This post has been provided for me.  :)

Guess what!!!    The Old Schoolhouse is letting me.. yes ME!!!   Give away some freebies from THEM to you!   Pretty cool eh?   It's rather neat, I've been working with these fine folks for quite some time now and they put out some good materials and are always striving to do more and do better.

I took some time to think about items I was interested in, subjects you might be interested, and then something that just might be helpful or an encouragement to you.

I came up with these three items.   I do so hope I chose well.  :)

A Path Among Ancient Rocks: Everyday Easels-Book 1
Art!    The posts that get the most comments on my site tend to my posts with art of some sort in them (that or science)... but art is always a good one to pursue.. it relaxes a body and gets the brain thinking in different ways which helps the learning process.  So I choose this one specifically for those who comment the most.... Let's do art eh?

To Market, To Market: Selling to the Home Education Sector
To be honest, I picked this one out for me.   I want to start selling things for the home education market and thought this might be helpful.  So why might YOU be interested in it?   Because perhaps YOU would like to do the same?   Perhaps you have a skill or talent that you should let shine forth?  

Perhaps there is an entrepreneur hiding in your skin somewhere.   If so, pick this up and learn a few tricks to the trade AND if are really interested in entrepreneurialism.. Go check out Mom's Plan who chose a book about this very topic as a giveaway. 

So what's the trick to getting these goodies?
Go to The Old Schoolhouse site and create an account.  Put these goodies into  your account and then use the code: AVCREW16.   It only works with these three items.   And it's good til the end of April. 

If you have a chance, why not stop by The Old Schoolhouse’s Facebook page?  It’s an excellent way to say thanks for the freebies.   If you “like” the page, you’ll get information on other great freebies as well!

Enjoy the freebies!   :)

As my son and I were reading in our mammals book tonight we learned about a group of animals called "Marsupial gliders" of which there are three types: Sugar, pygmy and greater.    My son asked "are they like flying squirrels mom?"  We looked up all three before he settled to bed and we both though the faces of the greater were funny looking with their big ears so.. Let's learn about the Greater glider.

The greater glider, like other marsupials (barring the opossum) lives in Australia.   They are the largest of the marsupial gliders...they can be up to 1 metre long, and of all the gliders are the most varied in their colour.    Their colour can range from white to sooty grey, the northern greater gliders have brown with a tan belly.

The greater glider (also known as the greater gliding possum) is restricted to eastern portion of Australia.

A marsupial is an animal that carries it's young in a pouch, they live primarily in Australia.   They can also be found in North and South America.  They range from small four-footed forms like the marsupial mole to the large two-legged kangaroos.

The greater marsupial glider is classified differently than the rest of gliders being more closely linked with the ring-tailed possum.

It is a folivore, dining predominately on the leaves of the eucalyptus trees.  It prefers to be live in old growth forests where it can hide among the leaves.  Their scientific name is Petauroides volans.   To learn more about the Greater Glider, please download the document below.

Sources.
Wildlife of QLD.   Britannica. Berkeley Ed.  Animal Diversity. IUCN Threatened Species.   Wiki.

I have to admit that I like some of the options for layouts and what not... but I have to admit, I don't like how it washes out the colour of my photos.       The site is called Canva and it's fairly easy to use with lots of different options for layouts (more than any other site I've seen).  They have a host of pictures you can use (paying $1 per image) as well.  So give them a look and see what you think.  :)

Just wanted to let you know about a site I was alerted to a few months back.  Never got around to actually telling anyone about.

It's called Sightwords.com.    It's all about it...you guessed it.. SIGHT WORDS!!!   :)

And it's free.

Games, sight word lists, and more.  If you are working with your child on learning their sight words then this site is for you indeed.  :)

It has free tools to help parents and educators teach sight words to kids from Pre-K to 4th Grade.  

This resource has free printable resources, crafted to facilitate learning at home and in the classroom. The website’s features include:

•  12 fully customizable Games such as Bingo and Snakes & Ladders (http://www.sightwords.com/sight-words/games/)

•  Printable Flash Cards in a variety of sizes (http://www.sightwords.com/sight-words/flash-cards/)

•  The latest Teaching Techniques, complete with “how-to” videos (http://www.sightwords.com/sight-words/lessons/)

Anyways, I know that I found the sightword lists to be helpful, perhaps you will too.  :)

Using freebies in homeschooling is one of my delights.  It is... who doesn't like getting good stuff for free that you can make use out of?  
When looking at freebies one needs to consider it's usefulness. :) 

You see, one of the most important lessons I needed to learn when looking at freebies is this: they are NOT all created equal.  They really aren't. 
Why is that?

1. Some are just samplers, trying to get you to buy something that may or may not have significantly more value.
2. Some are for an age level higher or lower than your children are at, so unless it is something special no point in getting it.
3. Some are things you can honestly buy in a book and not have to print off for CHEAPER then printing off a few "free" samplers.
4. Some freebies simply aren't worth the page they are offered on (granted, my opinion, but some things are so basic why are they being offered?)

Now there are some freebies out there that are good, and even better than that, are offered by people that are consistently good.     These can be things like free lesson plans for learning things, or actual free PDF's for teaching, and so forth.

Here are a few of the bloggers that I enjoy for their materials.

HIghhill Homeschool.   Good experiments and practical know-how here.

Practical pages.   I go here mostly for art ideas.

I got introduced to Write Bonnie Rose through a book called Asia, it's people and History.   And an gradually becoming a fan.     She's is not shy about sharing resources or opportunities.  :)

Boyschooling.   Homeschooling boys... it takes a certain skill set. :)

3dinosaurs  frequently puts together good stuff.

Homeschool Share has put things together more than once that I have found useful.

That's all I have time for now, I'll add more things later as I can. :)

Is up at Educents for free right now.  :)   This is a series of ebooks that help children learn what it means to be a doctor, pilot, artist, farmer and so forth.

Wouldn’t you like real-life, Christian mentors and heroes to help your children aspire to all that God desires for them? We want to help them explore the world of opportunity around them and maybe spark their interest toward a special calling through the WannaBe Series.

Give them a solid look.  They are good ebooks.  :)

You get the following:
Artist, chef, firefighter, vet, military, video game designer, farmer, police officer, pilot, doctor and missionary.

So when you have a moment, go to Educents, sign up and get the I Wanna Be series.  It's free and there's no long term obligation.  :)

Okay, here's the scoop.   Was reading a bunch of blogs tonight and various sites were mentioned on them that offer freebies, either entirely or in part so...

I want to be able to review those sites but it's getting late so I"m doing up a post so I can check them out late.  Makes sense eh?

anyways, here we go

Have fun with History.  American History Teachers, homeschoolers, and history buffs now have an online resource full of American History streaming videos, activities, links and resources - because history is fun!

Home Learning Family.  Our Fave Free Resources In these crazy economic times who couldn't use some FREE inspiration! There are so many great curriculums and games available online totally FREE! There are also some interesting programs that will send you free products to use in your home. Be sure to check back often as I will be updating this list much as possible!

Every Bed of Roses.  Today I would like to share some of the places I have found FREE resources for homeschooling outside of my local library.

Only Passionate Curiosity.  all sorts of freebies for language arts, fine arts, science and more.

CNN Student News.  News.  Use for conversation starters, history, geography, science and much more.  :)

Classical House of Learning.   Hello!  I'm excited to offer my FREE literature guidesfollowing the reading suggestions outlined in classical education books such as The Well-Trained Mind.  I was frustrated that no one seemed to have the sort of guide I was looking for: a secular, multi-level, four-year history cycle, open-and-go, easy to use, 36-week program.  Well, you know how the saying goes.  "If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself."

Guest Hollow.  ou will find all sorts of goodies in different sections of our site. This site currently (as of 2013) has over 7000 files! That's a TON of pages, printables, articles and freebies to explore. Some of the things you can find are:

• Free history, science, and math curriculum and/or schedules
• Lots of free printables like handwriting paper, notebooking pages, lapbooks, Bible printables, math, science, help pages, etc.
• Living math book lists
• Book and curriculum reviews
• Math, language arts and science sections.

Oklahoma Homeschool.  I have written these units with the goal of studying history and science on alternate days, two times per week each (Monday & Wednesday - History, Tuesday & Thursday - Science). I recommend spending 1 - 2 hours each day per lesson depending on the ages, abilities, and interests of your children. You WILL NOT complete everything listed in these units. Pick and choose the reading selections and activities as they meet your family's needs and interests.

MapMaker Interactive. 
Explore your world with map themes, data, and tools for customizing your map

The Zen Spot.  Free Learning Websites For Kids