I don’t have many links to share this week - I’ve been too busy to do much surfing. I will say that we watched the election returns and speeches on Tuesday night. The kids and I watched Schoolhouse Rock, particularly the song “I’m Going to Send Your Vote to College” and talked about how the electoral college works. We tracked the votes on our map, with red and blue stickers. Since we live on the West, they were able to stay up long enough to see almost all of president-elect Obama’s speech, but Noah was nodding off toward the end.
I cried often, with true amazement that our country has elected a black president. Only fifty or so years ago, Barack Obama would have not been allowed in certain restaurants, would have had to sit at the back of the bus, would have gone to a segregated school. But this is […]
Original post by carrie
I’m giving away four more books at Books and Movies, if you’re interested.
Original post by carrie
Sometime on Sunday, Mommy Brain received its 100,000th visitor! I had been watching my stats, but missed the exact moment. That doesn’t make it any less exciting, though!
I started blogging in January of 2005. I originally started at LiveJournal, and that’s all I thought it was going to be: a journal. But sometime around then, I heard of blogging. I can’t remember for sure which blog was the very first one I read, but it was probably Andrea’s or Guilt-Free Homeschooling, since I was still a fairly new homeschooler looking for as much advice as I could get. I moved my blog to Blogger, where I learned a little bit about HTML. When Ron and Andrea announced Homeschool Journal, I was happy to be one of the first to hop on board, and imported my entire blog over here.
I recently started a paid blog, but Mommy Brain here at Homeschool […]
Original post by carrie
(Alvin & the Chipmunks Classic Holidays was provided to me by Click Communications for the purpose of this feature and giveaway.)
Thanks for playing along, everyone! The winner of the Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration DVD is…
…Erin!
Congratulations, Erin. I’ll be contacting you for mailing info.
Stay tuned for another giveaway. This will be a big one for all you book-lovers.
Original post by carrie
Thanks, everyone, for playing along. The winner of the 3-2-1 Penguins! DVD is…
… Blakely!
Congratulations, Blakely. Watch your e-mail; I’ll be contacting you for your mailing address.
Stay tuned, folks, cause I have another great - and Thanksgiving-themed - giveaway tomorrow.
Original post by carrie
(Now, That’s What I Call Country was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of this review and giveaway.)
Thanks, everyone for playing. The winner of the Now, That’s What I Call Country CD is…
Nicole!
Watch your e-mail, Nicole, because I’ll be contacting you for mailing information.
Original post by carrie
(Now, That’s What I Call Country was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of this review and giveaway.)
The world’s best selling multi-artist album series, NOW That’s What I Call Music!, is releasing the highly anticipated compilation of today’s hottest country hits on August 26. NOW That’s What I Call Country will feature 20 hit songs from the superstars of country music as well as the best new artists in the format. This collection contains 15 Top-5 singles.
NOW That’s What I Call Country is the first country music project for the respected and hugely successful NOW That’s What I Call Music! series of compilation albums, which have collectively sold nearly 70 million units in the US in the last 10 years.
I love country music - have ever since I was a kid. I listen to it often, but have to be careful in the car, now that […]
Original post by carrie
(My Friends Tigger & Pooh and Mickey’s Storybook Surprises were both provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of this feature and giveaway.)
Sorry this is being posted so late - it’s been a crazy-busy day! I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.
The first winner is…
…Shannon H, who wins her first choice:
The second winner is…
…Lawanda, who wins her first choice:
That worked out well! Congratulations to both of the winners, and thanks to everyone for playing along.
Original post by carrie
(My Friends Tigger & Pooh and Mickey’s Storybook Surprises were both provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of this feature and giveaway.)
Join Pooh, Tigger, Darby and all your pals from the Hundred Acre Wood for this delightful treat full of fantas-terrific fun!
It’s fall, the time of year filled with surprises, and the gang needs YOU to use your super-sleuthing skills to answer a few tricky questions and solve some spooky-fun mysteries. Can Piglet’s friends help him overcome his fear of thunder and lightning by playing the Flashidy Freeze game? And when a piece of the moon “breaks off,” will Eeyore really take a rocket-ship trip to fix it?! There’s much more excitement in store, so get ready to laugh, play and sing along as you and your friends celebrate the harvest season and proudly proclaim, “This mystery is history!”
Yes, that says “Darby.” Christopher Robin is absent […]
Original post by carrie
Time to draw some winners! The two numbers I drew using Random.org are 26 and 18.
26, first - which means Jennifer Hill is the first winner. Her first choice was Little Einsteins.
18, second - Jodi is the second winner. Her first choice was Handy Manny, so that worked out great!
Watch your e-mail boxes, ladies, because I will be contacting you both for mailing info. Congratulations!
Original post by carrie
(Handy Manny: Manny’s Pet Roundup and Little Einsteins: Flight of the Instrument Fairies were both provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of this feature and giveaway.)
When Handy Manny is on the job, you know everything will get fixed…even when the “job” is helping find lost animals and bringing them home safely!
Throw on your sneakers and get ready to play chase as Manny and his team of talkative tools use creative thinking and special treats to round up the pets of Sheetrock Hills. Crunchy carrots do the trick when bunnies escape from the pet store, bananas may be gophers’ favorite treats, and it turns out birds just love pretzels! And everyone falls in love with a little kitty who needs a good home.
Hop up and join Manny and all the wonderful creatures in the community for fun and furry fix-it adventures!
Handy Manny - Manny’s Pet Roundup is […]
Original post by carrie
Thanks to everyone who visited and entered the drawing for the Veggie Tales DVD Tomato Sawyer & Huckleberry Larry’s Big River Rescue.
There were 150 comments, so I used Random.org to generate a random number between 1 and 150, and it came up 126, so…
…Congratulations, Jennifer M!
Watch your e-mail box - I’ll be contacting you for mailing details.
Also, if you are a parent of a toddler, preschooler, or primary grade child, check back tomorrow for another great giveaway.
Original post by carrie
I am going to be having a giveaway soon. Stay tuned for more information.
Original post by a conscious life
Kids ages 8-18, tell us what is unique about your local homeschool group or co-op in a 3 paragraph, no more than 300 word essay, and you could win your very own digital camera and earn your homeschool group up to $300 in cash! We will nominate 5 of our favorite essays and let our customers vote for the top 3! Submissions are due by August 10th. Voting begins Friday the 15th and winners will be announced on Monday, August 25th.
More info on CurrClick.
Original post by Alicia
From Googol Learning…
Crazy 4 Math Contest Deadline July 30th
The Crazy 4 Math Contest is once again receiving entries from all over the world, showing that mathematics, the universal language, is enjoyed by children everywhere.
This annual contest was founded in 2005 to help students keep up their math skills over the summer. Research indicates that children lose math skills over the summer. But this does not need to be the case. Math skills can actually advance! Summer is the perfect time for children to experience the wonder of learning by exploring and developing new interests. It’s also a chance for them to discover that learning happens all the time, not just in school.
To enter the Crazy 4 Math Contest, children simply have to describe how they use math in an activity they enjoy. Entries must be submitted online by July 30th at www.Crazy4Math.com. The goal is to generate a free […]
Original post by Alicia
Guess what I got from the FedEx man today? Two more copies of Gone by Michael Grant! And these aren’t ARCs, they are the real deal: hardcovers.
Read my review of Gone, watch the trailer at the Gone Amazon page, and then come back and leave a comment here if you’re interested in winning one of these two copies.
I’ll leave the contest open until Friday, June 27th. Leave a comment before then, and your name will be entered to win. Since I’m covering postage myself, this is limited to US and Canadian readers only.
Original post by carrie
Last month, Michelle and I had our very own all-girl getaway. We headed south to Spokane Valley; stayed in a wonderful hotel suite; spent about seven hours (and lots of $) at Barnes & Noble; ate at restaurants - food that we didn’t have to cook or clean up after; drank good wine; watched a sentimental, romantic movie; and talked ourselves nearly hoarse. We have since decided that our Moms’ Weekend will be an annual tradition.
We all need time away from home: the routine, the chores, the kids. I love my annual getaway with Kevin, too - but there are times when you just need to be with your best friend. Right?
Well, Fine Living Network has a new television program called All-Girl Getaways, hosted by Stephanie Oswald. This YouTube video gives you an idea of what the show is like. I wish we had that channel, because it looks like […]
Original post by carrie
111 comments! That’s a record, I think. Well, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.
The first winner is:
# 41 Melanie - she wins her first choice: Abide with Me
The second winner is:
# 9 Sheila at Dodging Raindrops - she wins her first choice: The Awakening and Selected Short Fiction by Kate Chopin
The third winner is:
# 61 Shama-Lama-Mama - she wins her first choice: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
The fourth winner is:
# 54 Dan Smith - he wins The Jane Austen Book Club
The fifth winner is:
# 95 KJ - she wins Echoes
The sixth winner is:
# 107 Romie - she wins The Copper Beech
Congratulations to all the winners! Please check your e-mail, as I will be contacting you for your mailing information. If I do not hear from any of the winners by 12:00 am PST on Monday, February 4th, I will draw new winners.
Original post by carrie
Shannon of Rocks in My Dryer and Bloggy Giveaways fame is hosting the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival. Click on that link to go to the ginormous list of blogs participating and giving away prizes. If you want to participate, click here for the guidelines.
Now, what would you expect me to be giving away? Books, of course! Six pre-read, gently-used books. That means there will be six winners! All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me your top three picks out of these books:
~ Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout. You can read my review here.
~ The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler.
~ The Awakening and Selected Short Fiction by Kate Chopin - my review. Please keep in mind that the copy I’m giving away is the mass-market paperback edition of the Barnes & Noble Classics, not the trade paperback one that […]
Original post by carrie
About three months ago, I held a giveaway for this CD. Andrea at Atypicalife won, but last week I had to send her an e-mail apologizing, because I still hadn’t received the CD from the company sponsoring the giveaway. Guess what? It showed up in today’s mail - along with two other copies! Since Ayo’s music isn’t really my style, I now have two extra copies to give away. Andrea, yours will be going in the mail as soon as I’m sufficiently recovered from the flu to brave the 16 degrees (F) weather to go to the post office. Actually, it would be nice to only make one trip, so let’s do the giveaway like this: if you’re interested in winning one of the other two copies, please leave a comment here by Saturday morning. I’ll randomly draw two more winners, and that should give us sufficient time to trade […]
Original post by carrie
(Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Queen was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of this giveaway.)
I completely forgot about this giveaway! Blame it on post-holiday laziness. I used a random number generator, and the winner is…
…Gerky!
Watch your e-mail box for a message from me - and Congratulations!
Original post by carrie
(Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Queen was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of this giveaway.)
Heads up, homeschoolers! I’ve got one copy of Discovery Channel’s Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Queen on DVD to give away.
Deep beneath the sands of Egypt ’s fabled Valley of the Kings lay the anonymous remains of one of ancient history’s greatest - and least known - rulers, Queen Hatshepsut. More powerful than Cleopatra or Nefertiti, Queen Hatshepsut not only died mysteriously but every sign of her existence was systematically erased. Now for the first time ever, top archaeologists use cutting-edge forensic techniques to unravel the mystery of Hatshepsut’s life and death, unearthing her fascinating story that has remained buried for 3,000 years.
From the official site:
In what is being called the most important find in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, Discovery Channel’s Secrets of Egypt’s […]
Original post by carrie
The winner of Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits From Way Back Never by Sandra Boynton is…
Comment #118 - Carol
Congratulations, Carol! Watch your e-mail box for instructions about your mailing info.
Thanks, everyone, for playing along with the Fall Y’All Giveaway.
Original post by carrie
If you’re visiting here today, I’m sure you’re wondering who won the first of my Fall Y’all Giveaways. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. The winners of the 5 copies of It’s A Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector’s Set)(as chosen by a random number generator) are:
#110 Cynthia
#97 Tiffany
#129 Merideth
#121 Marlise
#65 Crystal B.
Check your e-mail boxes, ladies! I’ll be making contact soon for mailing info. Congratulations!
Original post by carrie
Several years ago, when the kids were really little, I started looking for some good children’s music. I checked out a bunch of different CDs from the library, and boy, there is a lot of really awful, annoying kids’ music out there. If you’re a parent, you know what I mean. And then, I found Philadelphia Chickens, the book and CD by Sandra Boynton, and I regained my faith in the idea of music for kids.
We also bought Rhinoceros Tap, and liked it just as much. Sandra Boynton’s whimsical lyrics with catchy music by Michael Ford make for music that parents can listen to with their kids without wanting to bang their heads against the wall.
When the kids and I received a promo package from Workman Publishing with Ms. Boynton’s newest book/CD combo, Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits From Way Back Never, the kids thought it was Christmas. And […]
Original post by carrie
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