Thrift Schooling

The Brinkman Adventures  is a Christian audio drama series that is available either on CD or through download. Our family received  The Brinkman Adventures Season 2: Episodes 13-24  on CD. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I mean, I wasn't sure what type of response we would have from our children. My husband and I both grew up to books on tape, (okay, I'll admit even books on record ).  As a child, I enjoyed listening to stories over and over again and they never seemed to get old. My husband and I have talked about instilling the love for books through audio books, the challenge is, content. It's not hard to find audio books for kids but some of them can be outright boring!  Especially when it is simply one person reading the story! So if my kids could choose between watching a movie or listening to an audio book, guess which one they are going to pick?  The Brinkman Adventures aren't books that are being read though, rather, it is a radio d...

1) YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS:  Creating playlists to coincide with the subjects we are learning about helps tremendously. We used to simply sit in front of the computer and search for videos on topics that we are learning about but this can get out of hand... and fast. Condensing each topic to a playlist helps prevent unnecessary screen time and honestly, as a parent it is ideal to be able to screen the videos before allowing little eyes to see them! We currently have a playlist with songs teaching the continents, oceans, states and solar system. My kids love it and the repetition helps them to memorize important facts in a fun and engaging manner! 2) ABCYA.COM: If you are looking for a FREE online educational    resource    this site has quality online games for elementary aged children in K- 5. All three of my children enjoy the games appropriate for their age! The games are fun but educational as well! 3) DLTK : I stumbled across this  resource ...

CTC Math  is a complete online math tutor available for every age and grade K-12. I reviewed the  12 month family plan  ($118.80 homeschool discount price), and was able to use this on some level with my all of my children. I even signed myself up to try some of the upper level math. My goal is to prepare myself for when I may have to teach it when we get to the higher grades in our homeschool!  AUSTRALIAN  My children love the fact that this is an Australian company. It must be the accent of the instructor that they enjoy so much! Even though this company is based out of Australia, we were able to sign up for the United States version.  EASY TO USE This program is simple with ease of use. When you sign up for the family plan, the parent simply signs in with their login information and sets up an account for each student. I signed my children up by grade level, my second grader in the appropriate grade and my preschooler and ki...

I love cooking, but when it comes to Easter, we go out! There is this certain restaurant out by Smith Mountain Lake that has become an annual tradition for us, every Easter. The lunch buffet is like no other. Chinese food, American food, make your own omelets, waffles, and a plethora of dessert items, if you have room that is. We have learned over the years that making a reservation is the way to go.  So we arrive.  Pass through the crowd.  Hear the murmuring of the customers, "I've been waiting here over 40 minutes!"  We give our name and within minutes, are seated.  Of course this caused an uproar by the ones that have been waiting for so long.  This scenario made me think. Making a reservation isn't that hard, it doesn't cost anything, it just takes planning.  How about our salvation?  The way has been made, Jesus was the sacrifice, an offering, the atonement for our sins.  When we die will we stand before th...

Alone Yet Not Alone by Tracy Leininger Craven is a true story about two young girls and their experience as captives during the French and Indian War. Halfway throughout the book, I noticed that the last name of the girls in the story was same as the maiden name of the author! I quickly leafed through to the "about the author" section only to find out that this historical event indeed happened to relatives of hers. I already was engrossed and thoroughly enjoying the book, but at this point, the events started coming to life knowing that this story was shared by someone personally connected.       This book is recommended for children ages eight and is full of adventure and faith in God. I have a passion for historical fiction anyways so finding one that kids can appreciate, and from the perspective of a God fearing family is simply golden. My kids are younger than eight so I haven't shared this book with them yet but hope to use this in our homeschool when they...

3 "After School" Activities For Homeschoolers Well, it's official. My children no longer nap. I remember thinking that this would be the most impossible task to handle since having little ones would be so tiring. I must not have realized that once the time came that naps would be eliminated, that they would be more self sufficient and taking care of them wouldn't be so emotionally and physically taxing. Actually, ever since I've only had one napping, I've been waiting for this day with anticipation! Why? So we can actually GO OUT and do things in the afternoons rather than being tied down to a schedule! I must have become so used to always being home because someone was always napping at some point that I never really planned activities in the afternoons much. Now I can! I'm still a homebody of sorts, but try to get out once in a while other than the typical errands. We get the bulk of our work completed in the mornings so the majority of our afte...

Help! We've been homeschooling on and off all day. The little ones need a bath.  My house needs to be roughly picked up. And... it's almost dinner time, what do I do? Whether you have a meal pre-planned or not, this time a day can be quite stressful when a child pulls on you asking, "Mom, what's for dinner?" So many thoughts are swirling through your head, sometimes you just want to tune them out and focus, think about what needs to be done, in what order and for how long. Finally, I got over myself  and realized I was fighting a never ending battle. I stopped shoving the kids OUT of the kitchen during this stressful time and actually invited them IN. This made a world of difference. Even if I'm tired and worn out and do not feel like preparing another meal, if a child asks to help, I generally let them. Whether it's simply sitting on the counter watching water and waiting to tell me when it's boiling, or if they are chopping up veggies it'...