Check out these free resources for teaching your young ones. They do request that you order for your whole school rather than just one classroom at a time if possible. So, check with your co-op or support group and see who else might be interested, and order for the whole group!

Here’s all the details:

Shop at LEGOeducation.us LEGO® Education and LEGO Club are proud to offer exclusive LEGO Club Jr. School Edition Magazines and LEGO Education Teacher’s Guides to first-grade educators this fall! These special publications continue the LEGO philosophy of providing children with products that promote imagination, pique curiosity, and enhance learning. Both focus on fire safety and provide important information on what these young learners should know in case of an emergency. The LEGO Club Jr. School Edition Magazine is designed specifically for first graders. The edition includes exciting puzzles, comics, and games with a fire safety theme. These activities focus on basic reading, math, and critical-reasoning skills. The LEGO Club Jr. School Edition Magazine combines the thrill of LEGO building with content that will help your students learn important safety tips – and best of all, it’s FREE! In addition, a custom LEGO Education Teacher’s Guide will be sent with each magazine order. The guides are filled with hands-on activities, classroom tidbits, and articles about how you can create a LEGO SmartTM classroom for your students! To recieve complimentary copies of the LEGO Club Jr. School Edition Magazine and Teacher’s Guide, simply complete our online request form located at www.LEGOeducation.us/ClubJrRequest. For additional information or to inquire about other LEGO Education promotions, contact Debra at dsmith@LEGOeducation.us. Orders will be processed weekly. Shipment of items will begin in October 2010. Magazines are packaged in groups of 50, 100, and 200 for easier distribution. Please consider ordering for your school’s entire first grade and not just your first grade class. Any specific ordering or delivery directions should be noted in the Comment section of the order form.

2010 HOME SCHOOL DAY
Friday, August 27

Six Flags hosts the 15th annual Home School Day event on August 27. Enjoy a fun filled day at the park with your family and friends. A special all-you-can-eat Home School Day picnic is also available in our private picnic grove. Contact SFGAMspecialevents@sixflags.com for additional information.

Home School Day Flyer

HOME SCHOOL DAY PICNIC—ONLY $10.25

All-you-can-eat picnic buffet in our private picnic grove includes fried
chicken, hot dogs, meatless mostaccioli, potato salad, pasta salad,
potato chips, pickles, rolls and unlimited soft drinks. You may enter the
picnic grove any time from 11:30a.m.-1:00p.m.

EXCLUSIVE RIDE TIME

Purchase a Home School Day ticket and receive one hour of exclusive ride time on Superman Ultimate Flight,
Rue le Dodge and Condor. This exclusive ride time is available before the park opens from 9:00 a.m.-10:00a.m.
and is only available to people who have purchased Home School Day tickets.

Thank you to Melissa for sending this in. A free video download from Answers in Genesis:

Already Gone – Video Download

Special free download in celebration of the Fourth of July. Also, a special sale on Marilyn Boyer’s new book.

Great reminders to focus on more than barbecues and fireworks this weekend.

Happy Fourth of July!

FREE Download to Celebrate Independence Day Uncle Rick’s Tribute to America no purchase necessary Use Promo Code: TRIBUTE Paul Revere`s Ride, The Declaration of Independence, Concord Hymn, The Mayflower  Compact, The Star Spangled Banner. (All 4 verses!) For You They Signed: $35

Special Offer- All July Revisionist history is exploded as Marilyn chronicles the lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. By reading about one of the 56 Signers per week, you can give your family more than a year`s worth of exciting “family times.” Learn together about the sacrifices made by these great men for our freedom. Inspire your children to become citizens who will reclaim the Christian heritage of America A code inside the book gives you free access to a companion ebook containing coloring pages for little hands to complete and hang on the refrigerator to learn to identify the Signers, character quality definitions and Scripture verses to learn (one per week,) and Family Fun Quizzes to use every other week to review the information and make it stick. All Month Regular Price: $49.95 Sale Price: $35 Buy Now

“More than 2.000 years ago, Nehemiah undertook the rebuilding of his nation. As part of the process, he constructed a “House of Heroes” (Neh. 3:16) by which those in his generation could learn of the courage and sacrifices made by previous ones. Through For You They Signed , Marilyn has created a much-needed inspirational “House of Heroes” for this generation. “ David Barton Wallbuilders

Did you know Disneyworld has special homeschool days?

Well, they do. I know we are a long way from Florida here in Chicagoland, but I also know lots of people make trips down to Disney on a regular basis. So, if you are planning a trip, or looking for an idea for your family vacation this year, you will want to consider this offer.

Check their website for all the prices and scheduling info. I found their prices for these days quite competitive compared to regular ticket prices.

This is a promotional e-mail from Disney Destinations at the following locations: Walt Disney World® Resort Attn: E-mail Marketing 1375 Buena Vista Drive P.O. Box 10000 Lake Buena Vista, FL 32930

And, even if you can’t make the trip to Disney, your child can get a phone call to bring the magic home. Check out more free stuff in Chicago for this free phone call.

Found this on the Homeschool Buyers Co-op site:

Check out the NASA site for more details.

While homeschoolers keep the wheels turning all year as far as fun activities, field trips, and outings, the summer always gives us some special opportunities to take advantage of.
Thanks to reader Anastasia for this link:

Kids bowl FREE all summer long at Brunswick
http://coupons.bowlbrunswick.com/ballpass/
This is truly free, you just need to register online for the Brunswick Bonus Zone in advance of arriving for your free game of bowling. The program says members will receive one free game each day from June through August.

Presumably no other purchase is required, except for shoe rental if you would need those, but there are not a lot of details in the ad. I would encourage you to call your local Brunswick to find answers to any further questions.

Every Brunswick might not necessarily be participating, but there is a fairly good list that includes more than a dozen in the Chicago area, so you will likely find one not too far from your home. And, it’s free! Perfect for those rainy or too hot days that we are sure to encounter at some point this summer.

Sign up now and take advantage of this special program.

Budgets of course limit our opportunities. But, here’s a great site that offers lots of ideas for free stuff that you can do or access.

Check out the Free Things to Do in Chicago for more, but here are a couple highlights from recent posts:

**Upcoming Mini Model Build**:

Build a free LEGO Chick: Tuesday, April 6, begins at 5:00pm until supplies last.

Bring your kids to the free monthly LEGO mini-model build at any of the four Chicago area LEGO stores  and take home a free mini-model that your child has constructed! On the first Tuesday of every month, LEGO has this free event and your children can learn how to build a cool mini model, and take it home – for free! A new model will be available every month and will be specially themed to that month – Quantities are limited and offer is good while supplies last only. One free per child. Event is open to children ages 6 to 14 only. See store for more details.

The** Chicago History Museum **is free on Mondays so come out in April 5, April 12, April 19 or April 26 2010 with the kids and family to see this Chicago museum devoted to collecting, interpreting, and presenting the rich multicultural history of Chicago and Illinois. Check out the outstanding “Abraham Lincoln Transformed” exhibit which closes on April 12 after a long run.

**Free Audio Download!** Each month Christianaudio.com gives away a premium audiobook download for free. How does it work? Well, they give away one audiobook download (that they have published or that a partner has allowed them to give away) absolutely free; available only during that month and only once, ever.

During April, ChristianAudio.com  is offering a free audiobook download of “Stuff Christians Like” by Jonathan Acuff. To get the deal, use promo code “APR2010”.

Lots more free stuff to be enjoyed. Check it out!

The History Channel is giving away a free DVD to all schools, and they have some other web based resources that you might find useful: