Food History

One great approach to discovering history with your kids is to go through the history of food.

I've put together a list of great resource links on the history of British food at my website Best British Food. Right now it focuses on prehistoric food, but I'll be adding more later. Some of these links are fabulous finds - I was really surprised at how much free food history information there is out there. One of the sites is even designed for teaching, but not in the conventional classroom sense. Who knew there was so much to learn about prehistoric food!

Let me know what you think. Have you used food to teach history and culture? It's a favorite at my house.

Thinkwell Offer Ending

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op has its last offer for Thinkwell courses up - after this the price will be full retail. Discount on most of the classes is running at 45% savings.

What is really nice about this offer is that you have one year to complete the course from the time you start and you have upto one year from now to start.

I've been thoroughly pleased with Thinkwell Algebra I which my son has been doing. And I've checked some of their other courses and we're going to be using more. Courses on offer include:

• all math from 6th grade through college algebra (except for Geometry), including Calculus and Trig
• Biology, Physics, and Chemistry
• American Government, Public Speaking, and Economics (micro and macro)
  

The current price for most of the courses is $68.75 and the offer ends on 08/31/10. If you're looking for high school online homeschool software courses I recommend that you check out Thinkwell Discounts through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op.

Which homeschool software products do YOU recommend?

How to Make a Homeschool ID Card

Get a FREE Homeschool ID Card!

Homeschool Buyer's Coop have a nifty service for designing a homeschool ID card which you can use for home printing for free. Or order a professionally printed ID for $6.95 ($4.95 for additional cards).

Looks good to me!

When you go to bookstores, including Borders and Barnes and Nobles and office supply stores, such as Staples, to register as a teacher and receive discounts one of these could be handy.

Do you have homeschool ID cards for your kids? What about for yourself? How have you used them?

Finding Fun Books

When it comes to enjoying reading, what you really need are some fun books. Not that everyone's definition of fun is the same! But, who would want to read a boring book?

I've just relaunched one of my own websites with lots of information on how to find great reading suggestions. I learned a lot during the process of writing, especially about which publisher produces which ranges of books, where to find great reading lists, and how to find stuff on Amazon.com (often-times I've been frustrated to mainly see best sellers, most of which I'm not interested in).

You can find all of the information about best books at my site GreatFunBooks.com. I've not written specifically for homeschoolers this time, though I do mention that homeschoolers really value non-fiction kids books. I think that's one of the myriad reasons that homeschooled kids know so much. I also did pretty extensive research on early readers for the page on best books for kids so, if you have a pre-reader or early reader at home be sure to check that page out.

Do let me know what you think and whether there is other information you'd like to see there.

Free Environmental Education Curriculum

The No Impact Project has come out with a free environmental education curriculum suitable for middle and high school kids.

I've not registered to download the curriculum so I can't comment on the details. What I can tell you is that I respect the work of Colin Beavan who has lived his no impact experiment with his family. I have every faith that this curriculum has quality content.

According to the website, the environmental education curriculum:

• contains 5 lessons - consumption, energy, food, transportation, water
  
• incorporates internet-based video clips
• is designed to be taught in 50 minute lessons
• is suitable for grades 6-12, but can be adapted for other ages/grades
• the author is "Cari Ladd, M.Ed., is an educational writer with a background in secondary education and media development. Previously, she served as PBS Interactive’s Director of Education, overseeing the development of curricular resources tied to PBS programs..."

You don't need to own the No Impact Man book or DVD in order to use the curriculum. If you want to take it further you can join the No Impact Experiment one week carbon cleanse.

15% Off at Staples

For those who missed the $1 sale at Staples, or who need to shop for something specific, here is a 15% off at Staples coupon. It is only valid today and Saturday, 01/30/2010 and is not valid on computer purchases. It is an in-store coupon, not for online purchases.

Homeschool supplies you might consider purchasing for 15% off at Staples: binders and sheet protectors (my favorite way to file projects and notes); pens (I'm always losing those); sketch pads; printer cartridges; and calculators (I think they have a range of math and science calculators). Here is a link to the Staples Calculators online - I expect the range at the store will differ.

You might compare Staples prices before making a trip though, sometimes you can get the same price online, and save yourself the gas and travel time. Locally I find Costco and Target to be economical for the limited range of office supplies they sell - I've found binders and sheet protectors for good prices.

Check the ACT calculators permitted list if that is a consideration.

Compare Texas Instruments calculators at Amazon.com (affiliate link).

Thinkwell Courses Sale

Periodically the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op provides access to Thinkwell courses on sale. I'm a fan of Thinkwell for high school and college prep homeschooling.

Maybe it's Professor Edward Burger that makes me like Thinkwell - he's a kinda cute, geeky, math guy and he makes me laugh. Or the fact that their course is so thorough - he obviously just loves his subject and knows it inside out. Either way, if you're looking for high school online software it's worth checking out Thinkwell.

Courses on offer this time around:

• middle school, high school, and some college level math (except for Geometry, which I really wish they had), including college algebra, trigonometry and calculus
  
• high school biology, chemistry and physical science
• American government
• macroecomomics and microeconomics
• public speaking

Prices range from $49.95 to $84.95 with bigger discounts when there are more subscribers.

For some reason it's hard to access the deals if you just go to the Homeschool Buyers Co-op home page - go straight to Thinkwell courses on sale if you want to take a look. The current offer expires February 10th at noon (eastern).

The Homeschooler's Guide to the Galaxy has no connection to Homeschool Buyers Co-op or Thinkwell. I also recommend The Teaching Company Save 70%! Great Courses by America's Top Professors and Elementary Algebra (these are affiliate links).

Staples Dollar Deals

I know that some of my readers and friends here get a little foamy mouthed, or is that starry-eyed, over discounted school supplies so I'm escaping from lurkdom to point you to Stapes Dollar Deals, which arrived in my Inbox this morning.

So, what delights are in store for you at Staples Dollar Deals, if you just can't resist checking into shiny, new, $1, office supplies?

• small, college-ruled, spiral-bound notebooks
• mini staplers - so cute!
• clear and colored washable glue sticks
• sheet college-ruled paper
• post-it like Stickies pads
• pens

There are also some $2 deals. That's it! If your school supplies have run out, dried up, or you just need a little of that fresh, new smelling, stuff to get you fired up and get you through to Spring Break, take a look at Staples Dollar Deals.

Regards, Alison

P.S. Can someone tell Staples they should pay me for doing this stuff?