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In this issue:
- Happy Mother's Day - A FREE Gift for you!
- It's LEARNING STYLES MONTH at the Co-op!
- Group Buy Roundup
- In the Pipeline
- More Free Curriculum Discoveries by Diane Flynn Keith
- Just for Fun
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Please join us in giving a hearty Co-op "Welcome!" to 364 new families in the last week!
This week we wish you Happy Mother's Day! with a special gift, launch our first-ever LEARNING STYLES MONTH at the Co-op, launch new Group Buys, and more. (Keep reading...) |
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~~~ Happy Mother's Day! ~~~ |
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 Every year we wish you the Happy Mother's Day! you so richly deserve, and wish that we could send you a bouquet of flowers. Well, it's still the case that we can't send you the flowers, but we have cooked up a gift for you, and it will be arriving in your inbox this Saturday.
We don't mean to keep you in suspense ( NOT!), but we haven't worked out all the logistics, so we simply hope you'll check your inbox Saturday morning. We think you won't want to miss it! In the meantime, if dh needs some ideas about what to get you, please give him this link. The link will take him to a list of Mother's Day specials that were scouted out by Mike Allen, a homeschool dad, and the founder and President of Shopping Bargains. We have had several conversations with Mike over the last month, and, we believe he's a straight-shooter! We encourage you to read his About Us page. You'll find other coupon websites for sure, but we doubt any of them were created by a homeschool dad like Mike. |
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"THANKS!" to the 8,462 members who "Like" us on Facebook. Here what's happening:
WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!
Congrats to Sue ("faithmyeyes") T., whose post on our Loving Language Arts Teaching Tips page came up the lucky winner in our drawing for our LANGUAGE ARTS MONTH contest. We have sent Sue her $50 Amazon Gift Card. For the rest of you, we'll soon announce a new contest. There were only 15 eligible posts in April, so the chances of winning are excellent! |
 Congrats also to Co-op member Donna Stone of Marion Virginia, who won our Lanuage ARTS MONTH Grand Prize -- an Apple iPad2! She was thrilled as to get the news as we were to give it! We love giving Apple iPads away -- wish we could do it more often!!
Join our Facebook Community! |
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~~~ It's LEARNING STYLES MONTH at the Co-op! ~~~
At the Co-op, we're big believers that having some knowledge about our kids' learning styles can not only make us better teachers, but can make the homeschooling experience more enjoyable for all concered.
That's why we reached out to Mariaemma Willis, one of the founders of LearningSuccess Institute, and bona-fide expert on learning styles with a deep knowledge of homeschoolers and their needs. We have had a 43% member discount for her Learnng Style Assessment on our site for over a year, but to help us kick off LEARNING STYLES MONTH, we asked Maria if she would be willing to give away a FREE learning style assessment. To our amazement and delight, she agreed!
This is a $35 value! This offer is for one assessment per household, please. If you'd like to purchase additional assessments, you can do so here.
But that's not all! We will be working with Maria over the next few days to identify products currently offered by the Co-op that are particularly effective for kids with different leraning styles, and if you place an order for any of them before midnight on May 31, and we'll give you 300 Bonus SmartPoints! (Note: Your SmartPoints Bonus is per order (not per product) placed on March 1-31 for selected products listed below. The SmartPoints will be awarded in early June.)
For starters, here's one versatile product that, based on member feedback, meets the needs of several learning styles: |
Discovery Education streaming Plus - Save 45% One of our longest-running and most popular Group Buys is for Discovery Education's streaming Plus, the nation's premier educational video-on-demand service. Plus features over 150,000 educational videos and "objects" on virtually every subject under the sun, supplemented with teaching guides, simulations, and much more.
We consider the Discovery Education streaming Basic and Plus subscriptions to be among the crown jewels of our Group Buy collection. They are available at discount exclusively through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op, and members tell us time and again that a streaming subscription is one of the best educational purchases they have ever made. ( See their testimonials.) When it comes to learning styles, of course almost everybody loves video, but some students actually learn much more easily from video than from traditional print materials. Here's what Mariaemma has to say: "Streaming education videos would particularly appeal to Inventing Disposition students who love gathering information - those students who are always asking "why" or "how does that work" and enjoy science and social studies topics. The fact that the videos are short will appeal to Performing Disposition students. If your student also has a Visual-Picture Modality, videos will meet this learning need as well." -- Mariaemma Willis |
 ~~~ Group Buy Roundup ~~~
Here's our recap of what's happening with Group Buys at the Co-op.
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Computer Programming for Kids and Teens - Save up to 40% The Co-op is pleased to announce that this Co-op member favorite has returned with awesome savings for Co-op'ers!
Homeschool Programming has been busy, busy, busy updating their curriculum to the latest edition. Electronic format is available EXCLUSIVELY here at the Co-op for UP TO 40% OFF!
You choose from KidCoder or TeenCoder Windows and Games Programming Courses --- OR, choose a bundle! We currently have 14 confirmed orders and another 15 conditional orders waiting in the background. Folks, that means we only need 22 members to jump in and EVERYBODY SAVES 40%!! Spread the word on this one, so we can ALL enjoy major savings!! |
Zometool's STEM+ Educator Kit - Save up to 45% The Homeschool Buyers Co-op is pleased to present our first-ever Group Buy, and the BEST DEAL EVER for the mother of all building kits, STEM+ Educator Kit from the award-winning Zometool.
Designed for kids yet praised by scientists and artists alike, Zometool is a 3D modeling system for building and exploring structures from simple to profound. Zometool's color and shape-coded parts can lead to startling discoveries about the nature of space in 2, 3 and even higher dimensions.
The New STEM+ Educator Kit comes with almost 1,900 building parts and all the support materials needed to provide hours of education and discovery. It can be used to build any model from the Zometool Project Kit Series, and much more! What's more, members get the Zometool Lesson Plan booklet -- a $19.95 value -- absolutely free with their order! |
Live Wire Media - Save up to 72% Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, Getting Along with Others, Dealing with Disappointment, Resolving Conflicts, Doing the Right Thing --- Could your child use a little coaching with any of these issues?
The Co-op is pleased to present a Group Buy on award-winning CHARACTER BUILDING DVD's & TEACHING GUIDES from Live Wire Media at up to 72% off. Teach your children to make good choices in life, & help nurture their social & emotional development, with these award winning DVD's designed to help your children develop life skills, wisdom, & qualities of character for dealing successfully with everyday situations. For ages 4-14
PS: We are considering adding our Journal Based CD-Rom series to our product offering at a deep discount. "Character Journal Interactive" is drawn from history, literature, and recent events. Active learning takes place as students write in their on-screen journals while working on a variety of assignments that require Research, Short Answers, Written Essays, or Creative Writing. Take a look and let us know: What do you think? |
 WOW!!! Rosetta Stone has just dropped their prices DRAMATICALLY. From now until June 11, you can get the BEST PRICES EVER for Rosetta Stone -- as low as 47% off their traditional pricing, depending on the product. We don't know if they will extend these new low prices beyond June 11 -- they aren't saying -- but one thing is very likely: the prices won't get any better than this between now and the next school year, so if you know you want Rosetta Stone for your homeschool NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY.As always, by purchasing through the Co-op members get the BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET for Rosetta Stone, including: - The best price anywhere!
- FREE Shipping!
- A pile of BONUS SmartPoints that you can use to purchase other award-winning curriculum through the Co-op!
- 6-month return policy -- NEW!
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MY Access Writing Curriculum - Save up to 50% - Expires 5-9
We are currently at the 30% discount tier and only 15 orders shy of getting members a 40% discount, so please tell your homeschool friends and groups!
The ability to write well is one of the most practical and useful skills that we can teach our children, but it is also one of the most difficult skills to teach. That's why the Homeschool Buyers Co-op is pleased to announce a new Group Buy for MY Access! writing curriculum online writing curriculum from Vantage Learning.
MY Access! writing curriculum fits neatly into any homeschool language arts curriculum. It uses sophisticated technology to guide students through the process of writing to ensure that they become confident evaluators of writing and improve every time. (The MY Access! uses the same scoring engine used by GMAC on the GMAT tests!) |
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~~~ Deal of the Month ~~~
Piece of Cake Learning - Here is a brand new Deal-of-the-Month exclusively available for Co-op members from Piece of Cake Learning! They've just arrived on the scene for the month of May to offer members $3 OFF of their individual learning decks, or take a whopping $29 OFF of their complete set!
Piece of Cake Learning is a unique new manipulative option for learning --- by use of learning card decks to play games for decimals, fractions, geometry, money, numbers, number sense, time, angles, complementary angles, and supplementary angles. Created for K-8, students play in pairs or small groups, material standards-based, and content-rich. These game decks make learning math fun! Check them out today, as this deal is here for a very limited time. |
 ~~~ Coming Soon ~~~These Group Buys and Special Offers are "in the bag", but there are a few more details to be worked out before we can go live. We hope to take these Group Buys live in the few weeks. Stay tuned! |
- Safe Eyes Parental Control Software
IT'S OFFICIAL! We have agreed to terms, and now we are just waiting for McAfee's legal team to draft a formal agreement.
This Internet safety software from security software company McAfee has won bundles or awards and media accolades, as well as a strong personal endorsement from Dave Ramsey (one of our Group Buy partners). You can use their software to block objectionable content on the web (including YouTube), monitor social networking, generate activity reports, and a whole lot more. This downloadable software that can be installed on up to three computers (for the price of one).
Safe Eyes retails for $49.95, but we can save members up to 40% off with sufficient participation. We can also offer it in a bundle with McAfee Antivirus Plus, also with up to 40% savings.
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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- MCP Plaid Phonics &MCP Math
THIS IS A GO! We have heard from enough member who are interested in this curriculum that we have decided to go forward. We're just trying to free up the time to bring members the BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET for MCP Plaid Phonics and Math.
The MCP product line from Pearson Education have been a popular curriculum for a couple decades. We get members the 33% off, possibly with free shipping. If you are interested, letting us know will give us incentive to more this up on the calendar!
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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- Word Voyage (formerly Spell Doctor)
Word Voyage is an online study tool that offers individualized instruction in academic vocabulary, sentence structure, Greek and Latin roots, etymology, and a variety of other English fundamentals. Word Voyage creates custom "virtual workbooks" that meet students at their own skill levels. Parents monitor the lessons over the Web and easily make adjustments to keep progress on track. Word Voyage fosters word consciousness, improves reading comprehension, and saves parents time! Word Voyage is designed to be the core vocabulary and grammar component of a Language Arts curriculum. SAT/ACT prep also supported. Product Info PDFs:
Word Voyage Builds Word Curiosity
Word Voyage Builds Skills for SAT
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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 Negotiating and sponsoring a Group Buy is an expensive and time-consuming proposition, but we love doing it, especially when there is strong member interest. This section of the newsletter is your opportunity to see -- and influence -- what Group Buys we bring to our membership. Please take a look, and let us hear from you. What do you think? |
- NBC Learn
NBC Learn is the education arm of NBC News. They have an award-winning educational video subscription featuring thousands of video clips and historic film from the NBC video archive.
This subscription is currently not available to homeschoolers. It is sold only to traditional schools. However, NBC has agreed to sell a school license to the Co-op and let us manage it on behalf of our members, which we are prepared to do if there is sufficient interest. We believe we could get the price for a 1-year subscription down to less than $50 with adequate member participation. Watch a video about NBC Learn, see some samples, and sign up for a free trial on their home page.
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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- Dallas School of Music's Discover, Learn, Play
Discover Learn Play is a complete online curriculum for learning up to 39 different instruments from the Dallas School of Music. What's unique about this curriculum is the combination of a comprehensive online curriculum with access to the Dallas School of Music's instructors.
If your child wants to learn an instrument but you aren't ready yet to spring for a private teacher, this could be a great way started. What's more, we can probably get members an annual subscription for less than the cost of a single lessons with a private teacher (50% off the Family Membership), good for the entire family. This is definitely worth checking out.
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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- Discovering Music
Well, we think we may have found another diamond-in-the-rough here! Music, fine arts, history, all wrapped up into one! OK, truth be told, this was actually a member request that we checked out and it looks very interesting. We met the author/owners today and they love homeschoolers, and they love what they're doing for homeschoolers. Additionally, we think we can get a nice discount for members. Lastly, we think that after you visit their website that you, too, might want to add this to your curriculum wish list. So, take a minute and visit their site, watch a couple program videos and let us know if you'd like us to pursue this.
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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- Atelier Homeschool Art Program
Atelier by Arts Attack is devoted to developing and publishing high quality, easy-to-teach, DVD-based visual art lessons for children. Used extensively by homeschool parents and co-op art-teachers, Atelier is known for its process oriented and experiential approach to teaching - which teaches to the right side of the brain, developing learning and creative skills that enhance student performance in all areas and throughout life.
We can probably get members a pretty good discount with sufficient participation.
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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- Vision Forum
We thank you for your input in regards to product requests for a visit from Vision Forum. You are welcome to continue to send us your suggestions. We are still negotiating details and hope to have this one signed on the dotted line very soon. Please stay tuned to the newsletter for updates!
Yep, we are considering a Group Buy with this popular member requested supplier! BUT, we're not sure exactly WHAT products you'd like to see for a Group Buy? Obviously, we can't offer their entire catalog of choices, BUT what we can do, is offer the most requested ones. Please note that given typical business margins, the bigger ticket items are what work best for a group buy ---- such as items $80, $100 or more in retail cost. We're already looking at this History program and possibly, this Bible Study program. Do you have any other suggestions? If so, let us know - this is your chance to give your 2 cents for what ends up on the Group Buy!
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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- Knewton SAT Prep
Knewton offers the latest in state-of-the-art SAT prep from a company with top management talent and strong financial support. It was selected Technology Pioneer 2011 by the World Economic Forum. There are lots of SAT prep offerings around, but we thought this one is worth a look, not least of all because it offers a full refund if you student doesn't increase their SAT score by at least 150 points.
We can probably get members up to 50% off with sufficient participation.
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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- Naviance College and Career Planning
From what we can tell, Naviance Succeed is THE leading college and career planning solution in use today. It is used by more than 100,000 educators and over 5 million students in 72 countries. More precisely, it is the primary online resource used by college counselors and the students and families they counsel. Talk to your friends with kids in private or public high schools, and there is a good chance they and their kids have an account to Naviance Succeed.
Their account gives them access to a mind-numbing wealth of resources, such as a SAT/ACT Prep, Learning Style Assessment, a Personality Assessment based on a leading methodology, and access to a vast database of information on colleges and universities. Based on test results and student preferences, Naviance Succeed recommends both colleges and careers from its huge databases of both. It also has tools for helping students set and achieve academic and career goals.
Remembering our many days spent filling out college applications, photocopying documents, and stuffing envelopes, we were especially impressed that, once it has your student's information, Naviance Succeed can file your student's transcript and application with the college of your choice digitally!
Frankly, based on what we know so far, the Co-op is sold on this solution, and we are willing to purchase and administer a district license on behalf of our members. We could easily give members a full year of access for less than $50 with sufficient participation.
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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NOTE: Please understand that Group Buys work best for software or online curriculum with retail values over $100. We would love to do Group Buys for books or computers, as many of you have requested, but our experience is that in most cases these companies can't offer significant discounts.
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Our Field Trips database is bigger and better than ever!
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~~~ Free Curriculum ~~~
Please let us know if YOU find any great educational websites! |
 | FREEBIES! |  |
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Homeschool ID Card | FREE!
Quick Start Guide to Carschooling | FREE!
Developer software from Microsoft
| FREE!
Learning Style Assessment | | | | | |
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~~~ Just For Fun ~~~
Do you have any videos, games, jokes, quotes or other light-hearted Internet discoveries that you would like to share with us? Tell us about it. |
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We appreciate you at the Co-op!
Brett Walter
President
Homeschool Buyers Co-op
Contact Information:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email: news@homeschoolbuyersco-op.org
phone: 650-648-0808
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