Announcements

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:

Celebrating with Mom-School Bundles!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

A BIG “Thank You!” to Amanda Osenga for putting together these Mom School bundles!!

These bundles are on a launch special for 20% off to celebrate all of our moms! Happy Mother’s Day! We hope these are a blessing for you on your Mom School journey.

Here are the new bundles-

🌸PDF Mom School Bundle- Code pdfMomBundle

🌹 Mom School- Paperback- Secular- Code SecularMomBundle

🌺 Mom School- Paperback- Christian- Code FaithMomBundle

Apply 20% off if you’d like to purchase multiple Mom-Schooling Bundles with the promo code “MomSchool2023”.

Click the images below for details on what is included in each bundle. Click here to see all of our Mom-School products and Sarah’s Teas!

Mom-Schooling Encouragement!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

(Guest post by Amanda Osenga)

Let’s talk about Mom School.

We often hear moms saying they don’t have the time. Moms are busy. We get that! Which is why we think Mom School is especially important. It’s an opportunity for you to feed your mind, set an example for your kids, and unwind.

Consider this- even one page per day is enough for you to fill multiple Mom School journals in a year. Stop scrolling- you have time for one page a day. Even if you only get one page for 180 days- that’s a full Mom School journal.

There is also a big mental impact of “should-ing” yourself and feeling like you’re not accomplishing something. Think about how great you’ll feel at the end of the year when you’ve filled a journal or two with only one page per day! 15 minutes or so is all you need. You’ll have learned new things, helped your brain think in new ways, and balance your thoughts.

Our journals are designed to help decrease stress and bring more ease to your days. Give yourself permission to take time for yourself. Moms struggle with this.

We suggest 4-6 pages per day most days of the week for full Mom School. Working up incrementally is the easiest way to build a habit. Start with one page. In 6 weeks, start doing two; 6 weeks after that add a 3rd- no need to jump all in right away.

If you can get someone to hang with the kids or a program for them to go to a few hours once a week, give yourself a regular Mom School date! Pull out your secret stash of snacks, make your favorite drink, and spend time learning something new. It’s tempting to binge-watch your favorite shows when you get a moment alone- there’s nothing wrong with that- try starting with a bit of Mom School first.

🌸ALL Mom School PDFs are 50% off!
– INCLUDING Brain Games and the Bird Watching Journal 🐣
😍 Mom School Handbook Paperbacks are $15.75
🦆Bird Watching Paperback is $12.50 🦉
☕ Coffee Time Paperback is $17.50
🌺 Homeschooling Handbook Paperback is $17.50
🤩 All Brain Games Paperbacks are $10 or less
🌹 90-day Pocket Planners are all $5 or less
We hope this helps you on your Mom School journey!

Peek inside all of these and more next week- RSVP here https://www.facebook.com/events/641466461327932/

May is Mom School Month, and we are excited to share more tips, resources, and ideas with you. Make sure and join us at our main Fun-Schooling group for great content, giveaways and discounts, and encouraging discussions! And our Mom-specific Fun-Schooling group has a regular giveaway each week! Hope to see you there!

Fun-Schooling Super Sale Extended through Sunday! New Books Added to the List!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

Here are all the books currently on sale that are available (the books that never got discounted by Amazon have been swapped out for new sales), with Sarah’s affiliate links hyperlinked so she’ll get the most profit from each sale. Please be patient if you do not yet see the price change. We can request, but have to wait for Amazon to update. The entire sale will be live until midnight on Sunday, February 19th!

UPDATE 2/13/23: All the Sales and Discounts (with SEVEN MORE books added)!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 4 Comments

NOTE: SOME OF THE BOOKS BELOW WERE NEVER MADE AVAILABLE OR NEVER DISCOUNTED BY AMAZON. THERE IS AN UPDATED LIST THAT CAN BE FOUND IN THIS POST: https://funschoolingwithsarah.com/2023/02/17/fun-schooling-super-sale-extended-through-sunday-new-books-added-to-the-list/

There is an awful lot going on with sales and discounts on all things Fun-Schooling this week! You’ll want to be sure and join the Fun-Schooling with Thinking Tree Books Mom’s Homeschooling Support Group on Facebook so you don’t miss any of these posts, as well as TONS of announcements, giveaways, drawings, and contests. It’s a very busy time!

Here are all the books currently on sale that are available (some may not have been marked down by Amazon yet), with Sarah’s affiliate links hyperlinked so she’ll get the most profit from each sale. The entire sale will be live until midnight on February 14th.

US Link not yet available

Anna’s “Sisters and Friends” Podcast Tomorrow with Sadie Robertson Huff!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

As a teen, Anna authored about twenty Thinking Tree Books! They will all be on sale this week for $10!

At age 8 Anna couldn’t even read the word “dad”! Now she’s a well known author. Anna was the first child to use Dyslexia Games! She is a daughter of the creator of the games! They were made originally for Anna.

Listen to Anna share her story on Monday, February 6th on the Podcast “Sisters & Friends” (the Monday feature of “Whoa, That’s Good” Podcast! by Sadie Robertson Huff:

Get Anna’s Curriculum and Devotional Books by clicking the images below!

Click here to get tickets for the premier of His Story: The Musical, opening in Dallas/Forth Worth in May 2023!

All books will be $10 with the exception of Travel Dreams, which will be $15.

Update: Where Have All the Journals Gone (and how you can help!)

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

UPDATE 2/3/23:

So, yes. The books are back. They have unpublished all our books, but they are selling everything they currently have in stock.

They contacted us and said “upon further review we are reinstating your account.”

But now we have to figure out the process of republishing the books. We are also going to work towards printing and shipping through a smaller publishing house because we could loose access to Amazon at any moment upon the whims of their bots and inept employees.

I found out that I can publish books with a color interior for a very affordable price with Barnes & Noble so in the future we will have a color version of many of our books for almost the same price as Amazon’s B&W!!!

You may have noticed that our journals are no longer available on Amazon. There is a lot involved.

Basically, Amazon seriously deleted 400 of my books, and it’s as if the books were never there. Thousands of reviews, mostly 5 stars, gone. They are even keeping all the royalties that we earned over the past 60 to 90 days. Lots of you bought my books on Amazon in November, December and January and Amazon is stealing all those royalties (about $60,000 in royalties that is owed to the Thinking Tree and 20+ authors around the world who contributed to the books)!

What did we do wrong?

First they said it was copyright violation, so we provided documentation to prove our integrity, we had permission to print Minecraft books.

So they came back and said they reviewed our case and will close it for “Misleading Content” so we provided more documentation to prove our integrity.

So they came back and said they will close it because our account is associated with a previously banned account!

We had no other active or banned account.

The only account that was banned, that I can imagine, was someone who was using KDP to sell our books, with different covers. Lots of you contacted Amazon to get that person shut down.

I hope to sort things out and get our royalties. Much of what we earn is paid out to our authors who really count on the income! Some are missionaries in Ukraine, India & Guatemala.

I don’t think I want to associate with Amazon anymore. I am putting some books up on Barnes & Noble soon. I’ll probably be able to add five books a week until I publish the top 50% of my books.

How can you help right now?

–Come and visit our website, and grab your PDF journals there (a small handful are currently $7.50 right now, and many others have been discounted very nicely)! If you buy a PDF we earn every cent.

–Bring awareness to the homeschooling community concerning their unethical termination of our Homeschooling Books.

–Buy my new releases in paperback at Barnes & Noble and ask them to carry my new releases in their stores. Use your 20% off Homeschooling/Teachers discount at Barnes and Noble to buy my books, and be sure to leave reviews.

–Shop for Thinking Tree Paperbacks at Rainbow Resource.

–Get Sarah’s Biography for just $4 here: https://www.funschooling.com/bookstore-all-pdfs

–We have a new review feature on the website, so you can leave reviews for all of the journals you’ve bought. This is an amazing way to show some much-needed support! It costs nothing but a little time.

–Write these individuals, and explain that one of your favorite authors published through KDP and share your testimonial and a picture of your favorite books you have bought and share how unethical it is for Amazon to suddenly terminate The Thinking Tree. Maybe explain how you were so excited to purchase the new release and now it’s gone! Mission to Mars or Mythological Creatures, with all original artwork including artwork by teenagers. Kids could even write real letters to the addresses with pictures of their books.

Here are the Exec.’s emails:

Vincent Duong
Customer Success Manager
vduong@amazon.com
410 Terry Avenue North Seattle, WA 98109

Doug Herring
CEO
dherring@amazon.com
410 Terry Avenue North Seattle, WA 98109

Andrew Jassy
President and Chief Executive Officer
ajassy@amazon.com
410 Terry Avenue North Seattle, WA 98109

Camille Fabre
Head of Content and Marketing, Kindle Direct Publishing at Amazon
cfabre@amazon.com

Thank you ALL so much for your support!!!

Write a Review!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

Do you LOVE Fun-Schooling journals? Then we want to hear from you, and we have a brand new feature at our website to help you do it!

This is a big need right now, as we have lost access to the reviews we had available on Amazon. Homeschool moms coming to our website want to hear what you love about our books! Here are some helpful pointers.

Go to the site, and click the option to Write a Review in the lower right corner:

What kinds of things should you mention? Here are some suggestions:

–It’s helpful to tell what age(s) of your students who are using the item.

–Tell something from the child’s perspective about why it is interesting, engaging, exciting to them.

–Suggest how to use the journal, as far as what kinds of resources you’ve partnered with it.

–You can mention structural or artistic aspects that are appealing.

–Talk about particular elements in the journal that you enjoy, like the spelling and vocabulary-building, puzzles, projects, etc.

Here is a sample of a review I left for the Rocks and Minerals journal:

Please be patient after you click “Submit” for the review to upload to the platform.

THANK YOU for helping us help other Fun-Schooling moms!