Google The Unplanned Homeschooler: Build Your Bundle
Showing posts with label Build Your Bundle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Build Your Bundle. Show all posts

Monday, May 16, 2016

Review of 'Brick Themed Activities for the Year' by Gypsy Road

This month, I was privileged to review a copy of "Brick Themed Activities for the Year," a bundle of unit studies to do throughout the year with your little Lego fans. All three of my kids are Lego fans, so I was excited to try out some of the lessons with my youngest.


If you like holidays, and you like Lego, this is definitely a product meant for you. With holidays from New Year's Eve through Christmas, and even selections for birthdays and back-to-school, you can truly use Lego blocks and minifigs to learn through the whole year. 

It's springtime now, but my daughter wanted to check out the Halloween activities. There were clever writing prompts, math pages that related to real world situations, coloring pages and more. Best of all, they featured some of her favorite minifigs and included ideas for projects she could build. 

Pick up a copy on the Gypsy Road homeschool blog.


A review of 'Famous Artists: Renaissance to Surrealism'

One of my most memorable experiences as a homeschooler was taking my children to see the traveling exhibit of Claude Monet's water lilies triptych at the St. Louis Art Museum. These three massive paintings, each canvas 7 feet tall and 14 feet wide, are owned by three separate museums in the United States. They had not been shown together since the 1970s, and the chance to see them as they were meant to be was an opportunity we could not miss.

Claude Monet's Water Lilies from the St. Louis Art Museum

I was awestruck, standing in a darkened room with a limited number of guests, silently taking in the beauty of an artist's work I had only seen in pictures and prints. I took my glasses off and looked at the canvases as Monet would have looked at them, or close to it, as my vision is not quite as impaired as his was when he painted these masterpieces in his old age. As the colors converged in my blurry sight, the images took on new life and I could almost believe that if I reached out my hand, it would permeate the water. I felt deeply connected to the art and the man.

Not everyone has a chance to see incredible art up close and have this sort of moving experience. I know, growing up in rural Oklahoma, my opportunities were limited, at least as compared to those who live close enough to stop in at a major museum whenever they'd like.

Maybe that's why I am so impressed with the Famous Artists Volume 1 online unit study by Beth Napoli of Techie Homeschool Mom. This interactive unit study introduces kids to artists like Monet, daVinci and Picasso, whose work they probably already recognize, but also includes artists like Klimt and Dali to introduce forms which may be less familiar.

Gustav Klimt's Kirche in Cassone

With several artists to study, each representing a different and unique style, students can become familiar with a wide range of artistic movements, spanning more than four centuries. And the interactive elements in the study will help kids feel more in touch with the art than just flipping through the pages of a book.

Your students may not have a chance to see the work of these great masters in a museum any time soon, but they are sure to get excited about building and sharing their own virtual gallery. Having completed a unit study like this one, your whole family will have a more complete appreciation of the experience the next time you get to visit a museum in person.

Look for the Famous Artists Volume 1 online unit study on the Techie Homeschool Mom blog.

Monday, May 9, 2016

What's in the Fine Arts Bundle from the 2016 Build Your Bundle - Homeschool Edition?

When you ask homeschooling parents what they have the most difficulty teaching, many of them reply with fine arts. There are highly recommended, tried and true resources out there for math, language arts, history and science. But great resources for art are like well-hidden gems.

That's why I am really excited to be a part of the Fine Arts Bundle in the 2016 Build Your Bundle - Homeschool Edition sale. The Fine Arts Bundle is one of 15 bundles in the sale, and priced at just $20, it's quite a bargain.

I think the real test of any bundle sale is whether you will actually use the products in the bundles. Are they resources your kids will enjoy, and do they cover topics you'll want to teach? As one of the authors included in this year's Fine Arts Bundle, I think the answer is yes.

My own product, The History of Rock and Roll, took weeks of hard work and research. I created the unit study for a co-op class I was teaching, and meticulously collected samples of representative work from rock and roll artists from the birth of the genre in the 1940s to modern times. With videos, graphics and lessons parents can read aloud or give to older students to use independently, this is an extremely user-friendly music appreciation course your students will actually enjoy.

A few of the other products in the bundle include a detailed coloring journal, much like those you would find in art stores and a book with dozens of lessons on drawing horses. These are two products I know my older daughter would love. Also, there are unit studies on famous artists and two art appreciation introductory books by a well known publisher you are sure to recognize. These are solid resources that may spark an interest in the visual arts.

This bundle also includes notebooking pages on dozens of the world's greatest poets, and I know many parents struggle to introduce poetry studies in their curriculum.

There is so much more included, in both visual arts and music. If you have been looking for resources you will actually use in your homeschool, you'll want to see all the products you get for just $20 in this bundle. Make sure and click the link to pre-register for this sale. You'll be entered for a chance to win ALL the bundles, and you'll get a coupon so you can save even more when the sale starts!
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Build Your Bundle 2016 - Save 86% - 96% on #homeschool #curriculum! #BYB2016

Win ALL the bundles in the 2016 Build Your Bundle - Homeschool Edition sale!

Oh my gosh! I have been so excited to share this news, and finally, I can! I was chosen to be one of the contributors in this year's Build Your Bundle - Homeschool Edition sale. I'm so excited to be part of such an incredible sale! There are so many great products, more than 200 in total, by a carefully selected group of authors and publishers, and everything is discounted - up to 96 percent off retail.
(Affiliate links)



The sale starts on May 16, but you can get a sneak peek at some of the awesome products and the many bundles available right now. Even better, you can enter for a chance to win ALL the bundles! Click the link above to go, go, go and get registered right now for this year's contest and see the different bundles available for 2016!

I almost forgot, you get another bonus for registering early for the sale. It's a coupon you can use to get an even better deal on the bundles you want!



Get your homeschool curriculum shopping done early with the 2016 Build Your Bundle - Homeschool Edition sale, and don't forget to check out the Fine Arts bundle. That's where you'll find my History of Rock and Roll unit study! I'm really proud to have been included with such a great group of publishers, and I can't wait to shop for my own selections at this incredible sale!