Summer's End: Deja Vu, Unfortunate Events, Homeschool Resources and Freebies Too

Next week is our last week before the official start of the Morgan homeschool year. We start school on the traditional day after Labor Day. How about you? I hope you've had a great summer, and are ready for an exciting new homeschool year.

This month we acquired a new family member from the homeless cat shelter. We've been learning a lot about our new kitten, named Deja (as in the word deja vu, which here means "it's happening again," as in that naughty cat is getting into trouble again!) After she was with us for only a few days, we realized that she had a rather nasty and unpleasant health condition, requiring a trip to the vet, followed by the added responsibility of forcing pills into her tiny but very toothy mouth. In addition, I've also found out that it is a reeeeeally bad idea to leave a plant sitting in a window over a computer printer, when Deja is in the house. Trying to clean planter dirt out of printer and get the printer operating again is a real challenge. Nevertheless, Deja is a lot of fun. Our littlest homeschooler, who has an animal phobia, has learned to pet and help take care of her. Here's a digital picture of Deja that my oldest daughter took. You can see the chronically guilty look on Deja's face.

Did you read any good books over the summer? We've been reading through the entire Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events, which we've been borrowing from our public library. We have to take turns reading the books, which in my case means I couldn't read the series in order. I'm happy to report that I haven't found anything objectionable--unlike other modern series, Unfortunate Events are refreshingly free from elements such as witchcraft and occult elements-thus far, although some families might be a bit put out by the author's morbidly unusual sense of humor. The books painlessly challenge the vocabulary of both kids and adults (even many Scrabble champions might find the need to look up the word "ersatz" in a dictionary), and cleverly tweak thinking and deductive skills.

I especially like the love and acceptance of eachother's gifts that the three main characters show in the books, as well as their politeness to adults. I love how Snicket's characters understand their baby sister's unique language, even though no one else seems to listen. Perhaps we identify closely with the characters, as our youngest homeschooler has articulation challenges. Our oldest daughter exclaimed, "They're just like us!"

No, Lemony Snicket isn't paying me anything for this positive review, but Count Olaf might put me on his bad list for this. I haven't visited http://www.lemonysnicket.com , but when I do, perhaps I'll finally solve the mystery of what happened to Lemony Snicket's lost love, Beatrice. If not, I guess I'll have to read Lemony Snicket's Unauthorized Autobiography.

Even though the summer is about to end, and we're battling annoying colds, I can't stop looking for interesting, free and frugal resources for homeschooling. Here are some that I'm investigating now:

The Book Cellar, with new and used textbooks, discounted A Beka, BJU. Saxon, Rod & Staff, Christian Liberty Press and more, http://www.bookcellaronline.com
Academic Superstore, get discounted software for homeschool, teacher's, schools, 800-544-6615, free shipping from web site orders,
http://HS.AcademicSuperstore.com
AVKO Dyslexia and Spelling Research Foundation, free handwriting, spelling, keyboarding, reading, study resources and lessons, http://www.AVKO.org
Heart of Dakota, free sample pages of Christ-centered learning, http://www.heartofdakota.com
Video Text, free sample Algebra video, http://www.videotext.com
Beginnings Publishing, creation-based and God centered, student driven science curriculum, 800-831-3570, http://www.beginningspublishing.com
R and D Educational Center, God's Design Science, creation based science for grades 1-8, recommended by Dr. Wile of Apologia Science, http://www.rdeducation.com
A Reason For, with handwriting, spelling, science and Reading using scripture, 800-447-4332,
http://www.AReasonFor.com
Practical Homeschooling magazine (I write a column for Practical Homeschooling), offers a free email newsletter, as well as a free issue of the magazine, http://www.home-school.com . Look for my Preschool for Pennies column in the magazine.
Unless the Lord magazine, for Christian parents encouraging the building up of godly families, http://www.UnlesstheLordMagazine.com
Beautiful Feet, study guides, time lines, D'Aulaire biographies, Genevieve Foster's 'World' titles, Rea Berg's History Through Literature, http://www.bfbooks.com