It’s a steal: absolutely free.
I hope you enjoy the current fruits of my labors online:
(Sorry for the gross photo. You would think I don’t own a wet cloth for all the crud on the front of my washing machine.)
It deserves a requiem, for sure. This is my washing machine. It has been working almost non-stop since September 1990, when the nice people from Sears delivered it to the first house my husband and I owned. It has washed everything from spit-up encrusted onesies to really foul camping stuff. I have used it to felt wool, wash (too large) bedding and set dye on T-shirts. This thing is an undeniable workhorse.
This machine also sucks energy like a Shop-Vac devours dog hair. The lid takes some maneuvering to operate and it drips water after using the gentle setting. (This is a mystery.) We know the washer is living on borrowed time and we are looking for a newer model. Because I hope to live with the next machine for another 20 years, I want it to work hard and be the model of energy and water efficiency. If it could transfer the laundry to the dryer and then fold it and put it away, that would be great, too.
Do you have a front loading washing machine? I fear the mold that I keep hearing about. We are looking at a Kenmore HE front loader. Will I still be able to use my super low sudsing homemade laundry soap? What is the most earth-friendly option? So many questions!
If you ever wanted your homeschool to be a one-room red schoolhouse from the turn of the century (the last one, not the most recent), you may find that the Eclectic Education Series is for you. The series is available on CD (we received it in a download) and it puts what could be a complete curriculum (for years) at your fingertips. These are classic books, scanned in (fonts and such are not modern and sometimes the resulting quality is not the best) and indexed.
From the EES web site:
“The Eclectic Education Series (EES) is a set of textbooks which from roughly 1865 to 1915 WAS education in the United States, almost exclusively. They were the standard textbooks in many states and were chosen independently by over 10,000 school boards as their standard textbooks.”
I confess that I like the idea of this, but it was too difficult to implement here. This style is quite foreign to my boy who is used to a more modern (but not necessarily better) approach. Some of these materials will remain valuable to us – American Poems, for instance – but this was not something that I found easy to transition into. That’s more about our style than the materials, I imagine, but I do believe that modern day science programs, etc. are necessary.
Many (maybe all?) of these are public domain materials that are available for free online. Dollar Homeschool puts them in pdf form on CD and that is the real benefit of buying this product: convenience and ease of use. The cost for that is not cheap ($159 for the entire collection), in my opinion, but I know that time is money and if you prefer the ease of access over searching out the materials, this may be for you. If you plan to use this regularly in your homeschool and especially if you are teaching multiple children, the price becomes easier to justify. Please note that there are some missing pages in these scans and I found the quality to be lacking in some materials. I have not compared EES images to those in the public domain.
Here’s what is available in the EES (list is also online):
For Teachers
Ray’s Arithmetic
History
Science
McGuffey's Readers
The Grammar Series
The entire EES collection is $159 on CD, with free shipping and a 30-day guarantee. Sample pages are available online. Subjects (Ray’s Arithmetic, McGuffey’s Readers, History, Science and Grammar) are available separately on CD.
We received a free download for review. I was not compensated. My opinions are my own.
If a picture is worth a thousand words… OK, I don’t know where I am going with that, except to say that Beehive Reader from All About Spelling has beautiful illustrations. We received a copy of volume one to review for the TOS Crew. This is a very beginning reader, in the style of the old Dick and Jane books. Even with very few words per page, the lush pencil drawings exude warmth. (Download a sample here. More samples here.)
If you already use All About Spelling, this would be a great addition. (It correlates with level one.) It is also a classic standalone reader – one of those “move your finger along the page” kind of books that little ones adore. At $19.95, it is not inexpensive, for sure, but it is hardbound and I think young beginning readers would really take ownership of this as a first book to read independently. Note that the book contains ten complete stories that, while written simply, actually tell sweet, complete tales. It has the feel of a classic. (Bookworms, you understand that, right?)
(I will try to post a picture of the illustrations (that sounds wacky, I know), but for now, click over and look at the samples.)
We received a free book for review. I was not compensated. My opinions are my own.
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Cassie at Our Adventures in Education has organized a postcard swap with one homeschooler from each state (minus Delaware, Massachusetts and West Virginia – click on over and let her know if you are in one of those states and want to participate). Ostensibly, this is a “learn the states” swap and obviously, my 11-year-old knows the states – but he loves to get mail and I thought this would be a fun writing exercise as well. I will post some of our postcards (because I am redundant that way) as they come in.
My friend, Heidi, is hosting a Destination Disney Q&A on her site and though I am already a week behind, I wanted to participate.
We are Disney freaks around here. We have visited the Florida Parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney Studios) quite a few times (10-ish?) and always have a great time. Since I write for parenting magazines, I have been fortunate to be able to attend a number of media events at Disney as well – the next is coming up in February to kick off Disney’s Give a Day, Get a Day promotion – and to share travel tips and event information with readers. I can write passionately about the Disney parks because it is a favorite destination for my family.
Our favorite character meal? Hands down, it’s the Crystal Palace. It is a world away from the hustle of the Magic Kingdom crowds just outside the window. When my son was a toddler, he was terrified of all characters he encountered at the parks, except for Pooh and friends at the Crystal Palace. Years later, he lost a tooth there while eating mac and cheese, but that’s probably TMI.
Heidi, want to know our favorite hotel? Favorite attraction (at each park)? Best hard ticket event? Best time of year to go? Favorite menu items? :)
Through the years:
We opened Disney Studios:
At Cinderella’s Castle Suite (I didn’t get to stay – only a quick media tour…)
My most recent Disney story:
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