Free Homeschool Curriculum ($150 Value!)
I am thrilled to be partnering with Homeschool Giveaways for their 4th Annual Black Friday Event and this is the biggest one ever, with over $150 in FREE Curriculum!
Click the image to claim your freebies! Scroll down below for complete details of this special offer from Homeschool Giveaways!
There are also a ton of BONUS Freebies and Exclusive Coupon Codes for you when you download your freebies. (Hint: you'll be able to grab my eBook 101 Independent Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers at 50% off!)
Ready to learn about the freebies in this bundle?
Creative Freewriting Adventure – $18.95 Value
Writing can be hard work. Good writing most often results from much rewriting, and much rewriting can make a writer weary. Since Philosophy Adventure™ students polish one primary writing assignment over the course of several weeks (supported by clear step-by-step instructions and seven writing checklists), we created freewriting exercises to offset their hard work with play.
Use Creative Freewriting Adventure as a stand-alone resource or to complement Philosophy Adventure. No prep required. Just grab a pen and paper, set a timer, and have fun!
Quark Chronicles: Botany $14.95 Value
Quark Chronicles: Botany is a living science book that is worldview neutral, meaning that you can use it regardless of how you feel about creationism, intelligent design, and evolution.
To get the most out of this living science curriculum, purchase the Notebooking Pages, which include suggestions for extra reading as well as copywork, vocabulary, and pages for narrations and experiment write-ups. It contains the workbook in five different handwriting fonts: vertical cursive, slant cursive, basic italic, cursive italic, and manuscript.
Experience History Through Music Notebooking Pages Set $12.95 Value
Are you looking for a creative and fun way to teach history to your children? Diana Waring’s “Experience History Through Music Notebooking Pages Set” was created to use side-by-side with the actual books and CD’s, but can also be used separately. This set features delightfully decorated pages for written narration for each song, plus a copywork page with lyrics.
When you download the freebies, you will get a coupon code discount to purchase the beautiful set that goes with this notebooking pack!
Birds of a Feather Unit Study – $17.95 Value
Our delightful feathered friends are waiting to be discovered just beyond your window pane. Get up close and personal with Birds of a Feather and some of God’s most stunning creations! Birds of a Feather is a FUN, NO PREP, 4-week unit study appropriate for grades 2-12.
Children choose from a wide variety of quality, library reading selections that focus on backyard birds, bird identification, the science of ornithology, and birds of prey. They will create and maintain a nature journal, learn to identify a variety of species, meet a famous scientist and artist, Set up a bird feeding habitat with simple homemade bird feeders, a bird bath, and bird food concoctions, an MUCH more!
Do you have a Boy Scout in your family? He will earn his Bird Study Merit Badge while completing Birds of a Feather with the rest of his family. American Heritage Girls earn Our Feathered Friends Badge.
The World of Vertebrates – $24 Value
Organized around 24 lessons, each with a mini-book project, lab activity, and graphic organizer project, students will learn about fish, amphibians, salamanders, alligators, birds, mammals, and more.
Includes vocabulary words, “Lots of Science Library Books” a mini-book to make & read, lab activities, graphic organizers, and “Experience, Investigations, and Research” enrichment/extension projects. Clear directions with step-by-step, leveled instructions, pictures, and helpful information make presenting lessons easy once the pre-lesson preparation is completed. A final cumulative project completes the course.
Grades K-8. On Cathy Duffy Top 100 list!
“For You They Signed: The Spiritual Heritage of Those Who Shaped Our Nation” – $14.00
More than simply facts and figures, For You They Signed provides an abundance of resources within one volume, including: a full year of life-changing, challenging family or group devotional character studies, over 90 illustrations, biographical summaries, and insightful quotes, character quality definitions, Patrick Henry's speech delivered to the signers, the Christian nature of state constitutions, and the Christian nature of America's universities.
When you download the freebies you will get a coupon code discount to purchase the other components to get the most of this curriculum (optional.) It can be used for a high school credit course!
The Latin-Centered Curriculum 1st Edition – $12.95 Value
From Cicero to C. S. Lewis, from Thomas Aquinas to Thomas Jefferson, the great minds of the West have been formed by a classical curriculum centered on Latin and Greek. Now you can give your children a traditional classical education at home with The Latin-Centered Curriculum.
In a clear and readable introduction, The Latin-Centered Curriculum surveys the history of classical education from the ancient Greeks through the 20th-century neoclassical revival.
With helpful charts and detailed explanations, The Latin-Centered Curriculum guides you step by step with book and curriculum recommendations for each school subject from K-12. It shows you how focusing a few core disciplines—classical languages, mathematics, and composition—can revolutionize your homeschool.
“Pirate!” Unit Study – $7.00 Value
“Pirate!” is a two-week study on pirates, their plundering ways, swashbuckling fights, and golden loot. Daily readings share about their sea-faring culture and history, as well as the traditions of pirates. The module includes schedule pages for the two weeks that schedule daily assignments and the journaling pages that include rich content and interactive pages. You’ll love all the different things kids will learn, and the fun activities that will bring pirates home with you!
This study includes the reading you need for the study, activities and how to do them, fun games, and more! It is planned around a four-day week to make it easy to do, but it could also be spread out for longer, or customized to use in other ways. Nothing else is required except craft supplies for the activities!
NotebookingPages.com Bundle – $20.85 Value
Notebooking is a family favorite here! We use notebooking in Science, History, and Geography (and anything else we feel like!) This FREE notebooking bundle will give you a taste of what Notebookingpages.com offers!
Includes: Alphabet Copywork, Basic Lined Notebooking Pages, Christmas Copywork, American Presidents Sample Pack, Ancient Times Sample Pack, Famous Composers Sample Pack, First Ladies Sample Pack ,North American Birds Sample Pack ,State Studies Sample Pack, National Parks Sample Pack, and World Explorers Sample Pack.
Take advantage of their HUGE Black Friday Sale and Save $25 on a Lifetime Membership!
Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing – $19.99 Value
Unlock the secrets of compare-and-contrast writing in this eBook for your junior and senior high students. Written by Sharon Watson, Apologia author of “Jump In,” a middle school writing course that is one of Cathy Duffy’s 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, this is sure to be a hit!
– Includes 10 complete lessons with 28 writing exercise
– Teaches your students 3 solid methods of writing compare-and-contrast essays
– Teaches nonfiction and fiction methods for compare-and-contrast
– Uses copious examples, even full essays written by students
– Includes Answer Key
Click here to download these amazing Black Friday FREEBIES!!
Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes Review
Note from MaryEllen: I asked my team member Nicole to review this for the Christmas Gift Guide and share her experience with us. For more Christmas gift ideas that will help support other homemakers from this community, be sure to check out the Christmas Gift Guide.
If you would have asked me during my growing up years, I would have claimed to be a tomboy: climbing trees, rambling through woods, and staying far away from dolls and “girly” stuff. By the time I hit college however, I had discovered there is a fun side to being female. Things like makeup, hairdos and accessories became a fun new world to be explored!
I think I have come a long way from my tomboy days…at least I hope I have! I have to say I enjoy dressing up, getting all “beautified” and the primping that comes with it when I have the time.
That is one reason I jumped at the chance to review Younique's Moodstruck 3d Fiber Lashes. It is not just a mascara, this 3-step process is a whole new way to pamper and define your lashes!
One eye with 3D Fiber lashes, one eye without!
I received the product from Younique in a nice case to hold both tubes of product. It already felt fancy!
Inside is a tube of Defining Gel and another tube of Natural Fibers. The best way to learn how to use these is to watch the video, but basically you put on a coat of Defining Gel, then while that is still wet you follow it with the Natural Fibers. Complete the process with another coat of defining gel, and you are done! The whole process doesn't take very long at all!
My beautiful cousin came to try it out with me.
Things I liked:
It is easy to use. It doesn't take any more time than regular mascara.
It defines your eye without a whole lot of makeup – I find I use less eye shadow when I am wearing this.
It washes off pretty easily. I use makeup removing wipes and it wipes right off.
The fibers are natural, not chemical. They are green tea fibers and I love that I'm not putting harmful things on my eyes!
It is feminine and fun!
Beautiful gal, beautiful lashes!
My one complaint:
I find that because you re-apply the defining gel after applying the fibers, the gel gets clumpy because fibers get inside. At first this resulted in clumpy eyelashes. I have found I can avoid most of the clumping by using strokes that go all the way from the root of my eyelash to the tip. However the gel does still tend to be more clumpy than regular mascara.
You can try Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber lashes for yourself by clicking here. I also found it on Amazon but it was more expensive…just showing you that this is a great company to buy from!
I'd love to hear if you have tried it and how you like it! Have you ever used any other Younique products I should know about? Please share!
Relishing the Ordinary (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge)
It was an ordinary evening. Nothing special was going on. The kids were running around the back yard just being themselves.
The baby was playing with a ball.
E. was playing on the swingset with his green rainboots that he wears all day, every day.
K. was playing with her babies and snacking on a carrot stick.
And J. was practicing his soccer skills,
observing a caterpillar,
and taking his energy out on a tree with a stick, seemingly all at the same time.
I stopped to take it all in, and I realized I was having the time of my life!
It wasn’t a special holiday. Everything that was going on was very ordinary, but I was enjoying myself immensely!
I could have this much joy every day if I would only choose to.
I don’t need to wait for something special to happen to enjoy life. I can choose to enjoy every moment.
When I’m cooking an “ordinary” supper, I can stop and thank the Lord that I have food to prepare for my family and a stove on which to prepare it.
When I’m doing an “ordinary” dishwasher unloading, I can be thankful I have the luxury of owning a dishwasher.
When I’m changing an “ordinary” diaper I can be thankful for these little ones God has entrusted to me.
If I stop and think about the blessings God has given me, the ordinary things seem so much more special.
Just since that evening a few days ago, I have tried to stop and think throughout the day about God’s blessings and to make a conscious choice to enjoy what He has given me – not just on the special days.
What will you enjoy today, my friend? The smell of dinner cooking on the stove? The sound of good music on the radio? The love of your family on this ordinary day? The pretty things God has given you to decorate your home?
Stop. Look. Listen. Enjoy.
Everything we have is a gift from God. He loves us, and has given us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).
So let’s enjoy what He’s given.
Today's Challenge: Take some time to observe what's going on around you and just enjoy your life!
Sometimes we get so busy trying to get everything done that life just passes us by without our even noticing.
Instagram Challenge: Snap a picture of an ordinary moment that you enjoyed today. Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community. (Follow me here.)
If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.
New Action Cameras from Best Buy (Christmas Gift Guide)
Disclosure: I have been compensated for this post in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card. As always,all opinions are 100% my own.
If you asked me who the hardest person for me to buy for at Christmas is, without a doubt I would say my husband. I am not a guy and I can therefore never figure out what a guy would like.
But when I heard about these action cameras, I was pretty sure he would think they were fun — kind of like a toy for men. When I mentioned it to him, he knew right away exactly what I was talking about. If you have a guy who is active in any way, he will think this is cool.
· GoPro HERO4 Black: the most advanced GoPro ever, featuring improved image quality and a 2x more powerful processor with 2x faster video frame rates1, HERO4 Black takes award‐winning GoPro performance to a whole new level.
· GoPro HERO4 Silver: the first-ever GoPro to feature a built-in touch display. Controlling The camera, playing back footage and adjusting settings is ultra-convenient—just view, tap and swipe the screen. With 1080p60 and 720p120 video, and 12MP photos at a staggering 30 frames per second, HERO4 Silver combines powerful, pro-quality capture with the convenience of a touch display.
· GoPro HERO: Featuring high‐quality 1080p30 and 720p60 video, and 5MP photos up to 5 fps, HERO captures the same immersive footage that’s made GoPro one of the best-selling cameras in the world.
GoPro cameras range anywhere from $129 to $499 in price.
Learn more at www.bestbuy.com/GoPro or visit your local Best Buy to check out the latest cameras in person.
(Don't forget to check out the other items in the Christmas Gift Guide, although this is the only one we have for men so far.)
What I’m Learning About Training Children from an Olive Tree
I cannot tell you how frustrated I get sometimes as I try to train my children and teach them to love and obey God.
Sometimes they do the same dumb things over and over and over.
I find myself crying out to God “Why don't they get it???!”
Our pastor was preaching Sunday morning from Psalm 128 where God paints a portrait of his design for the family.
I went home with tons of food for thought, but this section right here especially encouraged me:
Psalm 128:3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
Pastor went on to explain a little of his research on olive plants and why God would have given that description of children in the home. I have also done a little poking around since then, and it is very obvious that God used that description for a reason! The idea of children being like olive plants is absolutely loaded!
This little study of olive plants has been a huge blessing to me as a mother, and I want to share my thoughts here in hopes it will be a blessing to you as well!
The first thing I learned is that before an olive tree is ever planted it can take up to 12 months just to prepare the soil.
Olive tree lesson #1: I cannot train my children to love and obey the Lord if I have not prepared myself first.
I need to be spending time in God's Word and prayer. I need his wisdom. I need to have a thorough knowledge of the scripture so that I will always be ready with the right Scriptures to apply in the situations in which my children find themselves.
Once planted, the olive tree has to be protected from small animals that could damage it. The weeds also need to be kept under control so that they do not steal the nutrition that the tree needs to thrive.
Olive tree lesson #2: I must guard my children from outside influences that can harm them spiritually. My children's spiritual welfare is more important than offending someone who may not be the best influence. Their wishes about what they want to watch or listen to don't really matter. It is my job to protect them spiritually. (See also: Protecting Your Child From the Devil.)
One olive gardening site had a set of FAQ's where the first question was “How much work is involved?” The answer was simply “Plenty!” It is normal for an olive gardener with just a small grove to put in at least 60 hours a week tending to his trees.
Olive tree lesson #3: If I want my children to become mature, fruit-bearing adults, I must give them time. And lots of it.
I cannot expect my children to turn out right if I do not put in the work. And all my efforts to train them in the principles of God's Word are not going to sink in if they do not first know how much I love them. And they will not know how much I love them until I prove it by how much of my time and attention I devote to them.
A very simple concept regarding olive trees is that they will die without sufficient water.
Olive tree lesson #4: My children need the water of the Word daily.
I can tell them “do this”, “do that”, “don't do this” and “don't do that” all I want, but my own words are not good enough. They need the power of the Word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword. If I teach my children to do or not do certain things because *I* say so, they don't have a good enough reason to do right. They need to do right because God says so. I must constantly point them to the Word of God through daily Bible reading, memorization, and application of God's Word in every situation.
When it comes to sun, olive trees thrive in full sun.
Olive tree lesson #5: If I want my children to thrive, they must constantly have the light of Christ shining on them through me.
If I want my children to learn to love Christ, they need to be able to see his loveliness through my example. If their mother, who claims to love God, is always yelling and saying ugly words, why would they want to have anything to do with Him? (See also: The Law of Kindness.)
When it comes to the question of “Will my kids ever get it? Will they ever put into practice the things I've been teaching them?” I have been encouraged tremendously to become aware of the fact that the peak fruit production years for an olive tree are between 30 and 70 years of age. When carefully tended, they can bear fruit at around 5-10 years, but not nearly the amount of fruit as when they are in their peak years.
Likewise, I cannot expect my children to be producing the fruit of spiritual maturity while they are still children! There will be moments when I can see some of the results of my labor, but the bulk of the fruit will come when they are grown.
Olive Tree Lesson #6: Maturity can't be rushed.
When my kids act like children, I need to remember that it's because they are! I can't let myself get discouraged at the seemingly slow progress!
Additionally, maturity will not happen if consistent care and tending is not given to the olive plant.
What if the olive gardener decided that his young trees were just not bearing fruit quickly enough for his liking and decided to stop tending to them or only cared for them half-heartedly. That would be foolish. He would eventually end up with a grove of full-grown olive trees, but it would be a fruitless mess.
Olive tree lesson #7: Children who grow up to bear fruit for the Lord must receive consistent care and tending.
I as a parent cannot give half-hearted attention to my little seedlings or I'm going to end up with children that grow up to be a fruitless mess.
Perhaps this is one reason why children of seemingly good, Godly people go astray. Out of weariness or frustration, the parents assume that their efforts are futile and allow their child to choose their own path instead of continuing to help influence the direction that child faces.
An olive gardener has to start from the very beginning of a seedling's life to train the tree into the shape he desires. Allowing the tree to grow into whatever shape it may will make it very difficult for the gardener to harvest any fruit that does grow.
The olive gardener has to prune the tree to shape it into the form that will be its structure for life.
Olive tree lesson #8: The shape of my children's entire lives is being determined right now by me as the parent. It is up to me to point them in the right direction.
Extensive pruning, however, can actually do more harm than good to a young olive tree. One olive gardening manual warns that “A determination to form the perfect shape by excessive pruning will weaken the young tree and stunt its growth for a number of years.” For this reason, olive growers do not do much pruning at all for the first 4 or 5 years of a tree's life. The only shoots that should be eliminated are those that compromise the definitive shape of the plant.
Olive tree lesson #9: Nitpicking at my children is only going to discourage them and make them feel like it's pointless to even try. The only thing I should be removing from my children's lives are those things that are actually going to point them in the wrong direction.
Do you discipline harshly for childish things like forgetting to put clothes in the hamper or make their bed? Yes, they need to do those things out of obedience, but sometimes children genuinely forget these things and aren't being purposely rebellious. Gentle reminders will do more good than giving them the 3rd degree for every minor offense.
Although very minimal pruning should be done in the early years of an olive tree, it is important, however, for shoots competing with the main stem to be eliminated to promote its growth.
Olive tree lesson #10: The removal of life-draining activities from my children's lives is good for them and will promote spiritual growth.
How much time do your children spend watching TV, playing pointless video games, or talking to ungodly friends? These things are stealing valuable spiritual nutrients from your children and need to be removed if you want them to be strong and healthy spiritually.
Once an olive tree reaches its peak fruit-bearing years, it will bear an incredible amount of fruit each year as long as it continues to be properly watered and pruned.
Olive tree lesson #11: Faithful parenting will bring great joy when my children are grown.
How wonderful it will be to see my adult children producing fruit for the Lord! Yes, these little years require lots of time, patience, and plain hard work, but the results will be so worth it!
Olive trees can live up to 200 years. After the trunk disappears, a new shoot begins to grow again, thus continually renewing itself generation after generation.
Olive tree lesson #12: Godly parenting can have results that will last to the end of time.
On the flip side, if I fail to train my children properly and they do not grow up to produce spiritual fruit, I wonder how many generations after me will be negatively impacted?
Friends, this parenting thing is hard work. But we are not alone. God has given us his timeless word to know how to care for these little ones. We must seek his wisdom and faithfully carry out the task he has given us.
I hope you were blessed by this post! Would you take a minute to leave me a comment or share this with other moms you know?
Tips for Organizing your Vehicle for Summer
Guest post from Imperfect Homemaker contributor Nicole.
Now that summer weather has finally arrived, I for one find myself spending a lot of time in my vehicle! Between work, events with family, local events such as this, or church events, there are lots of great reasons to be on the go. The lack of organization in my car, however, was starting to drive me nuts! For something we use often, it is easy to let the cleanliness slide.
So I decided to do something about it!
I started by cleaning and vacuuming out the entire inside. I found all kinds of garbage under the seats…gross! How does that happen?
Once it was all sparkling clean, I made a list of the different items I wanted to put back in the car to be prepared for whatever a day might bring. Then I got to organize it all inside…that is the fun part!
I knew I wanted a bag for garbage. I hung a plastic grocery bag on the bottom part of my seat buckle. It hangs down behind the center console. I rarely have backseat passengers, so it is a great place to keep it within arms reach. If you do not have a center console, a bag like this will hang nicely between the two front seats, either on the buckles or the arm rests.
Next I added some items to the center console. I put a stack of napkins in there (just ask for some extras when you go through drive-through!) as well as a package of disinfecting wipes. I grabbed two packs of these wipes at the dollar store for $1 each. I stuck the extra one in my glove box so I won't run out! These wipes are great for sticky fingers if you eat on the go. I also use them to wipe down surfaces inside the car….like the steering wheel. Do you know how gross and dirty that gets? Totally worth a few seconds for a wipe-down…you can do this while sitting at a red light! (and then drop the used wipe in the garbage bag…so handy!)
I also picked up a little wire cup for a dollar to corral some loose change. Next to it all I tucked a pen and pad of paper. I'm glad to have all of these items easily within reach!
Another item I wanted to include was a package of tissues. I grabbed one of Puffs soft package tissues. This package is designed to go anywhere, so if I decide to shove it in my glove box or in the pocket of my car door, it will fit! Genius!
The glove box is harder to get to from the driver's seat, obviously. So I put items in there that I wouldn't need while driving. I have the extra package of disinfecting wipes in there, as well as a box of Larabar protein bars for when I need a little nutrition on the go. (Lets be honest…I will probably eat these every morning on the way to work, since I run out of time or forget to eat breakfast. Whoops!)
The last items I gathered were some personal items. I grabbed a zip pouch from my etsy shop and filled it with band-aids, a small comb, hair elastics, chapstick, and a few, um….lady items. (Psst! These zip pouches are the perfect size to hide those!! Just an FYI! {wink!})
Depending on what your summer plans are, there might be other ways you can plan ahead to save you time and headache later on. Do you go to the beach often? Keep a tote full of beach toys, towels, and sunscreen. Do you picnic? Keep a tote full of paper plates, cups, and silverware. You may want to throw in an umbrella, especially if you live in Florida. {wink!} In the winter I include a bag of emergency overnight items. Figure out what items that your family needs, and keep them in your car so you are never without them when you need them. That is the key to organization, right? Having what you need, when you need it to save you time and energy.
Do you keep your vehicle organized? What items are essential to your on-the-go days? What other items should I include to prepare for any situation? Share your thoughts below!