Homeschool? Thinking about it? Check this out!

This contest is geared toward Homeschooling moms - but does include Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins and Amazon.com gift certificates too! (So if you you're not a homeschooler or a wanna be homeschooler - enter the contest and tell your friends!) THE PRIZE: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and Amanda Bennett Unit Studies have teamed up to celebrate the successful launch of Download N Go™ with a Sweet Treat Prize Package in The Adventure Begins ... Giveaway! They're offering one lucky winner the SWEET chance to go EXPLORING this FALL! The entire FALL curriculum lineup of Download N Go™ (Wow! That's 19 studies!). A $25 gift certificate to Baskin-Robbins (yummy ice cream). A $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com (for those back-to-school supplies). A $15 gift certificate to Starbucks Coffee (a special treat just for the teacher). A full year's subscription to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine (encouragement and resources all year long). A "sweet" blue and brown Homeschooling With Heart tote bag (THE must-have accessory for FALL!). ENTER HERE! For more information just click on the icon above! Contest will run May 24 and through June 12! There is also a blog tour for the Download N Go Studies - you can follow the reviews here! *** DNG has decided to offer a coupon code for 20% off multiple packs of the DNG units! Wow - 20%. Please share this in your DNG blog post/review! Both you and your readers are eligible to use the coupon code! The code is: DNG20PKS - just use that code at check out and receive 20% off any multiple pack purchase

More About Download N Go™ Seattle, WA - 5/28/2010 - Download N Go™ studies are daily lessons and lapbook instructions woven together with eye-pleasing pages and interactivity based on exciting themes-ready for immediate use. You can try them out for 20% off (use the coupon code I mentioned above) just in time for your fall lesson plan! Expand your family's homeschool horizons--add Download N Go™ to your homeschool! All the research is done for you; just dig right in and start learning! There are no expensive resources required; these units are complete and very affordable. Download N Go™ studies are a new kind of learning experience! Exactly what will you find in each weekly study? · Lapbooking activities. As the student works through the week, he/she is creating a lapbook-a finished capsule of learning. · Daily lessons. Each study is one week in length, having five daily lessons with lapbook components for each day. Simple to use, step by step, but complete in content! · Eye-pleasing pages of integrated, reusable studies. Studies include history, geography, reading, science, spelling, vocabulary, writing, art, and more in reusable units, printable as needed-use them for your first child now, your second child in two years, and your third in six! Nothing is consumed. · Resource list for optional further study. These studies each have a great list of books that you can use to enrich your learning, but they are not required. This study is complete on its own. If desired, find books easily at your local library using the title and ISBN information for suggested optional resources. · Interactivity built in with hyperlinks embedded right in the study. All the research and preparation have been done! Enjoy a variety of multimedia selections, such as video clips and animations, plus educational and craft sites. You'd spend all week searching if you had to find all these great links yourself! · Exciting themes. Units are theme-based and full of exciting discoveries and motivation to develop lifelong learners. Your students will look forward to the next day's investigation! Designed to allow you to work them into your schedule (holidays are planned a few weeks ahead), plan to do them a few weeks after receiving them, or a few months-it's up to you! · Ready to download for immediate use. Download instantly! A few inexpensive materials are needed for the lapbook, consisting of basic art and school supplies you probably already have on hand such as a simple file folder, a glue stick, safety scissors, brass brads, and crayons or markers. That's it-simple, effective, and what a way to learn! The learning process is on GO from that point on-let the fun begin! Are you planning for fall? Consider these options ... Studying animals? Check out the animals in Expedition Australia, Dolphin Days, and Whale Tales. Add hands-on history fun with Amelia Earhart, Davy Crockett, and Ben Franklin. Travel farther in geography with Expedition Mexico, Expedition China, Expedition Ireland, and Expedition Australia! There are many more possibilities! Whether your schooling approach is unit studies, textbook, relaxed, or a mix of different styles, enriching your child's learning is easy with Download N Go™. Print your copy of the handy checklist and start adding learning, fun, and adventure today! Remember, the more units your purchase, the bigger the savings. (and don't forget to use the coupon code mentioned above!)

Guest Review: Imaginary Jesus

My awesome friend Julia (who lives too far away and we don't get to gab enough) swiped my copy of Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos (well maybe I gave it to her) before I could read/review it. So I asked her if she would do it for me. She said yes. (THANKS JULIA!)

Take it away Julia ...

Imaginary Jesus is well represented by its book cover of a weird man wearing a Sharpie disguise. What is inside the cover is a tale of redemption disguised as strange encounters with imaginary imposters, talking donkeys, atheists, and invisible apostles. It is a familiar story that smacks of the truth that if you are not willing to run after God and be burned in a fire or squeezed in a labyrinth you can turn a short journey into one that takes decades. I’m not sure just how long it took Matt Mikalatos to find the real Jesus, but by taking us on his journey of revelation and whimsy we can learn from it and shorten our own time searching in the wilderness.

Better than books upon books of apologetics, this book gets right to the truth that Jesus weeps for our pain and is right there with us. Allowing the Holy Spirit in us to rest and trust that even our deepest hurts and most brazen injustices are all just part of life with Him, and it is good. Even when it feels devastating, it is good just because He is there. And as we face our own imaginary Jesus’, this book encourages us with many truths; two important one’s being that He is a God of joyous restoration, and that if Jesus had to choose a car it would indeed be a BMW, just like I always thought.

About the book:
Imaginary Jesus is an hilarious, fast-paced, not-quite-fictional story that’s unlike anything you’ve ever read before. When Matt Mikalatos realizes that his longtime buddy in the robe and sandals isn’t the real Jesus at all, but an imaginary one, he embarks on a mission to find the real thing. On his wild ride through time, space, and Portland, Oregon, he encounters hundreds of other Imaginary Jesuses determined to stand in his way (like Legalistic Jesus, Perpetually Angry Jesus, and Magic 8 Ball Jesus). But Matt won’t stop until he finds the real Jesus—and finally gets an answer to the question that’s haunted him for years. Be warned: Imaginary Jesus may bring you face-to-face with an imposter in your own life.

Download & Read a Sample Chapter

About Matt:
My name is Matt Mikalatos and I am a writer. I wrote the book "Imaginary Jesus". I had a spectacular time writing it and if you read it you will probably laugh so hard you will break all the furniture in your house. I suggest clearing all the furniture out of one room and making it your "reading Matt's book" room. In this way you will save a lot of money on furniture and still be able to enjoy the pure, distilled hilarity of my book.