The BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: LessonPathways.com is now FREE for EVERYONE to use!  Please read the message from our founder, Richard Rasmus, below:

NEWS

We have exciting news to share with you about the future of LessonPathways.com!

We have decided to transform the Lesson Pathways site from a paid subscription-based service to one that is advertising- and donation-supported. As a result, if you are currently a subscriber we are canceling all paid subscriptions and invite everyone to use LessonPathways.com at no additional expense.
I know that we have many satisfied customers who are actively using Lesson Pathways with their students.  If you feel that our service is of value to you, we ask that you consider contributing to support Lesson Pathways and help allow us to continue to bring you this valuable educational resource.

BACKGROUND

When Lesson Pathways first launched in August 2009, we initially offered free 12-month subscriptions for those who agreed to fulfill Beta Tester roles.  Within a 4 day time period, over 4000 users signed up for free accounts! The feedback we have received on our service since then has been phenomenal.  Unfortunately, once we moved to a subscription based system, the number of paid purchases we received not enough to cover our operating costs.

While we are confident that we are offering a top-notch service, we are attempting to sell our service during a very difficult economic time.  We have received many emails from families who would like to use our service, but are unable to do so due to tight household budgets.

We have spent many hours trying to find a solution – something that will help us cover our operating costs AND provide an educational tool to families who need our help.  We believe we have come up with a viable plan.  However, we will need your help – the help of the Lesson Pathways community – in order to make it work.

Our new approach, called a “freemium business model” is currently being used by sites like Facebook, Flickr, and Skype.  These sites offer a valuable free service, attract a very large number of users, and receive income when users click on affiliate and paid advertisements.  Over the course of the next few days we will switch Lesson Pathways over to a similar revenue model and we hope we can count on your support!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We are hopeful that by changing the fundamentals of how we operate, we can continue to improve and expand our educational offerings. In addition to considering making a donation to Lesson Pathways, we hope you will help us in the following ways:

Share Lesson Pathways with anyone you think might be interested in our free service: face-to-face, postings in online forums and blogs, and on Facebook, Twitter or any other social or educational network to which you belong.

Support our advertisers and sponsors and buy educational and other supplemental materials by clicking on affiliate links you find on our site, such as links for Amazon books displayed with the Pathways.  Also consider shopping through the Lesson Pathways Online Shopping Mall, where you will find a variety of popular online stores.

Contribute content and help us maintain our site.  There are numerous ways to share your thoughts about our service or the sites we feature, such as commenting on our pages or flagging broken links.  We also hope that more experienced users will help newcomers by answering questions and offering support on our user forum.  In addition, we hope those of you who have a keen interest in education will volunteer to help us create new content.  This can be done by offering guest blog entries, suggesting alternative sites to feature, or creating new Pathways that reflect your own interest, knowledge, and educational philosophy.

Thank you again for your support.  We hope you will continue to be a valuable part of the Lesson Pathways community and will help us during our transition period and beyond!

Please visit our Free Service FAQ’s Page or feel free to contact our customer service department at ContactUs@LessonPathways.com if you have any questions, comments or concerns you would like to discuss.

Congratulations to …..HEATHER!

Tara has won “Andrea Carter and the San Francisco Smugglers” book and lapbook set!

Another big THANK YOU to Susan K. Marlow, author of the Circle C books series and generous sponsor of this prize. And a special “thank you” to everyone who participated. I wish we could give you each something!

We are VERY pleased to bring you another wonderful giveaway!!

You could win…

Susan Marlow’s Book, Andrea Carter and the San Francisco Smugglers

http://www.circlecadventures.com/Books.html

This is the fourth book in the Circle C Adventure series for kids and it is SURE to entertain!

Click here to read the first chapter!

When a flood damages the schoolhouse, Andi is ecstatic—until her family sends her to a stuffy San Francisco school for young ladies. The plight of a small, Chinese slave girl captures her heart, sending Andi and her new friends into the dark alleys of Chinatown, where danger greater than she’s ever known waits to swallow them up.

In addition to the book, the winner will ALSO receive the Journey through Learning Lapbook!

From A Journey Through Learning you will get the lapbook that goes along with this chapter book. It is 3 folders big and includes extra study pages such as the Fresno Flood, Chinatown, the Transcontinental Railroad, Streetcars and Cable Cars, the Chinese Slave Trade, Chinese Writing, Golden Gate Park, Life at Young Ladies’ Academy, and more!

Susan K. Marlow is a twenty-year homeschooling veteran of four and the author of the Circle C Adventures series for “tweens” from Kregel Publications. She combines her love of teaching and her passion for writing by teaching writing workshops for kids on line and at home-school co-ops. She and her family make their home in Washington State.

To learn more, please visit Susan Marlow’s website: Circle C Adventures.

How to Enter:

Leave us a comment below and let us know what you love about the Circle C series! (please make sure to include your email address in the form, it will not be visible to others and will not be shared)

For extra entries:

• Subscribe to our Feed
• Follow us on Twitter
• Tweet This: RT @LessonPathways Enter for a free Circle C Book & Lapbook http://bit.ly/2cbEK5
• Become a fan on Facebook
• Say “Hello” in our user forum
• Sign up for our newsletter

Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. This contest will be open through Friday (January 15th), 11:59 EST.  Good Luck!!

In case you missed any of the other giveaways, there are THREE more chanced to win a FREE YEAR of Lesson Pathways!

SecularHomeschool.com is hosting a giveaway for three free subscriptions to LessonPathways.com. You can find all the details and enter HERE! Good Luck!

Be sure to stop by the The Work of Childhood between now and November 4th to find out how to win a FREE one year subscription to LessonPathways.com!!!

While you’re there, check out the archives to read about their family and adventures in homeschooling!

Congratulations to ….. TARA!

Tara has won “Andrea Carter and the Dangerous Decision” book and lapbook set!

Another big THANK YOU to Susan K. Marlow, author of the Circle C books series and generous sponsor of this prize. And a special “thank you” to everyone who participated.  I wish we could give you each something!

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled in November; we’ll be giving away the third book in the Circle C book series!

We’re hosting our first contest! Thanks to the generosity of Susan Marlow, you could be the winner of this ‘tween-friendly book and corresponding lapbook!

You could win…

Susan Marlow’s Book, Andrea Carter and the Dangerous Decision

The second book in the Circle C Adventure series for kids (http://www.circlecadventures.com/Books.html), Andrea Carter and the Dangerous Decision is sure to entertain!

Click the book to read the first chapter

Andrea “Andi” Carter never tries to get into trouble, but somehow it always manages to find her.  Living on the Circle C Ranch near Fresno, California, in the 1800s–the heyday of the Old West–provides Andi with more than her fair share of adventures.  Andi’s life is never boring.  Her hair-raising escapades always end up teaching her valuable lessons about life, friends and family.

In this book, Andi nearly tramples her new teacher in a reckless, impromtpu horse race down the main street of Fresno, California–not a good way to begin the fall 1880 school term.  Her troubles multiply when she must decide whether she should deliberately walk into a dangerous situation to rescue the teacher’s mean-spirited, trouble-making daughter.

In addition to this delightful book, the winner will also receive the Journey Through Learning lapbook!

Tie history and literature into the Circle C Adventures by using lapbooks by A Journey Through Learning. (www.AJourneyThroughLearning.com) Each lapbook is made using three colorful file folders. The packet includes everything students need to create the lapbook: study guides, full-color pictures for the mini-booklets, the file folders, and detailed instructions on how to put them together. Each lapbook takes about a month to complete.  Extra study pages, such as School in teh 1800s, Proper Etiquette of teh 1800s, Cowhands, Ways of Transportation, What is a roundup?, What is a Corral?, Horse Safety, Psalm 121, History of Baseball, History of the Sheriff and Much More!

Susan K. Marlow is a 20-year homeschooling veteran of four and the author of the Circle C Adventures series for “tweens” from Kregel Publications. She combines her love of teaching and her passion for writing by teaching writing workshops for kids online and at homeschool co-ops. She and her family make their home in Washington State.

To learn more, please visit Susan Marlow’s website: Circle C Adventures.

Entering the contest is easy!

To enter, leave a comment.  Remember to leave your email address so we can contact you (it won’t be visible to others and it won’t be shared either).

For extra entries, do one (or all) of the following, come back and leave a comment for each one you complete:

• Subscribe to our feed
• Follow us on Twitter
• Tweet This: RT @LessonPathways Enter for a free Circle C Book & Lapbook http://bit.ly/2cbEK5
• Become a fan on Facebook
• Say “Hello” on our user forum
• Sign up for our newsletter

The contest will be open through Tuesday (October 20th), 11:59pm EDT.  The winner will be announced on Wednesday, October 21st.  Good Luck!

Julie of the Clark Chronicles Blog recently announced the winner of the one year FREE subscription to LessonPathways.com. Is it you? Head over to Julie’s blog to find out!

Don’t forget, today is the last day to take advantage of our current phenomenal sale price.  You can save over 50% off the regular subscription price if you act fast.  This offer expires at 11:59 pm EDT TONIGHT!

Today is also the last day to enter the LessonPathways.com giveaway at the Clark Chronicles blog.  She’ll be picking one lucky winner to receive a FREE one year subscription to LessonPathways soon!

If you are wondering what LessonPathways.com is all about, watch this great video tour and head over to the site to sign up for a FREE 30 day trial (NO credit card required!).

Be sure to stop by the Clark Chronicles Blog between now and October 7th to find out how to win a FREE one year subscription to LessonPathways.com!!!

While you’re there, check out her archives to read about her fantastic family and great articles on homeschooling!