Big Geography Sale - Get Ready for Olympics 2014 With Us!

In just 35 short days, the Olympic torch relay for the 2014 Winter Olympics will begin! It's time to plan on some fascinating geography unit studies so that your team can be prepared for all of the lessons that can be learned from these international games.

In 157 days, the Olympics 2014 will begin in Sochi, Russia - get ready for the learning adventure now! We are already hard at work on a new 4-week Unit Study Adventure study - Olympics 2014, for grades K-12. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we make plenty of exciting announcements!

Every geography unit study that we offer is on sale this week, so make sure to load up now and plan for the weeks leading up to the Olympics. Check out this week's specials:

K - 4 One-Week Studies If purchased separately: $62.65
Classic Price: $42.00

Expedition Africa	Expedition Ireland
Expedition Australia	Expedition Israel
Expedition Canada	Expedition Mexico
Expedition China

- See more at: http://unitstudy.com/classics.html#sthash.uJ6Y1ARh.dpuf

Classic Geography Resource Library:
If purchased separately: $62.65, on sale this week for only $25!
Includes 7 of our very popular Download N Go™ studies, for grades K-4:

• Expedition Africa
• Expedition Australia 
• Expedition Canada
• Expedition China
• Expedition Ireland
• Expedition Israel
• Expedition Mexico

Passport Geography Series:
Each country has three purchasing options: 
Scout (K-6)     Regular: $8.95     SALE: $5
Explorer (7-12)     Regular: $8.95     SALE: $5
Combo (includes both Scout & Explorer levels)  Regular: $12.95     SALE: $8

(All sale prices good through 9/7/13)

And I am thrilled to announce this week's giveaway! The prize is winner's choice of language for a Level 1 Rosetta Stone Homeschool Program - what a FANTASTIC prize! Use the box below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Trees, Animals, and Baseball—Hear God Laughing?

While some of you might already know, let me bring the rest of you up to speed. I’ve learned through homeschooling that God does, indeed, have a sense of humor. Of the many things that I was not gifted with at birth, there are three that stand out. 

First, I am not a huge indoor-animal lover. Animals are great if they are outdoors, and I love going to the zoo or seeing a wolf running along outside of the van when the windows are closed. So it should come as no surprise that the Lord gave us a child who loved animals of all types, indoors and outdoors, and we homeschooled through it all. At the height of her veterinary college years, we had five dogs, all indoors. What was I thinking? See, I told you that God has a sense of humor. Today, she is a gifted emergency veterinarian! 

Second, I grew up in a football household. My dad was a quarterback for two different college teams during his college career, and that was the only real sport at our house. All three daughters and one son had to learn how to throw a proper spiral! Any other sport wasn't considered a real sport, particularly baseball. So why was it so surprising when our youngest son ONLY wanted to learn more about baseball and spent hours upon hours throwing a baseball at the brick wall outside? You guessed it—he is a 6' 4" baseball player, and he is just about to begin his college career as a pitcher. Humor, once again.

Third, and this one really touches my heart, (and I'm sure God is laughing AND smiling with me) I have a brown thumb when it comes to trees and outdoor landscaping, totally. On the other hand, my husband's degree is in agriculture and he can grow anything. Our oldest son inherited that gift from his dad; he loves all things landscaping-oriented, and he and his dad manage our TREE farm! :) Our tree farm has touched many lives; our trees are shipped all over the country as gifts for all kinds of events: new babies, marriages, memorials, and so on. This was our son's idea, which has enabled us to brighten up lives with our trees. Imagine—they grow trees, while I can kill a silk plant! :) 

God DOES have a sense of humor. If I can homeschool three kids whose strengths are my weakest points, and they can go on to excel at these specialties in spite of my limits, then I know He can do anything. :) Stay with Him and you will not go wrong. Life will never be boring, I can guarantee that! 

Blessings,

Amanda

Life, Lessons & Sports

Hike!” The cry could be heard up and down our neighborhood on Saturdays when I was a child. These days, football for kids is more organized, but the family fun factor is still there. Here in our small town, the beginning of football season for the youngest players is quite an event, and it is celebrated all over town. Their team colors match the local high school colors, and they are so proud of their uniforms and the chance to play. This is truly a family sport in my town! 

When this young team takes the field, ages 5 and up, their helmets and shoulder pads are just about all that you can see; they closely resemble bobble-heads. Parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members bring along lawn chairs, as well as coolers full of sports drinks, sodas, and lunch. This is when the fun begins for these families, and memories and friendships are formed. 

At the Bennett house, football season is always greatly anticipated and the countdown has begun here. While we have raised baseball and softball players, everyone still has a favorite college football team, and the weekend gatherings to watch games on television are memorable. Football provided some of the earliest lessons in strategy, along with an understanding of the importance of teamwork. They learned about the dedication to faith and God-given talents of some Christian college athletes. Our kids still follow the lives and accomplishments of these dedicated young men who are now professional football players, missionaries, and more. 

There have been some priceless lessons along the way—lessons about life and sports and kids. I hope that you and your crew can find the same kinds of lessons as you travel along your adventures in learning. Life lessons from sports—who knew that learning could be so much fun? 

Blessings,
Amanda

Score and Save BIG!

Hey sports fans, this week is just for YOU! Score points with your kids and save BIG! In addition, we have 3 ways to save and FREE planner download that will help you prepare for the next school year!

1st way to save:

Buy 5, Save $5 - purchase 5 titles of your choice at one time, and we will give you $5 off your order - this includes sale items!  There is no limit and no codes required. It's really that easy to save, and we are getting the sale started with 5 fun titles - check it out below!

2nd way to save:

Purchase 10 units in July and you earn a FREE unit in August. Purchase 15 units and we’ll give you 2 FREE units in August! To qualify, the 10 unit studies can be purchased at anytime during the month and we keep track of them for you. Take advantage of the "buy 5, save $5" deal and you are half way there! There is no limit and it includes sale items!

3rd way to save:

We have some great deals lined up on our specials page that will help you score BIG! Check them out!

Handsome Horses - $5
Simply Soccer - $5
Football Frenzy - $5
Baseball - $5
Horses - $5
Athletes in the Bible -$5

Sale ends 7/20/13.

For more fun, follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter!

Don't forget to grab your FREE Build a Year Planner! It makes planning so very simple AND you save big in the process. We'll be offering weekly savings this month on a huge variety of titles to help you fill in the planner for a year of exciting learning adventures!

April Surprises and Priorities

Rain + kids = so much fun!

I don’t know about you, but some of our favorite memories of raising our kids come from those rainy days when there was no lightning, just tons of big, fat, juicy raindrops and three kids with umbrellas and rain boots.

Living in Florida, we had surprise afternoons of rain that were perfect for these kinds of adventures. They would play on the sidewalk, building dams and splashing through any and all puddles that they could find–my fearless explorers.

That these times were so memorable had something to do with the element of surprise and spur of the moment freedom. They involved no electronics or planning–they could just go outside and play. I have learned so much from our kids, and one of the most important lessons was the importance of going with the flow and living with a bit of spontaneity, seizing the day for all it is worth.

As much comfort as we gain from plans and planners, don’t lose site of the goal. One of my favorite quotes about raising kids and having fun came from the famous baseball player, Harmon Killebrew:

“My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.
Mother would come out and say, ‘You're tearing up the grass.’
‘We're not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We're raising boys.’”

There's Still Time for Mom and Baseball

This week's sale on the DNG Mother's Day and USA Baseball studies ends tonight at midnight.  Don't miss saving 25% off of each of these wonderful studies.

Click HERE to see more info.

Click HERE to see more info.

Celebrating Moms and . . . Baseball!

With only 21 days until Mother's Day, it's time to get ready to make some memories and honor the special ladies in your children's lives! As a child, this was one of my favorite holidays, spent making gifts for my mother, grandmothers, aunts, and friends. Honoring these special women was such an important part of this celebration, and the Mother's Day DNG was written to help capture these thoughts and instill them in our children.  

25% off until
April 22

God created the family and we can use unit studies like Mother's Day to reinforce the firm foundation of families, beginning with both mother and father. Stay tuned--the newFather's Day DNG is soon to be released! :) Join us as we get ready for these important celebrations! 

25% off until
 April 22

As spring gets into full swing here in the mountains, my thoughts are also turning to the coming days, when I'll be back on the bleachers at the baseball field, cheering for my favorite baseball player as he follows his passion for playing the sport. As one mom recently shared, baseball is such a fun and special sport, and we have all learned so much from watching our kids play over the years. To expand that learning even more and help you get in the swing of the new season, we're featuring the Unit Study Adventures Baseball study this week. Read more of the details below. 

Until next time,

Amanda B.

P.S. Don't miss my next presentation from the comfort of your home! This time I'll be speaking online at the Ultimate Homeschool Expo on April 28 at 2 p.m. (EDT). My topic? Unit Studies: Powerfully Simple Tools. Find some chocolate and listen in as I share one of my most popular presentations, and this time--no driving necessary!