Progressive Phonics

I love Progressive Phonics! I used this back in 2006 (man...has it really been THAT long ago!) when I first started homeschooling my son. I really really liked it. But then before too long, they had to start charging for it. I was kicking myself for not downloading it all before this happened, but I ended up finding Stairway to Reading, which was good too. However, Progressive Phonics is FREE AGAIN!!!! HURRAY!!!!!!!! I guess I'm going to be downloading for the next couple days...LOL ;-) You can go check them out here . Or, if you like, you can check out Stairway To Reading here . You do need to register with Stairway before you check out their materials. One other quick note, they also have math materials, though I have not checked them out.

Enjoy!

Found a GREAT link!

I have been searching for Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula for a long time. I find it everywhere, just not at prices that I can afford for one book. Well, HURRAY, I found it! Best part? It's free to read online here ! I thought that was SO awesome! I'm all about saving money when I can!!! Needless to say, this makes my husbands day....LOL If anyone out there wants to use this, make sure you read the chapters before you let your children. Some of them may disturb sensitive children. I, however, have had no problems with it so far. I think this is a WONDERFUL book for church history.

Anywho, enjoy the link!!!

What A Long Weekend.....

Well, the yard sale is over! I have to say, even though I did pretty good, that was the most miserable yard sale ever! I had no idea it was going to be such a heat wave. It was just plain too hot for a lot of people. Plus the distance to drive to my place. So, I have decided to load up the trailer hitch and take it all into town for another one. I'm going to give it a couple of weeks though. I figure this will give me time to purge more things. I STILL have about 10 tubs packed to the top with books. WHEW! I can't believe after all I sold, I still have that many. And GOOD ones too. I guess we'll see how the next one goes! ;-)

Who Knew....

I had no idea getting a yard sale ready was so much work!!! Of course, when you have enough books to start your won used book store, it probably should of been a given. I ended up spending all day and night setting stuff up, pulling stuff out, clearing stuff out. I am now sporting a nice little sun burn on my shoulders. Hurray...LOL

I didn't realize I had so many until the 16'x5' trailer bed didn't have enough room for them all. And neither did the long table I added to it. I've got books coming out of my ears! LOL I've had to pull out mats to put them all on, as well as tubs with lids on them!

I really hope this yard sale goes well. I SO do not want to pack up all these books again. I guess I could always take what isn't sold into our used book store and trade them. Man....that would be one huge store credit this time! Last time I did that I got around a $300 credit, and that was a small fraction of what I have this time. Time will tell. ;-)

First Fish!!

Last year my husband discovered the sport of fishing. I was glad, at first, that he had finally found something that he really enjoyed doing. Then came the endless days of doing nothing BUT fishing. It grew pretty tiresome for the kids and I ! So, now we only go out with him on occasion. Usually when we do actually go, my brother and his family go along too. This gives the children and I someone to visit with while we "fish". Just so happens, that on one of these outings, our girls caught their first fish! On the left is my niece Amber, my brother (Amber's dad), and my baby girl Bre. You'd never guess that Bre is actually older. Only by a few days' but still! ;-) Can you tell that's a proud papa there! Of course, if it were not for my brother, Bre never would of caught a fish. I had her convinced that her bobber was a fish hook...LOL I was scared to death she was going to hook herself of someone else, so he took over for me. Thank God for big brothers!!!!

My Awesome Book find for the day!!!!

I had an absolute great book find today! I guess I should say finds, considering there were two of them. I had been looking for Bob Friedhoffer books all over the internet. All I could find though were ones that cost over $20! That, to me, is too much for one these. Well, today I hit the jackpot! I went to Alibris and found the two I had been searching for. Best part? Shipping and handling were free, so it only cost me a couple of dollars!!!! HURRAY! Now I can't wait to get them! I can just see my husband's face now when he see's the packages. LOL....oh well, there goes that floor space! ;-)

Welcome!

Well, after being a homeschooling parent for the last 4 years, I have decided to start my own blog. I'm not really sure how often I will update this, but my hopes are that I can share all my wonderful finds with everyone! It has taken SO long to find these, I thought maybe I could spare someone else the long hours of internet searching. Ok, lets be real, it's good to find awesome links, but we all know you're STILL going to be up until 3 am looking for the best! I know I would ;-)

This year we are doing school a bit different. I have decided to take a break (started on May 19th) and start back up again on July 6th. I'm doing it this way because we're going to start Ambleside Y3 this year. I wanted to give myself ample time to get all the books together and printed out. Plus I wanted to research it a bit more to make sure it was right for us. I have actually looked at it a lot over the last couple of years, but was really unsure. I had a case of what I like to refer to as "public school mentality". I was so worried that if I let go of all the workbooks and textbooks that my children would not learn anything. But, after reading all the reviews, faq's, and some of the books themselves, I have decided to dive on in! This undoubtedly made my husband's day as I have decided to purge all the workbooks and textbooks (with exception to about 15)! We now have a dining room again. I thought my husband was going to pass out when he first saw it! Of course, now in place of the many bookcases I have maps, charts, and pictures! But hey, THERE IS FLOOR SPACE!!!

Anywho! I hope to get most of the links up for Year 3, along with yahoo group links, before too long. I'm actually kind of excited about getting everything up and going!