15 Jul 2011
by denisethinks
in Bargains and Finds
Tags: Bargains, savings, Supplies
I LOVE great deals! I mean, who doesn’t love saving some money, especially now? 
So, when we went to Target the other day to get a new high chair for the baby, I was super excited to see the great plethora of things they had which we could use for school!! First, in their dollar section when you first walk in, there were all kinds of things. We got stickers, cute ice packs (for picnics), several books (including classics), some fun pencils, some cute little workbooks for the little ones, and even some glow-in-the-dark stars to put up in the kids rooms (OK, not for school, but still fun).
Then, we hit the back to school section. This is bargain place #1 for homeschoolers! When one is trying to build a “classroom” from scratch, the back to school sales are amazing!! We loaded up the cart with crayons, colored pencils, markers, glue, scissors, rulers, and lots and lots of paper. Filler paper for their binders, composition notebooks, spiral notebooks, and construction paper. Yeah, we have plenty to write on now! Woo-hoo! I love it!! 
Now, since there is a limit on the number of notebooks in one purchase, I went back yesterday and got even more, plus more crayons, glue, colored pencils, and markers. Overboard???? No way! In a homeschooling family with 5 kids, you can never have enough crayons and paper!! Now, I won’t have to worry about running out throughout the school year and having to pay top dollar. I love to stock up when things are on sale! And we should definitely be stocked up for the whole school year!! Yay!!
29 Jun 2011
by denisethinks
in Bargains and Finds, Curriculum
Tags: literature, reading
I love, love, love Deseret Industries!! Ok, I love thrift stores in general, but especially the DI! I can almost always find some kind of treasure there, and my last trip was no exception! I went looking for some books that are on the list of classic books for kids to read, taken from the Thomas Jefferson Education book. I started by looking online, but then it dawned on me some of the books might be at the DI. So, off we went!
Holy cow! I wasn’t disappointed! I was amazed at the books I found! Not only were there several of the classics on my list- Don Quixote, Charlotte’s Web, Tom Sawyer, and more, but I also found some other books that are great! There were several elementary reading textbooks with a ton of small little stories in them. There were also some books that I had recommended to Logan that he read. I was very excited to find them- The Westing Game and Nothing But the Truth. (I’ll put up some reviews of them on the recommended reading page.) I was also able to pick up some great history and scripture study books. It was like a giant treasure chest- well, a treasure chest of books, anyway.
Now, I am all ready to get started on our literature studies! While there are still a few books I want to pick up, but I sure saved a ton of money by being able to find what I did for such amazing prices! Woo-hoo for saving money and still building a great curriculum!!
25 Jun 2008
by denisethinks
in Bargains and Finds, Our Progress, Resources, Schooling
Tags: Constitution, Convention, Field trips, History, Math-U-See
I attended the homeschool convention last Friday and Saturday, with my friend and fellow homeschooling mom, Amy. It was way awesome! Friday they had a used curriculum sale, at which I got lots of good history and writing books for cheapy cheap! Amy got some very good stuff, too. After we did the used curriculum sale, we attended a presentation on the Constitution, by Stewart Rhodes. So amazing! I loved it! And, really that’s putting it mildly. Of course, those that know me well, know I’m very politically involved and that I’m passionate about the Constitution. So, that was really great! Then, on Saturday, we went and all the vendors were set up. Also very cool! We got our math program, Math-U-See, purchased, which was the main point in going Saturday. We were also able to see some other really great vendors, like the Atomic Testing Museum and the Las Vegas Astronomical Society, and get lots of good info, especially about more field trips and educational programs. So, all in all, I would say we had a really great experience and it was pretty fun. I’ll definitely be going back in the future! Thanks to Nevada Homeschool Network for putting it all on!
19 Jun 2008
by denisethinks
in Bargains and Finds, Our Progress, Resources, Schooling, Start Up
Tags: Math, Math-U-See, Resources
I’m so excited because I think I’ve found the math program that I want to use! I really thought I was going to use Saxon Math, which really looks like a good program. However, this looks even better! You’ve got to check out Math-U-See. This looks perfect. A DVD to refresh my brain (because it’s been a long time for some of this stuff), manipulatives, the textbooks look great. This really looks like it’s it. I’m hoping to be able to attend their demonstration at our homeschool convention this Saturday. I’ll report back.
27 May 2008
by denisethinks
in Bargains and Finds, Resources
Tags: Bargains, Bible, Book of Mormon, Books, Deseret Industries, History, Resources
I just love the DI! I try to go every couple of weeks or so, just to see if I can find any treasures. I went again today, and like last time, found a ton of Living Scripture workbooks! This time, I got 57! Can you believe that?! I think I’ve got to have nearly all of the New Testament and Hero Classics now! These things are so full of learning resources. What a find! I’m also using these to create Sunday Folders for the kids. I also got for $.50 each, a book about the Gettysburg Address and a book about questions about animals, called I Wonder Why Camels Have Humps. Yeah! I love bargains. I’m definitely going to have to check out the little used book stores in the libraries, like Erin suggested!
15 May 2008
by denisethinks
in Bargains and Finds, Our Progress, Resources, Start Up
Tags: Bargains, Books, Businesses, Friend, Progress
Well, I’m doing much better now. I think I’m over my Yikes moment, for now. I’m sure there will be more in the future. As I’ve read, I’ve come to discover that homeschooling takes some getting used to and some trial and error. I have every confidence that we will be able to make things work out well. I’ve started already, with some small things with the kids, and so far so good. We’ve also got our classroom all ready. That was a lot of work, but it was actually really fun to do. The kids helped a bit with it too, as well as Grandma. I’ll have some pictures of it up in a day or two. And, a special thank you goes out to my friend Erin, who discovered two amazing books that outline and detail grade by grade curriculum and expectations. Hooray!
Also, this week I’ve discovered the rewards of telling people that you are a homeschool teacher. First I went to Learning Is Fun. When the sweet lady asked me if I was on their mailing list, I replied that I wasn’t, but should be since I was going to be homeschooling four kiddos. So, when I told them that, they not only put me on their list, but also gave me some teacher magazines, but also some of the coupons teachers get to hand out to their students to get a prize at Learning Is Fun. Then, when I took our calendar over to OfficeMax to get laminated, I was asked if I was a teacher, and I told them I was a homeschool teacher. Then, they gave me their teacher discount and reward card. So, that’s pretty cool. These stores are now on my newly created list of homeschool friendly businesses.
05 May 2008
by denisethinks
in Bargains and Finds, Resources
Tags: Bargains, Books, Resources
I found this book online, somewhere, called Homeschool Your Child for Free. So, I went and checked it out from the library, and wow, is it a wealth of information. It’s full of lots of great ideas from the author, as well as other parents. The bulk of the book is spent on listing different websites, broken down by category, with descriptions of the sites. This has been exceedingly helpful to me, especially as I look for lesson ideas. She’s got the book separated into sections, including resource sections like curriculum and education essentials, and then into subject sections like language, math, social studies, etc. It was published back in 2000, so some of the websites are no good now, but most are. Also, I just read something from the author where she said she is now working on a new edition of the book. I was planning on going out and buying this book, but I think I’ll wait until the new one comes out.
05 May 2008
by denisethinks
in Bargains and Finds
Tags: Bargains, Bible, Book of Mormon, Deseret Industries, History, Resources
Today I went to DI and found a great treasure for our classroom! There were tons of coloring and activity books from Living Scriptures. Gavin and I sorted through them all for the ones that didn’t have any coloring in them, and managed to get 20! We’ve got books from their Animated Hero Classics, Church History, Book of Mormon, New Testament, and Old Testament. I couldn’t believe it, and for only $.50 each! These will be a great resource for us to use as I teach various subjects, not just history and religion. I plan on copying the pages as we use them, so that we can keep using them for a long time. (And, I checked and the publisher says it’s ok to copy for personal or classroom use.) The kids were pretty excited about these too.
