Free Resources for Homeschoolers

Homeschooling for free is entirely possible thanks to the all of the wonderful, talented homeschoolers who create free resources to share out of the goodness of their hearts as well as other providers. I've been on a quest to pull together for you a list of free resources that you can use in your homeschool so that you can save money wherever possible. I'm happy to share this list of free resources for homeschoolers with you today!

Free Curriculum

• Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool
• Lesson Pathways
• Ambleside Online
• All-in-One High School

Free Math Worksheets

• Homeschool Math
• Time for Time 
• The Teacher's Corner

Free Language Arts Resources

• Spelling City
• Aesop's Fables
• English Banana

Free Ebooks

• Amazon Kindle (Amazon has an app for computer users who don't own a Kindle.)
• Project Gutenberg

There are so many free resources available online to use in our homeschools. I'll be adding to this list, so stay tuned for more links to free resources for homeschoolers!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

   

The Source of Our Strength

I hope you'll join me today over at my friend, Katie's blog at Paradise Praises where I'm sharing about Strength for Our Journey. So many times I find myself running into the arms of the Source of my strength, Jesus Christ. How about you?

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Isaiah 40:31 (KJV):

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; 

they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; 

and they shall walk, and not faint.

There are so many verses in the Bible that speak of the Source of our strength. I would love to hear what your favorite verses are that speak to this truth that we can hold onto tightly as we walk this journey called life. Please join me now over at Paradise Praises where I share some more of mine, and be sure to share your favorite verses speaking to the Source of our strength in the comments there.

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

Travel for Free With Virtual Field Trips for Your Homeschool

A few weeks ago, I came down with a cold that sent me scrambling to make adjustments to our regular homeschool schedule. Since I didn't know how bad the cold would get, or how long it would last, I needed ideas to fall back on that wouldn't require much from me, but would still be productive alternatives in our homeschool. I came up with five ideas to fall back on during my sickness. Afterwards, I even wrote a guest blog post for a friend, 5 Tips for Homeschooling When Moma is Sick.

It was during my scrambling for ideas to adjust our regular homeschool schedule that I discovered...

I was thrilled with all that I found on virtual field trips! The following links below are comprised of what I found on my original search as well as a recent search I did to add to my original list. I've combined them all into this one post that I want to share with you today. I hope you will enjoy using these exciting virtual field trips so that you can travel for FREE in your homeschool!

Literature

• Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society's Online Exhibit
• Ingalls Homestead: Laura's Living Prairie
• Louisa May Alcott and the Orchard House Tour 
• Sherlock Holmes Museum Tour 

History

• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
• Mount Vernon: Home of George Washington
• Tour the Town Colonial Williamsburg
• The Mayflower 
• Washington, D.C. Our Nation's Capital 
• Our Capital, Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial 
• Inside the White House
• Tour the famous steamboat, Belle of Louisville
• Fort Harrod and Fort Boonesborough 
• Tour of a Castle
• Remembering Pearl Harbor 
• Statue of Liberty      

Science

• Moon Tour from Google Earth 
• Dairy Farm
• 4-H Virtual Farm
• Landscapes of Nova Scotia
• Aviation Museum of Kentucky 
• Coal Mine
• Mount Everest
• Tropical Rainforest in Nicaragua
• Eli Whitney Museum
• National Arboretum        

Art

• Google Art Projects
• Norman Rockwell Museum

Community Services

• Post Office 
• Dentist 

Other Fun Stuff

• Cranberry Bog of Wisconsin
• Utz Potato Chip Factory
• Wilson Football Factory 
• Carlson Orchards Factory
• Dole Banana Plantation
• Tootsie Roll Industries
• Jelly Belly Factory         

I hope you and your kids have fun learning in your homeschool while traveling through these virtual field trips! If you know of any other virtual field trips that you would like to share, please leave the links in the comments below. Thanks!

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie 


Check out what others on the Schoolhouse Review Crew have discovered for Virtual Field Trips. Simply click on the image below on February 19th. 

How Do I Teach This Kid To Write?

Are you a homeschooling mom like me who struggles teaching the subject of writing in your homeschool? I hope I'm not alone. I don't know what it is about writing - physically writing - that frustrates my son so bad. Whenever I try to get him to write, it is such a battle! Honestly, I don't know how much I should be pushing him in this area.

Of course, I understand he needs to know how to write, and we have daily spelling and writing lessons. I even found a writing curriculum that is a good fit for him. I wrote a review about Essentials in Writing where I shared my excitement over finding this curriculum. I am still excited about it, and my son doesn't shed the tears that he used to, but there is still something that I cannot place my finger on in figuring out how to teach him to write.

I know I'm not the first homeschooling mom who has struggled with this subject. I'm calling out to all of you who have experienced this dilemma, and asking you for your suggestions. Special needs of Asperger's Syndrome and ADD are present in my son's situation. I'm still learning how these effect him in our homeschool. I need to find a way to work around these issues though so that I can effectively teach him in the area of writing. He has a very active imagination. When he was younger, I wrote and even typed some of his stories as he verbally told them to me. Since he is thirteen now, I feel that he should be doing his own writing.

So my question is: how do I teach this kid to write? What is it that I am missing and where do I find it? Just today I asked my son, "Why don't you like to write?" His reply was, "It takes too long. It's not fun, and it's boring." Now that I have his answer to my question of what is missing, I can begin my search to find out how to make writing less boring and more fun - which should solve the problem of it taking too long for him to do. I know that even as an adult I take longer completing a task that I don't particularly enjoy doing. So it is with our kids. It's my job as his teacher to find a way to make writing more fun for him so that this subject becomes more enjoyable for him in our homeschool.

So my task begins! I love to search on Google when I need an answer to a question, so that is where I began looking for ideas to help make writing less boring and more fun in our homeschool. I was not disappointed, and found some great ideas I can use in our homeschool to make writing less boring and more fun for my son. I want to share these fun ideas with you today.

Fun Ideas for Teaching Writing

1. Hamburger Writing 
2. Sandwich Chart 
3. Writing Prompts (There are lots of ideas on Pinterest for these!)
4. Use a tape recorder! My son will LOVE this! I can let him verbally record his writing assignment, and then play back the recording as he writes down what he spoke. Remember how I said my son has a very active imagination? Well, using a tape recorder will be perfect for him since he will be able to pause the recording to write at a pace that is comfortable for him while still getting all those fast-paced thoughts down on paper.    

I would love to know how you teach writing in your homeschool.  Please share in the comments below! I need more ideas and would love to hear yours!

Starting on Wednesday, you can read more from other homeschooling moms on the Schoolhouse Review Crew who are sharing about the subject they struggle teaching the most. Simply click on the image below. 

Homeschooling When Moma is Sick

My second guest post for my friend Katie Hornor at Paradise Praises was live on February 5. Due to my sickness, I totally forgot to let you all know to head on over to read 5 Tips for Homeschooling When Moma is Sick. I'm grateful to be well again, and to be able to share these five tips with you. They certainly came in handy for our homeschool!  

So please join me now at Paradise Praises, and be sure to leave your tips there of how you handle homeschooling when you're sick in the comments on the blog post.

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie 

One Year Celebration of 14 Days of Agape ~ Giveaway!

I've had the honor of joining my dear friend, Rosilind Jukić, in the one year anniversary celebration of the publication of her first book, 14 Days of Agape. Today I'd like to share with you the impact this wonderful book has had on my life, and give you the opportunity to enter in a giveaway of the book, 14 Days of Agape, as part of the celebration!

A Deepened Understanding of 1 Corinthians 13

In this book, Rosilind seeks to deepen our understanding of 1 Corinthians 13, a chapter that has long been known as "the love chapter". For years, its verses have been used in weddings and on romantic greeting cards. While it is wonderful that couples use these verses in such a way, there is so much more we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13. Rosilind has taken the time to learn how to apply this chapter from the standpoint that the book of 1 Corinthians was a letter written to a church in the town of Corinth instructing them in the area of relationship between brothers and sisters in Christ. She has taken what the Lord has taught her through her time of study and reflection and put it between the pages of 14 Days of Agape, so that we too may deepen our understanding.

This journey into 1 Corinthians 13 began toward the end of 2012 for Rosilind. At the end of the journey, she was left with a new perspective on the aspects of love, the local church, and her relationship with the body of Christ. 14 Days of Agape includes all of these aspects in a message that she hopes will speak to your heart as it spoke to hers while being revealed to her by God.

A Peek Inside 14 Days of Agape

I promise, once you begin reading 14 Days of Agape, it will be hard to put it down! Over and over I was convicted and challenged by the truths Rosilind shared. I was encouraged as well, to strive to grow in learning how to love the Church body God's way.

Take a look at the chapters included:

1. Introduction
2. A Beautiful Tongue of Gold
3. I Want To Be Somebody
4. Have You Sacrificed It All In Vain
5. 5 Elements That Destroy the Church
6. You Had Better Hang On To That Piece of Your Mind
7. We Do Not Have Rights To Entitlements
8. Beyond Forgiveness a Place of Greater Blessing
9. Don't Shoot the Wounded
10. A Hollywood Love
11. God's Eternal Fountain of Perfect Love
12. Maturing as God's Kids
13. Perception of a Distorted Reflection
14. Invest in Eternity
15. A Fervent Holy Zeal
16. About the Author

14 Days of Agape challenges and inspires me to move beyond my understanding of 1 Corinthians 13 to include a new understanding that Paul is speaking to my relationship within the Church body, and to express Agape love in all of my relationships. My prayer as I read was, "Oh Lord, help me to have this kind of love."

My heart was truly convicted as I read Rosilind's words. There are many times I have failed to display Agape love. With the new knowledge gained after reading 14 Days of Agape, I now know what to specifically ask the Holy Spirit to help develop inside my heart so that I can grow in this area of my Christian walk.

I'm left with the challenge to live up to the words of Jesus recorded for us in John 13:35, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

How about you...do you need a fresh vision of 1 Corinthians 13 as it applies to your relationships within the Church body? If so, I highly recommend getting a copy of 14 Days of Agape by Rosilind Jukić. You can get your copy at Amazon.

I'm thrilled to be joining six other blogs in hosting a giveaway of 3 PDF copies of this wonderful book in celebration of its one year anniversary! Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for your chance to win a FREE copy of 14 Days of Agape!
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie  

Marriage: A Cord of Three Strands

Having a cord of three strands in my marriage has been the most important factor to the years my husband and I have been together. It is why my husband and I will be celebrating 17 years of marriage {cue the confetti and party horns} this year! This cord of three strands that I refer to includes God, my husband, and me. God has definitely been writing our love story. As I look back over these past seventeen years, I can see His beautiful handwriting on the pages. This cord also includes me and my husband. We each have had our own influence on the quality of our marriage, as well as opportunities for personal growth that we have been responsible for. We have learned many valuable lessons over the years that have made us stronger together today as we look forward to our 17th wedding anniversary on April 5, 2014!

A Cord of Three Strands

The Bible verse that our marriage began on and continues to stand on today is found in Ecclesiastes 4:12:

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves; 

a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

Our wedding invitation on the cover of our keepsake album.

It has truly taken God being in the center of our marriage for us to have the blessing of 17 years of marriage this April. There were rough spots in the beginning, as all marriages experience if we are honest about it, but God was faithful during those times to carry us through. That's where most of our growing stronger together took place - in those rough spots that were meant to tear us apart. Instead, we remained faithful to the vows we made to each other and to God.

A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

We have experienced times of sorrow during these past 17 years together as well. We've lost loved ones including both of my grandmothers, my mother, a sister, and recently my father. Together we have mourned the loss of our first child together at 6 weeks into the pregnancy. God was there with us each time gathering our tears in a bottle (see Psalm 56:8).

A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

We have experienced times of joy and laughter in our 17 years of marriage. Joy in the birth of our son, Caleb. Joy at the graduation of our daughter after homeschooling her through her last three years of high school. Joy as we watched our daughter walk down the aisle in marriage to a wonderful man that God brought into her life. Laughter during family fun nights, teasing with each other, and so many other happy times. God has truly gifted us with moments of joy and laughter! These wonderful memories, along with God, are the fuel that carries us through the rough spots along the road of marriage that are bound to happen with two imperfect people who learn to become good forgivers along the way. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (see Romans 5:8). How can we not learn to forgive those we say we love?

A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

I'm so thankful to God for being with us and helping us during our time together. He continues to walk with us and help us even today. As we get ready to celebrate Valentine's Day this month, I have enjoyed looking back on our time together as husband and wife. Isn't it neat that my husband and I first met as teenagers at a church Valentine's banquet! We didn't go together as a couple, and we certainly had no idea the plans God had in mind for us even back then.

How about you...I would love to know how you and your husband first met? Please feel free to share in the comments below.

Walking in His Grace,

Laurie