of St Aiden’s Homeschool Titles is a featured Homeschool/Education/Parenting Download
from this A Grade Website. Great new products for Special Education can be found at the bottom of this page )

730 Craft Recipes is featured as a top download and forms part of the Stocking Up Your Shelves Promotion that Currclick is running through to 15 December 2009.

Free Product of the Week All Apples! A Fun Study!by homeschool bits This unit is suggested for grades K-2 but is very flexible for lower & higher grades. All Apples! A Fun Study! is intended to be read by the parent/teacher. It is a lesson that speaks directly to the child. It was created to be fun and not overwhelming. The child will feel involved in the lesson, while learning about apples. Some of the topics covered include a little of each: Apple health, apple sayings, label apple parts, orchards & apple growers, harvest, storage & sale, apple facts, number words, Johnny Appleseed, handwriting, apple varieties, map activity, Do You Remember?, writing cards, coloring pages, dot to dot, and more. Also included are apple lapbook folds & flaps, fact cards, matching game cards, a lapbook cover page, and examples photos of a simple lapbook. Check out more titles from homeschool bits FREE! Other Featured Titles Rocks, Minerals and Soils K-2 by Intelligo Unit Studies In this fun and interactive unit study, your children will explore rocks, soils, minerals and more! With over 20 hands-on activities and experiments, your children will be fascinated from beginning to end. Each chapter includes current and active links to videos, hands-on activities, readings, worksheets, charts, interactive websites, games, experiments, and more to provide a multisensory approach to learning about earth’s materials. This unit study is the second release in our Earth and Space Science Core Curriculum Series for grades K-2. The time needed to complete this unit study will vary for each child, but you should expect to spend approximately 20 hours. All 32 activities in this unit study are presented in an easy to follow format with an active and updated web link. Click on the link and the best resources on the World Wide Web appear for your children. But this unit study is not just a collection of web sites to read! It is much more than that! The links bring the world to your children by providing streaming videos, interactive web sites, educational games, audio files, and more. At Intellego Unit Studies, we believe in the varied learning styles and multiple intelligences of every child. That’s why all of our unit studies include reading and writing activities, videos, art, music, comparisons, drawing and painting, discussions, hands-on activities, art projects, full-color high resolution graphics, printable activity pages, and more! Target ages: 5-8 Average time to complete: 20 hours Retail Price: $15.00 Our Price: $10.95 730 Craft Recipesby St. Aiden’s Homeschool, South Africa This book contains 730 crafts, activities and recipes for family holiday fun. Holiday Activities Include: Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Fall/Autumn Spring, Back To School, Christmas, St Patricks Day and more. Retail Price: $4.95 Our Price: $2.48		Homeschooling Families: A Voice to be Heard by Frank C. Wilson According to a report by the National Center for Educational Statistics, nearly 1.1 million children in the United States were homeschooled in 2003, an increase of 250,000 over the 1999 student count. Assuming that the number of homeschooled students has continued to increase at the same rate, an estimated 1.5 million students currently homeschool. In a recent pilot study conducted by Make It Real Learning Company, the thing that parents indicated they enjoyed most about homeschooling was being with their children. Yet taking on the task of homeschooling is not without its challenges. Determining which curriculum is right for your family can be a daunting task. Survey respondents identified the following websites as great places to get homeschool curriculum reviews: cathyduffy.com, currclick.com, and homeschoolreviews.com. As parents consider what curriculum to choose, it his helpful to understand how the brain learns. In his book How the Brain Learns, Dr. David Sousa reports that when new learning is readily comprehensible (sense) and can be connected to past experiences (meaning), there is substantially more cerebral activity followed by dramatically improved retention (Sousa, 2001, p. 48). By connecting academic learning to the real world experience of the learner, parents can deepen the intellectual understanding of their children. For example, a chocolate chip cookie recipe is a great teaching tool for introducing children to the concept of fractions. Measuring the ingredients (e.g. 2½-cups flour, 1½ teaspoons soda) helps the child understand on a conceptual level what ½ means. By allowing the learner to experiment with the measuring cups and measuring spoons, the child can determine the relationship between fractional quantities such as ¼, ½, and ¾. Then when the abstract concept of adding fractions is introduced, the student has a solid conceptual understanding of fractions on which to build the new learning. Connecting new learning to the real world experience of the student is the key to increased student success. As a mathematics professor and textbook author, I have witnessed the empowering effect of real world applications in the lives of my students. Learners become excited about mathematics when it is relevant and has personal value. For example, on the first day of classes this fall my students used mathematical reasoning to predict the cost of tuition next year. The activity was motivating and had value to the students because the answer to the question impacted them on a personal level. With 1.5 million homeschool students in the United States, homeschool families have power in shaping what curriculum products publishers create. By asking publishers to create learning activities focused on connecting academic learning to the real world experiences of learners, parents can increase the quality and effectiveness of curriculum materials available to them. With enhanced teaching tools, parents can create a more meaningful learning experience for their children. Speak up and let your voice be heard. Make It Real Learning Company is currently conducting a nationwide study related to the mathematics teaching philosophy and curriculum needs of parents who homeschool. You can participate here
Pick of the Week
MIRL Activity Library, Volume Iby Make it Real Learning Company “When am I ever going to use this?” With the help of the Make It Real Learning workbook series, you can answer the question.Make It Real Learning Activity Library, Volume I, contains 110 activities in the following workbooks. * Arithmetic I * Calculus I * Exponential and Logarithmic Functions I * Fractions, Percents, Decimals I * Linear Functions I * Linear Functions II * Periodic and Piecewise Functions I * Polynomial, Power, Logistic, Rational Functions I * Quadratic Functions I * Sets, Probability, Statistics I Each workbook contains ten activities. From determining which cell phone plan is the best value to forecasting the population of the United States, learners get to use mathematics in meaningful ways. Rest assured that each activity integrates real world information not just “realistic” data. These are real companies (e.g. Aeropostale, Disneyland) and real world issues (e.g. Social Security, teen pregnancy). The mathematical objectives of each activity are clearly specified on the Activity Objectives page following introduction in each workbook. Through the workbook series, we have consistently sought to address the content and process standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. There are multiple ways to use the activities in a teaching environment. Many teachers find that the activities are an excellent tool for stimulating mathematical discussions in a small group setting. Due to the challenging nature of each activity, group members are motivated to brainstorm problem solving strategies together. The interesting real world contexts motivate them to want to solve the problems. The activities may also be used for individual projects and class-wide discussions. As a ready-resource for teachers, the workbook also includes completely worked out solutions for each activity. To make it easier for teachers to assess student work, the solutions are included on a duplicate copy of each activity. Check out what our reviewers say! Retail Price: $54.89 Our Price: $39.99
New at CurrClick.com
The Insect Gameby Super Star Speech Use the Insect game to learn all about insects or to reinforce another study of insects. Players will answer questions about insects to earn insect parts, attempting to be the first player to build a complete insect. This game is designed for 2nd to 6th grades. Retail Price: $4.00 Our Price: $3.50

Publisher Product Discounts

Connect The Thoughts New Years – A Creative Writing Elective by Connect the Thoughts http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=26477&it=1&discount=5943&SRC=newsletter Normal Price: $10.00 Discount Price: $6.00 Connect The Thoughts history/creative writing course for New Years teaches your student (ages 9-adult) about the history and practice of New Year’s around the world. Then, it walks the student step-by-step through the writing of 2 original New Year’s stories! On sale through December for only $6.00!

Connect the Thoughts Animation I “Gummy Cat” Project by Connect the Thoughts http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=21297&it=1&discount=31452&SRC=newsletter Normal Price: $10.00 Discount Price: $6.00 If your children (ages 9-adult) like to draw, here’s a fun holiday present! In our Animation I course, the student is given an original cartoon script by an Emmy Award-winning writer, and taught how to read it. Then, step-by-step, they’re walked through the design elements of the cartoon. They create the characters and eveything else! On sale through December for only $6.00, from Connect The Thoughts.

A Polar Christmas (a lapbook designed to go with The Polar Express!) by A Journey Through Learning http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=32612&it=1&discount=89102&SRC=newsletter Normal Price: $1.00 Discount Price: $1.00 It’s time to board The Polar Express. This Caldecott Medal winner by Chris Van Allsburg is a MUST in all households with children. Our lapbook-A Polar Christmas-is specially designed to go with this wonderful book! See sample pages. This lapbook is 2 folders big. The Polar Express book is sold separately-we do not sell it. ONLY 1.00

Keep Courting: 100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage by Cheryl Moeller Production http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=32369&it=1&discount=9783&SRC=newsletter Normal Price: $9.99 Discount Price: $7.49 Buy Now!25% OFF Keep Courting: 100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage By Bob and Cheryl MoellerGreat gift book and stocking stuffer.100 Ways to Keep Courting After Marriage – 50 ways for husbands and 50 ways for wives. New and fresh for homeschool parents!Practical and short sentences that will keep bring you close and keep you close. Keep your vows and they will keep you.

Newest Free Products

What Did You Say? Bookmarks Freebie! by homeschool bits http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=32501&it=1&SRC=newsletter This What Did You Say? Bookmarks Freebie! would make a great companion to our lessons titled What Did You Say? A Fun Mini Lesson! These are five different sayings and phrases, and their meanings. You can use these as a great quick lesson to…

Amazing American States Sample Book by Eagles Wings Educational Materials http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=32485&it=1&SRC=newsletter Award-winning author and illustrator, Susan Mortimer, has developed Clever Comics Memory System, a complete series to enable mastery of every aspect of our amazing American states. Cartoon flash cards are used to teach the…

Fall 2009 Book Bag Sampler by Teacher Book Bag http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=32250&it=1&SRC=newsletter Teacher Book Bag is pleased to offer you this free sampler of our August through November 2009 Book Bags. Each month Teacher Book Bag publishes three leveled Book Bags: Preschool Kindergarten, First – Third, and Fourth and Beyond.&…

Deer Mini Helper by homeschool bits http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=32119&it=1&SRC=newsletter A homeschool bits Freebie! I hope you enjoy this Deer Mini Helper. This mini helper is suggested for grades K-3 but is very flexible for lower & higher grades.

Clay Nativity by SundaySchoolNetwork.com http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=32098&it=1&SRC=newsletter The Clay Nativity is a simple and easy-to-make craft for a broad age range. From the book, Journey to the Manger, available @ Currclick.

Newest Staff Reviews

Made With Love: Flash Card Set for Early Education and Speech Delayed Children by One Mother’s Love http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=23391&it=1&SRC=newsletter Price: $32.99 $9.99 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (from Heart of the Matter Team) Review When it comes to e-products there are a LOT more options out there in recent years then there used to be. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to review a product that is geared towards very young children as I have found these resources harder to come by. Made With Love: Flashcards for Early Education and Speech Delayed Children is one such product. It is also a useful resource for older children that may have some speech delays. This product only requires a printer, scissors, and some quality one-on-one time with your child. The flashcards print in alphabetical order and are in full color. I had the opportunity to use these cards in my home with my 19 month old son, and with my friends 3 year old son who has slight speech delays. I was surprised to find it very easy to make using these cards an enjoyable experience for both of them. They both really liked the bright, colorful photos on each card! There is a wide range of words in this set, starting with simple, one-syllable words like ball and moving on into more difficult words such as watermelon. There are 70 flashcards in all. For my toddler, we used the cards in the following way: I went through and chose all of the simple one and two-syllable words that I thought he would recognize. I then showed each card to him, one at a time, and said the word aloud to him. Then I gave him the card and asked him to say the word. He really liked collecting the cards and looking at the pictures. We even practiced our animal sounds! For my friends son, I showed him each card to first see if he recognized the picture on it and could tell me what it was. If he did, I repeated the word back to him and then gave him the card and asked him to say the word again. If he did not recognize the picture, I told him what it was, then gave him the card and asked him to repeat the word. Again, he really enjoyed making a pile of the cards as he practiced saying the words. I would highly recommend this product to anyone with toddlers just learning to say words up to school-age children that need help and practice to correctly pronounce common, everyday words. HOTM Team, Cassandra

Super Star Speech [BUNDLE] by Super Star Speech http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=27602&it=1&SRC=newsletter Price: $62.85 $21.60 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (from Heart of the Matter Team) Review Your household will be a super star with this bundle. When a child has been recognized with a speech impediment, one of the steps to correct it is speech therapy. This bundle may seem like speech therapy in a box, but remember that you still need help from outside sources. In more severe cases, it reinforces what your child has learned with their speech pathologist. While with minor cases it gives you some information that may seem useful to you. Lets take a look at some of the highlights it has to offer you. In Speech Made Easy you will find an Articulation Test with easy to follow directions, response sheet and error analysis. Guiding you a little further in therapy, you will find some suggestions for a therapy plan and form to fill with your findings. Then you find pages on specific sounds with detailed instructions on how to teach them. And best of all, you will find sections with therapy games, activities, practice pages and picture cards. The other two ebooks offered in this set, focus on the specific sounds of R, L, S, Z and SH. These are the most common sounds that a child can mispronounce. And you will be glad to find the extra help that is offered in them. Each sound is introduced by showing you the correct way your mouth should be formed to pronounce it correctly. Tips are given as suggestions for extra practice for the sound they may be working on. And like the above ebook you will find word list, games, practice sheets and picture cards with each sound. In all the Super Star Speech Made Easy Series you will find sample lessons and the forms you can use to record your plans in. Simply said on the title, it is truly Speech Made Easy! HOTM Team, Amy F.

Understanding Special Education (Enhanced eBook) by Scholastic Teaching Resources & http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=28205&it=1&SRC=newsletter Price: $22.99 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (from Heart of the Matter Team) Review Whether you are a parent, a family member, teacher, Sunday school teacher or part of an agency that deals with Special Needs, this book would be beneficial to you. Dont be fooled by the title, the classroom teacher is not the only one that can flip through this book and learn a few things from it. The Book is divided into three different sections: 1. What are some challenges students face? 2. What do I need to know about the Special Education System? 3. Appendix Included in the first section are stories that introduce you to special needs, an explanation of that disability and gives you an idea of what that student may need for you. The second section gives a great explanation of what the special needs education system has to offer you and your child. It emphasizes that it takes a team to help this child blend in a regular classroom and everyday life. This e-book also gives you information on background, eligibility requirements, Individual Education Plans (IEPS) and Privacy Issues. And in the Appendix is a great wealth of information for you to continue your research with the aids of a list of books and websites. Overall this book is an informative useful resource for anyone that has a special needs child in their life. HOTM Team, Amy F.

Made With Love: A Collection of Recipes for Art & Craft Projects by One Mother’s Love http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=22402&it=1&SRC=newsletter Price: $9.99 $3.99 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (from Heart of the Matter Team) Review Do you need a healthy helping of the warm fuzzies? Made with Love is a collection of art and craft recipes that will take you back to your childhood. Want to make colored macaroni rainbows? Homemade clay or paste? Sue Ellen Hale has taken the leg work out of finding the old recipes and compiled them in one easy to read book. The recipes can be made with household items. Frugal, simple and fun. That is a recipe for a fun afternoon art class with your preschooler or elementary child. The kids and I really enjoyed this book. Many of the recipes have a aromatic ingredient like peanut butter play dough or apple cinnamon ornaments. This is wonderful for your sensory child or a child that has sight impairment. Made with Love is a wonderful collection of hands on recipes that lead naturally to a highly kinetic, enjoyable art time. Thank you Sue Ellen for compiling so many of my childhood memories into this delightful book! HOTM Team, Heather L.

Lemon the Duck by Lobster Press http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=27431&it=1&SRC=newsletter Price: $9.95 $4.98 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (from Heart of the Matter Team) Review If you look like a duck and quack like a duck, you must be a duck. What if you cant walk or move like a duck? Are you still a duck? Ms. Lake’s class has been watching four eggs in an incubator and they just hatched. What happens when they discover that one is not quite right? Will they care for the duckling even though it looks and acts different than the others? Will they try to better the ducklings life? Lemon the Duck is a heartwarming story that will win many hearts. Lemon is a duckling born with physical disabilities. Together with her human classmates she will deal with not only her special needs, but the separation with her family and overcoming obstacles that stop her from functioning as a normal duckling. Author Laura Backman takes the subject of special needs and brings it to a kids level of understanding. This book is a great way to introduce your child to this topic. The caring and compassion of Mrs. Lakes class will inspire the whole family to reconsider how they view others. And if you are a family with a special needs child and looking for a book to explain these needs to a sibling, this is the book for you. From the moment you open the book, your child will engage in the needs of this duckling and the role Mrs. Lakes class partakes in it. Lemon the Duck is an inspiring story to share with all. HOTM Team, Amy F.

CurrClick.com: Curriculum in a Click!

CurrClick’s Black Friday Giveaway! #homeschool #K12

You simply can’t afford to miss CurrClick’s biggest event of the year, BLACK FRIDAY! HUNDREDS of TOTALLY FREE education resources! No Traffic, No Crowds, No Cost!
10:00 am CST Friday, Nov 27th through 10:00 am CST Saturday, Nov 28th.

Plus, get up to 50% off next semester’s curriculum during our STOCKING UP YOUR SHELVES SALE!
Nov 27th at 10:00am CST through Tuesday, Dec 15th.