Every week this fall I will be featuring a home based business and giving away something to you my readers!!  This is going to be so awesome.  So far it looks like I will have Cakes with Jaz, Sew Cute Designs, Gourmet Cupboard, Dove Chocolate, Beachbody, The Modest Mom, Scentsy, Pampered Chef, Tupperware, and Usborne.  I’m still working on getting some of these lined up and even more!! So check back every Monday or better yet sign up for the RSS feed or via email on the sidebar so you don’t miss a thing.

The first giveaway in the series is from my business with Usborne Books and More.  I have been a consultant for about two years now and I love it!  At the beginning of the year I promoted to supervisor and it has been a great business through all of my children. I love books and have kids so it was the perfect fit.  Plus the fact that there are no monthly minimums and I am a consultant for life was a huge selling point since then I don’t have to worry about stuff while I am pregnant or after birth, ect.   My kids love Usborne books and love to help me pack the bags when I get books ready to deliver.

This is our mission statement: ”The future of our world depends on the education of our children.  UBAM delivers educational excellence one book at a time.  We provide economic opportunity while fostering strong family values.  We touch the lives of children for a lifetime.”  One of our taglines is “Books Kids Love to Read.”  And time and time again I see this to be tree. I have tons of customers who have told me their kids wouldn’t read anything until they got them some Usborne books.  They are colorful and engaging with knowledge in bite sized chunks.  I love our books!!

I specifically want to show you two of the books in a new drawing series.  They are great for Christmas gifts and I am giving away the Drawing Pirates and Drawing Princesses but we also have Drawing Dinosaurs and Drawing Horses. They have great plastic covers and are super sturdy with stickers, papers, instructions, stencils, scenes to draw on, and some info on the topic to learn in the back.  The girl ones (horses and princesses) even snap and have a handle so they look like a purse.  They retail for $14,99 a piece.  When I pulled them out of the box my kids were ooohing and ahhing and it was all I could do to keep them away from them. Needless to say they will be getting them for Christmas. So without further ado here is a short picture tour through the books.

Starting with Drawing Princesses because we all know that girls go first.  :)

Cover

Inside the Front Cover

One of the Sticker Pages

Removable Stencils

Some of the Fabric Like Paper

Silhouettes to Decorate

Directions in the back

And now on to the Drawing Pirates book.

Cover

Inside the front cover

Some of the stickers

Papers

Removable Stencils

Close up of how the stencils go in and out

Scenes

Info in the back

So there are the great books! In addition to giving away a copy of each of those, if you host a catalog, online, or regular party and it reaches $200 in October you will be entered in a drawing for the Very First Reading Set. So far there is only one person entered! You don’t want to miss out. Here is a picture and description of the set.

Very First Reading Set

Usborne Very First Reading is an exciting series of fifteen books for children who are just starting to learn to read. It offers:
- the appeal of imaginative rhyming stories and irresistible illustrations
- the support of a well-researched framework
- the enjoyment of shared reading with an adult

So enter the drawing just use the rafflecopter below! If you need help figuring it out just leave a comment. You have until next Monday to enter! Stay tuned for a review of Cakes with Jaz next week.

Last year I attended the Schoolhouse Expo from The Old Schoolhouse Expo. One of my favorite talks (well actually one of the only ones I remember) was Molly Green. She talked about different ways to decorate and such and how to do it frugally. She showed lots of pictures which really got my creative juices flowing. The next week I took a trip to our local Goodwill and found all sorts of fall decorations. It made me feel so great to be able to make my home feel special for super cheap.

The other part I really liked about the expo was all the devotional times. But as you can see I am kind of a forgetful person. Having three children and being pregnant with your fourth will do that to you. So I am so thankful that when you go to the Schoolhouse Expo you get the mp3′s to listen to whenever you want.

But even if you can’t attend the Schoolhouse Expo live you can get Expo to Go tickets and just have the mp3′s when it is over to listen to has often as you want whenever you want. What could be better than having encouragement at your fingertips whenever you need it. Homeschooling isn’t easy and I know many of you are trying to do it on your own and I know you would benefit so much from this. And with your Expo to Go ticket you also get a bunch of free gifts. So check out this link and learn more!

I am so excited!!! Tickets for the May Schoolhouse Expo went on sale today. It is expected to sell out in a few weeks like it did last time. I can’t tell you how much I loved it last time. I didn’t make it to everything but the things I did were amazing. It’s an online homeschool conference with door prizes and a goodie bag even. You get to listen to all sorts of great speakers and chat with fellow homeschool moms. There are even devotionals daily. I was surprised at how much I learned and how motivated I felt and I loved that I could do it all from the comfort of my recliner and even in my pj’s if I wanted. During some of the sessions I would leave it on and help Ben do school but I think this time around I will just take the time off of school. But you really could do it either way. AND after the expo you get the mp3′s of all the speakers so you can relisten anytime you like.

So now that you are super excited to go to the Schoolhouse Expo in May I have some good news! I am part of the Expo Squad and as such I get to give away one ticket to the expo!!! So all you have to do to enter the contest is post a comment and why you would like to win the ticket. Than I will do a random drawing on Friday, January 28th at noon for the free ticket. It’s that simple. And for those of you that don’t win you can go to this link to buy your ticket for only $19.50!!! And to learn more you can go to The Schoolhouse Expo.

I have seen this video a few times now and it always makes me think. First of all, Paul Washer rocks! Secondly, I agree with much of this video if not all of it and even if you don’t agree with it please take the time to think and pray about it.

The part I really want to point out and make sure you catch is the part about public schools. How can we as Christians send our children to be educated by the World, or as Paul Washer puts it Satan. We are to train our children up at home. We can’t expect the little bit of teaching we give them when they get home from school (if we have time and aren’t too tired from homework and housework since mom isn’t home doing it) and church to make our kids Godly! If we want to raise up a generation of rock solid Christians who can make it through the coming persecutions we need to be training them at home and training them in the Word first and foremost!

Introduction: WeE-book Series
This is my second review (which will actually be three reviews) in connection with The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) Homeschool Crew application process. The following short reviews will focus on three of TOS Magazine’s WeE-book Series books and should provide a taste for the series as a whole.

Building Strong Arithmetic Thinking
The first WeE-book I chose was Building Strong Arithmetic Thinking by Dr. Ruth Beechick. It was a quick read regarding how most preschool to third graders do not grasp the abstract concepts we try to teach them in beginning math. Dr. Beechick gives some excellent examples of how to concretely teach your children mathematical concepts and basic math skills. She also provides a very useful worksheet to help you keep track of how your child is progressing.

This e-book helped me realize that I am on the right track with my approach to teaching my son math. (No wonder he is good at math so far. I have chosen a math curriculum (Math-U-See) that emphasizes visual and logical metaphors for teaching children to learn math and understand abstract concepts. I believe that this curriculum is in line with the concepts and goals noted by this e-book, and I was very encouraged that the approach I am taking with teaching math to my son is correct.

The “Me Time” Myth

The second WeE-book I chose was The “Me Time” Myth by Amy Roberts. We are bombarded in our world by the term “me time”. We are told by psychologists, pediatricians, and so on that we must have “me time” or we won’t be good parents. However, as Ms. Roberts outlines in her book: any “me time” we get, in order for it to truly be satisfying and fruitful, must be spent with our Heavenly Father; He is the only One who can truly satisfy and re energize us for the job He has called us to as a wife and mother. It’s not really “me time” that is helpful, but rather time spent in the presence of our Heavenly Father and in His Word.

This e-book was exactly what I needed to hear right now, and it fits right into how I have been feeling. Since my struggle with postpartum depression, I have often been told I need this so called “me time”; but rather than feeling refreshed, I’ve found that it normally causes me to dread coming back to real life. This e-book addresses this very issue. It was great to know I wasn’t the only one who struggles with the whole “me time” idea.

This WeE-book is a great read and I truly believe every mom, whether she homeschools or not, needs to get a copy of this e-book and read it. And then, when you start to get overwhelmed, read it again! I believe it is a message straight from God to the wives and mothers of this current generation.

Are Parents Really Necessary? A Guide to Preschool Education
The last WeE-book I chose was Are Parents Really Necessary? A Guide to Preschool Education by Amelia Harper. This terrific e-book covers the myths regarding early childhood education. If you are feeling pressured to put your three or four-year-old into formalized, all day preschool, then you need to read this e-book. Amelia outlines a series of myths and refutes them one by one. She also covers the top ten things that a preschooler needs to learn, and includes some fantastic worksheets in the appendix. There is a lot of useful material included for the price making this e-book a real bargain.

Conclusion
Overall I really enjoyed reading these three e-books and would highly recommend that you explore the titles and try a few out for yourself. The WeE-book line currently consists of 39 e-books; at only $1.95 each, this series is a very affordable resource to motivate and educate. These short e-books only take about 10 to 15 minutes to read and are also easy to digest. This makes them a great read for a busy homeschooling mom. Each WeE-book ends with a very useful appendix on how to do homeschool. I believe the WeE-book series is a terrific product by TOS which will help busy homeschool moms everywhere!

PS
After my husband went to great lengths to edit this post and my last post, we decided not to apply for the Homeschool Crew. We have decided that it would be too stressful for me and not a great idea for our first year of more structured homeschool. But my husband went to great lengths to edit this and I believe the review may still be helpful to some so that is why I am posting it. I hope you enjoyed it.

As part of the application process to be considered for The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) Homeschool Crew, I get the opportunity to review a couple of their e-books. I really enjoy reading TOS Magazine and have been so blessed in finding it. I am very excited about the possibility of being part of the Homeschool Crew to review and promote great homeschooling products.

The first e-book I am reviewing is called HomeWork: Juggling Home, Work, and School Without Losing. HomeWork is a book about working from home and contains valuable advice on how to integrate business opportunities into home life, while not compromising the home in the process. Though I had been thinking about buying this book for quite a while, I procrastinated because I was originally unsure of what it was about. I was excited at the chance to review this book for free, and as I began to read it I regretted not getting it earlier! Whether or not I get the opportunity to participate this year as part of the crew, getting a copy of this e-book alone has made the effort worthwhile.

The book is set up with four different sections highlighting various business profiles. The first section covers labors of love, which includes businesses which have sprung out of hobbies as well as already functioning home businesses. The second section is on computer based home businesses; the third focuses on creative writing; and the fourth deals with business support (which includes things such as accounting and computer network support.) I find it very encouraging that these profiles are all personal accounts written by the moms of these homeschooling business families. I particularly enjoy the additional aspects of how these moms homeschool, and how they incorporate managing their at-home business into their home-centered lifestyle. While each author writes a little differently, this adds variety to the book making it even more enjoyable to read: every few pages you are on to a different story and a different perspective.

The book concludes with “tricks of the trade”, including accounting and bookkeeping tips, organizational tips, and an appendix with lots of great links to websites with additional resources.

This e-book is a great read and a great tool that I will look back on time and time again. I currently have two work at home businesses (Mary Kay and Creative Memories). Reading this e-book, with its many creative ideas on how to integrate business into my homseschooling family, has really motivated me to work harder at these businesses. I think that in a lot of ways I just needed permission to pursue my home businesses; by reading this book I have found that others have been successful in integrating home business into their homeschooling families without compromise.

At this point in my life journey, the most helpful tip I received was to set aside time on a regular schedule to do work every day. While I have heard this principle stated over and over again, seeing it applied throughout these stories really helped it to sink in. So whether you have been doing your work-at-home business for a very long time, or are only just starting out, I highly recommend this e-book to you: it will encourage you as you continue doing what the Lord has called you to do.