Thrift Schooling

This past weekend was pretty incredible. I remember taking a step back and looking at what was happening in the dining room. At one point, my teens, school age kids, and preschooler were all intently playing The Game of Life. Literally, the board game. The youngest one was struggling a little bit, but he made it through the entire game and had fun with it! He even was a good sport when it came to clean up time. Later in the day, I saw my teen and school age son playing a game of Monopoly. I had to laugh as I thought back to when my kids were all younger and couldn't even make it through a game of Candyland without throwing the pieces everywhere if they lost.  Teamwork is a life skill and as parents, it is up to us to instill that in our children. It doesn't happen naturally. Some families use sports to teach their kids teamwork. They enroll them in soccer, hockey, baseball, and basketball so they have the opportunity to work with others and work out their differences in a peace...

I was first introduced to Channie's at a homeschool convention. I walked by the booth and saw their materials sitting out and thought to myself, "That is exactly what I need!" Thinking about my younger boys, I knew they needed to work on their writing skills; there was no doubt in my mind. The woman running the booth was talking to someone else, and as soon as she turned to me, I think she was shocked that I was already ready to buy. She did not have to explain the product. It spoke for itself. She didn't even have to give me the price. I was already pulling out my cash. This is not common for me at a homeschool convention! I usually will walk by a booth several times, talk to the representative some of the times, and then still wait until the last possible minute to make any purchases. Not with this. I knew this was a practical resource that I wanted my youngest son to work on right away.  I fell in love with their workbooks so much that I simply had to try them out ...

  Do you have a sick family member you have been wanting your kids to send a card to? Maybe your parents live far away, and they have been itching to receive some snail mail from the grandkids. Wow them with this incredible Tiger Crystal Art Card . Seriously, this card is stunning, and it is so much fun to create. My kids are huge fans of crystal art which is an activity they were introduced to by their former art teacher grandmother.  This card is next-level awesome when it comes to these types of kits. This is not a craft that your child works on that sticks around the house for only a few days. It is a keepsake and a piece of art. Since it is a card, it makes the perfect gift for someone who deserves more than a measly dollar store card.  We chose the tiger-themed card, but as you can see, there are other options available. If your child falls in love with this activity, you can order them all and save them for a rainy day.  The recommended ages are 8 and up. I ha...

My mother-in-law is super crafty. When I say crafty, I mean retired elementary art teacher, the woman who made high-quality teddy bears and sold them at art fairs—crafty. She is forever introducing my kids to new forms of art, and crystal art was no exception. When she saw this craft hit the market, she began buying out all of the craft stores and stocking up for the grandkids. The first one she showed me was a completed soccer ball that my five-year-old nephew completed. I was floored! How in the world did a five-year-old have the attention span to complete such a seemingly tedious project? If the five-year-old could do it, then my pre-teen certainly could, so she gave my oldest son one for his birthday. He was hooked! He absolutely fell in love with the concept. Fast-forward a few years, and his younger brother wanted to give it a try. I ordered him the  Tiger Pool Crystal Art  from Timberdoodle with hesitancy. I know his older brother loved this craft, but I was sure my ris...

  Photography 4 Teens  is a Film School for Teens product found in the Timberdoodle 9th Grade Curriculum Kit . My middle teen got a head start on this course before the official school year began after taking part in an exclusive photography class at our state's homeschool convention earlier this year. He fell in love with photography and his camera . I have to confess, his camera is actually my old DLSR that broke. Somehow and in some way, he was able to get it up and running again. I sold it to him for a fraction of the cost, thinking he could make some money selling it on eBay for parts, but he was determined to get it up and running again, and he did! When this book arrived in his curriculum kit, he was surprised to see that the course was designed for cellphone use which is great news for teens wanting to perfect their photography skills on their phones. Fortunately, he was able to adjust the assignments to work for his DSLR, and some of the video lessons did, in fact, to...

THE CASE FOR HEAVEN is based on the new book by best-selling author Lee Strobel, who wrote The Case For Christ .   Featuring interviews with best-selling author John Burke, world-renowned pastor Francis Chan, the family of the late evangelist Luis Palau and more.   THE CASE FOR HEAVEN will be exclusively on Pure Flix starting July 15th!   "Viewers will be surprised, captivated, and encouraged by 'The Case for Heaven,' a  beautiful and compelling film. It will dispel many of their misconceptions about the afterlife. I’m thrilled with the enthusiastic reception the documentary has received so far—and I can't wait for an even wider audience to experience it.” —Lee Strobel   We all want to know what happens after we die. In THE CASE FOR  HEAVEN , best-selling author and investigative journalist Lee Strobel explores the evidence for the afterlife in order to address man’s biggest fear: death. Inspired by his own brush with death, Strobel...

Can real love grow between a wallflower and an unrepentant rogue? Sarah Drayton is eager to spend time with her best friend at her crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Matrimony is the last thing on her mind and the last thing she expects to be faced with on a holiday. Yet she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend's rakish brother. When James Langley returns to his family's estate, he can't be bothered to pay attention to his responsibilities as the heir. War is raging and he wants only distraction, not serious tethers. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father's stunning decree: marry before returning to war, or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he does not love. Sarah craves love and a place to belong, neither of which James offered before returning to the battlefront. Now everyone around her thinks she married above her station, and t...