Special Connection Homeschool

 D. James Kennedy Ministries is offering a FREE ebook about Common Core. Below is a quote from their website. Follow the link to learn more and get your FREE copy! The Truth About Common Core Engage in the battle to take back America’s schools through knowledge and action Questions and Answers New for you from D. James Kennedy Ministries! At this pivotal crossroads, D. James Kennedy Ministries is sounding the alarm — it is time for parents, grandparents, church leaders, and concerned citizens to be informed and take back control of their local schools. We must act now to stand for truth and for the right of parents to understand and direct the education of their own children. This brand-new book equips you with the knowledge and know-how to help defeat Common Core.

Gospel for Asia is offering another FREE book! I ordered it this week. It is titled Revolution in World Missions . My friend who is currently in Haiti on a mission trip was telling me about it before she left. I can't wait to get started! To learn more and order your FREE copy click on the book below. Even the shipping is FREE ! Once you order you will also gain access to instantly download the book in both ebook and audio format.

Last year I reviewed a reading program titled Essential Skills Advantage or ESA . We really loved it and Gess still uses it a few times a week to supplement her other lessons. While you can get some perks with a premium membership, the program itself is absolutely FREE .  The activities are colorful and engaging.  Here are a few Gess has done. Anyway, I love suggesting resources that work for us. That was the main reason I started this blog. When I find a great resource and its FREE, I have to remind my readers about it from time to time. So give ESA a try. I think you will find your child might like it too. It certainly won't cost you anything to find out!

I was looking for a song to help Gess review the months of the year. She had this memorized once but since we don't really talk about the order of the months all the time she seems to have forgotten. Since we memorized the days of the week by a song, I thought I would find one for the months of the year too. In doing so I found some really great videos for young kids! KidsTV123  has great quality videos for kids. These songs are really well done and are not as annoying as your typical kid song. I also like that the music is calming and slow. It is easy to follow and gets them thinking about the words rather than just bouncing around. These are really great for kids with special needs! Here is the song we used for the months of the year. We also discovered this one and Gess loved it as right now she is really interested in the solar system! They have several other topics including opposites, countries, states, numbers, alphabet and so much more. You should really check...

The newest July-August edition of the The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is now out! This is available at    www.TOSApps.com  or   www.TOSMagazine.com .  Check out the articles available this month, there is something for everyone.

I have used and reviewed A+ Interactive Math in the past. Currently they are offering a special for the summer. Right now you can try it FREE for 3 months ! This comes with no strings attached, not credit card information, or any other thing that might make it too difficult. If you are wondering if this program might work for you, this is the time to give it a try!

Speaking of summer reading, Raising a Self-Reliant Child has the coolest idea to motivate your reader to read this summer, or anytime. Check out the beautiful FREE reading passport printable she made. We are definitely going to do this! I will save it for after the summer reading program when Gess seems to slow down a bit.  Click on the image to check out the blog and find a copy of your FREE passport.

Gospel for Asia is offering a FREE copy of No Longer a Slumdog where you learn about real children who have been in crisis and hear their incredible stories about how God has delivered them out of it!  I ordered my free book and was given an option to download it right away.  I can't wait to start reading it!  To order your FREE copy click on the book below.

We are loved Reading Eggs when Gess was little and still use the upper levels titled Reading Eggspress for keeping up on her reading and comprehension.  Now they have an animated series The Eggsperts and for a limited time you can view it for FREE!  To learn more about Reading Eggs visit their website or read my Reading Eggs Review .  In the meantime, enjoy these episodes for FREE while the offer lasts!

I believe that Billy Graham has to be one of the greatest evangelists of our time.  I know that people all around the world have been saved through his preaching of the gospel.  Some well known, like President George W. Bush and others just average people like my son Timothy.  Billy Graham had it on his heart to share the message of the gospel one last time with the world. Because of his health he has done it through a video, but it is still the true message that needs to be shared.  I have yet to get through this movie without crying.  I pray that all who see it will have not only their emotions stirred, but their hearts transformed, and their lives truly changed due to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are offering you the opportunity to share this message with your friends for free.  To order your FREE DVD click on the image below. 

OK, so it's not out yet, but it will be in just a few days.  Starting on Monday March 31st the movie Building the Machine will be available to view online for FREE.  I have been very skeptical of Common Core for quite some time.  As more and more states have signed on and began its implementation it has become apparent that it is a nightmare, at least for the public school student.  While I am a homeschooler I am also concerned about how they will eventually want to impose these standards on us. While there is much I still don't know, I do know that I trust the people behind making this film and I am eager to hear what they have to say.  Here is a trailer that might peak your interest.  If it does, be sure to go to the Building the Machine website on March 31st and see it for yourself! 

We had a sick day today as Gess is struggling with a sinus infection and bad cough.  The meds have finally started to work and so she woke up feeling better than she has in a few days.  Since it is Friday I decided to do no school and just let her rest.  So, what does a homeschool kid do when there is no school?  Study maps of course! Well that reminded me about this cool FREE tool I found awhile back.  I have been meaning to mention it on some Free Friday, so here you are!  It's the National Geographic MapMaker .  They have printable 1 page Maps as well as a colorful Interactive MapMaker where you can add your own data, tools, and themes to make your own maps. We were just studying about salmon so Gess wanted to learn about Alaska. Now she can add her own icons on the map.  Here she has fishing boats and of course fish to represent the salmon in the region we learned about. If you need some maps for class or have an aspiring map-o-olg...

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of reviewing Reading Eggs, a fun educational website that teaches your child to read.  While we loved the program, Gess has basically outgrown it.  She is an excellent reader.  However, if you have children from ages 3 to 13 this may be just perfect for you.  It has worked well for us with our special needs, but it is great for any child. Right now they are offering a special.  You can try Reading Eggs FREE for 5 weeks!  What an excellent way to see if it will work for you.  This offer expires February 28 so be sure to take advantage of it soon!  Visit the Reading Eggs website to learn more!

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine loves their fans and so they are offering this Valentines Day Bouquet as a special FREE gift for you!   Each Valentines Day Bouquet consists of lapbooks, audio presentations, money saving tips, helps for a great marriage and more.  There is something here for every homeschooling mom and all of it is yours to keep!  This offer is good until February 15, 2014.  Enjoy your Valentine's Day Bouquet from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine !  They are a definitely a company that loves to share the love! 

During last week's 5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials I mentioned DonnaYoungs.org Printables and Resources during my post about Planning .  Well I wanted to highlight that resource here because she has a lot more to offer than just planners. Donna Youngs.org Printables and Resources are FREE!  Along with general information on Homeschool and ideas for those who are New to Homeschooling Donna Young has helps for every step of the way. You won't just find a Calendar or two here.  You will find school calendars, blank calendars, 12+ month, horizontal, event, blank dated, big and of course monthly.  On top of that there are tools for teaching the calendars to children.  There are even instructions for making your own desk calendar ! There are printable and helps for teaching Art, English, Handwriting, History, Math, and Science. There are also maps, handwriting paper and worksheets, household helps such as chore charts and so much more!  Here are...

Here is a great tool to help homeschoolers start off the new year, the always FREE digital edition of the The Old Schoolhouse Magazine .  Check out the current edition by clicking on the cover below! You can also get The Old Schoolhouse To Go by downloading their FREE app available for Iphone, Android, Kindle Fire and Nook!

The Voice of the Martyrs is offering a FREE movie titled Jesus: He Lived Among Us for churches.  It is the complete story of Jesus' life here on earth as told in the Scripture.  For an animated movie it is pretty accurate and very powerful. The Voice of the Martyrs uses these in other countries to help spread the gospel.  When presenting the gospel to people who can't read or who simply won't pick up the Bible it is a great tool to use to tell them about Jesus.  Our church received one and used it with our kids class last year.  Here is the trailer. To get your church a FREE copy of this movie visit the Free Jesus Movie website by clicking on the image below.

Since earlier this week I shared about how we made our Advent Candles , for my FREE Friday post I figured I would share some links to some FREE Advent Printables . A Virtuous Woman has a really neat spin on Advent Scriptures.  She offers Christmas ADVENTures in Prophecy which offers 25 readings about the life of Christ that fulfilled specific prophecy. Happy Home Fairy has free printable Bible Verse Advent Cards .  They had a neat idea about adding this to your little elf on a shelf, if you choose to do that.  Heart of the Matter has a Happy Birthday Jesus Printable Advent Calendar that is in the shape of a birthday cake. DLTK has some good preschool craft and printable ideas for Advent Calendar Activities .

Online for Life is offering a FREE ebook Abortion - The Ultimate Exploitation of Women .  I haven't read the book yet, but I have downloaded my copy.  It will hopefully be a good resource to dispel the myth that abortion helps women.  Abortion is the murder of an unborn child and the procedure is also harmful to the women who have it, both physically and emotionally. “This important book exposes two of the best-kept and dirtiest little secrets of our day: that selfish men often bully women into abortions and that countless women are profoundly hurt by this ‘choice’ in which they feel they had no real choice. The truth is finally getting out. It’s about time.” —Eric Metaxas, New York Times bestselling author Click on the book to sign up to get your FREE copy today!

We have the Seeds of Faith CD and it is really great. Its a fun way to learn and memorize Scripture as well as just enjoy to sing along with and praise the Lord. Gess really loves it! So when I saw they were giving away the Seeds of Praise for FREE between now and Thanksgiving, I just had to let you know now. I am not waiting until Friday!  Click the link below and download.  They make it super easy! Seeds Of Praise: Free Download Through Thanksgiving We want to get God’s Word to every family through music. One way we’re doing this is by offering the entire Seeds of Praise record as a free download. Not only do we want you to enjoy the music, but we encourage you to join our mission by being a Seed Planter.  Feel free to share the link with your family and as many friends as you would like to. It will be available through Thanksgiving.