Promoting Comedy Book Written by Homeschoolers

I hope you will all forgive me for the following shameless promotion for my homeschool graduate son, John Morgan, and his co-author, Alex Markley (who also homeschooled through high school).

"Oh no, not again...

That's right, everybody! The Unlikely Adventures of Malex and Icepunk is back and as funny as ever!
Long, long ago - 2004, in fact - Alex Markley and John Morgan took some classes together. Having nothing better to do, they hung out occasionally. Eventually, after John Morgan nearly killed himself in a freak lawnmower accident, Alex Markley realized that life was just too weird not to exploit it in the form of a serialized comedy.

Thus, The Unlikely Adventures of Malex and Icepunk was born!

Running for a year between 2004 and 2005 at MaI-Adventures.com, TUAoMaI was a truly amazing example of how much insanity can be conveyed in the English language. It was discontinued in the fall of 2005, but the vision lives on: To make people laugh.
To that end, we are re-releasing all fifty-two classic episodes on MalexMedia.Net's™ new TUAoMaI page as well as at MaI-Adventures.com! The first of these re-printed episodes was released early this morning. Subsequent episodes will be released at weekly intervals for the next year.

Additionally, we have recently re-released the novel as an ebook, which - due to the use of cheap electrons - can be delivered to you instantly without costing a significant fraction of your life savings. (That is, unless $6 is a significant fraction of your life savings, in which case I'm dreadfully sorry.)

We're all very excited about this opportunity. Never before has such a wide audience been exposed to these classic works, and we genuinely hope that you like them as much as we did.

Thanks for your time, God Bless, and have a great day!"
--Alex Markley

Finding Cheap Textbook for Homeschool High School/College

Many homeschool families use college level materials to teach high school courses. How can you find cheap community college textbooks for high school? Check out local thrift stores, and Half Price Books if you have one in your area. Try the following web sites. Use the ISBN number to make sure you get the right edition, if that is important to you. Make sure that you are still getting a great deal after shipping and handling costs.
http://www.fetchbook.info/ http://www.bigwords.com/
http://www.cheap-textbooks.com/cheaper.php3?source=aw-cheaptextbooks-com
http://www.textbookx.com/index.php
http://www.campusbooks.com/index.php
http://gettextbooks.com/
http://www.studentlistings.com/default.asp?http://www.bookholders.com/
http://www.addall.com/
http://www.academicbookservices.com/
http://www.abebooks.com/
http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.half.com/
http://www.ebay.com/

That's a lot of sources. Please note, I haven't tried all of them personally. Sometimes it may be quicker to simply put the ISBN number into a search engine, along with the word "used."

On another note, ask for a free sample copy (U.S. residents only) from our friends at Brush Arbor Quarterly, which will focus on deeper Christian living, http://www.brusharborquarterly.com/ .

I hope everyone is having a great summer. Keep on blogging!

More Used Curriculum Sources for Homeschool

This time of year, homeschool parents are looking for a few good books. Here are more sources for used curriculum:
http://www.homeschoolswap.com/
http://www.homeschoolclassifieds.com/
http://www.edaccents.com/
http://www.thislittlepiggystayshome.com/

Know a good source for inexpensive textbooks and homeschool materials? Please share it with us!

Piano Chords, Free Music, Frugal Homeschooling

I've finally solved the mystery (to me) of piano chords! Yes, I took band in public school elementary and junior high. I know how to read music. But I always wanted to play piano--not a band instrument. Also, I wanted to help my children learn to play.

It seems like everything written for adults just assumed I already knew basic stuff--like what keys, exactly, do I press down to make chords?
Well, I just reviewed Scott "The Piano Guy" Huston's new book, "Play Piano in a Flash for Kids." Now chords--and piano playing in general--seems so simple. No mysetery, really. I just needed someone to "splain" it to me. If you, or anyone in your family, would like to learn to play piano, I highly recommend this book. Check out Scott's free music sheets and audio examples (from the book chapter "Some Fun Tricks that Sound Great!) at http://scotthuston.com/kidsbook .

Here are some new frugal sources for textbooks of all subjects, not just music, that I am looking into. Check out used curriculum for your homeschool, http://www.christianhomeschoolers.com/hs_curriculum_used.html
http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool .

As another Independence Day passes, I am thankful to God, for giving us a land where we can still homeschool and teach our children in freedom of conscience. May America remember to bless God, who has surely blessed America.