Awesome Audio Freebie!!!

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine on Facebook just alerted it's "fans" to this incredible freebie. "We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident" is a reading by Max McLean of four great works in American history: The Declaration of Independence, The Preamble to the Constitution, The Gettysburg Address, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. And right now it's available completely free!!

Another freebie on this site can be found under the "free downloads" tab on the left side of the site. Max McLean reading "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God" the famous sermon written by Jonathan Edwards.

For those of you who don't know Max McLean his narrations of the Bible are stunning. This work is equally well crafted and professionally rendered. What an excellent way to share these documents with your children or to reacquaint yourself. I urge you to check it out but hurry!!! It's only free until July 6th.

How to be a Patriot

Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country.

Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1788

I agree with Mr. Webster that every child in the United States should understand the privilege of being a US citizen. Like the holidays in the Bible, patriotic days are a great time to remind your children of the past, where we have been and how we got where we are. In this country we have a common heritage of music and heroes that should not be forgotten. Here are some resources to help you do that.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has a series of informative and helpful newsletters. One of those is called Freebie Fridays. This Friday's newsletter contained several links to help educate children on our heritage.

Learn Out Loud is a collection of audiobooks for sale and for free. They have a daily newsletter that let's you know what's free and it often touches on the current holiday or events. This week there have been several American History audios highlighted that are free. On their kid's page scroll down and under "most popular" you'll find audios of The Declaration of Independence, documents of the Founders, biographies of famous Americans, The Bill of Rights and several important speeches.

Amazon gives away several mp3s on their site everyday. I downloaded Documentary Recordings Presents Patriotic Music . Another great source of copyright free music is one of my favorite blogs Music You (Possibly) Won't Hear Anyplace. Wednesday's post contained a link to 78's For A Fourth of July Mood, a collection gathered by the blog's author. It's a great collection of music from the early part of the twentieth century. A teachable moment for kids on how we used to listen to music as you explain the scratchy sounds in the music! If you want more of this kind of music check this blog's archives for patriotic holidays. There are some real treasures here.

I hope you enjoy your weekend and spend some time teaching your children!

Free Paper Dolls!

I just came across a post on the Freebies For Mom blog about Patty Reed paperdolls and thought I would share with you. Patty Reed designed fabric for Simplicity and she would design paperdolls to go with the fabric that was given to customers. Sadly, this practice has stopped because of production costs, but the good news is they are being offered free for download! These are new paperdolls done in the style of the beautiful, classic paperdolls. I hope your little girl (or you) will love them!

Free Art and Music Appreciation Lesson Plan!

Harmony Art Mom has put together a six-week Art & Music Appreciation lesson plan for summer use, focusing on the music of Felix Mendelssohn and the paintings of Monet. She has the download link available on her site at:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=BNm9p&m=1cX8AARDKQYxun&b=Erfa3XMTEOkK6fu6YV7A4A

Please check out her blogs if you haven't before. It's a wonderful resource for mother educators following Charlotte Mason or anyone interested in leading their children in artist, composer and nature studies. You won't be disappointed.

Handicrafts for Boys

My husband recently became interested in making his own lanyards. His first two are in the picture above. He really enjoys working with his hands and loves a challenge. After seeing them I realized this would be a great handicraft for boys which is something Mother Educator's following the Charlotte Mason method are always looking for.

Lanyards not only are practical in that they help you to hold onto and keep from dropping things but they also provide emergency supplies. An inch of knotted lanyard can take up to 12 inches of cord to make. If you find yourself in an emergency situation needing cord you simply unravel your lanyard and have a supply of strong cord. And boys seem to love the idea of being in an emergency situation. And there are many different styles of knots to learn which means this is a craft that can be practiced for quite awhile.

My husband learned techniques for making lanyards from youtube videos. Simply entering the phrase, "paracord lanyard" in the youtube search yields many tutorials. My favorite of the videos my husband showed me is this one which is taught by a young boy. I can't recommend all his videos as I have only watched this one so as with all youtube videos...check it out before showing your child!

There are some really good books on knot tying that a child who wants to pursue this craft may want to look at. I recently found an exhaustive resource at a library book sale, "Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work." I just enjoy looking at this book! You can find some other resources here. There is also a fantastic site called Animated Knots by Greg that is so helpful. A pdf booklet on knot tying is also available at the Scoutmaster blog.

American Music

American music can trace it's roots from two distinctly American styles; blues and gospel music. I think that as Americans we should take time to familiarize our children with these two genres and their importance in the world of music. Charlotte Mason advocated teaching children folk music and this is the music of the folk of this country.

I am a big fan of early American country music which developed from gospel and was influenced by blues and the music of Irish and Welsh immigrants. I have found a wonderful set on youtube to teach specifically about this form of music. The set is comprised of clips from a BBC documentary, The History of Country Music. I recommend you look for this or borrow it from your library. It is excellent. If you would like to learn more about this style, check the links below.

What About Preschool?

I am in the minority in our country when it comes to preschool. I think that preschool as an institution is not necessary for the average child. We seem to have developed a national mindset that if children don't attend preschool they are destined to a life of failure. Many of my reasons for believing this is not true are here.

" As stated on universalpreschool.com "Children learn mainly through play, interaction with caring adults, lots of conversation, reading, and exposure to the bounty of life." This seems so simple that I think many parents wanting the best for their children and feeling inadequate to provide them, dismiss these things. I am often asked "what curriculum should I use for preschool?" To help in providing the recommendations just stated and to give you some ideas, let me make some suggestions.

Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready has a lot of great activities. It's just a book that is very inexpensive with activities I believe for every day of the year arranged by age. Simple, but fun and effective.

Letter of the Week is a free online curriculum that I used with my daughter. It is intended to be used in one year. This is a unit study with several subjects being taught around one theme, in this case a letter. Each week a particular letter is explored through music, poems and rhymes, books, snacks, character traits, math, science, social studies, art, games and field trips. And did I say it's free?

Another unit study curriculum that is very popular is Before Five in a Row. Although I have never used this, I have read the curriculum and used the book lists as a resource for good books to read to my children. That is the beauty of this curriculum to me, the wealth of really great books to introduce your children too. Reading to your children at an early age is a wonderful experience of closeness for you and them. Being read to at an early age is also one of the predictors of successful readers. And I'm happy to report that at 8 and 10 my children are both excellent and avid readers!

I have also used Learning At Home , a complete curriculum for preschool and kindergarten. This is a very full curriculum and probably much more than is necessary. If you feel it's too much you can adjust this as necessary. Ann Ward, the author of this curriculum, also has a book for second grade and a book called Learning the Classics at Home about teaching literature.

Most of all, don't believe that you can't teach your own child. Who taught them to eat with a spoon? Use the toilet? Tie their shoes? With the help of good tools you CAN teach your child.

We Remember

Leavenworth National Cemetery

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

General George S. Patton

Free Audio: Foxe's Book of Martyrs

Christianaudio.com has a great free download this month. Check it out!

Download - christianaudio.com

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Free Homeschool Magazine Issue

I ran across this announcement that I thought you'd be interested in. Mark your calendars!

Did you know that, while many birds build the typical cup-shaped nest on top of a tree branch, other birds build and use a wide variety of nests, from hanging baskets to rock shelves to holes in trees and even a 50-foot wide 15-foot deep compost pile with carefully regulated warm temperatures? Come explore this fascinating topic in our latest issue of Creative Homeschooled Kids Magazine, now available on the CurrClick.com newstand! With its focus on Nature (a unit study in every issue), Art (a full art course throughout the year) and Bible, this multilevel bimonthly magazine is sure to keep your children's learning interest going strong.How do you get a FREE full-color issue? Keep reading...

Don't miss our special 10-page section in this issue on celebrating Mother's Day, with ideas on how to celebrate the day and to love Mom in practical ways all year, along with a card-making activity and a Mother's Day story! We're excited to announce that on Friday, May 8, this current issue of Creative Homeschooled Kids Magazine will be FREE to all who visit CurrClick.com! So mark your calendar and take the opportunity to download this issue FREE, and tell your homeschooling friends and family so they can get their free copy, too. (This is part of CurrClick's Mother's Day Giveaway, with 4-5 free products on their site every day for seven days from May 6 - 8th and May 11th - 14th.) Be sure to take advantage of this giveaway (May 8), and of 10% off ALL of our products during the Spring Back from Recession Sale (May 1-15).

Warmly,

James & Joy Marie Dunlap

LightHome Publications

www.lighthome.net/ebooks