The book, Hope for the Flowers, by Trina Paulus has been beloved by readers of all ages for more than forty years. It makes the wonderful basis for a short study of butterflies and faith.
“Monarch butterflies are one of the best examples of design in God’s Creation, for none of the stages of caterpillar/butterfly development occur by chance, the central principle of the religion of evolutionism. The facts show that God programmed every stage of the caterpillar/butterfly life cycle. If there were no other evidence of design in God’s Creation than caterpillars and butterflies, this alone would be enough to show the fact of His design in His Creation.”
Bible Study and Discussion Questions
Why isn’t Stripe satisfied? (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11)
Who can satisfy Stripe (and us)? (Psalm 107:9)
Where are most of the caterpillars going? (Matthew 7:13)
What caused Stripe and the other caterpillars to step on each other? (James 3:14-16)
What do you think they were hoping to find at the top of the pillar? What do people hope to find “at the top” if they’re successful?
Why did Stripe have a hard time believing he could be a butterfly? (1 Corinthians 2:5) Do you ever have a hard time believing you can change?
Stripe and Yellow both had to give up what they had to find their true purpose. Do Christians have to do this? (Luke 14:33)
The process of becoming a butterfly felt like dying, but Stripe and Yellow had new lives as butterflies. How is that like having a new life in Christ? (2 Corinthians 5:17)
When Yellow became a butterfly, what did she want to do first? (Romans 10:1-15) Do you know someone who needs to hear the good news about Jesus?
Who were you created to be? (1 Peter 2:9) Do you think it’s easier being a caterpillar or a butterfly?
I had the pleasure of interviewing Joseph Hoffman of Hoffman Academy for the podcast today. I hope you’ll listen to this excellent interview. I called him the Mister Rogers of piano lessons.
First, let me say that I am not an affiliate for Hoffman Academy. I sought Joseph out for an interview because I am so thrilled to have found something that works for my children.
Why I Needed Hoffman Academy’s Free Video Piano Lessons
I am not a trained piano teacher. I can play, but I know very little music theory. I would have had to spend a lot more time, that I didn’t have, learning how to teach.
Lessons are expensive. I have three children ages 8, 10, and 11 whom I want to learn the piano (my oldest three took lessons from a teacher in our home several years ago). The price tag for in-home teaching would be $75 a week. Ouch.
The other curriculum we’ve tried hasn’t worked. Either the video lessons were too hard for the kids or the book lessons were too hard for me to teach. More often than not, I put piano off in lieu of other subjects.
Why I’m Crazy About Hoffman Academy’s Free Video Piano Lessons
I am learning piano. I can read music and play, but watching these lessons with my kids and playing the music provided in the supplemental materials is helping me see how everything fits together. I’m so excited about the next lesson that I no longer put it off.
The format. I had purchased a DVD curriculum in the past that required buying a cheap portable DVD player to use at the piano. It soon broke. I love that these lessons are accessible online via our large TV (we like to watch the lesson together) and also via our iPad at the piano, so we can practice individually. The downloadable material (an optional purchase) was easy for me to copy and put in binders for the kids.
The pace. These lessons are perfect for my busy homeschooling family. Sometimes we just can’t do lessons. I don’t have to call the teacher to cancel. We just pick up where we left off when things calm down. I also love the gentle, Charlotte-Mason-style teaching of Joseph Hoffman. He is so positive and teaches very complex concepts in such a clear and simple way, kids feel confident they can play. That has been very important for my eight-year-old. Here is a video of my daughter playing Lesson 41 (we’ve been using the lessons for a little more than a semester).
The price. I recently purchased the family option for Unit III for $29. For a little more than the price of one traditional lesson, I received the following supplements for 20 free video lessons:
Music Theory Worksheets & Activity Pages (21 PDF pages)
Song Sheets with Practice Instructions (7 PDF pages)
Piano Listening CD MP3s
Practice CD MP3s
Parent’s Guide
I am so pleased with the lessons (that my children actually practice), that I plan to continue as long as Joseph Hoffman continues to produce them! He is offering a copy of the supplementary materials for Unit 1 (the first 20 lessons) to one fortunate reader. I hope you’ll enter the giveaway below, will purchase directly, or will listen to the podcast which should answer many of your questions.
If you’re like most homeschoolers, you’ve come across some great freebies — whether it’s a website, a whole curriculum, or a printable you can use in teaching your children. Maybe you’ve even heard about a book, curriculum, or iPad giveaway that you’ve entered.
The good news is you don’t have to hope that you hear about good deals like these. You can stay informed with this list of the best places to find homeschool freebies and giveaways. Pin it, bookmark it, and share it with your friends.
Your Favorite Curriculum or Website Mailing List
Signing up for the mailing list of your favorite homeschool or educational website will provide you access to exclusive freebies and giveaways. One of my favorite mailing lists is Notgrass. I’ve enjoyed excellent free unit studies from them.
Freebies & Giveaway Websites
Free Homeschool Deals – this site is hosted by Jamerrill Stewart, who not only offers information on great freebies like printables and ebooks (including free Kindle books), but has been very generous with me personally. The Once-and-for-All Meal Plan was featured on Free Homeschool Deals.
Money Saving Mom – Jamerrill also shares the best freebies here, a site where you can find more ways to be a frugal mom.
Homeschool Giveaways – Carrie Fernandez is another generous lady. Subscribing to this site will ensure you get valuable freebies. I got a curriculum I am using this year that sells for over $30!
Blessed Beyond a Doubt – Jill links to others’ printables, creates her own great printables for readers and subscribers, and lists free Kindle books of interest to homeschoolers. I shared the easiest record keeping system ever with her readers.
Are you unsure of how to enter a giveaway? Rafflecopter is a popular means of hosting a giveaway and has an explanation for you: How to Enter a Rafflecopter Giveaway. Some other sites to check for giveaways include:
PunchTab Giveaways app – This app will allow you to search for giveaways using PunchTab rather than Rafflecopter.
Low Entry Giveaways on Mom Bloggers Club – The more popular sites will offer you a lower chance of winning. This site which offers giveaways that are not all homeschool related, only features giveaways that have low entries.
Last Chance Giveaways – On the same theme, this site has low entry giveaways that are not all homeschool related.
Printables
Printables are digital products that you can print at home. Many of the websites above offer free printables, but these sites specialize in them.
Donna Young – featuring printables in many subject areas, her handwriting printables (including every kind of paper) are especially impressive.
Teachers Pay Teachers – this website offers many freebies as well as printables for purchase from teachers who may not be homeschoolers.
Facebook is a great place to find exclusive freebies and giveaways. Like the pages of your favorite curriculum vendor or blogger so you won’t miss out on great deals. Many pages offer a freebie simply for liking. Other pages have Facebook parties where prizes are offered only to attendees. Your odds of winning are excellent! Here’s how to participate in a Facebook party.
Have you liked the Homeschool Sanity page? Some other pages you should be sure to like include:
Pinterest is ideal for finding freebies. You can find giveaways, too, but often you’ll see a pin when the giveaway has ended. Search Pinterest for the exact freebie or giveaway you want, using those terms. You can also follow pinners or boards to have the best deals show up in your Pinterest feed. I pin freebies to subject-specific homeschool boards and to What’s Hot in Homeschooling. Follow me and the following boards so you can pin and share.
Google+, if you’re not familiar, is like Facebook only centered around interests rather than friends. Because there are fewer people using it, your odds of winning giveaways featured here are better. Freebies that may get lost in the fray may also better catch your attention here. As with Pinterest, you can search for freebies and giveaways and find relevant posts. I’d love for you to add me to your homeschool circle. You can also join these two communities:
Search Twitter using these hashtags (#homeschool #freebie #giveaway) and you may discover just what you’re looking for. As with Facebook, consider attending a Twitter party to win a prize reserved for party attendees. Here’s a guide if you’re a Twitter party beginner.
Do you know you can set up Google alerts to find out about exactly the freebies and giveaways you’re looking for? Perhaps you’d really like to win an iPad mini. Just enter iPad mini and giveaway as search terms and new posts that include those terms will be sent to your inbox.
Small Blogs
Smaller blogs are motivated to offer amazing freebies and giveaways to gain new readers. These blogs are likely to have low entries, too. Please remember that bloggers and businesses offer you freebies and giveaways in good faith. Please don’t subscribe, get the freebie, than immediately unsubscribe or share material with friends who haven’t subscribed. Thanks so much for your understanding.
Free Homeschool Resource Lists
I couldn’t possibly list every free website available to homeschoolers, and isn’t that wonderful? I can offer you these lists of the best free websites, however.
The Best Places to Buy or Borrow Used Homeschool Curriculum
Some of the places I listed in this post offer free curriculum. Be sure to check it out, too. Here’s a site I found recently — the sister site to Free Homeschool Deals. Curriculum Share – (members pay shipping only). If you can’t find something you need for free here, you may be able to get it for very little money using the used curriculum list.
Are there other places to find homeschool freebies and giveaways you recommend? Please leave a link in the comments.
Handwriting was one of those things I thought would just happen. I didn’t expect to have to actually teach it. I even wondered if it mattered. You know–everything’s done on a keyboard these days. But I’ve discovered that it does matter.
When your child is slow and insecure about handwriting, he will likely be slow in completing homework, too. Unless things change, the writing portion of college entrance exams will still have to be handwritten. And believe me, your child will be taking these in no time if my experience is any guide.
The Mastery Approach
At a certain point, I realized that my son’s handwriting wasn’t developing with standard workbook practice. I couldn’t read it and my mom wondered why he wasn’t writing in cursive yet. I switched to a popular handwriting curriculum that prevents upset kids. The idea is that there’s a skill set required for handwriting and with some simple guidance, kids can master it.
My son’s handwriting improved and I started using the new teacher-directed approach with all my kids. But I still wasn’t satisfied. I had to purchase new workbooks every year and their progress seemed designed to have a slow, public school pace. I started wondering if there was a curriculum that used the same idea (that letters had parts that could be consistently created), but taught the mastery of handwriting in one book? I found it!
Happy Handwriting and Cheerful Cursive are lesser known gems in the treasure of handwriting curriculum. Not only do these comb-bound volumes cover all the handwriting skills your child needs to be taught, but they can be photocopied to use with your entire family. I prefer to buy a copy for each child because they’re economically priced.
Happy Handwriting Sample Page
Cheerful Cursive Sample Page
Cheerful Cursive Sample Page
Kids Love It
Not only am I happy having to purchase just one book each for manuscript and cursive handwriting, but my kids love doing handwriting. Here’s why:
+Lots of opportunity for the youngest writers to trace and then fill in the letters
+Cute letter characters are engaging
+Constant review of the alphabet helps young students put writing skills to the test
+Includes phonics activities with manuscript practice
+Teaches recognition of letters written in many different styles
+Includes real world handwriting exercises like envelope addressing
How to Have Happy Handwriting
I purchased my curriculum, so this review is completely unbiased. You can purchase it, too, by checking out the handwriting page at Mastery Publications and then printing and mailing the order form. But I’m thrilled that the nice folks at Mastery Publications have generously offered a copy of both books for me to give away to one blessed reader (valued at over $35 with shipping). I’m praying that just the right homeschooler will win. Please enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below and share it with your friends.
What most appeals to you about this handwriting curriculum?
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
