Handy Free and Cheap List

From savings guru, Clark Howard from The Clark Howard Show: The Free and Cheap List 

A sampling:

Autodriveaway.com - Transport someone else's car and pay no rental fees

FON.com - Free private worldwide Wi-Fi network

Ecofont.com - Free download that uses up to 20% less ink when printing ( I use this)


OpenOffice.org - Free alternative to Microsoft Office(I use this, very handy)


Zoho.com - Free alternative to Microsoft Office

Free Education - Search the web for courses

TaxACT.com - Prepare and file your federal tax return for free -- regardless of high income

See his show notes here. 

Clark Howard's Greatest Hits

Swagbucks: Search and Earn

I joined Swagbucks about a month ago after I saw it mentioned on a blog. It's a Google powered search engine which credits you points for searches. These points(Swagbucks) can be turned in for merchandise or gift certificates. I use a search engine almost every day, so this was perfect for me.

I really thought it would be a lot more difficult to earn enough points for a gift certificate, but so far it has been very easy. I keep Swagbucks bookmarked to my toolbar, and use the search engine every time I need to search for something, which is almost every day. So far I've earned 28 Swagbucks. I'm shooting for a $5.00 Amazon gift certificate(45 Swagbucks).

Hint: Swagbucks seems to kick in when you do multiple searches. I've noticed that one search has not earned me anything. It may be the quality of my searches, but if you are not earning, try at least two searches. I have been getting credited with one or two Swagbucks with at least  two searches.

They have a search toolbar you can download, but I haven't tried this. I think it would slow down my computer.

If you refer people, you get matching bucks, although I have figured this out yet.

Between this and Mypoints.com, I've managed to earn a little extra for the family simply by searching and reading emails(Mypoints.com).

Homeschool Freebie: Everyday Birds, Elementary Studies

 I thought I'd share this free online children's book about birds:

Everyday Birds: Elementary Studies by Bradford Torrey, Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1901

We used a section in this book for a short informational about Hummingbirds for Rod & Staff (6) . We needed a little background information before writing a short essay. It's free and in public domain. You can download the entire book, or just save individual pages(left click on image of page) for viewing or printing.

You must view book in HTML(bottom of main page) in order to save and print individual pages. I've linked to the book in HTML, so you shouldn't have to change it.

Latin American Study Helps

Click here. Only $2.70, great for elementary school studies.

Happy Days with Pablo and Juanita, ages 8-11.

History and Geography Freebies: Mexico

We are studying contemporary Latin America this year for social studies using Rod & Staff's Understanding Latin America(sixth grade). The first unit covers Mexico. Here are a few free printables referencing Mexico. These resources are very old, vintage textbooks from public domain; however, they are still relevant for the study of the history, cultural influences, and geography of Mexico. All are in public domain, and are free to print or download.

Our American Neighbors by Fanny E. Coe: Mexico

An Easy Introduction to the Study of Geography: Texas and Mexico

The Fifth Reader: Mexico as First Seen by the Spaniards

The World and Its People: A Bird's-Eye View of Mexico

Old World Background to American History: Spanish Conquests in America

Story Hour Readings: Storming the Temple of Mexico

School Reading by Grades: Sixth Year, How Cortez Entered the City of Mexico.

The Guyot Geographical Reader and Primer: The Warm Countries of the South.

I didn't add this one to our reading because it was a little much for my eleven year old, but I couldn't help chuckling at this portrayal from A Child's History of Spain(1894):

"In these temples, which were called Teocallis, prisoners of war were sacrificed to the Mexican gods, and their flesh eaten by the chiefs and priests. The victim was led to the top of the Teocalli, where he could be seen from afar, was laid on a convex slab of stone, and held there by five priests, while a sixth cut open his breast with a sharp knife of itxli, and tore out his quivering heart. There were hundreds of such Teocallis in the cities of Mexico, and thousands of such victims sacrificed in them every year.

Apart from this savage custom, the Aztecs were a civilized people..." Never mind the dramatic heart pounding description in the previous paragraph, they were okay chaps because they had proper towns and such. lol

Manuel in Mexico

Roy and Ray in Mexico

New Geographies: Countries South of the United States

Map Studies of Mexico

Map 


Heroism of Boyhood: Heroic Devotion of Two Mexican Youth


Viva La Mexico!

Homeschool Freebie: Free Printable Maps

Thanks MJ. Click here.

Free Homeschool Stuff: History Ebook

Historic Boys Their Endeavours, Their Achievements, and Their Times by Elbridge Streeter Brooks, Blackie & Son, 49 & 50 OLD BAILEY, E.C. GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, AND DUBLIN, 1886. Reading level appears to be mid-elementary - early middle school.
Marcus of Rome -- Brian of Munster -- Olaf of Norway -- William of Normandy -- Baldwin of Jerusalem -- Frederick of Hohenstaufen -- Harry of Monmouth -- Giovanni of Florence -- Ixtlil' of Tezcuco -- Louis of Bourbon -- Charles of Sweden -- Van Rensselaer of Rensselaerswyck.

Free and in public domain at Gutenburg Books. Readable online and downloadable.

Also see Historic Girls.
Zenobia of Palmyra -- Helena of Britain -- Pulcheria of Constantinople -- Clotilda of Burgundy -- Woo of Hwang-Ho -- Edith of Scotland -- Jacqueline of Holland.-Catarina of Venice -- Theresa of Avila -- Elizabeth of Tudor -- Christina of Sweden -- Ma-ta-oka of Pow-ha-tan.

Obscure Coloring Pages: Neuroscience for Kids

Just in case you feel the need to color a neuron(giggle).

More here.

Homeschool Students: Desirable Characteristics and Suggestions

      
      
This article may be published on web sites and
in publications as long as it's reproduced in
its entirety, including the resource box at the end
of the article. Thanks!

College Professor Critiques Homeschoolers
copyright 2009 by Greg Landry, M.S.

I teach sophomore through senior level college
students - most of them are "pre-professional"
students. They are preparing to go to medical
school, dental school, physical therapy school,
etc.

As a generalization, I've noticed certain
characteristics common in my students who were
homeschooled. Some of these are desirable,
some not.

Desirable characteristics:

1. They are independent learners and do a great
job of taking initiative and being responsible
for learning. They don't have to be "spoon fed"
as many students do. This gives them an advantage
at two specific points in their education;
early in college and in graduate education.

2. They handle classroom social situations
(interactions with their peers and professors)
very well. In general, my homeschooled students
are a pleasure to have in class. They greet me
when the enter the class, initiate conversations
when appropriate, and they don't hesitate to
ask good questions. Most of my students do
none of these.

3. They are serious about their education and
that's very obvious in their attitude, preparedness,
and grades.

Areas where homeschooled students can improve:

1. They come to college less prepared in the
sciences than their schooled counterparts -
sometimes far less prepared. This can be
especially troublesome for pre-professional
students who need to maintain a high grade
point average from the very beginning.

2. They come to college without sufficient
test-taking experience, particularly with
timed tests. Many homeschooled students have a
high level of anxiety when it comes to taking
timed tests.

3. Many homeschooled students have problems
meeting deadlines and have to adjust to that in
college. That adjustment time in their freshman
year can be costly in terms of the way it affects
their grades.

My advice to homeschooling parents:

1. If your child is even possibly college
bound and interested in the sciences, make
sure that they have a solid foundation of
science in the high school years.

2. Begin giving timed tests by 7th or 8th grade.
I'm referring to all tests that students take, not
just national, standardized tests.

I think it is a disservice to not give students
timed tests. They tend to focus better and score
higher on timed tests, and, they are far better
prepared for college and graduate education if
they've taken timed tests throughout the high
school years.

In the earlier years the timed tests should allow
ample time to complete the test as long as the
student is working steadily. The objective is for
them to know it's timed yet not to feel a time
pressure. This helps students to be comfortable
taking timed tests and develops confidence in
their test-taking abilities.

3. Give your students real deadlines to meet in
the high school years. If it's difficult for students
to meet these deadlines because they're
coming from mom or dad, have them take
"outside" classes; online, co-op, or community
college.
_______________________________

Greg Landry is a 14 year veteran homeschool dad
and college professor. He also teaches one and
two semester online science classes, and offers
free 45 minute online seminars..
http://www.HomeschoolScienceAcademy.com

Free Download: Classic Early 20th Century Children's Books

The U.S. Library of Congress has some free downloads for turn-of-the-century illustrated classic children's books here.

The Story of the Three Little Pigs, London & New York, Frederick Warne & Co., 1904

Recipe: Homemade No Yeast Donuts

I made some bean burgers for dinner, and decided to use up the leftover pan oil to make some donuts. From my favorite Amish cookbook:

3 - 3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter or oil
1/2 cup cream(I used whole milk)

I ended up adding more flour because I used some leftover beet juice to color them pink. This is so easy, just mix everything together and shape into circles. I roll mine into a ball, flatten and poke a floured finger through the middle. I made a few letters for my preschool daughter as well. Make sure your pan oil comes up to at least the half way mark on your donuts. I heat my oil to medium, but every stove is different. You don't want it to get too hot, or it burns the outside, too cool and the middle doesn't get done. Don't make them too thick or they don't cook evenly.

Watch them carefully as they fry in the oil, flipping them with some tongs when they look brown. Place cooked donuts on plate with paper towel, and sift some powdered sugar over the top.

These donuts taste a bit like funnel cakes.

Jean Plaidy Queens of England Series

  Jean Plaidy's Queens of England series has recently been republished and repackaged. I grabbed the first one I saw on the public library shelf as my daughter whizzed by me to climbed up to the water fountain where she usually drenches herself. I'll be reserving the remaining books online. The first one in the series is Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of my favorite queens.

Some have been republished with different titles, and you can read all fourteen of them in order. I am beginning with Loyal in Love: Henrietta Maria, Wife of Charles I (A Queens of England Novel)


Jean Plaidy is known for her meticulous research, and her writing style is very engaging(like a good drama) and never dry. Plaidy's series are great for high school students looking to have history come alive with these accurate historical fictions.

Jean Plaidy Republished Novels

Archaeologists Find Relics of Medieval Saint

"The team of Bulgarian archaeologist, Professor Nikolay Ovcharov, has discovered relics of a medieval saint at the fortress of Perperikon in the Rhodoppe Mountains.

The remains of human bones were found inside one of two bronze crosses as the archaeologists were excavating two churches.

... Perperikon, the ancient Thracian city, had later become one of the most important centers of Christianity in the entire region. One of the two churches discovered at Perperikon is the oldest in the region, dated back to 4th and 5th centuries, the rules of Emperor Arcadius (395-408 AD) in the Eastern Roman Empire, and Emperor Honorius (395-423 AD) in the Western Roman Empire, after the division of the Roman Empire in 395 AD."

Read article here.

Castles for Sale.

Just for fun - European castles for sale.

Homeschooling with Working Parent(s)

"As the number of homeschoolers in the United States grows, the number of creative approaches to homeschooling grows too. What happens when both parents need to work? What about single-parent households? These instances do present some very real challenges. For working parents, it does take a bit more effort to manage the daily care, teaching and planning required to homeschool. But if you are dedicated to the idea of homeschooling, you can make it work. "

Read the rest here.

Video and transcript: Homeschooling for Working Parents

Christian Mommies: Busy, Working Parents - 22 Ways To Homeschool Your Kids

Working Parents Homeschooling Support

Many links: Homeschooling While Working information and support

Message board topic: Homeschoolers with working parent(s)

Single Parent Homeschooling Tips

Over 100 Homeschool Resources for Christian Single Moms

Christian Preschool At Home

My daughter is almost four and is just now getting interested in workbooks or formal learning. We are using the Rod & Staff's Preschool series($9.00 for set). My son used this series as well, so it's been fun to revisit it. Great memories! These are wholesome "old fashioned" black and white workbooks published by conservative Mennonites. Simple rural living features prominently in these workbooks. When you click through to the link, each individual book can be viewed for content.

For older preschool children and kindergarten:

Sample lessons here.

More preschool posts here.

Irish Folklore: The Silkie

Norse and Scottish mythology have similar stories, but this one is about the Irish version of a myth of the seal who becomes a girl.

Free and in public domain: Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts By Patrick Kennedy, Macmillan and Co., 1866.

The Silkie Wife:

Those in Shetland and Orkney Islands who know no better, are persuaded that the seals, or silkies, as they call them, can doff their coverings at times, and disport themselves as men and women. A fisher once turning a ridge of rock, discovered a beautiful bit of green turf adjoining the shingle, sheltered by rocks on the landward side, and over this turf and shingle two beautiful women chasing each other. Just at the man's feet lay two seal-skins, one of which he took up to examine it. The women, catching sight of him, screamed out, and ran to get possession of the skins. One seized the article on the ground, donned it in a thrice, and plunged into the sea; the other wrung her hands, cried, and begged the fisher to restore her property; but he wanted a wife, and would not throw away the chance. He wooed her so earnestly and lovingly, that she put on some woman's clothing which he brought her from his cottage, followed him home, and became his wife.

Some years later, when their home was enlivened by the presence of two children, the husband awaking one night, heard voices in conversation from the kitchen. Stealing softly to the room door, he heard his wife talking in a low tone with some one outside the window. The interview was just at an end, and he had only time to ensconce himself in bed, when his wife was stealing across the room. He was greatly disturbed, but determined to do or say nothing till he should acquire further knowledge. Next evening, as he was returning home by the strand, he spied a male and female phoca sprawling on a rock a few yards out at sea. The rougher animal, raising himself on his tail and fins, thus addressed the astonished man in the dialect spoken in these islands:--"You deprived me of her whom I was to make my companion; and it was only yesternight that I discovered her outer garment, the loss of which obliged her to be your wife.

I bear no malice, as you were kind to her in your own, fashion; besides, my heart is too full of joy to hold any malice. Look on your wife for the last time." The other seal glanced at him with all the shyness and sorrow she could force into her now uncouth features; but when the bereaved' husband rushed toward the rock to secure his lost treasure, she and her companion were in the water on the other side of it in a moment, and the poor fisherman was obliged to return sadly to his motherless children and desolate home.

We picked this CD up at the library last week which is appropriate for younger children: Seal Maiden: A Celtic Musical. A review from Amazon.com:

Using such traditional Irish instruments as uilleann pipes, the low whistle, the concertina, and the violin, as well as some of the purest, sweetest voices to be heard on a children's recording in recent memory, Seal Maiden: A Celtic Musical relates a mystical tale. Despite her mother's warnings, a playful seal pup frolics too close to the shore, magically molts her sealskin, and turns into a human. The Seal Maiden's humanness leaves her heartsick and discontented; she misses her mother and can't shrug off an atavistic affinity for biting off eels' heads and devouring them whole, as well as other strictly-for-the-seals behavior. Eventually, though, she marries and has a son. When he discovers his own hidden sealskin, he becomes her gateway back to the sea and the slippery, song-filled life she left behind. If this Emerald Isle legend sounds familiar, that's probably because it was recently given silver-screen treatment in John Sayles's The Secret of Roan Inish. Narrator and lead singer Karan Casey (of the traditional Irish group Solas) is enchanting, especially on "The Song of the Seal" and "Seoithin." Musicians Martin Hayes (violin) and Dennis Cahill (guitar) display near-magical heart-melting powers on "Port Na bPucal," which captures the Celtic spirit beautifully. And then there's this album's intended audience--kids--to consider. Children ages 6 and up will be left spellbound by the Seal Maiden's fantastic saga, and those under 6 will be lulled into sweet dreams by its gentle-voiced, exceptionally talented singers, whose far-off land of salty waves and endless possibilities they evoke so gracefully. --Tammy La Gorce

And there is a 1995 movie about this as well, The Secret of Roan Inish An Amazon Review:
As one of the most respected American independent filmmakers, John Sayles has created a body of work as distinguished in its diversity as for its consistent quality and inspiring originality. He's never been one to march to the commercial beat, but chooses instead to follow his creative impulse wherever it leads him. The Secret of Roan Inish led Sayles to the beautiful and moody West Coast of Ireland; it is a tale of a girl who discovers that her family has been touched by myth and magic throughout the years. Following the death of her mother, young Fiona (Jeni Courtney) is sent to live with her grandparents on the Irish coast across from Roan Inish, the island where her family once lived. She's told stories about the selkies--seals that can turn into humans--who have been connected with Fiona's family over the ages. At first she's not sure if the selkies are real or mythological, but she later realizes that they hold the key to reclaiming her family heritage.

What's remarkable about this film (which Sayles adapted from Rosalie Fry's novel, Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry) is that it's not told as a cute fantasy for children, but as a straightforward, unsentimental story of a young girl's family history. That gives the film--which was beautifully photographed by master cinematographer Haskell Wexler--an understated charm that is completely absorbing in its atmosphere and subtle tone. There's magic as well, to be sure--you could almost swear that the seals and seagulls in the film took direction from Sayles as well as any human actor! --Jeff Shannon

HT to Anne for the movie! I plan to order this via Netflix.

Free Celtic music sampler at Amazon: Celtic Sampler Summer 2009