May Savings on Curriculum - Ends TODAY

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Today is the LAST DAY for Homeschool Buyer's Co-op's May Promo - no Service Fees on your purchase! Join the Co-op and buy your summer enrichment or other curriculum packages today!

There are digital deals as well as print deals - most printed deals can only be delivered in the USA. (Just so you know!)

We've gotten some really great packages via the Co-op during our 10 years of homeschooling. I highly recommend checking it out.

Click here to join the Co-op and see all available deals!

For more educational savings, be sure to check out this post!

Homeschooling Resources

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after following one of my links, I may earn a small commission, but it doesn't cost you a single agora extra! Thanks!

Hi all!

I wanted to share a few of our homeschooling resources today! I know you don't all homeschool, but lately I have gotten a lot of questions from parents whose kids go to school - either about how they can also homeschool, or how they can enrich their children's education during non-school hours.

So I'm writing a really quick post for all of you - there is a lot I'm not going to be able to include here, but some of this should get you started! Here are some of the resources we use or recommend.

Do you want your kids reading more in Hebrew? Check out this introductory deal to Maariv Kids magazines, including one issue of National Geographic Kids in Hebrew! The deal will cost you just 10 shekels for an introductory package (4 magazines)! (I believe this is for Israeli addresses only.)

If you want to get your kids some classic magazines in English, consider Highlights magazines. They are inexpensive and they can be shipped to international addresses. It's a great way to keep them in tune with their English speaking peers around the world! Click here to subscribe, and Save $5 on Highlights Magazines!

I also really like the Cricket family of magazines - and there are often sales for them. We love getting the digital editions for our ipad or tablet, so we don't have to pay international shipping fees.

Anytime you're looking for ideas for curriculum, free or not, I highly recommend checking out the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. Many deals are online and can be purchased by anyone in the world. Other deals, that are physical materials, often require a US shipping address.

Educents also has great deals for homeschoolers and for enrichment programs. They often have great deals on certain books - like the Life of Fred series - but I do recommend comparing prices before you buy.

I also rely on our Kindles - we get lots of free books for it, as well as inexpensive books from Amazon! My kids are HUGE readers, so the kindles are often in use. I'll post an update when Kindles go on sale - there's a big sale coming up soon!

If your homeschool students are ready to start studying at a college level, the Open University allows homeschoolers into their programs, though you will need to attend a guidance session and interview and convince them you're ready! Check it out today!

Every so often, we take a day to go to a Science Museum. MadaTech has Free Wednesdays still - though it's coming to an end soon. Check it out soon!

I hope to start sharing homeschooling ideas and resources about once per week, so be sure to check back here next week for more!

Let me know in the comments what you're looking for!

Homeschooling Deals!

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after following one of my links, I may earn a small commission, but it doesn't cost you a single agora extra! Thanks!

Hi all!

I wanted to share a few of our homeschooling resources today! I know you don't all homeschool, but lately I have gotten a lot of questions from parents whose kids go to school - either about how they can also homeschool, or how they can enrich their children's education during non-school hours.

So I'm writing a really quick post for all of you - there is a lot I'm not going to be able to include here, but some of this should get you started! Here are some of the resources we use or recommend.

I wanted to get my kids reading more in Hebrew. Since my kids like science, I picked up a bunch of science mags in Hebrew. And I just discovered this one called Galileo Tzair that is specifically written for kids ages 7-15. It's a great way to introduce Science concepts AND strengthen Hebrew reading comprehension at the same time! (Sorry, the deal I had ended. Feel free to check back if it comes up again!)

Anytime you're looking for ideas for curriculum, free or not, I highly recommend checking out the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. Many deals are online and can be purchased by anyone in the world. Other deals, that are physical materials, often require a US shipping address.

Educents also has great deals for homeschoolers and for enrichment programs. They often have great deals on certain books - like the Life of Fred series - but I do recommend comparing prices before you buy.

I also rely on our Kindles - we get lots of free books for it, as well as inexpensive books from Amazon! My kids are HUGE readers, so the kindles are often in use.

If you're homeschool students are ready to start studying at a college level, the Open University allows homeschoolers into their programs, though you will need to attend a guidance session and interview and convince them you're ready! Check it out today!

Every so often, we take a day to go to a Science Museum. MadaTech has Free Wednesdays still - though it's coming to an end soon. Check it out soon!

I hope to start sharing homeschooling ideas and resources about once per week, so be sure to check back here next week for more!

Let me know in the comments what you're looking for!

Homeschool Curriculum and Supply Sale!

*note: the links in this post are all affiliate links, meaning I get paid a small commission if you click any of these links and make a purchase. Thank you so much for your support!

This week is the perfect time to buy homeschool curriculum for the summer or for next year! For a limited time, get FREE shipping (to US addresses only, sorry, I know some of you have this option though!) on orders over $49 Monday - Friday. One time promo code use per customer, so place your order all in one shot.

If you're overwhelmed by the 15,000 products available from Educents, I've got an easy way for you to narrow it down! Meet Cathy Duffy:

Cathy Duffy is the know-all when it comes to homeschool curriculum. She has reviewed hundreds of homeschool curricula to help parents like me (and you) make an educated decision when shopping for homeschool curriculum. 

Here’s a handful of Cathy-approved educational picks available at Educents.com. I hope these double-recommended educational resources will relieve you from endless hours of shopping around for the best (and most cost-effective) homeschool resources.

Elementary Math & Science

Life of Fred Elementary Math

 

If you haven't heard of Life of Fred, you're in for a real treat. Dr. Stanley F Schmitt is a math teacher who developed story-based math learning series that has taken homeschooling by storm! Forget rote learning that doesn't resonate: learners follow the Fred and his pals through life and learn math concepts along the way. Kids sometimes don't even know they're learning math until they're told! Each book has a topic, like Apples, Butterflies, and Cats. My kids ABSOLUTELY LOVE Life of Fred!

 

Giant Butterly Garden

This ties in with the second Life of Fred book so well! With the set little ones can learn about (and experience!) the miracles of metamorphosis. Available at Educents for $35.99.

Elementary Reading & Writing

Grammaropolis

 

I can't say enough for story-based learning. It's one of the oldest ways we've learned from each other - starting with fables that teach us to be good to one another. Grammaropolis is a great tool for K-3rd grade learners on their quest for perfect English grammar, which isn't always straight forward! This set comes with animated shorts, music videos, books and quizzes, so you've got a lot of learning styles covered. Price: $40, down from $50

   

Middle School Math

Life of Fred Intro to Algebra

I really can't say enough about the Life of Fred series! Kids learning algebra and beyond will enjoy the stories and learn the concepts through holistic learning. If your learner is new to Fred but at a more advanced level, it has been recommended that they start from the beginning. That said, re-learning a few known concepts in the Life of Fred framework will help them get up to speed with story and succeed with the series. Price: $34.08 down from $38 at Educents.

 

Life of Fred Financial Choices

 

As your kiddos get older you may also like to instill strong financial decision making. The Life of Fred Financial Choices book is a great intro. And if we're being honest, there's never a bad time time for parents to brush up on this! Price: $15.99 down from $19.99

Middle School Social Studies

myWorld Social Studies

Comprehensive comprehension: this world history and social studies packet is an excellent kick off to middle school studies. Created for 6th graders, this set lays the groundwork for students to become active citizens by learning about US history and politics, and encouraging learners to understand real ways they can participate, and how it matters. The package also includes a teacher's guide for every chapter, lesson plans, audio podcasts on each subject, and editable tests with answer keys: it really sets everyone up for success! Price: $72.47

Science for the Family

Magic School Bus Nature Bundle

 

Summer is a great time to get the whole family involved with experiments to foster learning and family bonding! This set comes with four science kits at $16 (a $35 savings) with topics covered:

• Weather - learn about rainbows, tornadoes, the greenhouse effect and more.
• Going Green - learn about recycling, compost, and making new paper out of old!
• Solar Energy - watch solar energy inflate balloons and spin a top
• Wonders of Nature - build and ant hill, dissolve an egg shell, do an animal tracks exercise

Price: $63 down from $100

 

BrainPop (Israel) Discount!

Are you a Clalit (Health Fund/Kupat Cholim) member?

If you are - and you want to get your kids a BrainPop membership, you can get a great discount!

BrainPop is an educational website used around the world to help children learn many subjects, including Science, Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, Art, Music, and more. Israel's BrainPop site is in Hebrew, and offers an optional ESL site for Hebrew speakers to work on their English.

Normally, BrainPop membership costs 220 shekels/yr for either BrainPopIL or BrainPop ESL, and a combined membership (both sites) costs 299 shekels. But if you are a Clalit member, you can sign up using this link to get a 50% discount for whichever membership package you choose!

I'll be posting more deals and discounts for you as soon as I find them!

Weekly Menu

It's Sunday night, and I'm going to try as hard as I can to figure out this week's food plan.
I'm not feeling very creative though, and I'm finding it hard right now to accommodate everyone's food needs, allergies, and preferences. However, I will give it my best.

Here's the plan:



 (There are lots of carrot sticks in the plan, as we got some pretty inexpensively last week!)

Sunday
Lunch: Sandwiches on Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, fruits and vegetables
Supper: Shabbat leftovers

Monday
Lunch: Red Lentil Soup with Peppers and Fennel, Carrot Sticks and other vegetables with techina
Supper: Baked Ziti, Steamed Kishuim

Tuesday
Lunch: Leftover Pasta and Soup, Vegetable Sticks
Supper: Rice, Black Bean Veggie Crumbles with Tomato Sauce, Corn

Wednesday
Lunch: Corn Bread, Rice with sauteed veggies, ??
Supper: Homemade Dinner Rolls, Scrambled eggs, Oven Fries, Carrot Sticks

Thursday
Lunch: anything left from the week and/or sandwiches
Supper:  ??? we will  have to wait for inspiration!

I plan to bake some muffins, roast some spicy chick peas to crunchy perfection, and pop lots of popcorn for snacks besides fruit

Have  you planned your menu? I find when life is busy, planning helps keep things running smoothly.

Exclusive coupon code for Educents!

 
Thinking of buying something from Educents?

If you haven't heard of Educents, you NEED to check it out! They have AMAZING educational resources for enriching your child's education, at "co-op" prices!

And right now, when you use coupon code kosher9210 you'll get an extra 10% off anything you buy!


(Coupon code good thru April 27th)

(Sorry. They don't ship overseas, but you can have items shipped to a US address. Of course, online subscriptions and downloadable materials are available everywhere!)




this post contains affiliate links

Amazing Reading Resource!

I know so many English speakers in Israel struggle to find reading material for their kids. Many of us live in out of the way towns with small libraries and tiny English language sections (I really should take a picture of the 4 tiny shelves of kids books in English we have in our library!).

And downloading Kindle books can get really expensive.

Lucky for all of you out there, and anyone, really, who wants access to more childrens books, I just found this amazing resource, Farfaria, that people are calling the "Netflix of kids' books"! And it's available right now for $19.99 (regular price is $39.99, you'll save 50%!), and works on both Android and iOS.

It's great for when you want to encourage your child to develop their English reading fluency! There is a "read to me" option, or a read alone option, and this program has some really great features. Generally, the age range is 2-9, so the books are for beginning readers.

I'm sure you're going to love it!

But hurry! This deal ends soon!

Educents Coupon Code!

sponsored post

It's a great time to save on Educents' already great deals! They have some really great toys and educational materials. Not just for homeschoolers (though they are popular among homeschoolers!), anyone who wants quality materials for kids can buy Educents deals. So hurry and get an extra 10% off while you can!

Use code YearEnd10
*Valid through 1/4/2015

Click here to shop at Educents

 

this post contains affiliate links. thank you for shopping with my affiliate links!

$10 off at Educents!

(Sponsored Post)

Have you heard of Educents? It's a great site where people like us can get some really awesome educational materials for lower than retail prices!

I know it's not only for homeschoolers like me - so many of you have written to me that you supplement your kids' reading or math or even some other subjects!

So, I am very excited to tell you that Educents has offered a special $10 gift card to anyone who joins Educents using the links in this post! You may even be able to score some things for free with your $10!

Happy deal hunting!

-Ester

Awesome magazines!

I just had to share this deal. This is the best price I've seen this year on our favorite magazines for kids.

$19.95 gets you a print AND digital subscription to the Cricket family of magazines!

(Shipping overseas is pricey, but if you have a US address, this includes delivery)

These are seriously the best magazines we've found. Our kids love them. We use them as part of our homeschooling program, even.

And they don't have annoying ads! 

Enjoy the savings!

Lego Discount!

If you join the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op (FREE!) you can get a great discount on Lego Educational sets!

We love Legos. Even my 14 yr old still builds with them. He'd be so embarrassed if I wrote "plays with them," so we'll stick with "builds with them".

Sorry, this offer ships within the USA only.


This was also posted on my Homeschool Resources blog, which I have been seriously neglecting.

Book Buying Time!

It's that time of year - you know, when summer is almost upon us.
Well, this is when I have to buy some of the books we'll be using for next year's homeschooling...
One of my favorite places to shop is Better World Books. I love buying used books from their Bargain Bin, especially when there is a great sale going on, like $3 per book!....
Right now, you can get 3 used books for $10, 4 for $12 and 5 for $15 with the Better World Books Bargain Bin. Free shipping worldwide. What could be better for ex-pat homeschoolers than free shipping worldwide?

I also love Fishpond. Sometimes they are too expensive, but other times, their prices are great! It's always worth a look, and it's all free shipping worldwide...
Start your search here:

www.fishpond.com

Hint about Fishpond: they sell A LOT more than just books. Think, toys galore, including Legos, Melissa and Doug... and craft supplies, too! Everything ships free worldwide, so here's a great way to get some high quality (and yes, even educational) toys into Israel without burdening your family, and perhaps (for some things, at least, for sure) avoiding import fees!

Happy book shopping. I know book shopping makes me happy.

Crock Pot Cooking

Today, I decided to put the soup in the crock pot, even though we were home all day. I thought it through and was wondering which one is more cost effective - to cook the soup on the gas stove for an hour or more, or to use the crock pot?
If anyone knows, I'd appreciate the information!

Monday Night

Aside from the frugal aspect, I'm looking for easy meals. We usually have busy days, and since I homeschool my 4 kids, I really don't have much downtime...ever.

For Monday evening, I'm looking to incorporate leftovers into the plan (I've been trying harder not to have to throw those out. If you have tips to make sure that leftovers get used up, please share! My kids sometimes groan when they see a food served "AGAIN".).

I just took stock of the fridge, and while most of our Shabbat food actually got eaten (and the leftover barley went into the freezer), we have plenty of vegetable noodle soup left!

(By the way, I'm really big on soup right now. It's winter, and we live in a "warm" location in Israel, which means we have a poorly insulated house and not-so-efficient heaters. And it's raining - a good thing! In other words, sometimes it's colder inside our house than out, and I'm too frugal to heat the place all the time!)

So here's what we'll be eating (it's a vegan menu!):

Vegetable-Noodle Soup
Sloppy "Sams" in pitot
Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli
Oven-crisp Roasted Potato Wedges
I rarely do dessert during the week, but maybe I'll even bake muffins! I have a few wrinkly apples to use up.

Some notes about these foods:

The soup is the same one from Friday night. I keep all my Shabbat soups pareve, so I can use them again during the beginning of the week.

Sloppy Sams are Vegetarian Sloppy Joes. I'm making these with drained and crumbled tofu (I buy these at Kimat Chinam; if you buy 3 tofu cubes at a time, they are 3/23.99 NIS. Does anyone have a better deal to share?), browned in olive oil with diced onion and peppers, cooked with tomato paste, water, and spices. We still haven't worked out the perfect combination of Sloppy Sam spices, so if you have any TNT recipes, please share!

Cauliflower and Broccoli - the cauliflower was on sale for 1 NIS/kilo, so we'll be going heavy on the cauliflower, light on the brocolli. The best price I found for broccoli was 8 NIS/kilo at Yesh. Kimat Chinam was 14 NIS/kilo and Rami Levy something like 17 NIS/kilo. My kids love broccoli, so I figured I would have to continue to buy it and stretch it with the cauliflower...

For the Potato Wedges, I usually combine olive oil, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well with potato wedges (just scrub and cut - leave those peels on so you get the vitamins and trace minerals!), and bake in the oven at 400 F till crispy and turning brown. The kids like to eat them with ketchup...