Category: Holidays

Holidays

Our Favorite Homeschool Ideas for the Holidays

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Our Favorite Homeschool Ideas For The Holidays (PDF ebook)

There’s a very good reason we bring this little ebook back each year. Whether you’re ready for it or not, the holiday season is here! And while we can’t control the calendar, we CAN control what the holidays are going to be like in our own households. Now’s the time to plan how to make the next few weeks the best time of the year for your family.

We surveyed over 800 homeschool families and asked them to share their favorite holiday activities and ideas – what worked for them, and what did not. This is a compilation of the very best responses and ideas we received. In this little collection you’ll find dozens of great holiday learning activities plus tips and suggestions for balancing homeschool & family during the hectic holiday season. This is some of the very best “real life” advice on the subject you’ll find ANYWHERE at any price. Don’t miss it!

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

Audio, Holidays

All-Time Favorite Holiday Stories for the Ears

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This year we’ve put our two most popular Holiday Season collections into ONE wonderful bundle — CLICK HERE to see (and hear) all the details!

Lots of happy testimonials from other homeschool families:

 

I purchased the holiday stories last year since our family enjoys reading aloud  

and audio books. We truly enjoyed the stories and listened to them daily.

It has become a new Christmas tradition as all four of my children (including teens!)

begged to listen to The Cinnamon Bear every day. Thank you for these wholesome,

timeless adventures! – Rachel R

 

Definitely get the Homeschool Radio Shows “All Time Favorite Holiday Stories” collection!

We got them last year and they were a hit. It really set the mood for the holidays.

Never got tired of listening to them. It really brings the past into the here and now.” — Melissa H.

 

The tradition continues. Now I am purchasing this set for my daughter and her little

family. She has fond memories of this set when she was living at home and

homeschooled! Thanks  for continuing to offer it. – Felice G.

 

Thank you so much for the Cinnamon Bear stories.  It has become a family tradition

to start listening to them on the way to their Nonnie’s for Thanksgiving.  We listen

to them only in the car and finish up the story by Christmas.  It’s the only time of

the year we play it. My girls talk about them throughout the year.  – Colleen

 

This is our favorite collection for the Holidays – our daughter even pulls it out

to listen to in the heat of summer:) Thanks for making this available for

generations to come! – Angela

 

We may have been one of the original “Cinnamon Bear Listeners” from your site.

A Christmas tradition at our house. We even have a Paddy O’ Cinnamon that we

put on our tree each year. – Christine W.

 

There were many delights as we listened to your Holiday Stories Collection…

We listened starting as soon as it arrived and continued on into January.

 

One of the greatest treasures we found on the MP3 was a version of

“A Christmas Carol” featuring Lionel Barrymore. I sat utterly amazed when

I first heard his voice. The first few seconds of the program brought back such

a familiarity to me — I had previously thought I would NEVER hear that

version again and have missed it every Christmas since getting married and leaving home.

My parents had an old LP record of the very same show that we would listen to

on our family’s old stereo when I was growing up. We listened to it “to death,”

helping bump the needle whenever it got stuck on scratches. =^) That old record has long been lost.

 

How excited I was to tell my two children that this program was the VERY SAME ONE

their mommy and her siblings used to LOVE listening to every Christmas when they

were young! I thought there was no way to ever hear that program again, but thanks to you,

we are carrying on the tradition of listening that that old favorite,

along with many new ones, during the holidays!

 

(By the way, my daughter was in a thrift store this spring and found a paperback copy

of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” She insisted she was old enough to read it

and bought it with her own money (she was then 6). Your radio shows spur on much

love, familiarity, and reading of original classics at our house. Thank you!” With Thanks – Karla

 

We’ve been with you since the beginning and bought the Holiday Stories when you

first offered them, and listen to them every holiday season! They are truly a treasure!

Thanks for the reminder today to pull them up and start listening again. – Martha

 

I also have to say what a great resource this was last year. We brought the

Cinnamon Bear Companion also and did the lapbook, coloring book and games

with our youngest (7 years). I want to add that after 6 years of family homeschooling

it was the best project we have ever done 🙂 – Shelley B.

 

Click HERE to go to the collections!

History, Holidays, Living Books

Mary of Plymouth

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Mary of Plymouth: A Story of the Pilgrim Settlement by James Otis (PDF ebook)

“My name is Mary, and I am setting down all these things about our people here in this new world, hoping some day to send my dear friend, Hannah, who lives in Scrooby, England, what may really come to be a story… even though the writer of it is only sixteen years old, having lived in Plymouth since the day our company landed from the Mayflower in 1620, more than eleven years ago…”

So begins this excellent book about the pilgrims and the colony of Plymouth, as told through the eyes of a young pilgrim girl named Mary. This classic “living book”, written by James Otis and originally published in 1910, is full of history, fascinating details about the daily lives of the pilgrims, along with plenty of action and adventure. Profusely illustrated and highly recommended. this is back by popular request! Another great story to share with your kids as we draw closer to our own Thanksgiving celebrations!

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

Holidays, Living Books

The Children’s Book of Thanksgiving Stories

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This classic story collection edited by Asa Don Dickinson features dozens of Thanksgiving-related stories for young people by many different authors, and includes everything from fairy tales to true historic narratives. The table of contents notes which ones are more suited to little readers or listeners, and which are better for older readers. There’s lots of fun and heartwarming tales in this vintage collection. Great for read-aloud!

This ebook is available from Project Gutenberg in multiple formats, including kindle, mobi, html and plain text. (But not PDF)

CLICK HERE to go to the download page!

History, Holidays, Living Books

The First New England Christmas

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“The First New England Christmas: A Story of Life in the Colonies” by Stone & Frickett (PDF ebook)

Today’s resource is this excellent short story of the first Christmas in New England, in the year 1620. If you’ve been curious as to how the early Pilgrims celebrated Christmas, read this – you may be surprised at what you discover!

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

History, Holidays, Living Books

The Christmas of 1776

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The Christmas of 1776: A Young Maiden’s Story by Anne Hollingsworth Wharton (PDF ebook)

Today’s resource is this delightful short story of a young girl’s Christmas experiences during the tumultuous time of the American Revolution, taken from the book “A Last Century Maiden” by Anne Hollingsworth Wharton. Lots of fascinating history and details of old-time holiday celebrations make this story a great read-aloud for the whole family! Check it out!

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

Arts & Crafts, Holidays

Santa’s Christmas Village – Paper Doll Project

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SANTA’S CHRISTMAS VILLAGE

Want a fun “hands on” decoration project for your kids for the Christmas season? This is it! Print, cut out and assemble your own vintage “paper doll” Christmas village scene. Great fun!

Click here to go to the download page!

Tip: Be sure to use the link in the red text near the bottom of the page to download the .zip archive file to get the whole thing in one download. Otherwise, you’ll have to download each individual page.

History, Holidays, Living Books

Pilgrim Stories III: Little Pilgrims & The Red Men

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Pilgrim Stories III: Little Pilgrims & The Red Men (PDF ebook)

Today we have the conclusion to this absolutely delightful three part serialization of the story of the Pilgrims – perfect for “read aloud” and sharing with the kids over the next couple of weeks! In Part Three, we learn how children from the Pilgrim settlements fared with their encounters with their Native American neighbors – this includes some outstanding stories of danger, adventure & friendship!

Also included in Part Three: A short but helpful “Teacher’s Guide” to learning more about the Pilgrims’ life and times through play-acting and other fun activities. Great stuff!

To download today’s resource, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your computer! Mac users, hold the “control” key down and click the link, then save to your mac.

History, Holidays, Living Books

Pilgrim Stories II: The Wild Land & Thanksgiving

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Pilgrim Stories II: The Wild Land & Thanksgiving (PDF ebook) 

In Part Two of our great “Pilgrim Stories” collection, the Pilgrims at long last arrive in the “New World”, only to find it a truly “wild land” filled with incredible danger and hardships. Providentially, they are befriended just when they need it most, and the very first Thanksgiving is celebrated.

To download today’s resource, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your computer! Mac users, hold the “control” key down and click the link, then save to your mac.

History, Holidays, Living Books

Pilgrim Stories I: From Old Homes to New

HomeschoolFreebie |

Pilgrim Stories, Book I: From Old Homes to New (PDF ebook)

After several years absence, this week we are again featuring this absolutely delightful three part serialization of “Pilgrim Stories”, originally published in 1910. This is a wonderful “read aloud” resource that you can share with the kids over the next couple of weeks, to make Thanksgiving not only a family celebration, but a learning time as well.

We are loving this series! Thank you so much! We read almost the entire book the first day. My son is only 6 and I was amazed how much he enjoyed it! He didn’t want me to stop! I can’t wait to finish reading the rest of the series to him!- Diana

I can say enough how much we are enjoying this series of books. We keep reading and don’t want to stop. My children are very young but are really getting a lot out of these. They go very nicely with our study of Thanksgiving. These stories of real people help my children understand. – Connie

In Part One, we meet the Pilgrims and learn why they were forced to leave their homes in search of a place they could freely worship… a journey which had many false starts, and which eventually led to a hazardous journey across the ocean in hopes of reaching the “New World” and a place they could make their own.

To download today’s resource, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your computer! Mac users, hold the “control” key down and click the link, then save to your mac.