For me, the word pennywise always brings up a mental image Benjamin Franklin and a printing press. It just seems to have a nostalgic ring to it. That’s why, when the opportunity came for us relocate to a historical landmark only five miles from our home, we jumped on it.

We started PennywiseLearning.com in 2002. Like a lot of home birthed businesses, it started in one part of the lower level and eventually had taken over most of the house. Which by the way is a great problem to have. By spring of 2008, we really had no choice but to look at our options.

Imagine a home with eight children and two adults. Fill the entire lower level with offices, shipping areas and many thousands of dollars worth of inventory. Then add in three or four employees, UPS, Fed EX, sales people, and a tractor trailer of two waiting to be unloaded.
Do you begin to get the idea of what it must have been like visiting the Pratt house? I remember people coming to visit and saying, “you really live like this?”, and we were like, “yeah. We wouldn’t have it any other way”.

But after one very hectic morning, Kristen and I had go out to run some errands and I remember saying, “I think it’s time”. To that she replied, “funny you should mention it, I saw this building I have always loved in town is for sale. Do you want to take a look?” So we did and within a day I made a ridiculously low offer knowing that if they said yes, it would only be the Lord. Of course, they accepted it on the spot.

The building was built in 1876. Built on the Erie Railroad it served as a dry goods store and the original post office in town. It even housed the town hall for a bit in the late 1800’s. It still has the original safe along with all of the receipts and paperwork from the 1800’s to the 1950’s.

This 7,000 square foot building is a treasure to us. There is enough room for inventory, offices, and even a warehouse outlet store. There’s even a loading dock where the horse drawn carts used to load and unload. To top it off we have the hitching post sill out in front of the huge front porch.

We love the fact that we have the opportunity to recycle and reuse this building as much as we love the history of it. Located less than five miles from our home, I could not have asked for a better location for PennywiseLearning.com

We spent the first two months gutting, cleaning, and remodeling the inside. After a lot of work, we moved in October of 2008. Of course there’s a long way to go finishing it off but we’re off to a great start. Best of all, now when I think of the word pennywise, I think of Ben Franklin, the printing press and of course, the Pennywise building.

It’s been flatlined for a while now but we’ve brought it back to life! So if your wondering why there’s a year and a half between posts, that’s why.

HomeschoolingU.com is the official PennywiseLearning.com blogsite for news, product info, and encouragement.

Newly Updated

The Art of Argument is one of my favorite logic curriculums. This text does not really teach one to argue but rather the logic behind the argument. There are twenty-eight informal fallicies presented and over sixty advertisments for items like blue jeans and pick-up trucks for sudents to apply the fallicies to.

This is a great course and I would highly recommend it. Click here for more info!

Discover the Power of Physics

New! Christian Kids Explore Physics published by Bright Ideas Press is the latest release in the Christian Kids Explore science series.

This 400 page textbook, designed for grades 4-8 includes 30 physics lesson in six units. Unit titles are The Foundations of Physics, Matter, Mechanics, Matter in Motion, Energy in Motion, and Electricity & Magnetism. there are hands on activities, vocabulary words, coloring pages, unit reveiws, and scripture tie-ins.

We are offering this textbook for only $27.96. You save $6.99. This curriculum is a real PennySaver. Click here for more info.

TeLL me More Homeschool Version

We are pleased to be offering a special on Auralog’s Tell me More Homeschool language learning software. For a limited time, you SAVE 20% and we’ll even give free shipping. In some cases that’s a savings of over $60.00.

This program really is worth the money. We are using the Spanish curriculum for our family this school year and are very satisfied with it. Check out some of the customer testimonials and third party testimonials.

Click here for more info or select an image below to check out a specific language.

“We feel this product is the best foreign language program we have come across.”
-The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine

Everything I experience today is the result of something I thought, said, or did yesterday. If I don’t like what I am experiencing today, then I need to change today, the things I thought, said, or did yesterday so tomorrow will be better.

While I suppose there are exceptions to this rule, I use it a lot, especially when it comes to Homeschooling my children. If they are falling behind academically, missing the mark spiritually, lacking manners or etiquette, then I am responsible to determine what I have done to contribute and what I can do to ensure the results I experience tomorrow are better than what I got today.

Likewise, when I see them maturing into the awesome individuals that God created them to be, then I can be assured that as their father, what I did yesterday is what I should be doing today, so I will get similar results tomorrow.

As we begin a new school year, I am reminded to hold myself accountable to the goals that I have for my family. If I don’t like the results I am getting, then I must accept responsibility, determine what it is that I am saying, doing, or thinking that is producing the undesirable outcome, and make the necessary changes.

May God grant us the wisdom to see the right, the will to choose it and the strength to make it endure.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond to our email request to post product reviews on the site. Purchasing curriculum can be a overwhelming experience.  Your ratings and comments will be most helpful to others who are considering using the items you reviewed.

We have just finished installing a new product review module at PennywiseLearning.com.

How many times have you tried a new Homeschool curriculum after talking to another Homeschooling parent?  We do it all the time.  We also love sharing our experiences with other parents.  Getting and giving feedback on curriculum successes and failures helps parents be better Home Educators.

If you have used a product offered at PennywiseLearning.com, please take the time to review the product so that others may gain from your experience and likewise, we hope you can gain from others Homeschool curriculum as well.

To review at product:

1.  Go to the product page.

2. Select the link to Review This Product!

3. Rate Product/Write Review

Thank you in advance for taking the time to share your thoughts.  We really appreciate it.

As a company and as home educators ourselves, we have benefited greatly from being able to speak with other Homeschool families (our customers) from across the United States regarding valuable tips on curriculums and teaching techniques.

To expand upon this resource (your knowledge) so that others may benefit likewise, we are changing the focus of our blog to be more product/customer driven. If there is a topic here that we touch on that you know something about or would like more information on, then we encourage you to share your thoughts.