Homeschool Buyers Co-op News - Homeschool Buyers Co-op

This week we wrap up LEARNING FUN MONTH at the Co-op, introduce a long-promised Group Buy, announce a bunch of LAST CALLs, and more! (Keep reading...)

~~ An Online Homeschool Science Fair? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We were thrilled to hear from several members last week that they would be willing to be judges if the Co-op were to sponsor an Online Homeschool Science Fair, perhaps in conjunction with Science Buddies, the world's leading website for students seeking science fair project ideas, resources, support and more.

We want like our judges to give helpful feedback to every student who submits a project, so a large group of judges would be ESSENTIAL to the success of this project.

How about you? Do you have a degree in any of the sciences? Would you be willing to donate, say, 20 hours over the course of a couple weeks to review and judge projects submitted by homeschooled students? Of course, the Co-op and Science Buddies would give you guidelines and a score card to use when evaluating the projects. If this is a possibility, let us know!

Again, this is still in the IDEA stage. Nothing is decided. It would be a HUGE project for the Co-op, so before we jump in, we need your ideas and encouragement! WHAT DO YOU THINK?

It would be some time before we could do it, perhaps not even before next year because we'd like to get it right. But we tend to think it could be a fun and worthwhile endeavor for all concerned.

~~ LAST CALL for LEARNING FUN MONTH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Going -- Going --- GONE !!! at midnight on October 31! So far this month, members have collectively racked up 42,600 SmartPoints buy purchasing one (or more) of our LEARNING FUN MONTH products. HOORAY! How about you? Here's the deal --

Place an order for any of the products
listed below in October and we'll give
you a special bonus of 200 SmartPoints!

Note: You will get 200 SmartPoints for each order placed on October 1-31 for any of the products listed below in this section of the newsletter. The SmartPoints will be awarded in early November.

If you looking to spice up your curriculum with some fun electives, we encourage you to take a look at these outstanding, FUN products at exceptional Co-op prices:

Brainware Safari - Save 68%

The idea of this Co-op favorite is that the cognitive skills needed to excel academically -- attention, visual processing, auditory processing, sensory integration, memory, and thinking -- can be exercised and thereby improved. Most importantly, improved cognitive skills will improve a child's self-confidence and academic achievement across the board.

Testimonials
Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips - Save 90%

The is delighted once again to sponsor homeschooling's great Group Bury for the award-winning Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips! This unique online History field trip program offers much more than a mere video experience. This program includes: access to LIVE video streaming broadcasts held on-site at Colonial Williamsburg, access to real Historians for student Q&A, access to LIVE call-in during broadcasts for YOUR homeschool students, downloadable lesson plans, online teacher resources, student activities, web adventures, primary source documents, and much, MUCH more!
Descartes' Cove - Save 30% - EXPIRES 10-31

"In a leaky lifeboat, students survive an ocean storm, marooned on a deserted island once inhabited by René Descartes. At each step, they solve increasingly difficult puzzles and math challenges... As they master each math concept, they prepare to tackle the final quest to build a means to escape from the island."

Testimonials.

This offer only rolls around a couple times a year, and we probably won't see it again for quite a while, so we encourage you to check it out!
Mark Kistler Online Drawing - Save 60%

In the event you haven't seen him on TV, Mark Kistler is billed as public television's favorite drawing teacher. Over the past three decades, Mark Kistler has taught millions of children how to draw in 3-D at workshops around the world, including Australia, Germany, England, Scotland, Mexico and the United States. Through the Co-op, you can get a 3-year subscription to three different online programs for only $39.95. This is truly one of the best values in homeschooling today!

Testimonials

NEWS FLASH: Hey, Texas members! Did you know Mark lives in Tomball Texas? He would like you to know he has organized a 5-day Home School Family Art Workshop series November 9-13 at Jerry's Artarama (near 1960 and 249 ). Click here for more information.

Hey, all members! Mark has a new TV series on its way to a PBS channel near you. Click here for a preview of this enchanting family art series.
Rusty & Rosy Learn with Me - Save 50%

Rusty & Rosy is another award-winning product where the creators went above and beyond to make learning fun for kids ages 4-8. The company claims they invested over $110 million in the research and development of this product. We don't know about that, but over 700 hours of fun math reading, and science activities wasn't developed for a song!
Simply Music - Save 35%

The ability to play the piano can give one a lifetime of pleasure, but it is one of the most difficult instruments to learn and traditional teaching methods typically require years to gain proficiency. According to the company, students are typically playing, within a few months, music that traditional students would not usually be playing after two or three years of lessons.
Type To Learn 4 - Save 56%

Type to Learn 4 is not just another mind-numbing, "drill and kill" typing tutor software program. It's creators have gone to extraordinary lengths to make typing instruction FUN, as well as pedagogically sound. Students become "secret agents" who are tasked with saving the world's information (hence the extended product name "Type to Learn 4: Agents of Information"). The must start their training immediately to move up the 7 ranks from Recruit to accurate, fast-typing Master Agents.

Testimonials
The Quarter Mile Math Practice - Save 30%

Math practice that's FUN??? Judging from member comments and numerous testimonials on the Barnum Software website, The Quarter Mile Math is just that -- fun math practice software that kids really love to use. We're impressed by the fact that it has been picked up by all 1,300 Sylvan Learning Centers™.

~~ NOVEMBER SPOTLIGHT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you know, the Co-op is always looking for ways to help members stretch their budgets. And you may also know that every month we spotlight new ways for members to save and/or get more for their dollar (i.e., SmartPoints!)

Now that you have made most of your curriculum purchases, we realize that the next big drain on your pocketbook will be the holiday shopping season, and we know you will be scouring stores and online websites to find gifts that delight your children and loved ones but don't bomb your budget back to the ice ages. So Co-op staffers have been working furiously behind the scenes to put together a bunch of budget-saving offers for wonderful products that we think will fit the bill.

The offers will include some old favorites and some new ones, most with an educational theme, but not necessarily. We have one in particular that we think will merit a special place under every homeschooler's Christmas tree or in any gift-giving tradition, but we're not quite ready to pull the curtain!

We are on the fence about one idea in particular, however, and need encouragement and suggestions in order to put energy behind it.

Here's the idea:

The idea is to create a SmartPoints Shopping Mall featuring family-friendly online stores that will give us a commission if we send you their way via a special link that identifies us as the origin of your shopping visit. Commissions range from 2% (Wal-Mart) to as much as 15% from more boutique-type stores.

Here's how you benefit:

If the Co-op can get commissions on your purchases, we are happy to share those commissions with you in the form of SmartPoints. You are going to do a lot of online shopping anyway, so why not get the extra benefit of a pile of SmartPoints that you can spend on next year's curriculum?

Is this something of interest to you? If so, at what stores are you planning to shop? If you'll let us know, we'll be sure to add them to our SmartPoints Shopping Mall if we go forward so that you can get SmartPoints for your purchases. Some of the stores that offer commissions are Overstock.com, Zappos, HearthSong, Lane Bryant, Target, and many others. In most cases you can tell whether a store gives a commission by searching their home page for an "Affiliates" link. If they have one, there is a good chance we can get signed up as an affiliate and starting funneling SmartPoints back to you when you shop there.

What do you think? Let us know, and we'll get busy!

~~ Group Buy Roundup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEW/RE-OPENED GROUP BUYS

Horizons - Save 12% + FREE Shipping* + Earn SmartPoints!

We are pleased to announce that the Co-op now has the BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET for the award-winning Horizons curriculum from Alpha Omega Publications.

Horizons is a brightly illustrated, engaging workbook curriculum filled with consumable lessons and hands-on activities. Designed with fast-paced lessons, Horizons uses a spiral learning method to help your student master concepts through the process of introduction, review, and reinforcement. This learning method allows students to quickly grasp difficult concepts in a colorful, motivating format. Available in grades PreK-12, Horizons has a precise curriculum structure and six core subjects, plus the preschool course.

By purchasing through the Co-op, you get:

- The lowest price ANYWHERE
- *FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50
- 10 SmartPoints for every dollar you spend (up to a maximum of 5,000 SmartPoints) that you can use to purchase other award-winning curricula through the Co-op.

If you are going to purchase Horizons curriculum anyway, why not the get added value?
PLATO Online Science (formerly CyberEd) - Save 63%

We are pleased to Round 3 for this hugely popular online science curriculum for middle and high school from PLATO Learning.

Our last group of members have been set up and are now enjoying their new programs. This new Group Buy expires on December 8, 2009 and gives members access within 7-10 days of closing.

If you've just realized that CyberEd Science subscription(s) have expired and you need access ASAP, then this Group Buy is for you. These Science programs have the same content offered previously by CyberEd. Members choose from Life, Physical, Earth & Space, Biology, Chemistry, and Technical Fundamentals. Please note that Biology & Chemistry are NOT Mac-friendly, so please read the Group Buy Terms & Conditions carefully to understand the system compatibilities.
Colonial Williamsburg - Save 90%

Drop on by now to get the best price on the planet for Colonial Williamsburg, and get 200 Bonus SmartPoints as part of LEARNING FUN MONTH!

LAST CALL

Thinkwell Online Courseware - Save up to 48% - Expires 10-30

We neglected to issue our customary LAST CALL for this Group Buy last week and we are only 27 orders shy of hitting the maximum discount, so we have extended this Group Buy a few days. If you are in the current Group, not to worry! We will have set up by the promised in-hands date of 11-02.

Great teaching begins with great teachers, but, unfortunately, not everyone has access to the best teachers. Thinkwell changes that by using the latest technology to bring these great teachers into your homeschool via the Internet. Instead of reading a textbook, students watch a series of dynamic 10-minute video lectures and then complete interactive online exercises that reinforce concepts and demonstrate mastery of the topics.
TELL ME MORE Foreign Language Learning - Save up to 50% - Expires 11-02

We are pleased to announce that Auralog has agreed to extend their last Group Buy of the year by a few days in order to give members a shot at an even deeper discount.

The current Group Buy has already hit the 35% level, and with only 13 more orders all participants will get a whopping 40% discount, so tell your friends and homeschool groups!

This is hands down one of the best deals in homeschool foreign language curriculum. TELL ME MORE is considered one of the best curriculums for language learning by many reviewers (see a comprehensive round-up of reviews). Choose from 9 different languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Dutch. TELL ME MORE boasts twice the content of other solutions with more than 4 years of language learning per package, and much more!
SkillsTutor - Save 50% - Expires 10-31

We must turn in a FINAL HEADCOUNT at the end of this month. So, if you're kicking yourself for missing out, you still have one last chance to jump on board. All participating members get access until the Co-op's school account expiration date of October 14, 2010. But, remember - when this one is gone, it is GONE for the rest of the school year! So, jump in NOW!

SkillsTutor - an interactive, award-winning, skill-building, conceptual learning, K thru Adult program We are pleased to offer SkillsTutor online subscriptions at Group Buy deep discounts for the 2009-10 school year! The Co-op has agreed to sponsor this program in order to make these online subscriptions available EXCLUSIVELY for our members!

TeacherFileBox by Evan-Moor - Save 40% - Expires 11-03

This one goes away for the rest of the year on Nov. 03. In fact, we don't know when or whether it will come back, so don't miss out!

TeacherFileBox.com offers homeschoolers 24/7 access 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 SO MUCH MORE! We were delighted to have Evan-Moor extend this new product offering to the Co-op via an EXCLUSIVE Group Buy. If you missed their first visit to the Co-op --- NOW is the time to jump into these savings.
Homeschool Legal Advantage - Save 94% - Expires 11-03

This exclusive bundle includes THREE Civics/History titles, a FREE one-year membership to HLA, FREE will & testament services, and FREE shipping ---- all for only $20! We were too happy to accept this generous offer for members when HLA gave us a call. Homeschool Legal Advantage (HLA) is an outreach extension of the Christian Law Association (CLA). CLA has been serving churches and families for 40 years. We are pleased to welcome them to the Co-op with these tremendous savings! Jump in before it's gone, as this special offer goes away for good very soon.

Descartes' Cove - Save 30% - Expires 10-31

Our last Group Buy of the year for Descartes' Cove will expire October 31! We don't know when, if ever, they'll be back, though we'll certainly invite them. Please see our comments above under "LEARNING FUN MONTH."

FEATURED GROUP BUYS

Rosetta Stone Homeschool - Save 10% + FREE Shipping + Earn to 4,500 SmartPoints

Rosetta Stone is regarded by many homeschoolers as the finest foreign language curriculum on the market. The latest version, Homeschool Version 3 with Audio Companion, provides students with a rich, interactive, and engaging language learning experience. Now, and exclusively through the Co-op, members get the BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET for this hugely popular foreign language curriculum. Not only do we give you the lowest price anywhere AND free shipping, but we throw in a pile of SmartPoints to boot.

~~ Group Buy Summary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

View our summary of ALL the Group Buys by subject matter, with a new column showing recommend grade levels.

~~ In the Pipeline ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's your sneak-peek into our Group Buy pipeline.

COMING SOON!

These Group Buys 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 very soon. Stay tuned!

Defined STEM

Given member response, we have decided to move forward with a Group Buy.

Defined STEM has been created by the original founders of the Discovery Education streaming service. Their first product is designed to support STEM education. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The term "STEM" has come to stand for a wide range of initiatives in both the private and public sectors in support of STEM education.

Most STEM initiatives grow out of a concern that the United Sates is falling behind in these key areas and seek to engage students from an early age with the ultimate goal of steering students into careers in science and technology. Our friends at Defined Learning stress that many of the best (and highest paying) jobs will be in this area.

Defined STEM shows students how their science and technology lessons can be relevant to them personally. It has built over 1,000 video-based learning "connections" using the entire library of science and technology videos from The Futures Channel and other resources. For example, one such "connection" shows students how they can use geometry and algebra in backpack design.

If there is sufficient member interest, we think we can get members a spectacular discount. So please take a look, and let us know: What do you think?
The History Channel

Lots of members have been enjoying the Multimedia Classroom program from The History Channel. We've received good news from members on that program.... so, when The History Channel called and asked us if our members would be interested in BIOGRAPHIES and MODERN MARVELS programs on DVD, we said, "Absolutely! Come on over!" Folks, there are HUNDREDS OF TITLES TO CHOOSE FROM! Woohoo! We are pleased to report that we have received the pricing information and we're working hard behind the scenes to get this one live as quickly as possible. Please stay tuned to your email in-box, the Co-op website, and this newsletter for updates. Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
Ginger Software

Here's another writing tool that will soon be available at the Co-op with excellent Group Buy discounts! The folks at Ginger Software gave us a call and asked if our members would be interested in great savings for a very unique tool to use in Grammar, Writing, and Spelling correction? We were thinking "Are you kidding? What homeschool mom isn't looking for something to help ease the pain of teaching writing skills?" One of the Co-op staffers who checked it out thought it looked VERY worthy for the homeschool classroom. So, we're pleased to announce they will be arriving before the end of October. Please stay tuned to your email in-box, the Co-op website, and this newsletter for updates. Take a look and let us know: What do you think?
Bananas Comedy

We are pleased to report that Bananas Comedy is returning in time for Christmas shopping. Stay tuned to your email in-box and the Co-op website for the opening of this Group Buy page. Get your wish list ready now, as we don't know when they'll be returning -- this may be your LAST CHANCE to get these items for your family fun library!

POSSIBLE GROUP BUYS

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 really important to us: it is your opportunity to see -- and influence -- what's on our radar screen. Please take a look, and let us hear from you. What do you think?

Fascinating Education

This may be just the ticket for 6-8th graders who are struggling with boring biology and chemisty textbooks!

Fascinating Education was founded by a neurologist who didn't like the way his kids were being taught science. Instead of using written text with explanatory illustrations, Fascinating Education flips the learning process by using realistic pictures with attached audio files to engage the learner.

We took a look and thought it might be just the thing for our auditory learner who responds much better to works and dynamic images than to his busy and mind-numbing Physical Science textbook. To date, the company has complete segments for Chemistry and Biology, with Medicine and Physics on the way.

They have some sample lessons you can try out on their website, and we can probably get members a decent discount if there is sufficient interest! So please take a look, and let us know: What do you think?
I See Me!

I See Me has made a name for itself with high-quality personalized children's gifts, notably their personalized children's story books.

They have a new personalized book called the You & Me Memory book which could be a great project to do with your child and a great gift for Gramps and Grams.

Best of all, we can probably get members a decent discount on ALL the I See Me! products if there is sufficient interest! So please take a look, and let us know: What do you think?
StudyDog

Several member inquiries prompted us to give a call to StudyDog Learning a couple weeks ago, and we're pleased to report we received a warm welcome!

StudyDog's Adventures in Reading series in an individualized reading program for Pre-K through 1st Grade that has won awards and rave reviews from teachers around the country.

Please take a look, and let us know: What do you think?
K12 Complete Course Catalog

UPDATE: We won't have anything further to report until early next year, so we are going to retire this sneak-peek. If you are interested, let us know now.

K12 offers LOTS of subjects like Language Arts/English, Math, Science, History, World Languages, Art, and Music. Both online courses and teacher-supported courses. Are we interested?? If so, we need to hear from YOU! This particular program would require a HUGE amount of labor on our part, so we need to know in advance if members would like to see this one come to fruition. Check out these links:

K-8 courses
Highschool

then let us know: What do you think?
WriteBrain

LAST CALL! We will try to nail down the deal later this week, so we are leaving this open for one more week to collect member responses.

WriteBrain is a comprehensive writing curriculum solution for Grades 2-8 from Sunburst, the maker of Type To Learn 4, another Co-op favorite. The member price would be around $30 per student.

WriteBrain teaches every stage of writing, including brainstorming, organizing, drafting, editing, assessing and revising in many different genres. It features a recursive process allowing students to easily go back and forth within writing process steps. WriteBrain also enable students to learn critical thinking and assessment skills in addition to writing skills.

Take a FREE demo then let us know: What do you think?

Do you have any more suggestions for Group Buys? If so, let us hear from you!

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.

~~ Field Trips ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find The Missing Field Trips!

WOW! The response has been so overwhelming that Managing Editor Lisa Wilen is struggling to keep up with all the submissions. But so far nearly 100 members have racked up SmartPoints bounties.

In case you missed our earlier announcement, we want to make sure we have cataloged EVERY educational field trip in the United States and Canada, so for the time being we are DOUBLING the SmartPoints reward to members who submit a field trip not currently in our database.

That's right, all you have to do is find and submit an educational field trip that is not already in our database and we'll give you 100 SmartPoints for EACH qualifying submission. The chances are there are LOTS of missing field trips, so enterprising members can probably rack up a pile of SmartPoints with only a few hours of work. But please make sure you read the rules before you start submitting!

To help get you started:

~~ Free Curriculum ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This week we have more free curriculum discoveries and free curriculum discoveries and ClickSchooling reviews by Diane Flynn Keith

Please let us know if YOU find any great educational websites!

~~ Just For Fun ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Video of the Week:

Dancing Baby

Knock-Knock Joke of the Week:

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Asparagus.
Asparagus who?
Asparagus the gory details!

Pun of the Week:

Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, "I've lost my electron." The other says, "Are you sure?" The first replies "Yes, I'm positive."

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.

~~ Quick Links ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

0.9796