During the pandemic, our local library shut down so we were not able to check out books. I wasn’t willing to dish out dollars for dozens of books on Amazon, so I turned to audiobooks. Our library is open now, but I’ve fallen in love with audiobooks and I’m hooked! I listen to them in the car, while exercising, and even when grocery shopping. My kids listen to audiobooks while taking long car rides, doing chores, or hanging out on the couch. I cannot believe I waited so long to get hip to this game!

Audiobooks are great, but getting audiobooks for our family of five had the potential to become expensive. The most popular audiobook sites and apps charge for membership fees and credits. I didn’t want to pay for all of that, so I started hunting for free or reasonably priced audiobooks. If you’re into audiobooks, here’s where you should look:

• Your local library: This is my favorite way to listen to current and bestselling books. Your local library likely provides an audiobook app that will allow you to listen to hundreds of audiobooks for free. If you have a library card (and I know you do!), simply add the app to your phone, input your library card credentials, select an audiobook, and start listening! Hit up your library’s website to see if your membership includes access to any of these popular audiobook portals:
  • Libby 
  • Overdrive 
  • Hoopla

• Out of state libraries:
  • Did you know you can get a library card for a library outside your town and even outside of your state? Yes ma’am, you can! For less than $50, I was able to was get a virtual out of state library card that gave me access to Hoopla, which includes audiobooks AND television shows for the entire family. Now, I have access to both Libby (from my local library) and Hoopla (from an out of state library). Paying for an out of state library card is much cheaper than paying for an audiobook subscription. Plus, I love that titles I can’t find in one app are often available in the other app.
  • If you want to learn more, check out this helpful post: Libraries With Non-Resident Borrowing Privileges.
• YouTube: 
  • Search YouTube for adult reads you might enjoy. Just input the title in the search bar and see what pops up. I’ve listened to dozens of audiobooks using this method.
  • Get something for the kids. Check out the Bookmarks series on the Netflix Jr channel to find great books that celebrate Black voices. (We love Tiffany Haddish’s fun and engaging reading of I Love My Hair and Jacqueline Woodson’s thoughtful and heartfelt reading of her book, The Day You Begin.) Also do not, DO NOT leave YouTube without listening to As Fast As Words Can Fly by Pamela M. Tuck read by Dulé Hill! Hill’s soulful, emotional, and authentic reading of this inspiring story is AMAZING and the detailed illustrations are top notch!

• LibriVox: You won’t find the latest bestsellers here, but LibriVox is a good place to look for books within the public domain. If you’re looking for books like Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery or The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B DuBois, you’ll find it here. 

• Spotify: If you think Spotify only provides music, think again! Check out Spotify’s audiobook page. There’s a great selection of titles there! Novels are often split according to chapters, but if you select a book’s album option, you’ll be able to listen to the entire book.

Audiobooks don’t have to be expensive. Use these options to see if you can find your next great read!

Photo Credit: Daniel Romero on Unsplash

I’ve been a homeschool moms for twelve years. During that time, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and the pleasure of befriending some amazing homeschool moms. My conversations, interactions, and outings with these moms always remind me of three things:

• Homeschool moms love to read, therefore,
• homeschool moms collect lot of books, and,
• homeschool moms don’t believe one can ever have too many books!

I suspect you know exactly what I mean. If I had a dollar for every book we have in this house, I could probably pay for a month of groceries and still have enough money left to fill up the minivan’s gas tank. I know I’m not alone!

If you’re a book lover like me, then I’ve got a treat for you. My new book, The Story of Jackie Robinson, will be released this Tuesday, April 6. I want to celebrate the book’s release by offering not one, but two free books to the winner of this giveaway. One book is perfect for the adult reader, while the other book is perfect for a young reader. Here’s what I want to share with the winner of this giveaway: 

• I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography by Jackie Robinson is one of the books I read as I prepared to share Jackie Robinson’s story with young readers. It was a privilege to read Jackie Robinson’s own words and understand his personal thoughts as he described his journey from boyhood, to college athlete, to baseball icon, and ultimately to trailblazing civil rights hero. 
• The Story of Jackie Robinson is the book I wrote. It introduces younger children to Jackie Robinson and tells not only of his barrier breaking baseball accomplishments, but also tells of his work as a family man, civil rights leader, and businessman.

If you’d like a chance to add both of these books to your collection, enter the drawing for this giveaway. Entering is simple! All you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post telling me how many books you think you have in your homeschool library AND how you acquired so many books. Entries will be accepted from 12:00 am on April 1, 2021 to 12:00 am on April 8, 2021. One RANDOM winner will receive both books. The winner will be notified via email.

In the meantime, I’m sharing a Jackie Robinson printable I created. Get your free copy of the Jackie Robinson baseball card: Robinson Baseball Card. Have your child fill in the stats. 

 

Not too long ago, I was chatting with one of my close friends, a fellow homeschooling mom. We discussed how the past year has reminded us of the importance of slowing down and provided us with the time needed to accomplish personal goals and complete unique projects.

My friend and her husband spent much of that time planning and launching an awesome new business venture. Me? I spent a good chunk of that time working with a publisher to create a new children’s book about baseball hero and civil rights leader, Jackie Robinson. 

My book, The Story of Jackie Robinson, has been written for children ages 6-9 and introduces them to Jackie Robinson. As one would expect, the book tells about how Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier by becoming the first African American to play on a major league baseball team. However, the book also includes interesting details about Jackie Robinson’s family and provides information about Jackie Robinson’s important work as a civil rights leader.

I hope you’ll add The Story of Jackie Robinson to the fun-to-read resources in your valuable homeschool library. I also hope your children will enjoy the book’s educational content and colorful illustrations! 

The Story of Jackie Robinson will be released on Amazon on Tuesday, April 6. However, you can head over to Amazon and pre-order your copy today. As we get closer to the release date, I’ll be sharing a fun Jackie Robinson printable for children AND giving away a few copies of the book. I’ll hope you come back to celebrate the book release along with me!

  

 

 

 

In an effort to help our teenagers become well rounded students, we may require them to participate in extracurricular activities. By doing so, we allow our teens to partner with organizations that foster educational excellence, offer community service opportunities, and provide leadership training.  Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, many on-site extracurricular activities came to a screeching halt.

Now that we’re living in a COVID-19 world, traditional extracurricular opportunities may no longer be readily available. However, homeschool students can still enjoy extracurricular activities that promote personal growth and impress college admissions officers. If we think outside the box while exercising a bit of creativity, we can help our teenagers find valuable extracurricular opportunities. Check out this list of extracurricular activities that can be done at home.

1. Attend a conference or workshop. In an effort to meet the needs of students and maintain some sense of normalcy, many organizations have moved conferences and workshops to a virtual format. Encourage your teen to attend these sessions even though they’re no longer in person events. Some conference holders have slashed prices and now offer additional content as a way to make up for the lack of in person sessions.

2. Run virtual classes for younger students. If your teen has mastered a skill or has a special talent, encourage him to use it to help younger students gain knowledge. From the comfort of home, teens can teach classes such as art, math, or science. Since many parents are still looking for activities for their young children, your teen may be able to meet a need while collecting community service hours.

3. Take an online class.  No matter what your teen’s interest, you can probably find a class somewhere that addresses it. Check out Coursera, Outschool, and Udemy for class options in a wide range of interest areas. Classes can be fun, add depth to your teen’s body of knowledge, and help him brush up on skills. 

4. Learn something new. It’s now easier than ever for teens to learn something new. Have your teen pick a topic of interest and then look for helpful YouTube tutorials or online classes. My oldest daughter learned to play guitar using a few YouTube tutorials and by completing Thaddeus Hogarth’s excellent Guitar for Beginners Coursera class. 

5. Create a website. The internet is a big place! Encourage your teen to plant a flag somewhere on it by creating a website based upon a personal interest. Your teen can use the website to post book reviews, share blog posts about a topic she enjoys, or use it as a place to showcase her artwork, photography, or other skill. 

6. Start a YouTube Channel or a podcast. People love to watch videos and listen to content on the go, so encourage your teen to start recording. Your teen can establish himself as a talented content creator by posting product reviews, providing tutorials, vlogging, and/or conducting interviews. If he shares content regularly and widely, he may be able to gain a likeminded and loyal following.

7. Write and self-publish a book. Your teen doesn’t have to impress a big name publisher in order to get her well written book into the hands of a consumer. Cheer for your teenager as she writes and edits her masterpiece. Assist her in getting an ISBN number, and then help her make the title available on Amazon. 

8. Fine tune life skills. We want our teens to have the life skills they need to be successful adults. This is a great time to hone those essential budgeting, culinary, and trade skills. Use this time to create a family cookbook or to create an instructional manual for basic car care. 

9. Start an organization or a business. Teens are making a difference! Many of them are taking their passions and using them to improve their local communities and the world. I’m greatly impressed by the following teens who started small and are now well on their way to great things. 

• Sophia Andrews has a love for Kenyan children and for the arts. This led her to create Ngoma Kenya, a “non-profit organization that teaches dance and the arts to the children of Kenya”. Visit her website to learn about the impact her organization continues to make.
• Maryland baker Summer Laird is serving up delicious cakes via her business Summertime Sweets. Check out this talented 16-year-old dessert queen on Instagram using the handle @SummertimeSweets4u. or stop by her Facebook page.
• Ssanyu Lukoma is the CEO and Founder of Brown Kids Read, a “non-profit to motivate all children, but especially children of color to read more diverse literature.” Ssanyu is working hard to plant the important seeds of reading for the next generation. Head over to her website to learn more.

10. Serve as a virtual assistant. Teens are some of the most tech savvy people on Earth! See if your teen can put her skills to work as a virtual assistant. Many businesses are looking for individuals to create graphic designs, make update websites, and check emails. Former teachers who know and love your teen may be willing to offer her work.

COVID-19 has made education a bit  more complicated, but extracurricular activities still abound. They have not been cancelled! Talk to your teen and see if he or she is interested in any of the activities noted here. 

In order to satisfy our state’s high school graduation requirements, students must complete three years of laboratory science. Thus far, our lab sciences have included Biology, Chemistry, and Human Anatomy. 

In our homeschool, we prefer to use live, hands on science labs. My husband has done labs at here at home, but the girls have also completed labs at the homeschool cooperative, or through outside science classes taught by teachers with subject area degrees.

Though live labs are always our first choice, such labs may not always be possible. If you find yourself in such a situation, don’t worry. There are several free online resources available and you don’t even have to search for them! Check out this list featuring the best free virtual lab science resources I could find. 

Biology Resources

• NAVS Online Dissections
• The Biology Corner
• Biology By Me YouTube Channel
• Bullfrog Dissection
• Oh Worm Youtube Channel

Chemistry Resources

• Chem Collective Virtual Chemistry Labs
• Koen2all YouTube Channel

Human Anatomy Resources 

• Downstate Human Anatomy Dissections
• Healthline Human Body
• Anatomy Arcade
• Anatomy Guy
• Ackland Anatomy
• 4D Anatomy
• Inner Body 
• Zygote Body