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If you haven’t already discovered the joy of podcasts with your children, I highly recommend you change that.  If you need some ideas, you can look at my first post on “Audio Education” for some of our favorites.

For those of you that share in my joy of more peaceful car rides in our post-podcast world(at least once they have agreed upon what to listen to), hopefully you know about Brains ON!  It is definitely one of the most vociferously requested ones (especially by our very loud girl).

They also have a Kickstarter campaign that I should have mentioned earlier….their’s ends crazy early on St. Patrick’s day (3/17, for you less-Irish types ).  They have some fun “rewards” for contributing at a little higher amounts, and even for only a few bucks you can have the warm-fuzzy of giving for an educational good like free good science content for kiddos!

Here is the link for their Kickstarter campaign:

For those of you looking for a nice classic book to read AND/OR listen to, Amazon is currently offering the Kindle version AND the Audiobook (Audible version) of Black Beauty FREE!!!  (this is an affiliate link, but it is still free). Like most girls, I went though a “horse phase” and this is certainly a well-loved classic in the genre. There are definitely some more emotionally challenging parts in the book, so I will probably wait to actually share it with my littles until they are a bit older. But it is easy to access in your Amazon account down the road when I think they are ready!

Amazon prices change quickly, so no idea how long this deal will be available. Make sure you check the box “Add Audible narration to your purchase for just $0.00” under the “Buy now with 1-Click” button before you purchase.  You do not need to be an Audible subscriber to buy the Audible content (audiobook version).

I still need to finish my post on using the “Whisper-Sync” Kindle books for more “Audio Education”, but feel free to leave a question in the comments if you have any trouble.

Enjoy!

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There is no “affiliate” option for Kickstarter, and they are already fully funded, so I am sharing this totally just because I think it is awesome!

This is totally late notice, but their is a great KickStarter project that closes March 10, 2016 at 11:59 PST. Hoffman Academy is already pretty great because they offer FREE online Piano video lessons. The Kickstarter campaign is to fund an expansion of their offerings, adding 6 more 20-lesson units, and also to develop interactive games and practice tools that could be accessed through a paid subscription.  In their words:

Sure, video lessons are great, but what about getting feedback on your progress? Enter Hoffman Academy 2.0. Our team is currently designing a new interface that will deepen and accelerate your learning through interactive features like music learning games, progress tracking, and personalized practice instructions.

They are offering a special deal for the Kickstarter- a lifetime membership for $250, plus $45 for each additional student. The lifetime membership will include all the additional materials for the existing units (currently $19 each), plus all the stuff they will be developing for “2.0”, which will later be offered for $15/month.  They also have lower dollar amounts for limited subscriptions, but the “lifetime” is by far the best deal, especially if you have multiple “students”.

Neither my husband nor I play the piano, but are somewhat musical (choir for me, guitar for him).  We’ve both felt we’ve missed out by not being able to play the piano, which is why we got a cheap used piano a few years ago.  My kids plunk on it sometimes,and my oldest has specifically stated he would like to learn piano. A few weeks back I had my oldest son test the first lesson, including purchasing the additional materials.  It was short, user-friendly, and made me realize how painfully out of tune the piano is, which is why I haven’t had him do more lessons yet. The additional materials were a nice way to reinforce & extend the info in the lesson, plus offering something that could go in a homeschooling portfolio!

I signed our family up for all our kids, plus my husband & myself. So five of us could be totally competent on the piano in a few years- watch out VonTrapps!!

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Two of my very favorite art things I have ever purchased for my children are having special Cyber Monday deals.  And two great tastes are even better together! I know this is late notice, but thought I would share in case at least a couple of you can take advantage….

Continue reading “Great deals for great activities (or gifts)!”

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