Youth Digital Classes on Sale!

Youth Digital classes are once again on sale at the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op! These are our all-time favorite online learning classes, and they just happen to be on my son's favorite topic - designing his own video games, apps and mods.

Of the four courses available to purchase through the co-op - Game Design, App Design, 3-D Game Design and Mod Design, he has completed three (and can't wait for the fourth). Courses are extremely well structured so kids can work independently with free technical support from Youth Digital as needed. Students also received detailed feedback on their completed project noting what works well and what could be improved (and why).

Courses are regularly priced at $249, and sale prices from the co-op will range from $199 (current starting price) to potentially $149 if enough people purchase the deal. All Youth Digital deals close on April 30th, so be sure to sign up soon!

If you're not currently a member of the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op, sign up using my referral ID (65626), and we'll both earn 100 SmartPoints to use on future curriculum purchases. It's free to join, and we've gotten many great deals throughout the years.

25% Off Purchases at Barnes & Noble

Barnes and Noble Educators Appreciation Days will run from April 12th-20th! Present your FPEA card or homeschool group membership card to enroll in their educators program, and you'll save 25% off classroom and personal purchases during these dates (and 20% off the rest of the year!) Additional savings on other products are also available.

I'd be super curious to know if this discount would apply to the Lego Mindstorm. My son was able to buy his with the 20% off Kids Club discount a few years back. If anyone tries this, let me know!

If you need a homeschool ID, you can usually get one for free at the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. Happy shopping!

Calling all theater kids! The Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford just announced audition dates for this summer's production of Mulan. My kiddos had the opportunity to perform with WDPAC in Aladdin two summers ago, and it was a great way to get on-stage experience and learn about what it takes to bring a production to the stage.

Here are the details on the upcoming auditions:
 

Join us as the Huns invade China leaving it is up to the misfit Mulan and her mischievous sidekick Mushu to save the Emperor!

Auditions will take place:

Monday April 7^th from 6:30-8 (ALL kids ages 5 to 8)

Tuesday April 8^th from 6:30-8pm

Thursday April 10^th from 6:30-8pm

Saturday April 12^th from 10a-12p

Call backs will be Saturday April 12^th at 2pm (if necessary)

Performers ages 5 to 18

Please come prepared to sing approximately 16 bars of your favorite song (please no songs from the current hit “Frozen” or from “Mulan”). You are welcome to bring a CD for accompaniment or sing a cappella. A headshot and resume are welcome but not necessary.

Performance Dates will be:

June 19^th - (2) shows – morning matinee and evening

June 20^th - (2) shows – morning matinee and evening

June 21^st - evening show

June 22^nd - matinee show

If you have any questions, please email wdpacjrs@gmail.com or contact the theater office at 407-321-8111.

Thank you and hope to see you at auditions.

Free homeschool open house at OCRHC on August 28th

Kick off the school year with a FREE trip to the Orange Country Regional History Center on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 from 10 a.m.to 1 p.m. Find out what's exciting and new for homeschoolers this year, and preview some of the special activities, games, and crafts that we'll have coming up at our home school days. This event is free for homeschool families, but registration is required.  Call (407) 836-8580 to register.

Back to school brings $2 Tuesdays at the Brevard Zoo in September

Brevard Zoo is offering highly-discounted zoo admission on Tuesdays in September, when regular admission prices ($15/adults & $11/kids) will be just $2 per person all day long.


Located in Melbourne, the zoo’s hours of operation are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last admission at 4:15 p.m. Additional charges apply to activities inside the zoo including feeding giraffe and lorikeet, kayaking or paddle boating, and riding the train.

For more information about Brevard Zoo, please visit their website or call 321-254-9453.

Lapbook links updated!!!

For some reason, I have the worst luck with file hosting and a lot of you have run into trouble downloading lapbook templates from bad links. I'm *hoping* that I now have that resolved with Google docs, so I thought I'd write you all a quick note that all lapbook links (except for Mad About Money - still working on it) have been updated and should finally work properly!

If you're looking for a fun summer activity, it's a great time to check out our 4th of July lapbook. New to lapbooking? Check out the video below to learn the basics of how to make a lapbook . . . you'll be amazed at how easy it is.

Ready to dive in? Here are our free lapbook templates available to download now: Human Body, Crazy About Cars, Mad About Money, All About Horses and 4th of July.

Free Math Worksheets

Recently, we ran across a topic in my little one's math curriculum that needed additional practice, so I set out to find some practice worksheets and thought I'd share what I found.

Homeschool Math has a great, custom worksheet maker when you determine:

• Number of problems per page
• Number of addends for each problem
• Range (minimum and maximum) for each addend
• Step between addends
• Font size, border and many other options

We were working on adding 10 to a number, and I was easily able to create a worksheet of problems to practice this concept, as well as an additional worksheet of mixed problems (adding 10 and adding 1).

They also have a large variety of ready-made worksheets that you can search by grade level or by skill (mental addition, adding in columns, etc.)