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In this issue:
- It's BRING HISTORY ALIVE! Month at the Co-op
- Group Buy Roundup
- Deals of the Month - NEW!
- Coming Soon - Mapping the World by Heart!
- More Free Curriculum Discoveries by Diane Flynn Keith
- Cathy Duffy Reviews
- Just for Fun
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Please join us in giving a hearty Co-op "Welcome!" to 529 new families in the last week!
This week, we announce BRING HISTORY ALIVE Month, announce some exciting new Group Buys (abcteach, and Ooka Island), issue some LAST CALLS, and more. (Keep reading...)! |
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THANKS to the 11,623 members who "Like" us on Facebook. (We like you, too!). Here's our community update:
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IT's BRING HISTORY ALIVE Month!
It's BRING HISTORY ALIVE Month at the Co-op. Tell us what you do to make bring history alive for your students, and get a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card. The winner will be selected randomly from posts on any of our Teaching Tips or Success Stories pages with at least 2 likes.
ALL-IN-ONE & ASSESSMENT Month Winner!
 We're pleased to announce our ALL-IN-ONE & ASSESSMENT Month contest winner! Congrats to Anna P., who wins a $100 Amazon Gift Card for her response to our question "What do you do to keep your homeschooling on track..?"
"Many of the textbooks that I use for my children have companion websites where they can take quizzes. My state also offers the option for homeschools to take standardized testing. This way, I can see how they are doing in comparison to children across the state and the nation."
Thanks to all of you who participated in ALL-IN-ONE & ASSESSMENT Month at the Co-op - we awarded 247,500 SmartPoints to members who purchased qualifying products in January!
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~~~ It's BRING HISTORY ALIVE!! Month ~~~
This month, we will shine a different spotlight each week on some of the best history and geography products available to homeschoolers featuring, of course, the BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET for each of them, plus many have Bonus SmartPoints! |
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We are pleased to announce this week that CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook, an award-winning online K-12 digital resource consisting of lesson plans, primary sources, standards, rubrics, assessments, activities, videos, games interactive maps, and more -- is available!
Developed by historians, professors, academics and teachers, CICERO covers U.S. History ranging from 600 B.C. to the present day, with hundreds for all grade levels. Individual units are $19.99 (a 50% savings) and series with 5 units start at $80 (a 60% savings). You can even build your own 5 unit bundle of any of the individual units.
* SmartPoints will be awarded early next month.
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 Hundreds of Co-op members have taken advantage of this unique history program in past years, and if you join them we suspect you'll soon be adding yourkudosto theirs on our Testimonials page!
NEWS FLASH: The next LIVE Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip - War of 1812 - airs February 16, 2012. There is still time to take advantage of this Best Deal of the Planet and sign up, plus we're offering 500 Bonus SmartPoints for purchases this month.
If you missed previous field trips, you can access all of the online recordings, including all of the video through August 2012. This Emmy award-winning program is available through the Co-op for only $49 (90% savings) so jump in today!
* SmartPoints will be awarded early next month. |
Wallbuilder's The American Heritage Series - Save 52% + Get 500 Bonus SmartPoints*
 Presented by historian David Barton, this educational documentary series includes 26 episodes that retrace America's true Christian foundations, discuss the secularization of history today, and recount how God was the root of America's birth as a free nation.
By purchasing through the Co-op during BRING HISTORY ALIVE! Month, not only do you get the best price on the planet, but you can bundle it wtih another popular Bible-based set of DVDs -- History: Our Faith and Foundation -- and get 52% savings plus 500 bonus SmartPoints! * SmartPoints will be awarded early next month. |
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Core Knowledge - Save 33% + FREE Shipping + Get 500 Bonus SmartPoints
The Core Knowledge History & Geography program from Pearson Education has been a homeschool favorite for many years.
With this program, students can build a unified, solid base of academic knowledge - a key to overall literacy and future success. Beautifully illustrated pages and a friendly narrative style, keeps students motivated and focused as they learn essential content and skills.
What's more the Co-op is pleased to give members the BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET for this popular curriculum with 33% savings and FREE shipping, and, if purchased during this month -- 500 Bonus SmartPoints!
* SmartPoints will be awarded early next month.
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 ~~~ Group Buy Roundup ~~~
Here's our recap of what's happening with Group Buys at the Co-op.
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abcteach - Save up to 50%
 We are pleased to announce a new Group Buy for abcteach, an award-winning educational website featuring over 35,000 printable educational worksheets and custom worksheet generators -- software "widgets" that let you create custom worksheets for your particular needs.
abcteach doesn't come around very often, so this is your chance to get a 1-year subscription for as little as $20! Another BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET!
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Please welcome to the Co-op -- The Ooka Island Adventure, an Adaptive Reading Curriculum for grades PreK-2!
Making use of innovative, adaptive learning technology, The Ooka Island Adventure adjusts the learning path for each student to ensure skill mastery. The program introduces and builds on the five key areas of reading including phonemic awareness, phonetics, vocabulary, fluency, and reading comprehension.
Ooka Island provides a fun and safe for your beginning reader. Once your child has completed the program, they are not only the hero of Ooka Island, but they have been provided with the skills to be able to read at a 2nd grade level. Members save 60% on this BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET for an Individual or Family License (up to 4 students)!
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We are pleased to announce a new GroupBuy for this long-time member favorite -- Dave Ramey's Generation Change which is designed for those wanting to implement a group study for Biblical financial principles for teens.
Members save up to 40% with the Leader Kit only $59 and the Student Kits only $12.95 (each). Here for a limited time so don't delay! |
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We are pleased to announce a brand new GroupBuy for The Musical History Map from MusicPosters.com.
The Musical History Map illustrates a 400 year timeline of 88 of the world's greatest composers featuring their masterworks in a "easy to read" format. It is designed to give novice as well as expert classical music lovers an overview of classical music from the Baroque era through the 20th century.
The map has been sold through the gift shops at Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Lincoln Center, but is now available exclusively through the Co-op and MusicPosters.com!
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It's LAST CALL for ExploringLearning Gizmos!
Gizmos are fun, easy to use, online, interactive simulations in math and science for teachers and students in grades 3-12 and even college levels.
Over 450 online of simulations make hard-to-grasp math and science concepts easy to understand. Just check out these member testimonials, and kudos from kids as well as parents.
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TeacherFileBox.com from Evan-Moor - Save 30% - ENDS 2/12!
 It's LAST CALL for TeacherFileBox from Evan-Moor!
TeacherFileBox.com offers homeschoolers 24/7 access for a full year to online curriculum for PreK through sixth grade. Choose items in subjects like Language Arts, Literature, Math, Science, Geography, Social Studies, Spanish/English, Thinking Skills, Writing, Reading, and more.
A subscription will give you 24/7/365 access to over 50,000 print-on-demand activities from over 500 Evan-Moor books. Save $30 on a full year subscription access to this abundant resource for educators.
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~~~ Deals of the Month ~~~
Each month, we'll bring you these special offers that represent the BEST DEALS ANYWHERE, but for this month only, so don't delay!
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 ~~~ 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! |
Mapping the World By Heart
The Co-op is pleased to announce that a brand new Group Buy for the award-winning geography curriculum classic, Mapping the World By Heart, is COMING SOON!
When it was first released, Mapping the World by Heart was awarded the "Breaking the Mold" Award by the U.S. Department of Education. It has been through nine complete revisions, and is updated regularly.
We expect to have the GroupBuy live before the end of the week. |
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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. |
 ~~~ SmartPoint Rebate Offers ~~~In this section, you'll find products that you can buy on your own AND earn a big SmartPoints bonus that you can then use to purchase other award-winning products at the Co-op.
*SmartPoints are a special Co-op currency that you can use to purchase any of the curriculum in our SmartPoints Reward Center.
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BrainPOP
Founded in 1999, BrainPOP creates animated, curriculum-based content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters achievement.
The award-winning Homeschool BrainPOP is recommended for grades 3 and up. Its content is mapped to Common Core and aligned to academic standards for such subjects as Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology.
If you're only interested in the indvidual subjects like Social Studies, we will give you 8 SmartPoints for every $1 you spend, when youstart your shopping trip at the Co-op. Remember to submit your Claim Form the day you make your purchase!
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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? |
- Element K
We are in conversations with one of the leading providers of technical training - Element K! This company offers a wide spectrum of titles for educators, from learning desktop applications to gaining what is needed to take exams for specific technical certifications. Their product offerings will benefit 7th Gr. to Adult, and will allow you to prepare your children (or yourself) to function in an ever-increasing technical world. We're still discussing final numbers for member savings but check out these links and tell us what you think:
Who They Are & What They Offer
Demo of an Excel Course Book
Topic Categories
Knowledge Packs
Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
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~~~ Free Curriculum ~~~
Please let us know if YOU find any great educational websites! |
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~~~ Cathy Duffy Reviews ~~~
By special arrangement with Cathy Duffy (author of "100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum"), Co-op members are the first to hear about Cathy's latest reviews.
Here are Cathy's newest reviews: |
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~~~ Just For Fun ~~~
Quote of the week:
"A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?"
- Albert Einstein
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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