Thrift Schooling

  Are you homeschooling teens this year? If so, having games, activities, and extra materials on hand to keep them busy is integral. As your teen becomes more independent, it is important to direct him/her to productive hobbies. My son loves hands-on activities which is why I do everything I can to ensure I have games and activities on hand that he can turn to while I am teaching his younger siblings.  Gameschooling is not a new concept. Homeschooling parents have used games to teach for years. Now gameschooling is the new trend, and rightly so. In a world filled with electronics and virtual reality, parents are forced to be intentional about making sure their children, even teens, are connected with reality on a daily basis.  Kulami  is an excellent strategy game to keep on your bookshelf and schedule into your teen's homeschool day. Part of the Timberdoodle Ninth Grade Curriculum Kit , Kulami is the perfect mix of strategy and fun. This two player game includes bla...

Christmas is over and winter is here. It is extremely rare that we dip down into the single digits, which is what happened last week. I told the kids that if they woke up at night and were too cold, they were welcome to go and sleep on the couches near the fireplace. My youngest two took me up on the offer. They loved camping out! The days have been a bit more challenging. They want to play outdoors but with freezing cold temperatures and no snow, it is simply too cold for outdoor fun right now. This is why it is so important to have crafts and activities on hand when the kids are stuck indoors. Rather than spending piles of money to visit all of the local museums, I like to have activities at home that we can resort to.  Timberdoodle's  Little Artist Sticker Medley  is the perfect fit. Perfect for preschoolers and elementary students, these activities are so simple, little to no parental guidance is needed. Yes, these crafts are so easy, my five-year-old and seven-year-o...

I am excited to introduce another one-player puzzle game called  Pirates Crossfire . I have reviewed items similar to this in the past such as Horse Academy . These games are wonderful to have in the house, especially for homeschooling. Even though my kids love a good board game (Catan, anyone?), having independent games are a perfect solution when you want to separate children. While homeschooling one child, having these readily available for another one is the perfect boredom buster. Rather than turning on the television or handing your child a device (though they have their place) it is smart to be intentional about having other go-to options such as these single-player games. This game in particular is geared towards middle schoolers and is available in the Sixth-Grade Timberdoodle Kit .  The primary reason it is meant for older students is because of the challenges involved in the game. These challenges are not easy. Although I let my elementary age son play with it, he s...

  HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS 2023 WORLD TOUR  Tickets are now on sale! Attention Thrift Schooling readers. You can save up to 20% with Promo Code: USFAM. (Discount valid on tickets purchased at least one week prior to game date.) Bringing world-class basketball showmanship to arenas all over the U.S.  The Harlem Globetrotters 2023 World Tour  presented by Jersey Mike's is coming with game like never before! Your favorite Globetrotter stars are bringing out their amazing basketball skill, outrageous athleticism and a non-stop  good time. Join the Globetrotters as they go head-to-head against the Washington Generals who will stop at nothing to try and defeat the world\'s winningest team!  In 2023, every fan is getting in on this action...that means YOU, so get ready! It's GLOBETROTTER game time!  I loved going to see the Harlem Globetrotters as a kid and last year I introduced my youngest two to the adventure. You can read my previous Harlem Globetrotters...

Reading Kingdom is a monumental work that gives families a simple, straightforward and time-tested approach . —Dr. Jeffrey A. Lieberman, Columbia University Reading Kingdom is the fun way to teach your child how to read! The online program teaches students to read and write with comprehension to a 3rd grade level. Reading Kingdom's innovative techniques are extremely effective because they are based on a new "Phonics-PLUS" model of reading instruction. Now into my 12th year of homeschooling I see the value in teaching children phonics. Though a great reader, I never learned phonics, but was taught how to read by sight. This is so ineffective. It caused challenges in college as I was introduced to new words. They took me longer to decode than if I had an understanding of basic phonetic rules. Now that I learned the rules along with my older kids, reading challenging material is a breeze. I used Reading Kingdom close to ten years ago when I was teaching my older two how to...

  Introducing a brand-new Christian cartoon streaming on Pure Flix and Yippee TV— The Garden !  Created by Butch Hartman, creator of a variety of popular animated series for children. The main goal of this new series is to not only entertain, but to teach kids the Word of God. The Garden is a Christ-centered children's cartoon series aimed at teaching your kids the gospel. It features two sweet characters, Lenny the lion and Lucy the lamb—two best friends who work inside a beautiful garden where anything can grow. Each story revolves around them accomplishing their goals by learning a Bible story, or an original song. This garden will take your kids right along on these adventures, too! With well-known actors and actresses, The Garden using high-quality animation to present a show your kids will love. I shared this cartoon with my kindergartener and  second grader. They both loved it and were glued to the screen the whole time. My second grader was the most interested in ...

The CSB Lifeway Women’s Bible makes for a beautiful, thoughtful Christmas gift for the women of God in your life!  The The Lifeway Women’s Bible includes an in-depth collection of Bible reading helps from prominent voices in the Lifeway Women community including: Jackie Hill Perry, Jennifer Rothschild, Priscilla Shirer, Angie Smith,  Lisa Harper, Lauren Chandler, Gloria Furman, Mary Kassian, Kelly King, Trillia Newbell, Kelly Minter, and more!  You will also find these incredible features: Over 100 articles placed alongside the corresponding biblical text to foster deep reflection on Bible passages and topics focused on the life needs of women. Nearly 100 short devotional thoughts placed throughout the Bible. Bible genre introductions with a short overview and reading plan highlighting key passages in that section. 66 book-focused introductions providing a concise overview with book-specific timelines. Over 40 character profiles of key women in the Bible with...

  Introducing the new CSB Explorer Bible for Kids ! With fun facts, timelines, photography, and more, kids will see the Bible as real, exciting, and life-changing truth. QR codes bring engaging videos, discussion questions, and activity pages to life, applying the truths and imagery of the Bible to kids' real world experiences. This Bible is available in both hardcover and leather touch editions.  The CSB Explorer Bible for Kids helps kids place God’s Word in the middle of God’s World. Check out some of this Bible's beneficial features: • Engaging, easy-to-read 8.5 point text, and full-color design connect with kids’  natural curiosity and help them experience the wonder and truth of the Bible. • From the two tables of content—one in order and one sorted alphabetically—to  the topical concordance and index of Bible stories, each detail is designed to give  kids the tools to find their way around God’s Word. • The CSB Explorer Bible for Kids invites young readers...

  My ninth grader has been working through the Timberdoodle Ninth Grade Curriculum kit and coming into December, I am pleased with his progress. One of my favorite aspects of these kits is that you can customize them. You are not locked in or required to use all subjects meant for a certain grade level. If your student is ahead in a subject, order a level or two above. If they need review in other subjects, order a level below.  For literature, I ordered the Mosdos Press Literature—Gold  which is actually found in the Timberdoodle Eighth-grade kit. After looking through the content for both grades, I felt that this was the level where he needed to be. As homeschoolers, we often fear "holding our kids back," but what does that even mean? I remember growing up, for reading, we would switch classrooms. Some would go to a higher level class, and others were in remedial. I always felt special going to the higher level class, but when I was older, and we switched for math, I wa...