Soaring Sparrows Design

05/11/2019

Hi friends! It's been a hot minute since my last post but in that time we moved to a new state AND then made/finished designing the Lamp + Light Homeschool curriculum. So, life has been crazy. 😵

As I'm finishing with L+L my mind and heart are switching gears again. Ready to continue building and concentrate on The Second Chapter.

Here is a little article I found (pretty interesting) in the mean time. 💗🌱📔
Be Back Soon, XOXO. -Shawna

Michael Morpurgo, Quentin Blake, Julia Donaldson and more reveal the books that inspired them and how to keep children interested in a world of digital distractions

05/05/2019

Ain't that the truth. 💗

Every year on Hans Christian Andersen's birthday (2 April) International Children's Book Day is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books.
It's a great reminder to encourage your child to develop the super power of reading for a lifetime of joy and adventure.
Artist: Kim Parkhust
http://toadbriar.com/

02/15/2019

Very Cool. I just love Biographies don't you?

Biographies for kids have come a long way from the dry books they used to be. This post is a list of categorized biographies for kids that you'll love!

01/26/2019

Check out this article from the HSLDA. They have broken down the costs of multiple "styles" of homeschooling as well as the average amounts that families spend on homeschooling.

Turns out, we homeschooling families can assume to spend between $500-$900 per STUDENT each year! I believe The Second Chapter can really help to lessen that amount.

Yes, you *can* rent curriculum and textbooks. You *can* also use the library, and I really support doing that, but what if your library is... Less than stellar. Or, you live in a small rural town?

How about renting the supplemental homeschool books that can go with your curriculum. For nice long rental periods like 15, 30, or 60 days (long enough for your unit/block study). Renting these books will certainly cut costs AND you wont have to pile everyone into the car OR resell books at the end of the year. 😉💗

If you are considering home education, you are very likely a single-income family, and if you’re like most of us, your budget is pretty tight. Although I have read that the average homeschool family spends about $900 per student per year, I have never personally spent nearly that much. My most exp...

01/24/2019

Been adding some easy chapter books and amazing read-aloud's lately. They are quick and fun and the whole family will enjoy them.

01/22/2019

Have you read The Tomets series yet? They are so rich. It's a modern take on traditional storytelling of old. The children and their friends the Tomets are faced with modern problems and use teamwork to overcome.
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Problems such as deforestation and moving, caring for the environment, animals and self. ·
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01/18/2019

Found these gems recently. All being added to The Second Chapter's inventory for homeschoolers.

Follow us on FB or IG to see recent updates, website launch details AND access to semi annual book sales.
Second.Chapter.Rents = FBSecond.Chapter = IG

01/10/2019

Some more items you can expect to find at The Second Chapter. Rent homeschool and teaching books for pennies on the dollar! (website launch in March)
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No more feeling guilty that you bought a book from your book list and read it ONCE! 😬
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No more packing *everyone* into the car and searching the library with too short of check-out times to cover the while unit/block study. ·
No more needing to sell or trade the books you've bought this year, in order to have room for (or afford) books for next year.
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01/08/2019

Every once and a while I come across a good article. This one is on Nature Journaling...

Agnes Drury sums up three decades of House of Education nature notebook experience in this vintage Parents' Review article from 1941.

01/05/2019

Everytime I can, I sneak in another few books into the website inventory. 📚 This is a two fold process, which is why the images say "sold out". But the truth is, that just means I have yet to enter in all the "wonderful" coding to make each item rentable for 15, 30 or 60 days. (The cost of which, for you is pennies on the dollar)
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01/04/2019

Well, I got the chance to add another handful into the inventory, yay!. Today I added another one by Jan Brett, she is one of my favorite Author/Illustrators. 🤓📚 How about you?

Im working really hard to keep punching in as many books per-day as possible, but it's a solo business as of right now so things are going at super-sonic-speed. Do you have a favorite in this group? I'll love to know.

12/31/2018

So here is an example of an average savings. As you can see the retail price is listed and the rental price is in red. It's pretty consistent to see most of my items under $5 and all the way down to just $1.50 in some cases.

My hope here is to make the books you need, or want, to use as part of a unit/block study accessible at even the lowest income brackets. While allowing you the freedom to spend in other areas (like games, manipulative, field trips...).

I hope this little example helps, and you can see the value in renting supplementary texts, that libraries don't have; all while not paying full price OR storing/keeping a book you may only read once and have to resell later on anyway. 😬