Audio, Literature, Living Books

Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill (Audiobook)

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Today we have the third audiobook in the wonderful Betsy-Tacy series, read by Kara Shallenberg. Here’s her description of this volume:

Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill: the third book in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The series is based on the author’s life; her family and friends have been renamed, but they really were just like the the people in the books! In this book, Betsy, Tacy, and Tib all turn ten years old, and they’re obsessed with Kings and Queens.

Click here to go to the download page for this audiobook!

Audio, Literature, Living Books

Betsy-Tacy and Tib (Audiobook)

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Here’s the second book in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace, and read by Kara Shallenberg!  Kara writes about this volume:

Betsy-Tacy and Tib: the second book in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The series is based on the author’s life; her family and friends have been renamed, but they really were just like the the people in the books! In this book, Betsy, Tacy, and Tib, who are now eight years old, play just as well together as Betsy and Tacy did, and they never quarrel. They get into a little more trouble in this book, though!

If you ever wondered what child life was like in 1900, you’ll love this series. Highly recommended!

Click here to go to the download page for this audiobook!

Audio, Literature, Living Books

Betsy-Tacy (Audiobook)

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Kara Shallenberg, one of our favorite Librivox audiobook readers, recorded the wonderful Betsy – Tacy book series, and this week we are featuring the first three volumes of this delightful series by Maud Hart Lovelace.

Here’s what Kara writes about this first book:

Betsy-Tacy is the first book in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The series is based on the author’s life; her family and friends have been renamed, but they really were just like the the people in the books! The first book starts in 1897, when Betsy and Tacy meet, just before Betsy’s fifth birthday. (The series grows with the characters, so please don’t be put off by the relative simplicity of this first book.)

Give these a listen… they are great!

Click here to go to her listening page!

Audio, History, Literature, Living Books

40 G. A. Henty Audiobooks

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40 G. A. HENTY AUDIOBOOKS!

George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 – 16 November 1902), was a prolific English novelist best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His books are still read and enjoyed today and are a terrific way to bring pivotal events from history to life for young readers and listeners. Today, we bring you a link from which you can download all these classic unabridged “living history” Henty audiobooks:

Among Malay Pirates
At Agincourt – White Hoods of Paris
Beric the Briton: A Story of the Roman Invation
By Pike and Dyke
The Cat of Bubastes
Dragon and the Raven: or The Days of King Alfred
In Freedom’s Cause
On the Irrawaddy, a Story of the First Burmese War
One of the 28th – a Tale of Waterloo
Saint George for England
St. Bartholomew’s Eve
Through Russian Snows
Through the Fray
The Tiger of Mysore
True to the Old Flag… AND MANY MORE!

Courtesy of Librivox.org, you can download and enjoy these complete, unabridged audio reading of one of Henty’s best historical adventure novels. These are read by different readers and the quality varies from acceptable to truly excellent (By Pike and Dyke, The Tiger of Mysore).

Our link takes you to the Librivox results page for ALL their G. A. Henty audiobooks. Just click on the titles you wish to download, and you’ll be taken to the individual download page for that book.  You’ll be able to download these audiobooks a chapter at a time, or each complete title all at once. Bookmark the page if you need to come back to it later!

Click here!

Tip: The 64K mp3 versions sound just as good as the 128K mp3 versions — and is half the size. These are huge files, so plan accordingly!

Audio, Autumn, Just for Fun

Favorite Kiddy Songs for Fall (and Punky Pumpkin too!)

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Well, today we’re off for a return visit to the countryside where a delightful stack of fun, classic children’s records from yesteryear awaits us.

First up, join in on a jolly version of the classic children’s song, “Oats, Peas, Beans” by Roger White, as we quickly follow Mr. Farmer through his very busy day.

Next, we stop by the house of “The Little Crooked Man” (of the Mother Goose rhyme) with his crooked cat and crooked mouse, and then visit “The Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe” in a fine record by Roy Hallee.

Next, we travel with Uncle Don Down On The Farm where we meet all the animals in a fun musical adventure from long ago Sonora Records.

And last but not least, we join Uncle Lumpy as he tells about one of our favorite characters, Little Orley in a couple of fun musical adventures… as he is first unexpectedly serenaded by a little mouse and his friends in the Barnyard… and then puts on his own great barnyard concert you’ve just got to hear to believe.

All of the above = loads of fun for kids of all ages. Enjoy your visit down on the farm!

Here are your download links. You can click these to stream online, or RIGHT CLICK these and “save” to your computer:

Oats Peas Beans & Barley
(.6 megs, 3 minutes)

There Was a Crooked Man /There Was An Old Woman
(1.3 megs, 6 minutes)

Uncle Don Down on the Farm
(2.3 megs, 12 minutes)

The Barn Dance
(3 megs, 3 minutes)

Orley’s Big Concert
(7.4 megs, 8 minutes)

And finally…

THE PUNKY PUMPKIN SONG! (MP3 audio)

Here’s one more little treat from us to you… one of our favorite fall songs… and certainly the catchiest song about a pumpkin ever! This song does mention Halloween in passing, so if that bothers you, don’t download it. But if you just want a fun, old fashioned pumpkin song, check it out and your kids will soon be singing along!

To download this MP3 song, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your computer. To just play it online, click the link.

Let us know if you enjoy your musical visit to the countryside!

Family Life

Home Haircuts and how to give them

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HOME HAIRCUTS AND HOW TO GIVE THEM (PDF guide)

By request, we’re reposting this great resource from our email several months back. Enjoy!

It’s not nearly as hard as you might think it is to cut your family’s hair! Just learning the very simple basics will save you hundreds of dollars every year (and you won’t have to drag the kids to the barber shop every time they get shaggy, either). Just follow this great guide from our Homemaker’s Mentor Library and do it yourself. Yes, you! Easy peasy! Like a boss!

Click here to download this PDF ebook:

HOME HAIRCUTS AND HOW TO GIVE THEM

Art Appreciation

Classic Art Appreciation

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Here’s a wonderful page that’s chock full of art appreciation lessons, art activities and downloads from Nadene Esterhuizen at PracticalPages. Of particular interest are the excellent resources about famous artists & their work, and an extensive art era timeline.

As Nadene writes in her introduction, these follow the Charlotte Mason method of study:

“Children should learn pictures, line by line, group by group, reading, not books, but pictures themselves … After a short story of the artist’s life … the pictures are studied one at a time. Children learn not merely to see a picture but to look at it, taking in every detail.”

These are excellent art history/appreciation tools for all ages!

CLICK HERE to go to the download page

Reading

How to Be a Reading Tutor

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“HOW TO BE A READING TUTOR” by Brad Hill

This is an excellent six part tutorial specifically on how to be a Reading Tutor for older students and teens who cannot read at the third grade level. It was written for people who are volunteer one-on-one tutors in schools, but it is extremely helpful and adaptable when working with homeschooled students who have reading problems too. It is filled with specific tips and suggestions, along with a breakdown of what you want to do and accomplish with each session. Very practical and effective “hands on” tutoring.

Unfortunately, the author’s website has been taken offline, and We’ve had no luck at all trying to track him down. However, an archived version of the page IS available, and the links to each part of the six part series are working fine as of this moment. Therefore, if this is something that would be useful to you, I’d strongly suggest that you go ahead and print it out, as it may not always be available online.

CLICK HERE to go to the site on Archive.org

Just for Fun

Dinosaur Mazes & more

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KrazyDad.com offers dozens and dozens of collections of easy (and not-so-easy) mazes that you can print out for your kids.

These come in handy downloadable PDF ebooks containing 12 mazes per ebook and include collections of geometric shaped mazes, animal shaped mazes, and yes, even Dinosaur shaped mazes. Dinosaur shaped mazes! It doesn’t get any better than that! These are great “thinking puzzles” that keep young hands busy for extended periods of time.

CLICK HERE to go to the website

History, Horses, Living Books

Horses in Legend and History

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The Horse Fair by James Baldwin (PDF ebook)

In this neat mix of stories, legends and history, Young Philip, resting after his plowing, is surprised by a mysterious gentleman who invites him to a wondrous and magical horse fair at which he sees great horses from literature and history. This is an excellent “living book” by James Baldwin that will appeal to horse lovers, fans of classic “living books”, and history buffs!

To download this PDF ebook, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save link” to your computer. Mac users, press the “control” key then click the link and save to your mac.