Thinking About Homeschooling This Year? Stop And Listen To That Small Voice....

Advice is very easy to give out, seems like everybody has an answer for your journey in life. What does your heart tell you? That nagging, tugging feeling in your gut comes from.......God, and you know it. Listen to that still small voice, he is talking to you. The answer might not be what you want to hear. But it is the right answer, He will lead your way, guide you and give you strength.

For several years when my kids were young I fought God's call to homeschool. I kept telling myself and Him.....nah, I can't homeschool, are you crazy??  I found our family in a situation that financially required us to make some hard choices, one of those choices was yes.......to homeschool. Yes in the end God's never ending call won. We have homeschooled ever since, for nearly 8 or 9 years now. I have no regrets for that single step we made, it was the best step for our family.

Are you having a tough time making that decision? feel free to leave a comment or email me. Are you a homeschool mom like myself that took a leap of faith also, help me encourage other moms by leaving a comment about your journey.

What A Clever Concept! Planning For This Year's Curriculum.....#Homeschoolproducts

This is one of the bundles that I just ordered, I am super excited to get all this awesome stuff for 82% off the regular price!! Can you believe it, I still can't. Plus all the extra's that come free with your order, tons of extras I am telling you. I have used several of the books and programs already and love them, we use NotebookingPages all the time for science, history and copy work. I am excited to try Math Mammoth again, we have only done some samples before and really liked them. Many of these bundles have books that are great for all ages, since I have a 14 and 10 year old daughters, we are incorporating some of these together.

Below is a highlight of the 4-6 grade bundle I bought:

The "Build Your Bundle" - Homeschool Edition sale is going on for one week only (July 21-28)! There are so many wonderful products and amazing deals! We are highlighting the Elementary Bundle below.

Take a look at the Elementary 4th - 6th Grade Bundle:

$220.35 ONLY $39.00 Save: 82% Your 4th-6th graders will develop foundational skills and gain insight into the ancient world using the comprehensive collection of resources found in our 4th-6th Grade Bundle. This bundle features science curriculum and a creative writing course from Cathy Duffy's Top 100 picks, Mapping the World with Art - a blend of history, geography, and art, math, Bible, handwriting and copywork resources, writing guides, timeline cards, ancient history notebooking pages, creative writing for both boys and girls, and an editable weekly homeschool planner for Mom! There are 2 products in Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Pics in this bundle! Buy more & save more! Purchase 2 pre-assembled bundles and get the 3rd one 50% off! See site for details. Checkout the items in the 4-6 bundle:

Wordsmith Apprentice - Retail $16.00 This Cathy Duffy Top 100 curriculum is a creative writing course for grade 4 through 6. All the practicality, humor and fun of Wordsmith, but written for the younger student, ages 9-12. An easy to use writing course encouraging students to develop their writing skills as they participate in every role on a newspaper staff: editor, reporter, writer, etc. Click here to learn more! Creation Geology: A Study Guide to Fossils, Formations and the Flood - Retail $18.95 Flood geology comes alive with the 57-page teaching outline included. This study includes easy to follow lesson plans for K-12, over 300 activities and experiments, information about radiometric dating, oil and coal formation and Geologic formations and fossils occurred during the time of Noah's Flood, vocabulary list, recommended reading (not necessary to complete this study), math activities, book reviews, reproducible sheets and much more! Click here to learn more! Mapping the World with Art - Retail $14.95 "Mapping the World with Art" is a blend of history, geography, and art for ages 10 and up. This curriculum is actually three books in one. The first section is a history text history lessons that tell the story of cartography from ancient Mesopotamia up through the discovery of Antarctica in the late 1800s. The second section of the book provides step-by-step drawing lessons for each of the history lessons. After you learn some history, you draw the primary place you read about. Click here to learn more! Bible Road Trip - Year One: The Books of the Law and History - Retail $20.00 The Bible Road Trip Year One Curriculum is a 480-page digital PDF download of the full Bible Road Trip Year One curriculum for all five levels, preschool through high school. The Bible Road Trip Year One Curriculum includes the Parent / Teacher Guide and 32 weeks of curriculum schedules for all grades. Click here to learn more! Keyboarding for the Christian School Elementary (KJV available in options) - Retail $12.95 Do you anticipate your student using computers in the future? Is your student going into a technological field? How far your student will go will be determined by their proficiency in computers. Give them the edge in computer applications by purchasing curriculum that really works. Click here to learn more! Weekly Homeschool Planner - Retail $20.00 Tired of looking for a brand-new homeschool planner each year? What if you could buy ONE planner, type in your plans, save them and use the same planner year after year? The Weekly Homeschool Planner will help you organize your school day and record your daily learning. Additional forms help you keep track of testing results, evaluations and special events. Click here to learn more! Ancient Times Notebooking Pages - Retail $19.95 This is the entire collection of Ancient Times notebooking pages. This COMPLETE package contains notebooking pages for: - Ancient Africa & Egypt - Ancient Americas - Ancient China, Japan, & India - Ancient Greeks, Minoans, & Mycenaeans - Ancient Mesopotamia - Ancient Romans, the Early Christian Church, & Other European Cultures Click here to learn more! Timeline Cards - Creation-Early Greeks - Retail $5.00 136 timeline cards covering Ancient History: Creation to Early Greeks. Includes: 2 sets of cards: 1 with dates and 1 without dates / Memory Work & Copywork pages / Blank Timeline Cards / Blank lines & generic design to print on backside of cards / 3 different style timelines. Click here to learn more! Math Mammoth Bundle - Introduction to Fractions & Fractions 1 - $8.80 Retail Math Mammoth Introduction to Fractions contains lessons for fraction arithmetic for grades 1-4. The topics covered are on a simple level, constantly illustrated with visual models, and with small denominators. Fractions 1 covers the concepts of fraction and mixed numbers, equivalent fractions, adding and subtracting like and unlike fractions, adding and subtracting mixed numbers, and comparing fractions. Click here to learn more! Writing Guides for Children - Retail $14.00 These Writing Guides are for beginning and reluctant writers. Each set can be used with children as young as Grade 1, starting with Writing Instructions, and Writing Poetry, and children in Grade 2 for Writing a Biography and Writing a Research Paper. Includes: Writing a Biography, Writing Poetry, Writing Instructions, and Writing a Research Paper Click here to learn more! Creative Writing Made Easy Bundle- Retail $25.90 Your students will be guided step by step in creating an adventure where both the student and her characters grow in faith towards God. Each of the 12 lessons will teach the basics of creative writing such as: creating the princess character, developing a faith filled plot, using your senses in a setting, and spicing up your dialogue. Click here to learn more! Spies of the Revolutionary War Creative Writing Unit and Lapbook - Retail $10.95 Creative Writing has never been easier! Eighty pages of lessons and lapbook fun- it's a wonderful way to engage boys to write! Create a secret code, make a battle drum, become a spy and write about it! Kids can't wait for school time! Click here to learn more! Homeschool Copywork Membership - Retail $24.95 Homeschool Copywork is a brand new membership site with a Charlotte mason flare. There are currently 18 different copywork ebooks and 1 artist study available in the Homeschool Copywork Full Membership Area. By purchasing this bundle, you will be given a full membership for one year. Click here to learn more! Dragons of the Bible Copywork - Retail $7.95 Did you know that dragons are mentioned in the Bible 22 times? Dragons of the Bible contains each of the 22 verses for copywork in lined manuscript, regular cursive, and regular print PLUS notebooking pages and coloring pages for each featured dragon graphic. The beautiful line art graphics are perfect for coloring as a reward for a job well done. Click here to learn more!

BUY MORE & SAVE MORE!

*Lots of ways to save! When you purchase ANY 2 pre-assembled bundles you will get the 3rd pre-assembled bundle of equal or lesser value for 50% off! When you purchase ANY 2 "build your own" bundles you will get the 3rd "build your own" bundle of equal or lesser value for 50% off! Tell your friends about the "Build Your Bundle" - Homeschool Edition Sale using our referral system that is found on the top of the website! When 10 of your referrals visit our site using your unique link, we will give you a code to save 10% off your total purchase! *The B2G1 50% off offer applies to pre-assembled or "Build Your Own" Bundles only. Discount taken off the lowest priced bundle. See site for complete details and FAQ.

Prefer to pick and choose what you want?

WOW Factor Homeschool picks #atozchallenge

Homeschooling with WOW is really an everyday thing, being able to school my children at home and experience learning with them is a WOW. But, when you have helps that add to the Wow factor that makes it that much more special. Here are 3 of my WOW factor picks for today. Hope you find them as helpful and WOWful as I have. 

--My first WOW is probably the best book ever if you are starting out homeschooling, written by Mary Pride, this book deserves a spot on your bookshelf. 
Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling

Per Amazon website book description:

One of America’s leading homeschool experts provides families with everything they could possibly need to know to start schooling at home in this 600–page volume. As entertaining as it is enlightening, this incredible storehouse of information...

• explains the advantages of homeschooling and corrects common misconceptions
• encourages and equips parents who may be reticent to start teaching at home
• gives tons of detailed, practical information on methods and materials

This encyclopedic reference includes chapters on the ways kids learn, planning and record keeping, testing and standards, and special–needs and gifted children. Families who are just getting started in homeschooling as well as experienced homeschool families who need more information will find answers to all their questions in this one–of–a–kind resource.

I used this book when I was first starting out and it was a great resource to me, I still refer back to it from time to time even now. 

--My 2nd WOW factor is another book resource: 

101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum 

Per the Amazon website: book description

101 Top Picks makes it easy for home educators to select the right curriculum for each family situation and each child's learning style. Widely-recognized curriculum expert Cathy Duffy walks you through the curriculum selection process: goal setting, figuring out which educational approach to use, developing your own philosophy of education, determining your teaching style, and identifying your children's learning styles. "At-a-glance" charts highlight key features of each Top Pick selection. Scanning through the charts allows you to quickly identify products likely to be of interest. The charts are followed by extensive reviews of each of Cathy's Top Picks. This is an updated and heavily revised edition of 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum (2005).

I have the first edition of the book and it helped me so much to pick and choose curriculum my first years of homeschooling. Cathy does such a great job with the descriptions of your choices that you are not left totally lost when you finish. I actually thought I knew something about homeschooling in my first year. I highly recommend buying a copy of this edition for yourself and keeping it. Do not loan it out, it might not come back to you...lol.

--My 3rd WOW factor is not a book, but a huge list of links that I recently ran across while searching for something else on my favorite spot "Pinterest". Heather from "Sprittibee.com blog has compiled this awesome  "Big Fat Homeschool Link List" that is the most WOW list I have seen in a long time. I wanted to blog about it and save the site link, so I will have it myself. 

A little excerpt of the list from Sprittibee.com : http://sprittibee.com/2013/01/my-big-fat-homeschool-links-list.html , you need to visit her site to glean the awesomeness of the Fat list!! It is amazing.

 Lessons and Resources

Teach-nology (Lesson Plans and Printables Galore)
Learning Page (free lessons, instructional materials, etc.)
Furious Shepherd (Insane Amount of Homeschool Links)
Lesson Planet
Simple Homeschool
Enchanted Learning
Lesson Plan Library (Discovery)
eThemes Topical Teacher Resources
BBC Schools (GREAT Science interactives)!
Free Federal Resources for Education
Lynda.com A library of training classes for all things technical.
Mini Offices For Students in Grades K-3
Home School Articles
Pratt’s Educational Resources (Themes)
Teacher’s Favorite Links
Schoolastic Lesson Plans
Professor Noggin’s Card Games
Dr. Labush’s Links to Learning
Crosswalk Homeschool Resource Directory
A-Z Home’s Cool Homeschool Links
A to Z Teacher Stuff
A to Z Kid Stuff
Pete’s Power Point Station
Homeschooling Adventures (Subject Links)
DLTK-Kids Printables, Etc.
Free Homeschooling Resources

Reading, Books and Book Lists
My Amazon Bookstore
Wowio: Ebooks
How to Find Books for KONOS
Usborne Quicklinks (for use online with Usborne books)
Studydog (Free Reading Program: K-2nd)
Summer Reading Lists By Grade
Book Report PDF Files from Edhelper
Better Book Reports
Locate a Library Book on WorldCAT
Alibris: Buy Old, New & Out of Print Books
International Children’s Library
Classical Book List
Book Adventure Program
Librivox: Free E-books
Project Gutenberg
Dolch Kit (Reading Problems)
Bartleby (literature research)
Shakespeare Plays and Sonnets; Learning Guides

Just a short excerpt from http://sprittibee.com/2013/01/my-big-fat-homeschool-links-list.html

I think I like this WOW factor list thing, maybe I will make it a regular blogging staple here. Let me know via the comments how you like the WOW factors this week.