Frugal Christmas Shopping

My December column at CatholicMom.com is up, if you'd like to check it out: The Thrifty Homeschooler Goes Christmas Shopping.

As Christians we shy away from the over-commercialism of Christmas, while at the same time desiring to fill our homes with Christmas joy. Just as the Magi brought gifts to the Christ Child, we wish to follow their example in bringing gifts to our loved ones. I have found that it is possible to have a spirit-filled holiday, complete with gift giving, on a budget.

Pre-Publication Special Extended

Ecce Homo Press has extended the prepublication special for For the Love of Literature to November 27th. The release date has also changed. Orders will be shipped by December 15th to insure delivery before Christmas.

"I have no doubt For the Love of Literature will prove to be a valuable tool for new homeschoolers, veteran homeschoolers, public school teachers, librarians, private school board members, your teacher-aunt, your neighbor with the 2-year-old and the new baby, your pregnant cousin, all parents who have a love for their children, and even the niece or nephew headed to college.

Maureen calls her book a "glorified booklist" but it is way more than that. She has done a job of extensive research in putting this book together so you and your children (no matter how or where they are educated) can enjoy the ripe benefits of continuing their education through the love of literature.

On behalf of all parents who devote their lives to educating their children for life, thank you, Maureen, for all you've done and all you continue to do for us!"
-- Cay Gibson, author Christmas Mosaic

Thanksgiving Links

Here are some Thanksgiving links that you may enjoy . . .

Thanksgiving Ideas Galore -- A to Z Home's Homeschooling
Loads of links to really cool Thanksgiving websites that you can tie into
your homeschool studies: corn husk dolls, cooking with kids, travel advice, Mark Twain, and lots more.

Enchanted Learning usually has neat worksheets / outline maps / classroom crafts. My teens usually plan a few of these crafts to do with the younger children on Thanksgiving. This keeps the wee ones busy while the moms cook!

Prepublication Special: For the Love of Literature

I am so very happy to share with you the release of my new book, For the Love of Literature. The book is currently at the printer and my publisher, Ecce Homo Press, estimates that For the Love of Literature will be ready for shipping in about 3 weeks.

I should forewarn my non-Catholic readers: For the Love of Literature has a very strong Catholic ethos to it. However, I think it would be helpful to homeschoolers of all faiths.

For the Love of Literature started out as a booklet, Literature Isn't Just for Reading: Teaching Core Subjects through Real Books, to accompany my conference talk by the same name. A one-hour talk just wasn't enough. From the comments and questions I received after each talk, it was evident that homeschoolers needed more. They needed a resource they could hold in their hands and take home with them.

The original booklet was 5 by 8 and had 80 pages. It was nothing more than a glorified reading list, yet parents came to me over and over again to tell me that it was very helpful to them.

The new book is 6 by 9 and almost 300 pages. It's still a glorified reading list, but it's a pretty cool glorified reading list ... I think. It does have short chapters on such things as using your library, classical education, unit studies, Charlotte Mason, etc., but the bulk of the book is the reading list (I call them literary guides in the book). There are about 950 books listed, each with a short description, with an age recommendation, and sorted by school subject.

My publisher, Ecce Homo Press, is offering a prepublication deal for you at their website.

It's 20% off the already very reasonable price, plus another 10% off anything else you order at the website. To get your 10% discount, you need to enter the promotion code LOVELIT when you place your order. This offer is good until November 20th and is only good on Internet orders.

You could also request that your library purchase For the Love of Literature as I think this is a great resource for librarians. It gives them a real insight to what books homeschoolers like to check out of the library.