In this issue:
SmartPoints Update
Group Buy Roundup
In the Pipeline
More Free Curriculum Discoveries by Diane Flynn Keith
Lesson Plan Reviews
Just For Fun
Dear Fellow Co-op Member,
--- SmartPoints Update -----------------------------------------------------
We want to tell our many new members -- and remind our veteran members -- about the Co-op's SmartPoints program.
In the coming weeks and months, we will be adding more ways for you to spend your SmartPoints, so we encourage you to start racking up your SmartPoints balance now!
What is SmartPoints? SmartPoints is a free program that the Co-op has created to help members get more for their money.
How does it work? It's simple! You earn SmartPoints for various activities that benefit you and other homeschoolers. Then, when you have accumulated enough SmartPoints, use them to purchase curriculum or other educational services.
For starters, you were given you 100 SmartPoints when you joined the Co-op! To see your points, sign in at the Co-op and click the My SmartPoints tab. There they are, just waiting for you to give them some company! Click the Earn tab to see what you can do to get more SmartPoints.
Speaking of company, you can get another 100 points today just for joining the free eScrip Money-Back Program. This is a wonderful way for you to accumulate new SmartPoints every month with no effort.
What is eScrip? eScrip is an effortless way for you to get more bang for your credit card purchases at no additional cost to you and without taking away any other card benefits such as mileage points, discounts, or rebates. Best of all, it benefits not only you, but other homeschoolers and the Co-op as well.
Here's how it works: When you make a credit card purchase from any of the hundreds of regional and national merchants in the eScrip merchant network -- including Macy's, Round Table Pizza, DriversEd.com, and others -- those merchants will automatically rebate back to the Co-op an average of 4% of your purchase. The Co-op will retain half of the contribution to help cover our cost of providing our many free servies for you, and rebate the other half back to you in the form of SmartPoints.
eScrip is used by schools around the country to raise money. Over two million school parents have signed up with eScrip because it doesn't cost them a penny AND it raises money for their schools.
When you think about it, Co-op members get an even BETTER DEAL than school parents! School parents have virtually NO control over how those merchant contributions are spent and their own children may or may not personally benefit. As a participating Co-op member, however, YOU get to decide how your share of the contribution is used, and YOUR children benefit directly.
Take five minutes and join the FREE eScrip program today. You'll not only get 100 SmartPoints just for joining, but you'll keep on earning additional SmartPoints automatically when you make credit card purchases from participating eScrip merchants. You benefit, the Co-op benefits, and homeschoolers in general benefit because it helps the Co-op continue to provide valuable services to all homeschoolers. That's what we call A GOOD DEAL!
BTW, those of you who signed up for eScrip last year -- and filed your SmartPoint claim form ! -- will get an allocation of SmartPoints to your accounts in the next couple of months. This will be our first time going through this process, so please bear with us.
--- Group Buy Roundup ----------------------------------------------------
Here's what's happening at the Co-op Group Buy page:
SmartDraw Homeschool Edition - Expires 2/18/08: Great news! We are pleased to announce a one week extension to our Group Buy for the world's most popular graphics software for business and education. This past week, Christee Brauckmann took some time out to dig deeper into this software, and was inspired to put together a collage of SmartDraw templates for members. If you are wondering why we so impressed with this software, we encourage you to take a couple minutes to see what you can do with this software, and read Orilla Crider's (Director of the Missouri Association of Teaching Christian Homes)review:
See Christee's collage of SmartDraw templates
Read Orilla's review
This Group Buy is at the 84% OFF price break level -- that's only $49 for software that normally costs over $200! Use this award-winning software to make excellent classroom resources for EVERY subject using tons of ready-made templates for maps, calendars, reference charts, worksheets, tests, quizzes, handouts, lesson plans, AND more! Click here to take advantage of this very special offer.
Discovery Education's streaming® -- SAVE $136! Our Group Buy for Discovery's award-winning video streaming subscription (previously called "unitedstreaming") has been reopened and extended until February 29.
We need your help getting the word out on this one! Effective January 1, 2008, Discovery Education raised the price for a Discovery streaming subscription from $199 to $265! However, by joining our Group Buy, homeschoolers will be able to get a full year of Discovery streaming for only $129 -- that's over 50% off the new list price. If you have any doubts as the value of this subscription, just check out our members' rave reviews and Discovery streaming's awards.
FREE ACCESS to Nettrekker d.i.® - America's #1 Educational Search Engine: WOW! Over 630 Co-op'ers have jumped on this offer so far. We figure that's because netTrekker d.i. is a huge time-saver for those of us who spend countless hours searching the web for high quality educational resources. Trusted by over 11 million teachers, students, and schools worldwide, netTrekker d.i. has already done the work for us! Use netTrekker to quickly and easily search over 180,000 hand-selected, educator-approved online resources. What's more, these resources are organized by grade and readability levels, and aligned to your state standards.
Now, to make it easy for you to evaluate this product for your homeschool, the Co-op has acquired a trial school license and is offering you FREE ACCESS to netTrekker d.i. through March 22, 2008. Try it out free, and then as soon as you are sure that this is the HUGE TIME SAVER that we think it is, join our Group Buy, and you'll have a full year's access to netTrekker d.i. for as little as $29.50.
CyberEd - Expires 2/25/08: These award-winning online Science courses (five to choose from) are not available to homeschoolers elsewhere. We need you to get the word out on this one – members have a minimum requirement for this to be a go – Chemistry is shy 8 and Biology is shy 5, so be sure to share this one with all your homeschool buddies! We're happy to report that Life, Physical, and Earth & Space are solid – but, if you need these courses for spring time studies, don't miss the deadline of 2-25-08! This Group Buy subscription is scheduled to start on March 3. The Co-op is delighted to offer these award-winners and encourages you to check them out.
SkillsTutor: This award-winning supplemental online subscription is like having a tutor to assist in all subjects for all grades – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! And here's the really great news – we've already purchased a subscription for Co-op members and we've got extra seats to move on out! That means YOU save big – all the extra seats have been reduced to $79! PLUS - there's no waiting 'til the Group Buy ends to get access to your subscription on this one - it's ready within 2 business days! Your subscription remains accessible until 10-14-08! Click here to get in on these savings!
ExploreLearning Gizmos - Expires 3/31/08. The Co-op is proud to bring members this Group Buy for Gizmos from ExploreLearining. Gizmos are interactive math and science simulations the make difficult math and science concepts easy to understand -- even for the parents :) CLICK HERE to view a demo video clip. Ordinarily, this award-winning curriculum costs $149 per student. However, if the Co-op can sign up 300 subscribers, we can all get this curriculum for as little as $67. What's more, by special arrangement with the Co-op, ExploreLearning will produce a special Homeschool Edition just for us! This edition will allow EACH subscribedr to have accounts for 1 teacher and up to 3 students. This brings the per student cost to just $23 for a full year of access. Click here to get in on this great deal.
Pokemon Learning League - Extended: We have only 66 spots left in our special school subscription for Pokemon Learning League, so get on board while the getting is good. Is your child a Pokemon lover? Then you'll have an eager learner with this award-winning curriculum that has garnered rave reviews from other Co-op members. Now available for only $47.50 at the Co-op – includes accounts for three students and one teacher. Click here to take advantage of this great deal before our allocation runs out!
--- In the Pipeline -----------------------------------------------------
Get a Clue: Next week we will launch a Group Buy for outstanding discounts for this Flash-based, award-winning vocabulary curriculum from FableVision. Get a Clue teaches a deep understanding of words with an engaging, Flash-based system. If your students think learning words is dull, you had better check this out, sign up for a free trial, and let us know what you think. Should we follow through?
The Readingpen from WizCom Technologies: We decided to hold off on this Group Buy until one of our product reviewers has a chance to check this out. Stand by.
--- Field Trips -------------------------------------------------------------
As of this moment, a software glitch is preventing the display of our new list of field trips from the great province of Manitoba. We'll have it fixed on Monday. In the meantime, you can...
Check out field trips in your area
When you get to your state or province, the first thing to do is enter your zip code and click the Go button. (Sorry, we don't have postal codes for Canada implemented yet.) Then let our software do all the work. Did we miss your favorite field trip? Click the Add A Field Trip button and let us know about it.
--- Free Curriculum -------------------------------------------------------
This week we have more free curriculum discoveries and ClickSchooling reviews by Diane Flynn Keith
Everyday Art Starters
FREE Times Tables Lessons and Practice
Pond Scum Science
Language Arts Thru "Sit Spot" Challenge
Virtual Field Trip to Hawaii Coffee Factory
Please let us know if YOU find any great educational websites!
Lesson Plan Reviews -----------------------------------------------------
Here are the latest reviews from Managing Editor and homeschool mom, Susan Mark:
The Great Backyard Bird Count Resources!
Picturing First Families!
The Moon! A Lesson Plan
Solar Science Lesson Plan Outline!
Grow a Pineapple Plant at Home!
--- Just For Fun -----------------------------------------------------------
This is obviously a professionally produced video, but it's fun all the same:
Young engineers
The text at the end transates to "There are many young engineers who can't wait till they grow up."
Regards,
Brett Walter
President
Homeschool Buyers co-op
Contact Information
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email: news@homeschoolbuyersco-op.org
phone: 650-648-0808
web: http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org
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