Wednesday tip: Free Classic Audiobooks for Android, itunes, or 'puter

Once upon a time there was a mom who liked the idea of reading books to her kids. She read and read, her voice ragged with winter cold,  until she wondered if there was a free source for books in audio so she could rest her scratchy throat.

She looked and typed and browsed the various apps and options on her phone and computer and one day happened upon an place which enchanted her. Old books, classic books, long lost books, all read by volunteers, some with interesting accents, but most completely understandable and easy for listening, every last one free in the public domain.

This was too good to be true! A whole new world opened up to her. Foxes Book of Martyrs became her kitchen companion, as she listened and worked. A voice read The Story of the World to her kids as they colored and she tidied. The Book of Art for Young People rounded out her homeschool curriculum, as well as Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare. She found Elsie Dinsmore, all the works of Louisa May Alcott, Margaret Gatty's Parables from Nature(in progress), The Bobbsey Twins, Anne of Green Gables, and these only a few from the 549 books in the Children's Genre.

As far as I can tell, there are almost 8000 English titles in the library, all free with no rights reserved!

Download the app Traveling Classics (It's free.) to your Android phone or go to Librivox.org and load any book you wish to your itunes account. Or download to your computer. Browse by Genre or search for your favorite classic by name.

Hours of listening await you!

I was not paid for this so called endorsement in any way, nor am I being compensated in even the smallest amount. I may or may not agree with the content of all the books that they offer, nor do I claim to understand German or Russian or Latin or French, just a few of the languages many books are offered. I do remember three Russian words, one from each month I spent there, but that is irrelevant.

Librivox is completely free and is so great a find that I just HAD to share this source of great classics in audio. Please don't tell me if you've known about this forever. I'd be so embarrassed that I just found out. Thank you. Or alternately, you are so welcome!

Works for Me.....

Screwdriver thread holder.

Sometimes it ain't pretty, but you do what you gotta do.

Still sewing here....waiting for custom embroidered labels and then I'm ready to set up shop! Yay!


Share what works for you here.

Virgin Cucumber Mojito

Recipe for Relaxation

A pretty glass

Lime sparkling water

1 T lime concentrate

5 slices cucumber

3 sprigs of mint ( I used peppermint and chocolate mint)

A pinch of Stevia sweetener

Ice (which I didn't have because my children were playing with the heart shaped ice cube mold and never refilled it.... :P)

A back porch with sunset views (which I also don't have. But I do have sunset views from my desk chair....)

Sip slowly. Drink life in. Above all, enjoy summer.
It only lasts so long in MN.

Shared at WFMW.

School in the Summer?

So, we home school. You knew that, right?

Yesterday, a package came in the mail. I've been planning our summer curriculum, because, yes, we do school in the summer. But not full fledged, math, language arts, spelling, history, science, handwriting, art, full schedule kind of school. I'm not a glutton for punishment.

We choose to do science in the summer. And any smart homeschooling family would too. After all, you can't really do bark rubbings, leaf comparisons and worm habitats when it's -20 F outside and the ground is covered in two feet of snow, now, can you?

Yes, I am brilliant. We do science in the summer.

So I've been trying to decide what books to use. What to do. We already went through my favorite-so-far elementary science book. Considering God's Creation. Seriously. Every project fits into a three ring binder. That was awesome considering my aversion toward a house cluttered by a gazillion messy, ugly kid creations and my abhorrence for Sunday School papers. Yes, I love those three ring binders.

But we finished it. So now what?

I considered Apologia. My younger sisters loved that curriculum. And it even has an elementary series now. But after careful consideration, and the advice of friends who have used it, I decided to hold off. Maybe next year.

             Then I found this.                                                                      And this.



















And a book of nature crafts in my bookshelf that I must have picked up at a garage sale last year.

So we are going to have fun learning about bugs and animals this summer. With a few creative and messy projects (to be done outside, duh) thrown in. Our garden will serve as a wealth of education as well.

I am convinced that the best thing I can do for my kids education is to cultivate a love of learning. And I think these books will do the trick.

Even if you don't home school, (and I'm not being compensated to say this) these are still great books to add to your library. Last night, we read two chapter of Mrs. Gatty's book and we learned about butterflies and ants. My children loved the stories and wanted me to keep reading.

Accessory Exchange

I love this. 

All you need are some best friends, some stuff (more on what kind later), 

and platters of yummy food. 

Start with a date. And some pretty invitations. 

When that day comes, lay out a beautiful spread.

Hungry yet? Boy can my friend Niki cook! 

Isn't she adorable?

Regretfully, I have no pictures of Lisa, our immaculate host. 

She is adorable too. Trust me.

Begin with eating, because who would want to wait to eat that gorgeous food?

Then relax, munching all the while, and go around the room and share how you each met your husband 

and the story of your courtship. Or whatever. 

(In our case everyone was married.)

This conversation topic was spontaneous in our group - instigated by Buzzy (above)

If food and conversation aren't enough for you to have a good time, then you'll love this! 

For this party, everyone brought accessories they were tired of ~ to share with friends!

Look at those purses!

Nicole liked them!

OOOOoooooo. Earrings!

Necklaces, Scarves.......

Let the shopping and sharing begin!

 I came home with a new pair of earrings and a couple necklaces. 

Works for me!

Click on over to www.wearethatfamily.com for more great tips!