Give-Aways

• Free Literature Study Guide for The Hiding Place!

  14 May 2013 / Give-Aways / 6 Comments

  We missed you!

  While our website was moving to a new host, we were "hidden" from our homeschool friends on the internet, but now we are back and would like you to have a FREE literature study guide to help us celebrate!

  Corrie ten Boom's classic book The Hiding Place will build character in your student while it strengthens reading skills, vocabulary and an understanding of Europe during World War II.

  Today and tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 14-15, 2013 only, download a FREE copy of this study guide.  Share the link with other homeschoolers you know!

  

  Click here to download your FREE copy now.

  If you have trouble with this download (a few of you have reported that the ebookstore sends you to Paypal which doesn't work for a $0.00 order), please forgive us!  This freebie-offer has revealed a couple of little bugs and we are working hard to get them straightened out.

  We will send the free study guide to each of you via email if your order did not go through correctly -- our sales log will show us who had an incomplete sale.  Those will be sent out by noon Thursday.

  Thanks for being patient with us!

• 4 Cool Ways to Homeschool History in Elementary Grades

  17 February 2013 / Elementary Homeschool, Geography, Give-Aways, News, Social Studies / 0 Comment

  

  Can you guess how long ago this co-op field trip was?

  My favorite years of homeschooling history were... wait... ALL of them were my favorite. Elementary years were SUCH fun for homeschooling my 5 kids.

  There are several different approaches to homeschooling elementary history. At these ages, there is not a specific scope and sequence you must follow, so you may:

  1. Simply follow a curriculum. Covers everything but may be boring. My family never used texts for history until high school.

  2. Take your time and study in-depth each time period, location, or concept. For example,

  

  We love homeschooling in co-op community

  we spent several years on American history rather than blast through it in one year. More depth, more fun, better understanding.

  Here are a few ways we homeschooled history in the elementary grades:

  1. Co-op

  My favorite! We had moms who loved history make crafts, teach dances and games, sing songs, read books with our young

  ones while the older kids concentrated on a bit more academic angles. Then, at the end of each unit, we took some sort of field trip related to our history topic. For a HOW-TO on forming a co-op, check out our free white paper.

  2. Real books

  No matter how we handled history each year, we did lots of read-alouds for history. Let the Authors Speak has been my favorite resource for book ideas, as well as the Newbery Award list. I always made sure my kids had individual reading to do on our topics as soon as they were old enough to read on their own (praise God for our local library).

  3. Integrate with language arts, fine arts, and phys ed
  

  Handling history in this manner naturally integrates language arts- reading and paper writing. Short stories, poetry, and reports can build off history topics. Music and art of the time period and region and era make the arts relevant. Even phys ed can be integrated with the games and dances of the time and region. The internet and library are great resources for ideas.
  

  4. Hands-on history

  We did hands-on stuff at home and with co-op. Here are ideas:     

  

  One of our co-op buddies, Brian, became a re-enactor for real

  
  

  -Make 2-D and 3-D maps

  -Re-enact or go to re-enactments

  -Sew, draw, paint scenes or stories or costumes
  

  -Create lapbooks

  -Play games, sing and dance to the tunes of the location and era

  -Watch dvds- documentary and movies. Here's our favorite history movie post.
  

  One good read-aloud for younger grades is Woodrow the White House Mouse by Peter and Cheryl Barnes. We will be giving a copy away at midnight on Sunday. The winner will be chosen from this week's comments.

  Two of our fun study guides for history/literature (easy, useful guides with no useless busywork) are Sarah Plain and Tall and A Christmas Carol. Check out our other elementary resources.

  There's some fun stuff on my elementary resources pinterest board.
  

  What are some cool ways you homeschool history in the elementary grades?

   

• Giveaway - Tickets to Great Homeschool Conventions Midwest in Cincinnati

  02 February 2013 / Conventions, Give-Aways / 9 Comments

  We have an exciting give-away chance for you this weekend (entries close at midnight Eastern time on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013)!

  Sign up for our mailing list using the simple form to the right of your screen, and your name will be entered for a chance to win

  ONE FAMILY REGISTRATION TO

  GREAT HOMESCHOOL CONVENTIONS MIDWEST CONVENTION

  Duke Energy Convention Center / Cincinnati, OH
  April 4 - 6, 2013

  Check back here on the blog to find out who won Monday morning, Feb. 4, at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Time).  Winners will also be notified by email.

  We are excited to be able to offer this prize (value $45.00) to our homeschooling "sisters" who would like to go to GHC but would like to do so as our guests!

  7 Sisters will be exhibiting in the vendor hall at the Cincinnati convention this year, and we can't wait to give hugs to so many of you who have been a part of our homeschool internet community but whom we have not yet met in real life.  We will also have lots of curriculum available for you to grab at conference-special pricing.  You can meet the authors and get lots of questions answered (well, we'll try our best to answer them, anyway!)

  We LOVE Great Homeschool Conventions!  Click here to read about our adventures on GHC road trips last year.

  But first, enter to win a Family Registration before the give-away offer ends Sunday night!

  Sign up to the right....

  ...and see you in Cincinnati!

  Already ON our mailing list?  Leave a comment below to enter the give-away!

• Winner Wednesday - Read and Sleep and Dream of Hobbits

  07 November 2012 / Give-Aways, Healthy Living / 0 Comment

  Here at 7 Sisters we are pretty outrageously excited for the new movie of The Hobbit that is scheduled for release Dec. 14, 2012.

  In honor of this beautifully-written story by J.R.R.Tolkein, we've decided to do a count-down for the six weeks until the movie hits theaters...and give you the chance each Wednesday to win FREE CURRICULUM OF YOUR CHOICE!

  Check back each Wednesday and comment on the post for your chance to win a free your-choice curriculum item up to $10.00.

  Choose from literature study guides, writing guides, our unique Career Exploration Workbook, prayer journals and more!

  Comment below for your chance to win.

  (Winners are randomly drawn from commenters each week.)

  ====================================================

  Do you have Vicki Tillman's literature study guide for The Hobbit?

  Read this book with your homeschooler before you see the movie.

  Only $3.99 in our EBookstore, ready for immediate download!

  =============================================

  Did you know that reading for pleasure before you go to sleep is an excellent way to care for your self?

  The light from television or computer screens sends a "Wake up!" message to your brain, so those are bad ideas before bedtime.

  But reading a book you simply WANT to read (not something you have to read for making homeschool lesson plans) is a relaxing way to feed your mind and soul, but also help yourself settle in for a restful night of sleep.

  My husband, Fred, laughs at me because of my bedtime ritual:

  • Apply lip balm.
  • Pick up book.
  • A few minutes later hear him say, "Lovey, you're reading with your eyes closed again."
  • Put book on nightstand and roll over.

  What helps you settle in for a good night's sleep?

  Leave a comment and be entered for a chance to win free curriculum of your choice up to $10.00!

• Fun With Classic Literature - Conversations for Classes or Homeschool

  03 November 2012 / Give-Aways, Literature / 2 Comments

  This year I am teaching World Literature at Mt. Sophia Academy, our local day-school for high-school homeschoolers.  A passion of mine is discussing literature with high school aged homeschoolers.  Here's why:

  Here are a couple of the activities we've tried this year that have resulted in great conversation.

  (I love talking about these things with a mid-sized group, but around your dining room table would work, too..........great conversation can happen between two people!)

  Virgil's Aeneid:

  As the students read Aeneid, they were a little overwhelmed by the language, the style, the proper names; a lot of students don't tackle Virgil until college!  I decided to have them focus on the PLOT; plot is very simply what happens in the story...and a LOT happens in Aeneid!

  I gave the kids permission to use Sparknotes to get an overview of each Book (there are 12 Books in all), noting primary plot elements as they went.  Then they read each Book for themselves or listened to it in audiobook form.  Finally, they summarized the events in 1-2 sentences, articulating for themselves the forward movement of this epic journey.

  In a class gathering, we tried "Aeneid Speed Dating" (read more about it in my earlier post) to make a collaborative listing of primary plot elements.   Then we split into groups, and using the major characters and major plot moments from the story, each group had to plan for the major motion picture version of Aeneas' adventures.  They decided on a cast and chose the music that should be playing at each epic moment in the story.  (For variations in answers, one group was to cast the movie with stars of today, one with stars of yesteryear, and one with people we know in our local homeschooling community.....and I was cast as the Harpie.  I'm still trying to decide if that was a good idea.)

  Hans Christian Andersen selected fairy tales:

  (For a listing of the stories we read, view my Pinterest Board of World Lit ideas here.) 

  These fairy tales are not the Disney versions today's children are expecting!  While not as dark as the brothers Grimm, H.C. Andersen put a lot of tough ideas and harsh situations into his stories, and yet they were beloved by children in his day (the mid-1800's). 

  Why?

  We had a really interesting discussion about why these often-dark-tinged fairy tales were appealing to the children of that time, and how our world is different in the United States in 2012.  Andersen's own personal woundedness coupled with the difficulties of a world fraught with diseases, child-labor, and a rigid class system made for a whole different definition of "stories for children" than the one under which we operate today.

  Coming up next:  Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers:

  This week the kids start reading about D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, and we will dig into complex relationships as we discuss their adventures in the coming weeks.  An intriguing character is wonderful....but relationships AMONG A GROUP of intriguing characters are even better! 

  I really enjoyed creating the literature study guide to go with this one; if you'd like a beta-test copy of it, you can download it for free this weekend (11/3-11/4/12) by clicking here.  Let me know your thoughts if you have a moment!  The final, edited, formatted, meatier version will be available in the EBookstore by next summer.
  

  Will we sword-fight before it's over with???  Stay tuned...

  What classic literature has led to great conversation in your homeschool?

• Free Study Guide today only in honor of Great Christian Writer Joni Eareckson Tada

  30 July 2012 / Give-Aways, Helping Others, Literature / 1 Comment

  Today 7 Sisters Homeschool joins Joni Eareckson Tada in marking a milestone anniversary in her life.

  This marks the 45th anniversary of the diving accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down.  God's provision for her as she has lived life with quadriplegia is one of the most remarkable testimonies of our generation.

  Joni's autobiography Joni: An Unforgettable Story is one of the Great Christian Writers titles for which we offer a study guide.  Today only we are offering it free in our EBookstore.  Use coupon code JONI45 at checkout and your discount will show after you scroll down to finalize your purchase.

  Please take a moment to visit the Joni and Friends website today in honor of the 45 years Joni has testified to the grace of God from her wheelchair.

  During this summer season of swimming and other water sports, it's important to understand the dangers and how to avoid them.  Just a few weeks ago one of my favorite cashiers at our local grocery store, a young man named Stephen in his early twenties, dove into shallow water in his friend's swimming pool and broke his neck.  By the grace of God he was not paralyzed, and is making a rapid recovery; yesterday I saw him without his neck brace for the first time since the accident!  But we would all be wise to be reminded of the guidelines for safely enjoying swimming this summer.  Click here to follow a link to the Joni and Friends article about spinal cord injury prevention.

  Join us each day this week for blog posts to help you gear up for homeschool with your elementary and middle schoolers....or join the conversation with some tips of your own if you have already completed those action-packed, crazy homeschool years!

  ==========================================================================

  Have you seen our new EBookstore layout?

  Our categories now make finding your curriculum easier; even our literature study guides have been separated into Classics and Great Christian Writers.  Click here for unique, adaptable curriculum that downloads to your computer in an instant!

  As always, no shipping fees, no waiting for your items to be delivered,
  and our 10-Day-No-Quetsions-Asked Money-Back-Guarantee on all curriculum from 7 Sisters!

• Teaching Them Diligently Convention Wrap Up...On the Road Again

  19 March 2012 / Conventions, Give-Aways, Humor, News, Personal Growth, Relationships, Stories / 0 Comment

  Here we are driving home from Spartanburg, SC and the Teaching Them Diligently Convention, rolling along in Marilyn's vehicle (yet to be named) typing on her Macbook (named Genie) using her cool MiFi (possibly about to be named Mini)! Wow! What a whirlwind weekend plus this has been! Here's a wrap up of some of the highlights since Marilyn's post on Saturday.

  We forgot to mention that our last official act before closing up on Friday was to re-arrange the furniture. While Sabrina was in the bathroom, Marilyn and I totally transformed our booth layout. We wondered if she was awake enough to notice? She did!  It was a much better fit for our corner spot. We had even more entries in our giveaways!

  Saturday morning we had the pleasurable company of Lynn, founder of Founder's Academy, for the early ride to the Expo Center at Restoration Church. Many of us exhibitors came in early at the request of the families of the 400 or so men attending the Prayer Breakfast.

  Our day included lots of visits from folks who had attended Sabrina's Drama Workshop - The Drama really did start here in Spartanburg! Sabrina really enjoyed visiting with Beth from Florida and even spent some time brainstorming how they might work together in the future. Thanks to all of you who came by to gain and give wisdom, ideas and encouragement.

  

  Sabrina and Beth brainstormed some great ideas about drama in Beth's area

  Of course we were delighted to have some more time with Abigail! Lisa and Matthew Lewis of Home School Enrichment Magazine are great people - homeschool graduates, successful business owners, homeschool advocates and wonderful parents. They were kind enough to let us get our "baby fixes". Marilyn was missing your grandbabies at home and Sabrina and I just love babies.  We got to take walks and visited with Shatterpoint Entertainment - she was fascinated with the Jericho movie (Did you vote for it to "get on the shelf" at Walmart?)! Then we visited a booth with balloons and went to on to visit Richelle at Virgina Soaps & Scents to drink in all the yummy sights and smells!

  As the day was winding down, the line at the Rhino Recording booth was winding around the corner. I scooted over to buy copies of Sabrina's workshop on CD. If you were wondering why her workshop was listed under my name, it's because I am the one who got her this gig after all.

  Our booth was directly across from JM Cremp's and all their cool toys.  We were highly entertained by sword fights and shot at by rifle-bearing soldiers. One of their best toys was the arrow shooting slingshot/crossbow. It was repeatedly shot across the room and onto the wall over the heads of passersby. Ask Marilyn about the face of one woman who unsuspectingly had an arrow launched over her head!  Marilyn and I both had to try it before we left! Thanks, Mariah and family!

  In what felt like the blink of an eye, the first Teaching Them Diligently Convention was over and we were packing up. Much to our delight, we were able to fit our the entire contents of our booth onto the hand truck that we had crammed into the car. We were on the road again...

  Thank you so much to all of the folks who made Teaching Them Diligently run so well - David and Leslie Nunnery, Kristin and Jeremy Pressley, Coie Watson, the convention volunteers, the iserve team from Restoration Church and a HUGE THANK YOU to Jenni McClure!

  

  Pollo FUNdido!

  To reward ourselves for our hard work and managing to get everything back into the car, we headed straight for On the Border. Our call ahead order of Pollo Fundido and perhaps the best chips we've ever had, were ready and waiting when we arrived. We whisked them and ourselves back to the hotel for a jammy party and decompression session. We made a huge list of the great things that happened this weekend, found only a few "yucks" and things we'd tweak next time, prayed for ourselves and everyone at TTD and even laughed til we cried over silly jokes.

  On our way home, we had a fabulous time of prayer and sang our praises to the Lord for our own mobile Sunday morning worship.  After a little traffic, a few bathroom/stretch breaks and a lot of miles and solving the world's problems, we dropped Sabrina off in Fredricksburg, VA for some much needed vacation days with her wonderful hubby!  Not long afterward, we pulled into Marilyn's driveway! Hope you enjoyed our road trip posts on our Teaching Them Diligently Homeschool Convention adventure and look forward to another road trip to Great Homeschool Convention in the Northeast in Hartford, CT in June!

• TTD Convention - Spartanburg - GIVE AWAY #3!

  03 March 2012 / Give-Aways, News / 3 Comments

    So far Gretta and April have each won...will you be our winner this week?

  Your "sisters" are counting down the days until we hit the road for the upcoming Teach Them Diligently Convention in Spartanburg, SC March 15-17, 2012!

  

  Just leave a comment here answering the following question, and we will enter your name/email into a random drawing for a free curriculum item of your choice (up to a $35 value)

  at the 7SistersHomeschool.com table in the vendor hall at TTD!

  We will notify winners by email.  (Winners must claim their prizes in person at the 7 Sisters vendor table in in the TTD exhibit hall during the convention, 3/15-3/17/12.) (This Give-Away contest closes at midnight, Friday, 3/9/12.)

  Look for a chance to win each week through 3/14/12!

  TODAY'S QUESTION:

  What can vendors do in the exhibit hall that will really help you (instead of bug you) as a homeschooler?

  =========================================

  BTW, here's some important info from TTD about volunteer needs they have that can be opportunities for YOU to save money on registration!

  Volunteers Needed!!

  The Lord has brought many families together for this event and that brings many opportunities to serve!  Teach Them Diligently Convention is in need of volunteers.  For a commitment of 4 hours, you will get $20 off your family registration.  If 2 adult members of the same family volunteer for 4 hour shifts, your registration will be completely paid for!!

   A sampling of the opportunities include:

  • Registration Table – hand out pre-registration envelopes and tote bags.
  • Workshops – attending workshops, taking attendance counts, handing out papers, etc. You will be able to sit in the workshops you are monitoring!
  • Volunteer table – time at the table helping check in other volunteers
  • Door Monitors – making sure people have wristbands
  • Children’s program-- We need many people who would be willing to serve on Friday and Saturday ministering with Kidz Vision to serve our children.
  • Vendor Hospitality Room— making sure that the vendor hospitality room is well-stocked.
  • Parking Lot Helpers
  • And many other opportunities!

  Additionally, a number of teens are needed to serve as helpers in the children’s program.  We have hundreds of children registered and helping in this program will provide teenagers with an excellent opportunity to serve the Lord as they pour their lives into the lives of children in large and small group settings for 2 days. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Coie at CWatson@teachthemdiligently.net

  *If you have already registered, we will credit to your account or refund the volunteer subsidy for you.

  ====================================
  Ok, now let's have your comments about helpful vendor behavior in the exhibit hall!
  

• TTD Convention - Spartanburg - GIVE AWAY #2!

  25 February 2012 / Give-Aways / 34 Comments

  NOTE: THIS GIVE-AWAY IS NOW CLOSED.   Go to the Tab above marked "Community Blog"  to find the post for the current week's chance to win beginning midnight, Sat. 3/3/12!

  We are getting more and more excited for the upcoming Teach Them Diligently Convention in Spartanburg, SC March 15-17, 2012!

  

  For those of you who are going to TTD March 15th-17th, 2012, here's a second chance for you to win curriculum worth up to $35.

  Just leave a comment here answering the following question, and we will enter your name/email into a random drawing for a free curriculum item of your choice (up to a $35 value)

  at the 7SistersHomeschool.com table in the vendor hall at TTD!

  We will notify winners by email.  (Winners must claim their prizes in person at the 7 Sisters vendor table in in the TTD exhibit hall during the convention, 3/15-3/17/12.)  (This Give-Away contest closes at midnight, Friday, 3/2/12.)

  Look for a chance to win each week through 3/14/12!

  TODAY'S QUESTION:

  Do you prefer to go to homeschool conferences alone, with your spouse, with your spouse and kids, or with a friend....why?

• TTD Convention - Spartanburg - GIVE AWAY #1!

  18 February 2012 / Give-Aways / 2 Comments

  NOTE: THIS GIVE-AWAY IS NOW CLOSED.  FOR THE CURRENT CHANCE TO WIN $35 IN FREE CURRICULUM OF YOUR CHOICE AT OUR VENDOR TABLE IN SPARTANBURG, CLICK HERE.

  CONGRATULATIONS to Gretta, our Give-Away #1 Winner!

  

  Your "sisters" here are pretty excited for the upcoming Teach Them Diligently Convention in Spartanburg, SC March 15-17, 2012!

  

  For those of you who are going to TTD March 15th-17th, 2012, would you like the chance to win curriculum worth up to $35?

   

  Just leave a comment here answering the following question, and we will enter your name/email into a random drawing for a free curriculum item of your choice (up to a $35 value) at the 7SistersHomeschool.com table in the vendor hall at TTD!

  We will notify winners by email.  (Winners must claim their prizes in person at the 7 Sisters vendor table in in the TTD exhibit hall during the convention, 3/15-3/17/12.)  (This give-away contest closes at midnight Friday, 2/24/12.)

  Look for a chance to win each week through 3/14/12!

  TODAY'S QUESTION:

  What type of encouragement are you most looking forward to at the TTD Convention?