Enjoy your Christmas and New Year’s! We’ll be back with plenty more goodies for you on January 7th!
(Cartoons courtesy of daughter Jess @ CrunchyBunny.com)
Category: Uncategorized
The Man Without a Country – Audio Dramatization
There are few tales charged with stronger patriotism than breathes from this narrative of a man who “loved his country as no other man has loved her; but no man deserved less at her hands.” — Henry Seidel Canby
“The Man Without A Country” is Edward Everett Hale’s haunting and patriotic tale of Philip Nolan, a young man enamored of the charismatic Aaron Burr. He participates in Burr’s mystery shrouded empire building scheme, for which Burr was charged with treason. But while Burr and the other leaders escape punishment, Nolan is convicted. When the presiding judge offers him an opportunity to prove his loyalty to the United States, Nolan replies in fury: “D—n the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!”
…and… for the next 50 YEARS he gets his wish.
This is a powerful and poignant tale — the ultimate “think before you speak” story — that you will long remember.
To listen to this 30 minute MP3 audio dramatization of this classic living book, CLICK HERE.
PROGRAM NOTE! Parents, we’re telling you this upfront, because we don’t want any emails fussing at us: Be aware that the protagonist of this story at one point does indeed yell out “D**n the United States!” This is a crucial turning point in the story, portrayed exactly as written in the original book. It is not done for sensationalistic reasons — it is a vital part of the story being told. We could have spliced this out of the story, but it is a key point in the plot and the original book, so we have allowed it to remain. Obviously in 1954 the producers of this program – made specifically for family listening – felt the same way. If this is not acceptable to you, PLEASE DON’T DOWNLOAD THIS STORY!
Learn Greek!
LEARN GREEK FREE
Learn Greek Free.com offers a complete 13 lesson video course (along with dozens of free downloadable handouts & review sheets) to enable students to read the New Testament in the original language. No other resources or books are required.
As explained by instructor D. Eric Williams:
“The method of instruction employed at LearnGreekFree.com is designed to begin the learning process as quickly as possible. The lesson plan will enable you to read the New Testament Greek after a few hours of study. Rather than burden students with morphological technicalities right off the bat, the pupil will learn Greek grammar in the same way he learned his mother tongue; in context and as the need arises. In this fashion the learner is able to make quick progress and the learning of the Greek becomes a joy, not a burden.”
Click here to check it out!
Make your own Flexagons & Geometric Toys
FLEXAGONS & OTHER COOL GEOMETRIC TOYS
In these hands-on tutorials, you’ll learn how to make a flexagon, a most fascinating geometric toy! It looks like an ordinary paper hexagon with a front and a back, but hidden inside is a third side (or face) that can be brought to the outside by flexing the paper.
Flexagons are folded paper polygons that have the neat feature of changing faces as they are flexed. There are many types of flexagons. The names of flexagons tell the type of polygon and the number of faces.
Click here to go to the Flexagon introductory page with instructions on how to make a basic Flexagon.
Then to make a Hexa-hexaflexagon, go here.
Then to make a Tri-tretraflexagon, go here.
And THEN, to make a way cool FLEXTANGLE, go here!
The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow
THE STORY OF ROLF AND THE VIKING BOW
Set in Iceland in the middle ages, this great historic adventure story by Allen French (a friend of C. S. Lewis & Tolkien) is about young Rolf’s adventures both as a Viking and a slave, during a period when the new teachings of Christianity were still mixed with the old customs of his land. Lots of adventure & interesting twists in a story that also portrays betrayal & forgiveness, honor & virtue, how to face adversity and the danger of pride. Highly recommended!
To download the scanned PDF of this book, RIGHT CLICK HERE then “save” to your computer.
To download the kindle version of this book, RIGHT CLICK HERE then “save” to your computer.
To download the epub version of this book, RIGHT CLICK HERE then “save” to your computer.
Stories of Great Musicians
STORIES OF GREAT MUSICIANS (multiformat ebook)
Today we have this well done book by Olive Brown Horne and Kathrine Lois Scobey, featuring biographies of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Schubert & Wagner. Written for grades 4-5, this would also make a good read-aloud and an excellent introduction to these musicians’ lives and work. Lots of illustrations too!
To read this book online in HTML format, click here.
To download this book in Kindle format, RIGHT CLICK HERE then “save” to your computer.
To download this book in EPUB format, RIGHT CLICK HERE then “save” to your computer.
(No PDF version currently available.)
Admiral of the Ocean Sea (Columbus Day)
Admiral of the Ocean Sea (mp3 audio, 30 minutes + PDF listening guide)
In honor of Columbus Day next week, we’ve got an excellent “Living Book for the Ears” program to share with you, this one hosted by the great Orson Welles! This is a story of vision and hope and what can be accomplished when a person pursues a dream. It refers to Christopher Columbus and his voyage that discovered America but it is really so much more. It is more about the spirit in which Christopher Columbus pursued life. He looked at life through a different looking glass, with a vision full of opportunity and promise. What can we learn from him and those who came before and after him? Find out in this wonderful audio program! Includes a good short Listening Guide too!
To download this MP3 audio, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your computer
To download the PDF Listening Guide for this program, RIGHT CLICK HERE and “save” to your computer
Young Naturalist
YOUNG NATURALIST
Wow! This has to be the motherlode of nature stories for kids! You will definitely want to check this out.
Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine’s “Young Naturalists” series is designed to engage elementary and middle school students with a wide variety of nonfiction topics on natural science and outdoor life. Each full color, illustrated story is accompanied by a Young Naturalists teachers guide that includes ready-made classroom activities. Bookmark this impressive library of over 100 stories and refer to it as you study outdoor and nature topics. Highly recommended!
Click here to go to the site!
Kids’ Sewing Projects
Want to teach your kids (or yourself) how to sew? Well, today we point you to two great sewing sites:
kids-sewing-projects.com contains dozens of fun sewing projects for kids, categorized in difficulty levels for beginning to advanced students. Dozens of neat projects here!
Click here to go to the Kids-Sewing-Projects project index!
Kids in the Kitchen
A while back, we asked our readers to share with us their very best advice for getting the kids interested and involved in cooking in the kitchen
– without creating a disaster in the process.
This little ebook is a compilation of the best responses we received: It’s full of practical, “real life” suggestions, tips and stories that will help you teach your children food prep skills, prevent potential disasters, and instill great fun and enjoyment into their “kitchen work”. Whatever age YOUR young ones are, you will definitely glean some great ideas and insights from this collection.
To download this PDF ebook, CLICK HERE!
Important note:
We are sending out great “home based” freebies exclusively to folks on our email list every weekday: puzzles, brain teasers, “hands on” activities, classic audio stories, and much more. They are all meant to give you some quality educational fun time while at home.
You need to get on our list and join us! It doesn’t cost a thing… just SIGN UP BELOW!