Ah, if only we had a crystal ball and could tell you all of the great things that will be happening in 2011!

Unfortunately, we can’t tell you what lottery numbers to play or the exact date your little one reads a book all on his or her own, but we can tell you about the great things we have planned for the LessonPathways blog!

• We’re excited to continue to bring you great deals and partner offers that help keep LessonPathways.com free for everyone.  You may have noticed we’ve recently changed our format for delivering the best deals of the week.  We will continue to list bargains by merchant as separate posts.  This way, you can zero in on the retailers you are most interested in.
• We’ll be bringing you the best freebies as often as we can on Thursdays, though a limited-time freebie may sneak in on other days of the week.
• Naturally, we’ll continue to feature our favorite Pathways each Friday, highlighting some of the best free resources for creating your own unit study or curriculum.
• We also plan to bring you more product reviews, contests and giveaways too!
• And to start the New Year, we’ll be featuring a very helpful series on teaching your child to write.  We’ll give you tips for motivating your child, giving feedback and having fun in the process.

We’re so thankful you have been with us this past year and look forward to a great 2011 together.  Our goal here at the blog is to bring you the best advice, news and freebies for education.  Please let us know what subjects you’d like  to hear more about by dropping us a note in the comments section.

Have you been hit by the winter cold yet?  Now is a great time to explore what life is like in Arctic habitats and it just so happens we’ve got a fantastic line-up of resources for you to build your unit study.

This unit teaches children about the arctic habitat. They’ll learn about the climate differences and how animals and plants live within these environments. Learn about polar bears, create an Arctic scene and try an experiment to discover how it might feel to be an animal living in the Arctic. This unit also include printable worksheets, games and videos to complete your study.  This unit is designed to last about one week, depending on how often you teach science.

November is National Aviation Month.

We have so many great resources about flight, it was hard to pick just one! This week, we’re featuring this amazing history unit about Amelia Earhart.  It’s full of cross-curriculuar activities!

If your student wants to learn more about flight and famous aviators, just use the search box at LessonPathways.com to find more great lessons, activities, videos and more!

While you are visiting LessonPathways, please take a moment to support our sponsors.  Every time you do, you help keep our program FREE for everyone!

Get ready to explore the exciting life of Amelia Earhart, the famous aviatrix (woman aviator). Learn about Amelia’s early years growing up in Atchison, Kansas. She was once home schooled just like you. Tag along as she learns to fly and earns her pilot’s license. Like Amelia, you can practice flying planes, the paper kind that is. Pretend you are Amelia as you write in your journal the night before your last flight. You will also have the opportunity to map her last flight, watch videos, and listen to her give a speech. This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach history.

On this day in 1929, the stock market crashed, starting the Great Depression. Today’s Featured Pathway, is a Language Arts unit based on the children’s classic, “Bud, Not Buddy.” Set during the Great Depression, this is a great launching-off point for a theme unit incorporating History and Language Arts.

Family, survival, and hope are the themes in “Bud, Not Buddy” by Christopher Paul Curtis. Set out on a journey with Bud Caldwell as he searches for his father and learns life lessons along the way. You will read the first five chapters of the book and answer thought-provoking questions. Be prepared to begin a journal for Bud, answering the way he would. You will construct a suitcase like Bud’s, research the 1930’s, write a list of rules for a “funner” life and much more. The writing process is the focus for Language Arts. You will learn all the steps for creating a thorough essay. The typing lesson this week will teach you the letter T and how to type a period(.). Quizzes, printables, writing resources and a video compliment the lessons. This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach language arts.

Isn’t it a great feeling when you can help out a friend? It makes us feel great to be able to provide you with such a wonderful, high-quality resource like LessonPathways. We are so excited about the number of users that visit the site and use our free educational resources. It makes us happy to know that your children are benefiting from the efforts of dedicated Lesson Pathways volunteers and team members.

We know that it also feels great to be able give back – and many of you have asked how you can do that. Of course, we can always use your input, feedback, and help creating Pathways. If you’d like to try your hand at creating a Pathway, send us an email at ContactUs(at)LessonPathways.com and we will help you get started.

Another way you can help out is by doing something that you’re probably already doing: shopping! Lesson Pathways has a Shopping Mall page – all you need to do is click on the link to the online store you want to shop at and Lesson Pathways will get a percentage of your purchase. And here’s the best part: It doesn’t cost you any more than you were going to spend anyway!

Based on user feedback, we’ve added a few new stores and updated some links. There is now even a link to shop at Amazon.com! (Because who doesn’t shop at Amazon?) We’ve even made the page easier to find by adding a button to the Shopping Mall onto our home page. We hope that you’ll take a second to visit our Mall to help us keep Lesson Pathways free for everyone!

Shel Silverstein is one of the most celebrated children’s authors of all time. It’s with good cause too!  His poems and illustrations are delightful, imaginative and just plain fun!  If you haven’t introduced your children to the works of Shel Silverstein, or even if you just want to revisit his books, take a look at this week’s Feature Pathway: Where the Sidewalk Ends.

While you are visiting LessonPathways, please don’t forget to support our sponsors.  Every time you do, you help keep LessonPathways free for everyone!

Explore the wacky world of Shel Silverstein and read “Where the Sidewalk Ends” with your child. By choosing a photo that represents where the sidewalk ends, writing a poem, creating a 3-D picture, and making a collage, your child will understand the story and have fun. You will also talk about authors and illustrators and relate the concept to Shel Silverstein, author/illustrator of “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” Plus, your child will learn the sight words “fall, far, and full.” This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach language arts.

Do you need to spice up your math curriculum? Our contributors have found the most wonderful hands-on activities and resources for math.  Check out our Pathway on Carrying and Borrowing – it might be just what you are looking for!

While you are visiting LessonPathways, please don’t forget to support our sponsors.  Every time you do, you help keep LessonPathways free for everyone!

In this unit, your child will learn about how to carry numbers to solve addition problems and how to borrow numbers to solve subtraction problems. He will also learn how to check his work by casting out nines. Worksheets, quizzes, games, and activities are provided to reinforce the concepts. This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach math.

Sunday marks the 86th anniversary of the first time King Tut’s treasure was photographed!

Dig into the history of Ancient Egypt with this introductory Pathway, “Exploring Ancient Egypt.”  We’ve included some fantastic hands-on activities and resources. When you’ve completed this Pathway, your child can continue his or her studies by following it up with one of our other Pathways devoted to Ancient Egypt, including Hieroglyphics, Mummies & Pyramids.

While you are visiting LessonPathways, please don’t forget to support our sponsors.  Every time you do, you help keep LessonPathways free for everyone!

In this unit, your child will become familiar with Ancient Egypt through exploring the geography, daily life, foods, and religion of this historic civilization. Your child will have fun creating sand paper art and helping you prepare a yummy meal of Egyptian beef and rice. Skills will be mastered through the use of hands-on activities, interactive lessons, mapping activities, games, coloring pages and videos. This pathway is designed to take approximately one week to complete, depending on how often you teach history.

Yo, ho, ho and a stick of gum!  Sunday is Talk Like a Pirate Day.  Have fun with pirate speak and then follow it up next week with this engaging unit on Pirates!

While you are visiting LessonPathways.com, please be sure to support our sponsors by clicking their advertisements to see what they have to offer. Every time you do, you help to keep LessonPathways free.

In this unit, your child will learn about pirates, privateers, buccaneers, and corsairs. Your child will learn about individual pirates as well as their ships, weapons, and the food they ate. Hands-on activities will have your child making a Jolly Roger, sea bisquits (hard tack), a treasure chest, drawing a ship, and writing about a chosen pirate. Games and a word search will also help reinforce what your child has learned in this unit. In addition, your child will watch a video to help him or her understand that pirates were much different than we view them today. This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach history.

Jen B. is well known at Lesson Pathways for her awesome sense of humor and her skill with graphics. She coordinated the ChoosyHomeschooler blog before moving over to Lesson Pathways, helped with creating and arranging images for the Lesson Pathways site, took on some editing, and tackled a range of administrative tasks with continued enthusiasm. Get to know Jen B. in the interview below:

What is your name?

Jen B.

How does education relate in your life?

I am a Mom. Need I say more? Just teasing. We are homeschoolers.

What was your biggest triumph as a homeschooler?

I don’t think I have a biggest triumph. I do believe my boys have many triumphs as they have (and will continue to) accomplish more than anyone ever imagined. Not in spite of or because of their special needs but because of who they are as fascinating individuals who have a lot to offer the world.

What was your biggest blunder?

Setting up ’school at home’ when we first started. I had the chalkboard, desk, full curriculum complete with teacher manuals (this was for grade 1 too). I should have waited and learned more about how my son learns before spending so much, and taken more time to deschool.

What has your role been with LessonPathways.com?

I was Jennifer G’s administrative assistant and helped her out with whatever she needed.

How did you come to create Pathways for our site?

I met Jennifer on a Yahoo! group and she asked if I would write for Choosyhomeschooler’s blog. After awhile, she promoted me to blog coordinator. When Lesson Pathways began, she moved my services over there.

What was the most challenging part?

Deadlines. We had deadlines to meet and before this job, I never had deadlines to meet. I did find it extremely challenging but also extremely rewarding when we would accomplish it! It was a great feeling to work with a team of people collaborating towards one common goal.

Of all the Pathways you created, which one did you enjoy the most?

The Magnet Pathway. My son still asks about it. I learned so much too! In fact, my eldest had a small module to complete for grade 9 science about magnets and we used some of the information in this Pathway!

How do you feel Lesson Pathways impacts the educational community?

Greatly! It is the one-and-only fully free curriculum that is also multi-sensory, meeting all learning styles, from anywhere in the world, all in one package!

If you could offer one piece of advice to a new homeschooler, what would it be?

Relax. Do not let worry push you in the wrong direction. Let the children lead and you will learn more from them then you ever thought was possible.

Do you currently have a blog or website you would like to let others know about?

A blog, Special Needs in Homeschooling, and a group called Special Needs Parents Homeschooling Special Needs Kids.

Here’s how Jen describes herself: Mom to two special needs boys who exceed all expectations and wife to supportive, advocating Hubby.