Announcements

Comfort & Joy- New Brain Games!!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Today we’re delighted to announce the release of our newest Brain Games, Comfort & Joy.

It’s one of my favorite books so far and I created it with Christmas and Winter in mind. This one is specifically designed to help uplift your spirits during the long days of winter, when a lot of people struggle with motivation, loneliness, and need a boost to accomplish those New Year’s Goals.

This will be a perfect gift for people on your Christmas list who are hard to shop for, give the book along with some good quality colored pencils and a fine point black 🖊️ pen or marker.

For a really special gift – get the full set for someone you love – older ladies are crazy about these books – grandmothers and aunties!!! Teens and tweens really like them too!

What Moms have said about our previous Brain Games

-“I just love these books so much. I originally bought them for me and my mom who were both experiencing brain fog (me due to pregnancy and motherhood and the unavoidable isolation/exhaustion of having a baby during a pandemic, my mom due to long COVID) and we both adore them.

Two weeks ago my newest baby tried being born two months early, and the first thing I did when throwing together my emergency hospital bag was grab a Brain Games book and my bag of pens and pencil crayons, to help keep myself calm and peaceful despite being in an anxiety-inducing situation. Luckily she has agreed to stay inside a little bit longer (I’m 32 weeks today, hoping to at least keep her cooking until the new year 🤞) but I’ve kept my bag together with Brain Games and some devotionals and books, just in case I need to grab it last minute ago. Thank you for sharing these wonderful books with us. ❤️” S.A.

– “Thank you so much for making another beautiful book. I am dyslexic and have always aspired to draw. These games really launched me into a wonderful new hobby. As an added bonus, the change in my thought patterns has also helped with anxiety.” D.K.

-“I LOVE these!!! I recently gifted one to my dad who was just diagnosed with parkinsons. He is enjoying it.
I love sitting with my family at night and while my kids color or do a puzzle, I sit and do a brain game. Never fails, one of them always comes over and asks to help me. Its created some beautiful moments with my girls.” S.R.

-“Comfort & Joy” sounds so much fun for wintertime! ❄️ My 6 yr old daughter & I love to sit down together with our Brain Games Books & enjoy calm peaceful music, coloring, learning & solving the logic puzzles. We love the art & activities they include.. her current favorite is, “Candlelight Brain Games,” while I use my Mommy workbook, “Handbook For Moms.” These books have played an instrumental part in helping my daughter with pattern recognition & training the dyslexic thought process through games & creativity! They are so enriching & true trailblazers❣️📖🙏” S.S.

-“My 10.5yr old daughter just did a few pages (of the book with the fire on it) and she said she feels as calm as when she leaves an OT appointment where she has been getting CST/myofascial work. “There’s not so much talking in my head, I feel calmer. I actually *want* to do Beast Academy (math work) now!” 💜💜 This is amazing for her with ADHD type of mind and anxiety.” L.B.

Find this delightful new journal here and check out a peek inside on our Instagram page.
Paperback coming soon

On Sale Now- Over Two Dozen Journals Marked Down!!!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Paperback sales, Amazon sales, Core journals, Dyslexia Games singles, Bible study resources, PDFs, and single-subject journals on SALE now!!

ON SALE

Amazon sales

Remember- we never know what Amazon will put on sale or how long an Amazon sale will last. They can be a matter of hours or weeks. Order right away if you want one of these journals!!

Also on SALE

Bundles
NEW Theme Bundles- all on SALE
Theme bundles include Minecraft, Animal, Nature, Fashion, the Arts, and more!!! PDF bundles & paperback!

Paperbacks & E-Books – up to 30% off

New- Comfort & Joy!!
Hardcover $24, Paperback $5.95
Get it here

PDFs – up to 50% off

BRAND NEW!

Happy Fun-Schooling!!!

Fun-Schooling For Every Grade

/ Amanda Osenga / 1 Comment

Today I’m excited to announce our “Fun-Schooling For Every Grade” blog series. This is something y’all have asked for time and time again. We are delighted to be bringing this series to you this school year.  

This will include what to expect regarding academic ability and developmental level every year. We’ll also look at common challenges in each phase and share tips. For each grade, we’ll discuss how to build a curriculum including what to expect for workload and schedule. Tips from other Fun-Schooling moms will help give you the POV of several people. The most popular journals for each grade and tips for using them will round out each post. 

A big focus for us at Thinking Tree is letting kids be kids. You’ll see a lot of room for play, nature, and wonder in these plans. We want kids to have plenty of time to explore the things they love and soak up their childhood. 

Remember– This blog series will be based on the average level for the grade/age. The bell curve is extremely important to remember throughout this series. Some children will fall outside of this average. We’ve chosen to homeschool for a reason- so we can customize our children’s education to their unique academic level and needs.

Students can go up or down several grade levels from these suggestions as needed. Virtually all our materials can be used by kids from reading age to teens (and adults!) For non-readers and early readers, we have level A-1 materials. Each student’s education is customized by choosing academically appropriate materials. 

How do I know what grade my homeschooler is in?

The general guideline is- age in the fall minus 5 = grade. For example, my son is 12 this fall. 12-5=7
If he were in the school system, he’d be in 7th grade. 

Sounds great, what’s the plan?

By far the top age we’re asked about it High School so we’re starting at High School and working our way down from there. Here’s the schedule for this series-

October ‘23- High School- College/ Advanced Academics Path
November ‘23- High School– Career/ Calling Path for those who will not need college
December ‘23-  Middle School– emphasizing choosing a major (and why it’s ok if they change it!)
January ‘24- 6th grade 
February ‘24- 5th grade
March ‘24- 4th grade– with an emphasis on the fact it’s often a step-up academically and in terms of independence 
April ‘24- 3rd grade
May ‘24- 2nd grade– with a focus on fostering more independence 
June ‘24- 1st grade
July ‘24-  Kindergarten
August ‘24-  Preschool

Eager to learn about a specific grade now?
Check out the grade-by-grade video series we did in 2022 in our Facebook group-

Concerned about gaps in your child’s education? Check out this post.

About the Author- Amanda Osenga is a Fun-Schooling mom in Columbus Ohio. She is also the social media manager and Virtual Assistant for Thinking Tree. Her family combines Thinking Tree books with the Charlotte Mason method using books from Ambleside Online and Wildwood Curriculum. In her free time, Amanda is an avid reader and loves to be outdoors.

Minecraft Month is Here | Save on All of Your Favorite Journals!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

“Homeschooling with Minecraft seems too good to be true.” – We hear this from kids time and time again. It is our delight to offer Fun-Schooling journals tapping into kids love of Minecraft while covering all the major school subjects!

This month, we’ve put our most popular Minecraft paperbacks and all Minecraft PDFs on sale!!

You’ll find journals for beginners all the way through teens with this sale. Even a couple journals Moms love!

30% off– Paperbacks

50% off- PDFs

Our monthly theme sales last all month long. Take a peek at our upcoming themes for info on what’s coming soon. And make sure to vote for what you want to see on sale on the Facebook group.

Back to School Shopping–$10, $15, $20 Sale!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 3 Comments

This great sale has been extended until August 15th! Something for littles all the way through teens…and some beautiful journals for Mom School, too!

$10 Sale Journals

$15 Sale Journals

$20 Sale Journals

Please note that we request for Amazon to mark down journals to a specific price for a certain length of time but they don’t always get marked down/ stay marked down the whole time. If there’s something you really want, make sure to grab it soon!

Celebrating Science & Technology

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

The Fun-Schooling theme for July is Science & Technology! Keep an eye out for sales on your favorite Fun-Schooling science journals!

Our 7 Subject Science Portfolio – Minecraft & The Real World is one of our best sellers, and covers Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Meteorology, Physics, Technology and Zoology! Here is a review from Amazon:

“This is one of our favorite fun schooling journals! This is an all in one science portfolio which means your student will study various topics in science and compile a portfolio of all of their best work. This includes a section on botany, chemistry, geology, meteorology, physics, technology, and zoology. Once you’ve chosen your books that you’re going to read there are pages for summarizing your reading time, copy work, designing your science topic in Minecraft world, notetaking and illustration prompts, documentary reviews, diagrams, science experiments and observations, comic strip pages, vocabulary building prompts, Real world versus Minecraft world, coloring, geography and history, biography studies, audiobook time, nature study and drawing, biography studies, audio book summaries, AND occupation studies! What more can I ask for in a Science Funschooling Journal! I’m getting one for every child! Over 250 pages to show your research.”

Shop for physical Fun-Schooling science journals on Amazon here. Find a list of all of our themes for 2023 here. Some science PDFs that are discounted right now:

Celebrating 30 Years!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

We are celebrating 30 years since the day two young teens admitted they were falling in love and agreed it was a lifetime kinda love.

Josh and I were only 15 and 16. It was July 3, 1993.

Today we got out the old letters and read them to each other. Next we loaded ten kids into the van and went to the fire pit where it happened.

We showed the kids a handful of letters from our teen years, and read them some exerts. Josh told the kids the entire love story from his point of view.

After visiting the beautiful wooded campus, at Horizon Christian Fellowship where we began our journey as a couple, we took the kids to Skyline Chili. This was the first restaurant we went to together (though that happened in Cincinnati). Every kid got a hat.

We finished the adventure at Trader Joe’s where we let each kid choose a treat to share during the Fourth of July fireworks.

What a beautiful celebration of the goodness and faithfulness of God.

This Weekend: Creative Healing Retreat – Tea Time, Gardening, Foraging, Pottery, Jewelry Making and More!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Saturday, July 8, from 10am-2pm I’m opening up Olive Branch Farm for a Creative Healing Retreat.
The Medical Tea Gardens and Permaculture Zones are their peak. Everything is a bit wild, but even the lush “weeds” have vast healing properties and are ready to process.

What is going to happen?
I’m going to have one on one time with each person who shows up to explore the specific benefits the plants and teas can have on your wellness, I’ll also spend time with you individually to brainstorm with you and answer questions about homeschooling or family issues that you may want to talk about.

While I’m having one on one time with each individual or couple or parent/child- the whole property and facilities will be set up for you to be creative, to serve, and to relax. Whatever brings you the most joy. What brings you peace and feels therapeutic? Find a couple hours here for that special time… from reading, swimming, painting pottery, helping with gardening and weeding, making jewelry or watercolors. Bring a camera and practice photography. Spend time with the horses…. Lunch will be provided.

The recommended contribution is $50 or 2 hours of volunteering at Olive Branch Farm.

This is for moms with babies, and for parents with children 9+ who can entertain themselves without getting into trouble. The day is not set up for ages 2.5-8.

All ages are welcome at 2:30pm to volunteer and at 4:30 to swim and relax, no more work!

If two parents come with the kids at 2:30-4:30 you may take turns volunteering and watching your kids swim and play.

Parents must watch their own kids in the pool area. Since we are trying to make this a productive day of cleaning and organizing the facilities it will not be helpful if a zillion kids are free-ranging like they do on co-op days.

All the details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/616371383379518/

Taco Bar at 5:30 (bring stuff to put in a tortilla)
Worship Night 6:30 all ages welcome. 

Summer Day Camp at Olive Branch Farm!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

Do you have a child or teen ages 8+ interested art, music, dance, singing, voice, painting, improve, YouTubing, costumes, piano & acting?

Time: 11am-5pm

The Olive Branch Arts & Acting Camp would be Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for four weeks in a row starting July 18th.

The cost will be $75 per week. If you sign up for all four weeks the final week is free.

Let me know if you have a child ages 8+ that will be joining us! If I get 10 “yes” responses in the next couple days we will launch the camp.

Dates:

July 18-20

July 25-27

August 1-3

August 8-10

Since the camp is organized around a three day project each week, we can only accept participants who can commit to a three day week. Your kids can come for one week or all four.

Join this group to learn more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/230250036494994/

What is a Core Journal?

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

(Guest post by Amanda Osenga)

What is a core journal?

A core journal covers multiple subjects (4-10+ depending on the journal) in one. It is a convenient way to ensure your Fun-Schoolers cover all the basic subjects without needing a million notebooks! Each page has a prompt for a different subject, such as “Math Time, Nature Study, or Copywork.” We also add in creative pages like “Create a Comic” and practical pages such as “Draw Your To-Do List.”

Most families use core journals daily, twice a week, or once weekly. Some families like to rotate a few core journals, while others like to finish one at a time. They are extremely versatile in how you use them- there’s no wrong way.

We suggest kids complete the same number of pages/day as their age across all their Fun-Schooling journals. For example, if a 10-year-old is only using a core journal, they would do 10 pages/day in their core. If they are using a core + a single-subject journal, they might do five in one + five in another, 8 in one and 2 in another, or any other combination to get to their ten total pages. A page is one side of the sheet of paper, not both.

Students combine books, podcasts, documentaries, and/or curricula with core journals. If a student has a core they love, they can repeat the same one again and again since they’ll use different materials each time! They’re a great way to document learning alongside a curriculum and for students to research their chosen majors.

We have core journals themed around seasons, interests, careers and generic journals without a theme.

A core journal is a perfect tool for when a student wants to study something we don’t have a journal designed for. They can print photos, add drawings, and dive deep into learning about anything they want!

Core journals for our youngest Fun-Schoolers teach letters, numbers, shapes, and other early skills. Once students can read, most of our cores can be used by any age and customized with age-appropriate learning materials. College students even like to use core journals to help them stay organized in school (especially the 10 Subject and 12 Subject Portfolio).

Lots of Moms like to use Core Journals for Mom School. We even have some we’ve designed just for moms!

See a page that isn’t relevant for your Fun-Schooling needs? You can easily repurpose it by putting a white address label, white tape, or whiteout over the prompt and write your own.

All PDF core journals are 50% off this month and many print core journals are on sale!

See a Flip-Through of the core journals here: