Freebie of the Day » Blog Archive » The Cinnamon Bear!

Freebie of the Day » Blog Archive » The Cinnamon Bear!

It's December 1 already? Whoa, time really flies when you're having fun! My kids and I have finished our homeschoolyear, and are on a break this month, which is good for me, since I do need time to do all the tasks on my Christmas list. Unfortunately, being on "vacation" isn't always a good thing for us. Why? Because I have more difficulty keeping my kids occupied with creative and worthwhile things to do when homeschool's out! Well, should be no surprise to me...who needs a career when motherhood is a 24/7 job?
While we're on break, I need to fill my kids' schedules with activities that don't include any screen time, i.e., TV, computer, Wii, Nintendo DS, and whatever screen gadget doo-dad's they've got out there! Then I remembered about this Christmas story in audio format that I downloaded sometime ago, but I completely forgot its name, and consequently, I had no idea where on our external drives I've backed it up. When lo and behold, I open my Firefox and out pops "The Cinnamon Bear" on the Homeschool Freebie of the Day website, which, as you've probably guessed by now, is one of my default pages, he he! It's a 26-episode audio story that will certainly liven up the holidays for the family, especially children. Each episode is 15 minutes long, which is good especially for the younger ones with short attention-spans. What's more, there's a free downloadable printable coloring book to go with the story, which will give the kids more fun time. I'll be starting our family with this tomorrow, and I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I'd LOVE to find out from all of you out there what kind of activities you've done with your families during the Christmas season! Hope to hear from you! =)

Sesame Street Parenting Magazine

 Sesame Street Parenting Magazine

I'm back! It's been some time...we've been busy with life, from reconnecting with my balikbayan siblings who've come visiting to spend precious time with our elderly parents, to my daughter's debut party cum concert...we're also hunting for a house...all this is happening while we're homeschooling. By God's grace, we're ending our homeschool year within the next 2 weeks. So I hope you'd forgive me for not posting as much as I'd like...my blog isn't my life, anyways, he he!
Getting back to this post, here's something I'm sure most parents will like, especially those who are currently raising preschoolers! I have to say, I'm probably part of the first few generations of children who grew up watching and consequently learning English from "Sesame Street". These were the days when there was no Elmo and Mr. Snuffleupagus was supposed to be just a figment of Big Bird's imagination. Modesty aside, I have been told numerous times that my communication skills, especially in the English language, are impressive, and many have even asked how I acquired them. Besides having role-model & nurturing parents who passed on an appreciation for reading and gave me access to a wide variety of reading materials, and schooling in institutions with high standards for their English language education, "Sesame Street" would be part of that list. Some of their short, creative animation clips used to present concepts such as letters or numbers exist in my memory now. Why? Simply because they were cute, funny, and they're part of my happy memories. I'm again reminded, learning needs to be a positive experience so that it sticks. Over-all, I'd say "Sesame Street" is positive learning, as you will see in its magazine here. Though its written for an American audience, the many activities you will find inside can be adapted for kids from anywhere in the world. There's LOTS of stuff in here to keep the little ones busy that you might want to keep this one for those days when they come to you complaining that they have nothing to do. Better yet, you can also save some money by making this a special "treat" you got for them instead of something you have to buy. Browse through it ahead of time, and you will see that you should splurge just a little by printing this in color, for maximized brain exercise! Make sure you bookmark this link and come back to it monthly, so that you'd know when a new issue comes out. Enjoy! =)

Want a Free Worksheets Directory?

 

Join the Heads Up list!

If you're a true-blue homeschooling parent, then the image on this post is practically calling out to you!  Yup, this guide is ABSOLUTELY FREE, BUT...you need to become a subscriber to the "Homeschool Freebie of the Day" FIRST.  Subscribing is also free, of course, and you're having spent a precious five minutes of your time will be well worth the effort, I assure you!  Click on the link above to subscribe, then wait for the link to be sent to your mailbox.  Enjoy! =)

Web Wonder Alert: Schoolhouse Expo!

Here's something to look forward to - the Schoolhouse Expo!  It is a "webinar", which is (for those who are internet newbies) an online conference.  Think homeschool convention via the internet, & this is it.  This particular event is not the first I've "attended".  I paid to attend one called "Charlotte Mason for the 21st Century" by Cindy Rushton last year, when I decided to learn more about the CM method for our homeschooling.  The investment was well worth it!  Why?
Firstly, you don't have to "attend" the webinar according to its schedule if you can't, because recordings of the sessions were made available to all attendees for downloading.  I chose to download the recordings instead of attend the convention's sessions live.  Even better, in case I wanted to listen again to something a speaker mentioned, I could!  A few clicks and I could do that.
Secondly, if you do the computations, it's really economical.  Sure, we ourselves in the Philippines would be more than capable to organize our own convention, and it has been done successfully in the past.  Inviting experienced homeschooling resource persons from abroad, however, will be the challenge.  This is exactly why online conventions make so much sense.  Practically anyone from whatever country can join the convention, live!  Have broadband, attend the conference, he he!
Thirdly, remember how you'd get so excited about all the freebies? Well, the freebies are still there online, but there's usually a time-bomb caveat to it, just like the Schoolhouse Expo. Browse through the freebies available to help you decide if and when you'll join the conference.
Lastly, and this is true of the Schoolhouse Expo only, the speakers' presentations during the conference will also be made available for download. This feature wasn't available with the CM convention I paid for last year, so I think it's a pretty good thing the Schoolhouse Expo included this now.
Should you decide to pay to attend and you're in Manila, let me know if you'd like to get together to attend the conference, be it live or on our schedule. Hope to hear from you! =)

John Bunyan: The Pilgrim's Progress: Retold (audio book, MP3, CD) - christianaudio.com

John Bunyan: The Pilgrim's Progress: Retold (audio book, MP3, CD) - christianaudio.com

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Here's another gem of a freebie, an audiobook of a Christian classic!  I have yet to find a free audiobook of Pilgrim's Progress, so even if this one is an abridged version, it'll do for the time being.  You have to register with them but it's for free, so no worries! I suggest that you also subscribe to their newsletter so that you'll be notified every time they have new freebies.  Don't forget to use coupon code PROG103.  There's no time to waste because this freebie lasts until March 31, 2010 only!  Happy downloading! =)

Free Christ in the Old Testament eChart Download

Free Christ in the Old Testament eChart Download

Here's another freebie which we can use for bible!  Click on the link above & do it right away because I don't know how long it will last.  Enjoy! =)

Fellow Homeschoolers, Let our Voices be Heard!

Another quick post especially for homeschoolers:  kindly click on the link below to vote for an MSNBC survey answering the question "Is it OK for homeschool textbooks to dismiss the theory of evolution?" 

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmsnbc.newsvine.com%2F_question%2F2010%2F03%2F06%2F3986804-is-it-ok-for-home-school-textbooks-to-dismiss-the-theory-of-evolution&h=040cc4eda0b3c0ba8c0cdc699f04e3dd

The comments section may prove to be interesting reading, but don't be surprised by the hostility...it comes with the homeschooling territory! =)

Free Life of the Apostle Paul Time Line eChart Download

Found an interesting freebie for Mystery of History Volume 2. I don't know how long this will remain a freebie, so click on the link below right away:

Free Life of the Apostle Paul Time Line eChart Download

Hope you find this helpful and useful! =)

FREEBIE ALERT!

 

This post will be valuable but short and quick!  Head on over right away to Homeschool Freebie of the Day for this great freebie!  Here's an excerpt from the website itself:

Grammar Land: Or Grammar In Fun for the Children of Schoolroom-Shire, by M. L. Nesbitt (PDF ebook) is a classic story book that makes learning grammar a delight! “What is Grammar Land? Where is Grammar Land? Have you ever been to Grammar Land? Wait a minute and you shall hear…” In this classic read aloud book, published way back in 1878, author Nesbitt creates an amazing fantasy land not unlike “Alice In Wonderland”, where the citizens are the nine parts of speech (Mr. Proper Noun, Dr. Verb, Little Article, etc.) and all are governed by the stern but wise old Judge Grammar. It’s a fun, fascinating way to learn some of the basic grammar rules all the while carried along by the very memorable characters and a wild adventure to boot. Highly recommended!

Don't waste any more time here!  This freebie is only good for a day, so hurry! =)

Necessity IS the Mother of Invention!

Absolutely, positively, without question! In this journey we call homeschooling, creativity and resourcefulness are requirements, not an option, especially when it comes to fulfilling our portfolio requirements for our beloved TMA Homeschool.  

Here was my predicament:  I had a lot of digital content for my boys' portfolios - photos & videos, to be exact.  The frugal voice inside of me warned against printing out all the pics due to the prohibitive cost of ink cartridges.  "But I could have them done at a digital print shop," I thought.  Then again, the boys didn't relish the thought of figuring out how to paste up all those pics, sigh.  As for the videos, our DVD writer was malfunctioning for the nth time, plus, it seemed so wasteful to me to use just a few megabytes of an 8-gigabyte writable DVD.  What to do, what to do?

So, as always, whenever I need inspiration, what do I do?  I surf the web, to pick on the minds of countless generous homeschooling moms - and dads! - online.  My drive to surf in times like these is fueled by the premise that whatever it is I am searching for, someone else has probably wondered about the same thing, and more importantly, FOUND the answer!

So, in a hard-copy world, what would you do with a lot of pics?  Scrapbooking came to mind, of course.  But hold on, I'm not crafty, and visions of rows and rows of cute but expensive scrapbooking doo-dads and what-have-you while a cash register keeps ringing did not appeal to me!  There's got to be a digital solution, and true enough!  I googled "digital scrapbooking", then VOILA!  I found Smilebox!

Why Smilebox?  Because it's digital scrapbooking on the fly, i.e., it's almost instant!  Have pics & videos, will scrapbook in 5 minutes, as their website says.  Some possible complications would be, first of all, how to pick a scrapbook design to use out of soooo many options.  Secondly, you'll need to provide the smart, witty & appropriate words to accompany your pics or videos.  But hey, some designs don't even require captions, so it would really be your call.

And another thing...you can actually use Smilebox for free, but... I may be a thrifty kinda gal, but I opted for membership, because of two things.  One, I tried a free digital scrapbook which, unfortunately, comes with ads, which, in my opinion, spoiled the over-all look and feel.  Two, a one-month subscription for unlimited use of Club Smilebox costs only $5.99.  I made sure we maximized our membership by finishing all the scrapbooks we needed within a month!

Curious about what we came up with?  Watch out for the unveiling of our digital scrapbooks in the next few posts! =)