FreeBEE Friday - Free Civil War Resources

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Welcome to a New Year of FreeBEEs. Every Friday I will share a great list of educational FreeBEE resources. PLUS...there's the added bonus of this being a monthly link up...where you can showcase your freebie posts or discover more amazing freebies from my blogging friends. The blogger link up will start on the first Friday of every month and end on the first day of the following month. Each month there will be a new link up. Link up anything that is educational and FREE including GIVEAWAYS!

FreeBEEs:
If there is one topic that I have learned a lot about during our 3 years of homeschooling it is the Civil War. I have learned more about the Civil War in the last 3 years than I ever did in my 12 years of public schooling. We live in GA a state that had a Civil War battle with the second highest death toll at Chickamauga - 34,624 casualties. Gettysburg had the highest with 51,000.

Black History month is in February and it is a great time to note only learn about famous African Americans but also the Civil War.

If you are learning about the Civil War in your homeschool right now here are some awesome Free resources you need to check out.

Free Civil War resources:
-CivilWar.org - student section, teacher section and history FAQ section

-Free Technology for Teachers - Three Good WWI Resources from the BBC, -American President - An Online Reference, The Science and Technology of WWII

-The Main State Library has lots of fabulous Civil War resources

-The Civil War: A Nation Divided lesson plan
-A2Zhomeschooling has lots of links to fabulous Civil War resources
-Homeschool Share Civil War Lapbook
-CurrClick - History Scholar Civil War Times 50 cents and Happy Scribe Copybooks Civil War Times 50 cents (not FREE but very inexpensive)

-The Faces of Lincoln -Civil War printable worksheets -Super Pop Up Reports: Civil War - These are cut out Civil War characters.

-Make a Civil War drum
-John Wilkes Booth wanted poster and John Wilkes Booth escape route poster
-50 page, full color printable book of the presidents
-An Interactive Tour of Natchez: Check out this interactive, narrated tour of a Southern planter’s house and grounds. 
-Civil War coloring pages
-Civil War wordsearch
-Civil War tests

Free Civil War eBooks:
-Taken by the Enemy
-Within the Enemy Lines
-On the Blockade
-Stand by the Union
-Fighting for the Right
-A Victorious Union
-With Lee in Virginia - A Story of the American Civil War
-Friends, through Divided: A Tale of the Civil War
-Uncle Toms Cabin
-Harriet, the Moses of Her People
-The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas using a free PDF file from antislavery.org
-Adventure Tales of the Civil War and Reconstruction - read online

A few weeks ago this awesome video The Civil War in Four Minutes was available to watch online but was removed for copyright infringement. It was absolutely amazing though and I highly recommend purchasing The Civil War In Four Minutes DVD. I will definitely be buying it as soon as I have some spending money.


More awesome videos:

-The Civil War Trust has tons of awesome videos (I love their 4 minute videos)
-Liberty Kids - Conflict in the South (2 part)
-Causes Of The American Civil War 
-A Summary of The Civil War
-History.com Civil War videos

I hope you find these resources useful. If you ever have any questions feel free to leave me a comment or email me. Also be sure to follow my FB page where I post FreeBEEs daily.

Link up: FreeBEE Fridays with Kathy's Cluttered Mind.

Remember when it comes to FREE resources the internet and a good search engine are your best friend. Oh and a library card!

*Don't miss a single FreeBEE... Subscribe to Kathys Cluttered Mind*

  
Linking up with 3 Boys and a Dog

FreeBEE Friday - Black History, Presidents Day, Valentines Day

Jen, from Gricefully Homeschooling, and I team up, the first two Fridays each month, to bring you great  FreeBEEs...on both of our blogs. 

PLUS...with the added bonus of this being a monthly link up...where you can showcase your freebies, things you've found online, and also, things you've received in the mail, totally FREE this month. 

FreeBEEs:

Hopefully you grabbed the great President Lapbooks from both Jen and I last week! These were limited time freebies and are both expired now. Remember that we are changing things up this year so we are only posting our FreeBEE posts the first two Fridays each month.  The first Friday of every month, we will be providing a link and a savings code for you to get a FREE product from some of our favorite homeschool companies. These great sponsors are offering these *Limited Time FreeBEEs* of lapbooks, unit studies, online classes, and more to bless homeschool families (you the reader)! The second Friday of every month we will have our Homeschool FreeBEE Friday Link Up. So our favorite bloggers can link up their FreeBEE posts! This link up will be open through the rest of the month...so instead of a weekly meme this will be monthly, now.

*Don't miss a single FreeBEE... Subscribe to Kathys Cluttered Mind*

If you have homeschool FreeBEEs to share
please link up at the bottom of this post!
You can copy the button from my right side bar.

FreeBEEs:
Well we are continuing our Marine Mammal unit study so I don't have a new one for you this week but I do have lots of other great FreeBEE resources to share that will assist you with teaching your children about Black History, Presidents Day and Valentines Day.

BLACK HISTORY:
March is Black History month. There is so much to be learned from the great men and women who contributed to Americas history. Be sure to check out my Martin Luther King resources from last month as well as our Top 10 Favorite Black History books.

-Rosa Parks mini unit from Teachers Pay Teachers.
-ABC Teach has several FREE worksheets for Black History Month.
-PBS has about 30 FREE shows you can watch about black history.
-Great resources to go with the book Mr. Lincoln's Way.
-FREE Kindle eBook - Harriet Tubman The Moses of Her People.
-Lots of FREE Black History printables.
-Black History super activity pack on CurrClick - NOT free but only 50 cents right now.

Not FREE:
-This MLK Express Lapbook from A Journey Through Learning is also not free but it's only $1.00 and actually a resource we are using for MLK day.

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

VALENTINES DAY:
-Toys R Us Valentine activity pack.
-Preschool Valentines Day coloring matching activity from Learning Little Lovies.
-Sweet number stories Valentine math from Teachers Pay Teachers.
-Mama's Learning Corner has a great Valentines printable worksheet packet.
-There are lots of great resources on Busy Teachers Cafe for Valentines Day as well as Black History.
-Simple Schooling Valentines Day Activity Book on CurrClick.
-Chocolate lapbook perfect for Valentines Day from Homeschool Share.
-Cute Valentines Day song and craft on Kidoomu.
-Enchanted Homeschooling Mom has a great Valentines Day Emergent Reader.
-FREE Valentine Audio books from Sparkle Stories.
-3 Dinosaurs has a great Valentines Pack.
-Valentines Math Freebie adding 10.

PRESIDENTS DAY:
Presidents Day is the perfect opportunity to teach our children about some of the brave, amazing men who have helped transform out country into what it is today.

-Founders Academy is offering a FREE Live Presidents Day class - And for ONLY $2.00 you can also snag the accompanying A Journey Through Learning Presidents Day lapbook. Founders Academy also has Abraham Lincoln and Tuskegee Airmen classes this month but those are not free.
-Handwriting Without Tears has several great printables in their most recent newsletter
-My friend at Moms Mustard Seeds has a fabulous Presidents Day  Notebooking Page.
-Presidents Day holiday helper on CurrClick.
-Four Famous Americans Audio on CurrClick.
-Enchanted Homeschooling Mom has a great Presidents Day Emergent Reader.

CHINESE NEW YEAR RESOURCES:
Be sure to check out my post from last month for FREE Chinese New Year Resources.

I hope you find these resources useful. If you ever have any questions feel free to leave me a comment or email me. Also be sure to follow my FB page where I post FreeBEEs daily.

Link up: FreeBEE Fridays with Kathy's Cluttered Mind and Gricefully Homeschooling

*Disclaimer - Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. Please note that prices indicated in the post are subject to change. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

Top 10 Black History Books For Kids

Black history month is in February and it's a wonderful time to teach your children about the famous African Americans in U.S. history. Today I wanted to share with you our Top 10 Favorite Black History Books For Kids.

Image from www.goucher.edu 

About Black History month from History.com....
Black History Month, or National African American History Month, is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. The event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history.

Top 10 Black History Books...

1) Ruth and the Green Book
2) Belle, The Last Mule at Gee's Bend
3) Pink and Say
4) Back of the Bus
5) Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the sky
6) The little plant doctor : a story about George Washington Carver
7) A Sweet Smell of Roses
8) Nobody gonna turn me 'round : stories and songs of the civil rights movement
9) Mr. Lincoln's Way
10) Riding to Washington

okay I lied...
11) January's Sparrow

Here are a few FREE resources you may find helpful too.
-PBS has about 30 FREE shows you can watch about black history
-Great resources to go with the book Mr. Lincoln's Way
-FREE Kindle eBook - Harriet Tubman The Moses of Her People
-Lots of FREE Black History printables

Be sure to also check around your area for Black History events. Here in GA there are many awesome events going on and a lot of them are FREE like these events in Roswell.

Be sure to browse through all of our other Top 10 Posts!

What is your favorite Black History book please share in the comments?

*Disclaimer - Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. Please note that prices indicated in the post are subject to change. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

Linking up with: Top Ten Tuesday

Daria Music - I Have A Dream CD Review and Giveaway

Have you heard of Daria Music? I stumbled upon her website while searching for music learning resources and fell in love with her website and music. She has a fabulous voice and all her songs are amazing and very inspirational. My favorite thing about Daria's music is that she introduces children to music from around the World. She incorporates different languages, musical instruments, people, places, etc into all her songs so children experience more than just simply listening to a song. She also encourages parents and teachers to create your own instruments so you can play and sing along too. You can read more about Daria and her travels around the World on her bio page. Oh and she even has a page for homeschoolers with some great information!!!

A moms review:
Daria was kind enough to send our family the "I Have A Dream" CD to review (be sure to click the link to listen to sample songs). The day it arrived my kids were eager to listen to it. Now I don't know about you but sometimes children's music drives me crazy. Much of the music today forchildren is not very original, annoying, teaches nothing of importance...know what I mean? Well Dari's music is none of the above. Actually I don't even mind listening to the CD by myself (which I did while I wrote this review).

The CD is about 26 minutes long and features 10 great songs. Many of the songs on the CD are very spiritual and have great meaning to them. The CD jacket features a really cool illustration actually done by an 8 yr old girl. Inside the jacket are all the words to the songs along with brief information about the songs origin and the instruments that were used. The songs on "I Have A Dream" will teach children important values such as being kind to others, love, respect for people and animals, service, peace, equality and more. Obviously, hence the name, there is a song about Martin Luther King  which is the main reason I chose this CD to review. It is a great song to listen to this month as we are approach Martin Luther King Day.  Martin Luther Kind Day is such an important day to teach our children about. So much can be learned from this amazing man and what better way than through a spiritual, uplifting song. There are also songs on the CD in Spanish. Hebrew and Zulu.

There is also an amazing song called "Ride, Horse, Ride" which is my favorite as well as Gwyn's. This song uses traditional Native American Instruments like a Pueblo drum, Native flute, shell rattles and Iroquois bone rattles. The song even has a Clan Mother (Red Singing Bird) doing some of the vocals and instrument playing. Gwyn is fascinated with the Native American culture and horses so this song really captured Gwyn's heart. She immediately knew it was a Native American song and what instruments they were playing. The song teaches children about respecting animals as well as learning and being encouraged from them. I also really enjoyed the African/American spirituals.

And it turns out this CD will go along great with our unit study this month too, on Marine Mammals. There is a song called "Wild and Free" which is about dolphins, whales and manatees. This song is about protecting our wildlife and is sung to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean".

This is definitely a CD that you will listen to over and over again with your children.

The CD is fabulous and includes the following songs:
-I Have A Dream
-Here Come Our Mothers
-Beautiful Rainbow World
-Heyvenu Shalom Alechim/Hava Nagila
-For All The World's Children
-La Cucaracha
-Wild And Free
-Ride, Horse, Ride
-Child Of God
-The Spirit Song

Each month Daria has a monthly song page which has lots of freebies including songs, links to printables, videos, instrument making how-to's and more. There is also always at least one great giveaway (many times more).

Daria has these FREE links (as well as others) right now on her monthly song page for the MLK Day:
-HAVE A DREAM song - MP3
-I HAVE A DREAM song - Lyric Sheet
-I HAVE A DREAM song - Sheet Music

And here is a great video for you viewing pleasure as well:


Gwyns review (6 yrs old):

The dolphin song and horse ride songs were my favorite. I like all the different instruments in the songs. We listen to the CD a lot in the car. I hope mommy gets more of the CDs for us to listen too and some more instruments too. 

Links to follow:
-Daria's Website
-Daria's Facebook page 
-Daria's Twitter page
-Daria's Blog

Where to buy:
The songs and CDs can be purchased on Amazon in both MP3 and hard copy. Or you can also order them directly from Daria's website. Most of her songs are also available on iTunes as well. Prices vary on products.

Now time for the giveaway: 

Daria has graciously offered to give away the I Have A Dream CD as well as a mini-musical washboard. Only the first entry is mandatory. Other entries are optional and give you extra chances. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook in any way. The winners will be posted on the blog and will be emailed. Winners must reply within 48 hrs with their contact information or another winner will be chosen. Prize will be mailed by Daria.

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*Disclaimer - I received a copy of I Have A Dream CD in return for my honest review. Please note that prices indicated in the post are subject to change. I was not compensated for my review and all  opinions are our own! Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

Black History Month - What We Learned

We took a little time this month to learn some black history. We didn't do as much as I had hoped but we (yup even mommy) did managed to learn a few very interesting things. Since we were already planning to learn about Africa we discussed how the Africans were brought to America on boats to become slaves. We read a lot of books written by African American authors and even got to meet one and listen to him speak at the library. After reading a few of the books we discussed what segregation and discrimination were and how it affected African Americans lives. I am sure as the kids get older we will cover a lot more of this important part of our American history but for now I wanted to keep it simple since it is such a difficult subject especially for kids to grasp.

Our library always has coloring pages for the kids and this month they had pictures of famous African Americans. Gwyn chose to color a picture of Sarah Breedlove Walker. Did you know
she was the 1st African American millionaire? She created the first line of African American hair products.

I highly recommend these two books by Calvin Ramsey the author we had the pleasure of meeting. It was so awesome to meet an author especially one that wrote such amazing books. So far he only has these two books.

 
After we reading this book we learned about The Green Book. Something I personally never knew existed until after reading the wonderful kids book Ruth and the Green Book. I was shocked that such an important piece of history was never covered in my 12 yrs of schooling. Do you know that a copy of the Green Book sells for about $4000. The majority of them are in libraries or museums though. I also learned more about the Jim Crow. And that it wasn't a who but a what.

 
After reading this Belle the Last Mule at Gee's Bend we learned why Mules were used to pull the carriage that carried Dr. Martin Luther Kings coffin. Tissue warning mommas this book may make you cry. Oh and your little ones too if they are emotional. Again something I never learned about in school.


Free Resources:
-Pdf of the real Green Book. Also check out this website.
-Information about why Dr. Martin Luther Kings carriage was drawn by mules.
-Information on Sarah Breedlove Walker
-Coloring pages of famous African Americans

So what exciting new thing did you learn this month? If you learned something new please link up a post. And if you could please post my blog button either in your post or on your sidebar.



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