Sunday, August 3, 2008

A Final Word

Well, those were all the books I was able to make myself give up! So there will be no more books for sale posted on this blog, at least not for the foreseeable future.

The books that still show a price are those that continue to be for sale, even if you happen upon this site months since I last posted here.

Many thanks to everyone who bought books from me this summer. I wish you all the best in your homeschooling journey. I invite you to visit my site and my blog, and to sign up for my free monthly homeschooling newsletter.

Oh, one last thing. About those books that I couldn't make myself sell, the ones I'm keeping.....I'll be posting about them (and what's so great about each one) sometime soon at my blog.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Saxon Algebra 2 Second Edition Home Study Packet

Saxon's Algebra 2 is very popular, and for good reason. It's a great book, and part of the awesome Saxon math series. I used the series, starting with Saxon 54, with all three of my older kids (two up through Algebra 1 and one up through this book) and was very pleased with the results.

This set includes the text, a reproducible book of test forms, and the answer key for both. Since I only used this set with one of my children, it's in excellent shape.

As you can see in this link, Algebra 2: An Incremental Development (Saxon Algebra) is not cheap when bought new. But since algebra is one of those subjects that doesn't change over the course of time, you don't really need to buy it new. Had I been able to find a used set, I wouldn't have bought it new!

In this set, the text is hardcover, was printed in 1995, has 577 pages and is in very good condition. The test forms book and answer key are paperback and in very good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Christian Home Educators' Curriculum Manual, Junior/Senior High, 1995 Edition

Well, I'm dating myself here, because this edition of Cathy Duffy's book probably came out before your kids were born! That's right, it's the 1995 edition. Wow! Where did those years go? In a blur of homeschooling, of course.

You probably know about Cathy Duffy's work, including her latest, 100 Top Picks For Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing The Right Curriculum And Approach For Your Child's Learning Style. She has a well-deserved reputation for searching out and reviewing awesome homeschooling books and curriculum.

This book is one of her earlier efforts. I imagine a fair amount of the contact info in this book is outdated. Some of the curriculum she writes about is no longer available new (though it's a lot easier these days to track down used books) or has changed. So why would you want a book like this?

Simple. She includes a lot of timeless advice about homeschooling your preteens and teens. She shares a wealth of information about preparing a homeschooled teen for college. She includes reproducible charts and forms (high school planning chart, transcript form, schedule and assignment sheets ....even a real job application) for you to use while doing junior high or high school with your child. And she knows what she's talking about because she homeschooled her three sons to adulthood.

This book is softcover, was printed in 1995, has about 350 pages and is in excellent condition. Sorry, this one's sold.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

To Kill a Mockingbird and 24 More Videos

We're movie lovers around here, and that's what led me to buy this curriculum. It contains synopses of 24 movie favorites, accompanied by several reproducible language arts activities for each movie as well as answer keys for those activities.

For example, for the movie To Kill a Mockingbird (Universal Legacy Series), you'll find a homonym exercise, a vocabulary fill-in-the-blank sheet and a writing exercise. The activities vary with the movies, which include favorites of mine like The Miracle Worker, Oliver!, Rear Window and To Sir, With Love.

It's an awesome book, so you can imagine how mad I got at myself when I found it on the bookshelf, having completely forgotten I had it! But the book is intended for grades 6-9, so we have no need for it now.

This book can easily be used with just one child, but considering it's all reproducible, I can see it being the basis for a homeschool co-op class as well.

To Kill a Mockingbird and 24 More Videos: Language Arts Activities for Middle School is softcover, has 150 pages, was printed in 1993 and is in like-new condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I Kissed Dating Goodbye

This has to be one of the most popular books among homeschoolers over the past decade. All three of my older teens read it, and I did, too. Not because we're part of the courtship crowd that really latched onto this book (we're not), and not because we're opposed to dating (we're not), but because I wanted to provoke my teens to think about how to behave with the opposite sex. I also included this book on the reading list for Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers for the same reason. You may or may not agree with Harris, but his premise is definitely thought-provoking.

This book is softcover, has 236 pages, was printed in 1997 and is in good condition (there is yellow highlighter on a few pages). Sorry....this one's sold.

Monday, July 28, 2008

The Last Few Books....

Yes, there are more books coming, but only a few more. I went through all the boxes here at the house and found a few titles that we no longer need, including one Saxon set and a couple of well-known books by authors like Duffy and Harris. But the camera software is on hubby's computer, not mine, so until he gets a chance to email me photos of the books, we're on pause here.

As for the boxes of books in the storage unit, I think I've gone through them all, but it's quite a mountain of stuff in there, so I may have missed some. But with August arriving in just a few days (I plan out our homeschooling year every August), I don't think I'm going to have time to explore my Mount Everest of stuff much further.

Hope to have the rest of the books up very soon :)

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Apostles' Creed: All You Need to Believe

For the moment, I am out of books to post. I know I have more somewhere, but I haven't found them yet, and our older kids are coming to visit this week so I want to spend the time with them, not digging through boxes.

So, I should have more books posted before too long, but in the meantime, here's a book that we don't need because we already have a copy.

Pastor Donald Cole has had a radio show for many years at Moody Radio in Chicago, and we often listened to him when we lived in that area. He is wonderful: so knowledgeable about the Bible, and so compassionate when answering questions from callers to the show.

My husband and I each noticed the offer for this book from Moody, and each sent for it, unbeknownst to the other. Hence the two copies!

One of you is supposed to be blessed by this book, which is why this book went out to the first person who requested it.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Head of the House

Grace Livingston Hill was a 19th-century author whose books continue to enjoy popularity because they're not only enjoyable to read, but also include Christian morals.
My eldest, a voracious reader, went through a GLH stage when she was a young teen. She has her collection with her now, but occasionally I pick up books when I see them at sales, and so this one is a spare.
This book is hardcover, was printed in 1940, has 300 pages and is in good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table

This book is from the same series as the one in yesterday's post. However, it's in like-new condition, because it didn't appeal to my daughter and she never read it!

Too bad, because it looked like a good book. But her "knight stage" didn't last very long, and she went on to other interests.

The book includes "The Coming of Arthur," "The Knights of the Round Table," "The Quest of the Holy Grail," "The Departing of Arthur" and an epilogue. It's illustrated with beautiful medieval-style drawings.

This book is hardcover, was printed in 1993, has 360 pages and is in like-new condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights

This is one of those books that I wanted my older kids to read but never got around to buying for them. Then I saw it in the store when my younger daughter was at the age where they like adventure tales. She really enjoyed it.

It includes not only the famous story of Aladdin and his lamp, but also all seven stories of Sinbad the Sailor, the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and a few other stories we'd never heard of before. It includes several illustrations.

This book is hardcover, has 350 pages, was printed in 1993 and is in good condition (interior is like new but the cover shows some wear). Sorry....this one's sold.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Understood Betsy

Understood Betsy is one of those classic stories of the early 20th century that you can now read online. But there's nothing like holding a book in your hand, is there? Even if the book has a handwritten title on it because my daughter thought it needed to be done!
Elizabeth Ann is orphaned as an infant and brought up by her doting aunt and cousin. But when her aunt becomes ill, Elizabeth Ann must spend a year living with cousins from the other side of her family, people her aunt hoped she would never have to live with. It is there that she becomes more independent and also gains the nickname Betsy.
This book is hardcover, has 272 pages, was printed in 1917 and is in fairly good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor

Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a historical romance set in the late 17th century. It traces the adventures of a young man who meets and falls in love with a beautiful young woman who is mistreated by her cruel family, a band of outlaws. It is considered a classic.

I wish I could tell you that we all loved this book, but the fact is that it's one of my "good intentions" books that we never had time to read. I wish we had, because I've heard good things about it, and I don't have the time to read much fiction anymore.

In the photo, you see the book's slipcover at left and the actual book at right. Both are like new.

This book is hardcover, comes with a slipcover, was printed in 1943, has 550 pages and is in excellent condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Friday, July 18, 2008

The Little Lame Prince

This first-edition volume of The Little Lame Prince is so pretty! Every single page has a lovely printed border, and the book is also well-illustrated.
I looked up the first edition of this book at a number of online booksellers and saw prices ranging from $20 to $75. I don't know what makes the difference, as none of them said the book was in perfect condition, which makes sense when a book is 115 years old!
This book is hardcover, has 198 pages, was printed in 1893, and is in very good condition, particularly on the inside (the cover does show some wear, and the binding is loose in one spot.) Sorry....this one's sold.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

How amazing to think that this book was published over a hundred years ago!

Long before computers arrived on the scene, someone painstakingly set the type for each page of this book. And the care he took shows, not to mention that the paper in it has not yellowed even as much as my morning newspaper does from sitting out in the sun for a few hours.

This is a sweet and famous story about a poor woman and her family living in the Cabbage Patch, a poverty-stricken neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky. Mrs. Wiggs is a widow who looks for the best in whatever happens. She and her family cross paths with a pair of wealthy people who can learn from Mrs. Wiggs' optimism.

This book is hardcover, has 154 pages, was printed in 1903 and is in very good condition, considering its age. Sorry....this one's sold.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Look at Me: Creative Learning Activities for Babies and Toddlers

I sure wish I'd had this book when my big kids were little, but it hadn't been published yet. I actually bought it on the recommendation of a therapist when my son with Down syndrome was a toddler.

She said it had lots of do-it-yourself projects for parents to make for their children, and she wasn't kidding. This book is full of simple, educational games, toys and activities that parents and little ones will enjoy. I especially appreciated that most of the items could be made using things found around the house; this is a great book for families on a budget!

Look at Me also includes a section on healthy eating for children that has recipes, and there are other tips for creating a good learning environment for young children.

This book is softcover, has 228 pages, was printed in 1987, and is in average condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Calligraphy

This is a cute book, but I always thought it was mis-titled. While it does have some very basic calligraphy instruction in it, it's true value lies in the paper projects that are inside.

We started out using this book with just a basic calligraphy-tipped pen I bought at the drug store. Once your child learns how to hold and use the pen, she can take off with the projects in this book.

They're based on art techniques for highlighting the printed word. Such techniques include making your own stamper out of a sponge, making your own large pens out of sponges and cardboard, using wax and paint, making reverse rubbings, and embossing.

This book is softcover, has 32 pages, was printed in 1998 and is in excellent condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Totally Amazing Natural Disasters

Here's a good book for visual learners. It's full of great photography as well as illustrations of natural disasters. Younger kids (age 4-12) who are interested in science and nature will especially enjoy this colorful book.

This book is softcover, has 32 pages, was printed in 1999 and is in excellent condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Know Your Presidents and Their Wives

Seems like all of my kids had a fascination with the presidents at some point, and my daughters were especially interested in the First Ladies.

We've owned several books about presidential history; this is one of the best, because the biographies are brief and well-illustrated, so they hold the attention of younger kids.

This particular 1963 edition has a supplement that was added soon after President Kennedy was assassinated. It includes the complete text of his inaugural address, the sad story of his assassination, and bios of President Johnson and his wife.

This book is softcover, was printed in 1963, has 76 pages and is in very good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Games

I think what I like best about this book is that it not only teaches about games from all over the world, but children are required to make the games before they can play them.

That means they have fun making a marble race game out of a shoebox, or jacks out of painted self-hardening clay, and then they have more fun actually playing the games.

Among the games included is one of our all-time favorites, Mancala, a game of strategy that is thousands of years old.

This book is softcover, has 32 pages, was printed in 1996 and is in excellent condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Reader's Digest Treasury for Young Readers

I found some more books in a box, including this rather large first-edition collection of short stories, puzzles, games, poems and how-to articles on a range of topics, from origami to making jewelry.

This book was the first of a series the Reader's Digest published for young people. It's interesting to see how the book is laid out like the magazine, with short stories punctuated by small features.

It includes a variety of stories: fiction, non-fiction, history, mystery....there's a lot to read in this book. A special feature is a story by Dr. Wernher von Braun called "First Men to the Moon" that includes a special pullout page illustrating the layout of a rocket. Of course, this was eight years before we sent men to the moon, so the story includes his predictions.

This book is hardcover, has 202 pages, was printed in 1961 (first edition) and is in very good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Human Body & Senses

You know, I tried, but I just cannot part with my beloved copy of Dinah Zike's The Big Book of Books and Activities: An Illustrated Guide for Teacher, Parents, and Anyone Who Works With Kids! It's one of my all-time favorite homeschool books.

However, this particular book, (which works best with that book, although it can be used alone) is a little more involved than those I usually use with my youngest, who has developmental disabilities, and so I think I can let it go now.

We sure had fun with it, though. It is full of what the author calls "thematic manipulatives," which is a fancy term that means "making little books and having so much fun you don't realize you're learning something." In this case, the something your children learn about is the human body. All of the activities in this book can be photocopied, and then your children can cut out the activities and put the information they learn on the pages of the little books they create.

What I liked best about this book is that all of the basic components are in it, so all I had to do was set my kids loose with a basic anatomy book and off they went.

This book is softcover, has 40 pages and is in like-new condition. Sorry....this one's sold.



Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Living Things

Not being a "science mom," I needed a lot of help in that department. This is one of those books that takes the mystery out of science projects. Packed with hands-on activities aimed at children ages 5-9, this is a good book for moms like me. It was just my speed :)

Some of the projects include how to start a worm farm, tattoo plants, make a bug habitat, and become a fingerprint detective.

I see CBD has this book for $3.95. This book is softcover, was printed in 1998, has 32 pages and is in like-new condition. Sorry, this one's sold.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

A Child's Book of Sea Shells

We kept this book in our home library as a reference book. It's a well-illustrated guide to the typical sea shells a child might find on the beach.

In a world where the children's books you see sold in grocery and large discount stores are all related to licensed television characters, it's hard to believe that this kind of book was once a staple in stores. These were the kind of books we begged our parents for when I was a kid. Things sure change.

These books are hard to come by, especially when they're in such good shape. I found this vintage book listed at someone's site for almost $14.00. That seems excessive, but a book of this quality is definitely a treasure.

This book is hardcover, was printed in 1954, has 28 pages and is in very good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Monday, July 7, 2008

If You Were a Writer

Being a writer, I love this book. It's ideal for the child who loves words and telling stories. It's also beautifully illustrated.

It was written by Joan Lowery Nixon, author of many books for children as well as young adults, including the wonderful Orphan Train series, which starts with A Family Apart (Orphan Train Adventures). (She also wrote this free online workshop for young writers.)

I bought this book for my daughter (who is still writing at age 17) when she was young. I found it at a public library book sale, so it does have library binding and a dust jacket, as well as the library's markings on the inside covers. There are small smudges on a couple of the pages, but none are torn and the binding is in great shape.

This book is hardcover, was printed in 1988, has 30 pages and is in good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Our Living Constitution, Then and Now

This book has been a really useful one for us, as I used it to teach all three of my older kids about the U.S. Constitution.

It goes through the Constitution a step at a time after giving some of the historical background of how it was written. Articles and amendments are explained in clear terms and punctuated with illustrations, so as not to overwhelm the reader. There are many pages of exercises, plus several more with fun activities. An answer key is included. There is also a Constitution trivia game with "game cards" you can photocopy and use.

The book says it's written for grades 5-8+. I think older students (grade 8+) would get a lot more out of it than younger students. I used it when mine were in high school, primarily because I kept postponing a study of the Constitution because there were so many other subjects we wanted to cover.

This book is softcover, has 158 pages, was printed in 1987 and is in good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

American Government: Puzzles, Games and Individual Activities

I'm not sure you can still buy these Hayes reproducible activity books anymore, and that's too bad. I really liked these because they're great for independent work, and they're blackline masters, so they photocopy beautifully.

This particular book (I already sold the geometry and algebra versions) has crossword puzzles, fill-in-the-blank activities, and unscramble-the-word activities that are great for reinforcing vocabulary growth. There is also a page that requires the student to agree or disagree with statements about the U.S. political process as it relates to young people.

I used this book along with an activity book about the U.S. Constitution, which I'll be posting tomorrow, when my kids studied the Constitution. This book is paperback, 24 pages plus answer key, printed in 1982 and in excellent condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Communication Skills in Children with Down Syndrome

Did you ever buy so many books over time that you ended up with a few duplicates? That's happened to me more than once, and it's the case with this book. In going through my boxes, I discovered I had two copies.

I highly recommend this book for people who have small children with Down syndrome or other issues that cause delayed speech. It is full of practical ideas for helping your child communicate with you.

This book is softcover, has 244 pages, was printed in 1994 and is in good condition (it was a library book, so it's stamped "discarded" on the inside cover and first inside page, but the rest of the pages are in great shape.) Sorry, this one's sold.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Name That State Flipover

I just found another Flip-Over!

I already posted and sold my others, but in case you missed the description of how Flip-Overs work, the student puts a sheet of paper under one of the four sides of the Flip-Over, fills in the blanks with the names of the numbered states, then self-checks the answers by flipping over that side and putting the paper under it. The answers are on the back above each square.

The price of Flip-Overs has gone up just since I last posted my other ones a month ago! They now retail for $3.99, and Rainbow Resource sells them for $3.25. This one is in very good shape. Sorry....this one's sold.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

God's Grace Bible Studies (Set of Three)

I happened to find these last summer while visiting my son at the Christian bookstore he manages. They are unique because they combine Bible study and history.

The books were written to be adult group Bible study guides, but I used them with dd17 last fall and winter, and they worked fine just for two people.

These guides include many photographs and editorial cartoons from the time periods studied, as well as brief stories and comments from people who lived during those times. The selections from the Bible chosen for each section are especially applicable when examining the events of the decades covered in these books: the 1940s, 1960s, and the 1970s (those are the only books they had left; I wish I could have gotten them all).

These books are softcover, printed in 1999 and 2000, have 40-48 pages each, and are in excellent condition. Sorry, these have been sold.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

A Woman of Blessing Bible Study

Now that my daughter is close to finishing home school high school (only one year to go). we've enjoyed studying the Bible using a variety of studies that I find in Christian bookstores.

We used this particular study a few months ago. (We had two others from this series but I had her write in them; this one we only discussed, so it's in perfect shape and I can resell it.)

The way the study is set up is very useful. A story develops over the course of several chapters, each told in the voice of one of the characters. This particular story is about a woman whose husband is transferred to another state, and she and her children must leave loved ones to go somewhere new. As each chapter reveals more of the story, questions about the story and about the Bible verses linked to each chapter help the reader understand how God blesses us through our circumstances, and how we can bless others even when our circumstances are not ideal.

The book is written for small-group study and includes guidelines for small-group leaders. However, we found it to work very well as a study for just two people.

This book is softcover, has 64 pages, was printed in 1999 and is in excellent, like-new condition. Sorry, this one's sold.

Monday, June 30, 2008

A Beka Plane Geometry (Text Only)

Here's that third geometry text that I mentioned the other day. This book is fine for learning geometric principles, but the exercises in it are not going to do you much good without the Text Solution Key.

That's why this text would be most valuable if you're teaching more than one child Plane Geometry. (I was very glad each of my kids had their own copy back when we did geometry.) This extra copy means your kids don't have to share a book. Ideally, you'd want to order it with one of the sets I posted over the past two days.

This book is softcover, has 426 pages, was printed in 1995 and is in very good condition. Sorry, this one's sold.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

A Beka Plane Geometry Set w/o Test/Quiz Key

This is the same set as I posted yesterday, except that it does not include the Test/Quiz Key. So this pair of books is an entire geometry course without the tests.

The text is in very good condition, as is the Text/Solution Key, which is very large because it includes the full solution (with illustrations) to every proof in the text.

This is the ideal set for someone who wants the full course but isn't into tests.

As with the books I posted yesterday, these books are softcover and each has 400-500 pages. Sorry, this set is sold.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

A Beka Plane Geometry Set

Wouldn't you know, the week the teacher began explaining geometric proofs in my high school geometry class, I came down with mononucleosis! (No, I wasn't one of those kind of girls...just unlucky.) For the next three weeks, my friend Clarice brought me our geometry homework assignments so I could work on them from my sickbed. They might have been written in Chinese for all that I could make sense of them.

Once I was well, I had to make after-school visits to the geometry classroom, where the teacher walked me through the entire proof process. It took several visits, as I recall, but it finally made enough sense that I didn't flunk the class.

Fast-forward to today. I think geometry proofs are way cool, and my kids think I'm nuts. But having taught geometry to three kids over the past ten years, I've had some practice with it and like it better than ever!

I taught geometry to my two older kids at the same time, which explains why I have two copies of the same text. (It doesn't explain the third copy, though! I'll be posting those spare texts over the next two days.)

Anyway, today I'm posting my only full set of A Beka Plane Geometry. It includes the text (1996), the solution key (1997) and the test/quiz book and key (1999). Don't worry about the different print dates; they all go together. And of course, geometry is one of those subjects that doesn't change, so the age of the text doesn't matter anyway.

The text does not have answers in it; you'll find those in the solution key, which also contains full illustrations and explanations of the proofs (it's a big book!). The test/quiz key includes all tests with the answers on them, so if you do use the tests, you'll need to photocopy them with post-its strategically placed over the answer blanks. (Note: there is a bit of writing on a few pages in the test/quiz key.)

All three books in this set are softcover. The text has 426 pages, the text solution key looks to have 4-500 pages (it's numbered by section) and the test/quiz key looks like it has 100-125 pages. The first two are in very good condition; the third is in good condition. Sorry....this set is sold.

Friday, June 27, 2008

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Study Guide by Progeny Press

This was one of our favorite literature studies. The Progeny Press study guide series is awesome to begin with, and of course The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is such a good book.

Homeschooling parents love study guides from Progeny Press because they're comprehensive without being burdensome to the parent. The answers are in the back of the book, so the exercises are easy to correct.

This guide begins with a synopsis of the novel and an author bio, then offers some pre-reading activities for use before the actual study guide exercises.

This book is in the original smaller format, which is nice because the student uses a separate piece of paper, so you can reuse the guide with younger children later on (which is what I did). The new format is larger, provides room for the child to write his/her answers in it (thus is not reusable), and retails for $16.99, although Rainbow Resource has discounted it to $13.75.

This book is softcover, has 46 pages, was printed in 1993 and is in good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.
P.S. Please note that this is only the study guide; the novel itself is not included.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Keep Scrollin'

It's been a busy week here. Many of the books I've posted have sold. In fact, most of the books I posted over the last three weeks now sit on the bookshelves of their new owners, or are on their way there. Thank you, buyers!

That said, there are still a few books available. You just have to keep scrollin' until you find them. They're the ones I posted before I began telling people about this blog. So, if you're looking for a book that encourages stay-at-home moms, a book full of simple science experiments, or you need help teaching your developmentally delayed child, you've come to the right place.

And, of course, I have more books to post, so do keep checking back :)

Exploring Creation with General Science Set

This textbook and solution/test key is a basic 9th grade science course and part of the popular Apologia series written by Dr. Jay Wile. It has a Christian emphasis.

The Apologia series was not available when I was homeschooling my older kids, so this textbook was only used by my daughter. As a result, both the textbook and the solution/test key are in excellent, like-new condition.

The textbook is hardbound, printed in 2003, and has 434 pages. The solution/test key is softbound, printed in 2003 and has 107 pages. I paid $65 for the textbook and $20 for the solution/test key. Sorry....this one's sold.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Home School Manual

What's very yellow, the size of a phone book and packed with homeschool information? This book!

The Home School Manual has been one of the most popular homeschooling guides to come down the pike, and for good reason. It's filled with lots of good, basic homeschooling information, by authors including Brian Ray, Marilyn Rockett, Virginia Birt Baker and of course, Raymond and Dorothy Moore.

This book is softcover, printed in 1993, has 512 pages and is in excellent condition. Sorry...this one's sold.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Adventures in Greatness: Speed and Comprehension Reader

My kids always liked these readers from A Beka because they liked competing with themselves to get the best time and comprehension score for the reading passages found in the book.

This particular copy held up through three kids, because I had them do the questions on a separate piece of paper instead of writing in the book. I think these readers are great for increasing kids' comprehension of what they read.

This particular reader is appropriate for kids in grades 6-7 or so. It is softcover, printed in 1992, has 136 pages and is in fair condition (cover has creases and tape on edge; interior is in great shape). Sorry....this one's sold.

Monday, June 23, 2008

The Mayflower Pilgrims

This book is a reprint (by Christian Liberty Press) of the classic textbook of the same name. It details the lives of the Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower, and is appropriate for grades 8-12, or can be read aloud to younger children.

This book was printed in 1993, is softcover, has 256 pages and is in excellent condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Exploring Christian Literature

If you're familiar with Christian Liberty Academy in Illinois, you may know that in addition to being a private Christian school, CLA also has a correspondence school that is favored by many homeschoolers because of its rigorous study requirements. In order to maintain a high standard of quality, the organization publishes many of the textbooks it uses under the name Christian Liberty Press.

This particular text is meant for 8th and 9th graders. There are a few comprehension questions at the end of some of the stories, but we never had a key because we used the correspondence school and they did the correcting. Christian Liberty Press still publishes this book, so if you really needed a key, I'm sure they could sell you one.

This book is softcover, printed in 1994, has 245 pages and is in good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Johnny STILL Can't Read---But You Can Teach Him at Home

It might be hard for today's young parents to understand just how revolutionary a concept teaching your children to read used to be. For many years, the schools had a monopoly on this; the common wisdom was that you didn't teach your child to read because you might do it wrong. You waited for the child to go to school so he'd learn "the right way" to learn to read.

Ah, the "good" old days. Nowadays, parents heave a sigh of relief when their offspring graduate from public high school with a reading level above grade five.

Anyway, this book lays out an argument for why parents should teach their children to read and how to do it. It includes a spelling and reading list of words to get you started, plus lots of specific tips for teaching phonics. That's right, I forgot to mention this book is for teaching your child to read using phonics. The only place you'll see the phrase "sight words" here is the list of words that cannot be sounded out phonetically, like "ought."

This book is paperback, has 75 pages, was printed in 1979 and is in very good condition. Sorry...this one's sold.

Friday, June 20, 2008

What Do I Do Monday?

The late John Holt was a teacher who became famous for his on-the-job studies of children and how they learn. He eventually became one of the pioneers of unschooling, and the magazine he published, Growing Without Schooling, was a wonderful resource for those of us just starting to homeschool in the 1980s and 1990s. In the "About the Author" section of this book, he said, "Like most people, I spent some time in schools, but most of my real education has taken place before school, outside school and since school."

This book contains Holt's detailed description of the teaching techniques he used when he taught school. This book was out of print for quite a while before being reprinted in the mid-1990s.

This book is paperback, printed in 1970, has 319 pages and is in good condition. Sorry....this one's sold.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The New Curriculum Arithmetics, Grade Three

You can tell this is an old book just by the title: back in the day, they called it arithmetics, not arithmetic (and definitely not math!)

This book was printed in 1939, and the cover in particular is showing its age. But the inside is in good shape, and I just love the illustrations, which are very reminiscent of the 1920s (the book was written in 1928.

The book covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, measurements, fractions and time, but it's different in that it's written in a conversational tone. There are also several activities that are not strictly mathematical, ex. page 88, "Special Reports About the Post Office."

There is one page with a few answers written in ink, and someone decorated the back inside cover with penciled scrawling. But considering its age, this book is in pretty fair shape.

This book is hardcover, and has 278 pages. Sorry....this one's sold.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Understanding Arithmetic, Grade 4

I don't think this book was ever used in a schoolroom.

I say that not only because it's in great shape, but because on the back cover there is a tiny sticker that says, "Kroch's & Brentano's: Chicago, Evanston, Old Orchard, Oakbrook, Oak Park." Those of us who grew up in Chicago during the 1960s know Kroch's & Brentano's as a Chicago tradition, like Fannie May Candies and the Bozo Show.

Enough reminiscing. This is the follow-up book to the last textbook I posted. It starts out with a review of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, then moves ahead into multiplying three- and four-digit numbers, Roman numerals, fractions, charts and graphs.

Sorry....this one's sold.