If you think of Cyndi over at Knowledge Box Central, please pray for her this week. She is undergoing some nasty sounding surgery on her stomach on Wednesday. Though she says she is looking forward to the 'vacation' of having a few days in hospital afterwards with no work and no family to worry about!

   She has decided to have a major sale on ebooks while she is off her feet in the hopes that her dear hubby can keep up with the ebook sales better than he could with an ton of printed material sales this week. So she is offering 40% off all ebooks this week! Whoo Hoo!! Here are the details - be sure to check it out and grab a bargain!

   I know I mentioned several months ago that The Schoolhouse Store is selling ebooks, but they now have hundreds of them!! AND they are having an AMAZING sale right now with 50% off tons of them! I'll post the details of the sale with all the links below. Be sure to hop over and snap up a bargain!

50%+ off Sale on eBooks at The Schoolhouse Store!

For the month of August, the Schoolhouse Store has select E-Books at 50% off. They're excited to have over 70 E-Books on sale for at least 50% off! It's a great time to find some handy resources for your homeschool and give E-Books a try!

You can purchase the Inventors and Holidays Combo pack - regularly $15.90 - for only $3.97 during this sale! 

Check out these incredible TOS Gold Medal Deals!

50% Off Fiesta of Freebies - Regularly $3.00 - Sale price - $1.50
50% Off 3 E-Book Homeschool Combo Pack - Regularly $24.95 - Sale price $12.48
50% Off Secrets of Successful Homeschooling - Regularly $12.45 - Sale price $6.23

Check out even more Specials ... 86 items on sale just for YOU!! These deals are only available for another 12 days, so grab them while you can!

   I've read tons of emails, blogs, and websites lately from the states listing all the fabulous 'Back to School' offers available at the various stores.

   I know. You're thinking 'She has lost the plot this time! We aren't sending our kids back to school!' Bear with me here, OK?

   I know we don't need rucksacks and lunch boxes or school uniforms, but we can pick up some real bargains at this time of year.

• For one thing I buy some school trousers for the boys for Sunday or best clothes, along with a couple of collared shirts and jumpers.
• The schools sweatshirts are cheap as chips this time of year and they are great for kids to decorate themselves!
• We have some families in our home ed group who buys a school uniform for their family for when we go on home ed outings. It makes the kids feel like they are on a 'real' school trip. I know this isn't every families way of doing things, but it works for some.
• It is a good time to get a nice modest one piece swimsuit reasonably priced for your kids too. The ones for school use are nice and plain.
• Also a good time to stock up on nice simple undies and socks. At Christmas it will be all the character ones at three times the price as the plain ones for back to school right now!
• When the sales get really crazy I usually pick up a bunch of pencil cases as they are great for storing all sorts of small things. I recently used one for all the hair clips and ribbons belonging to one of our foster daughters.

This time of year you can get lots of standard supplies at really silly prices! So stock up and save for the whole year.

• I buy glue sticks by the packs of 10 or 12 for just a pound in Asda (smartprice ones). I buy two or three packs and they last us the whole year even with our childminding! Much cheaper than paying a pound for one in the middle of the year when we run out!
• Pencils come in industrial size packs this time of year, so now is the time to stock up on plenty for all those maths lessons!  Also large packs of pens in all sorts of colours and highlighters too.
• Notebooks and paper pads are really cheap at the moment. So now is the time to get loads of paper in.
• Erasers are being sold in packs of 10 for a pound right now. And these are the cute character shape ones that go on the end of your pencils too! (I also get a bunch of these for using in party bags for my sons birthday party in October. In fact I buy alot of his party bag fillers in the back to school sales!)
• Boxes of crayons and packs of felt tips are another good stock up item. I got several small boxes of chunky crayons with Disney Princesses, Winnie the Pooh and Cars the movie on them at 30 pence each on a clearance shelf! Great for presents or just a small treat now and then. And you can't beat the price!
• If you need a new stapler, whole punch, or pencil sharpener - now is the time to buy it! They are everywhere and in every colour and style imaginable. And while you are at it stock up on the staples, paper clips, push pins and paper fasteners too - they will cost you twice as much in a couple months time.
• I got clipboards this past week in Asda for £1 each. A couple of months ago I was looking for some and they were starting at £2.99 each!

The best stores I've seen sales in are as follows

• All the major grocery stores. I usually shop in Asda, so I know more of their sale than others, but I tend to pop in the other places this time of year just to pick up a bargain or two. Trust me it is worth the trip. And I don't mean drive 20 miles to your nearest Sainsburies either - I just mean if you are driving by, stop in and check the back to schools stuff out while you are in the area.
• WH Smiths is usually quite expensive, but also usually quite good quality that last longer too! At the moment they have some 75% off sales that make things very reasonable. Well worth checking out. I got an organizer/ring binder in there last week. It has a two ring notebook in it, a pad of lined paper, a filing section, pen holder and zip pouch in it and it zips closed with a handle on the spine for carrying it around. Very cool! It was supposed to be £16.99 and I got it for £4.24!!!! Needless to say I picked up two at that price and still spent half of what I would have had to pay for one.
• Check out all the stationary shops like Staples, Rymans and Partners. They always have a special back to school section with great prices.
• Bargain stores if you have any near you are great too. Places like Home Bargains, Scrooges, Poundland and others sometimes have rubbish supplies, but other times have real quality supplies at bargain prices.

I hope you find this information useful as you get ready for another great year Home Educating or as you seek to start off down the Home education road! If I come across any other great bargains I'll add them to the blog with an update so watch this space!

   There is a new Yahoo group for the UK called 'Free Home Educating Materials'. It is a yahoo group for posting Home educating materials that you want to give away and where people can find free materials.

   It is similar to a Freecycle group just for home educating materials. You post things on offer, you contact the person to ask for the things, and you can post for things that you are looking for.

   You have to sign up for the group, but it is basically open to all UK home educators. Be sure to check it out and find a bargain, or list your stuff on there and bless someone else.

   Just to remind people about the new TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) Magazine! They have brought out a digital version of the magazine that is delivered right to your inbox!! No more waiting for weeks for it to arrive from America. No more costly subscriptions. Here are the details below and I've read one myself and it is really cool! You click on and turn real pages online just as if it was a 'real' magazine. The other really cool thing is that all the ads and links in articles are 'clickable' (is that a real word?) so that you can click right on them and go to follow the link! How cool is that?? Be sure to check it out!

   TOS has produced a new homeschool planner and it is available in digital format so it means no shipping for us. It is also somewhat customisable so you can adjust some of the wording I think to make it a bit more UK friendly! Here are the details, and there is a free sample of pages so you can check some of them out a bit closer!

We are so excited to announce that our much-anticipated Schoolhouse Planner is READY!

The Schoolhouse Planner has so many wonderful features. You told us what you wanted in a planner, and we have delivered!

Some of the main features include:

• Calendars in various forms - yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily

• Planners for your homeschool - in various styles to meet your individual needs

• Household planning forms

• 12 "homeschool must-know" items, one for each month of the year

• 12 essays from some of our favorite authors in the homeschool community - you absolutely won't want to miss these!

• 24 easy main-dish recipes from some top homeschoolers around the nation

• and so much more!

 

PLUS, the Schoolhouse Planner is interactive! You can type right into the pdf! If you have Adobe Acrobat, you'll be able to save the changes you make. (Note: If you only have Adobe Reader, you can type in your planner information, print it, but will not be able to save these changes.)

Don't forget, monthly planner add-ons are available for purchase every month. We already have some great holiday related information ready for July's planner supplement!

We're there with you each month to make your home and school planning as easy and fun as possible throughout the year!

Have a friend who likes an organized home and school? Let them know about the Schoolhouse Planner.

________________

We want to say a very special "thank you" to those of you who pre-purchased the planner. 

 

If you pre-ordered the TOS Planner, you will receive download instructions within the next 48 hours. Watch your inbox! If you haven't ordered your Shoolhouse Planner, now is the time to order your copy. The new school year is quickly approaching!

ORDER HERE!

   This sale is good for two weeks though so plenty of time to grab a bargain! Here is the scoop.

You are invited to 2 weeks of summer fun and savings at CurrClick's Back to the Beach Sale! From June 16th through June 30th, you'll find a huge selection of discounted summertime titles to choose from. Discounts up to 75% OFF! From beaches to The Beatles to biomes, from novel studies to dream diaries, you'll get unbeatable discounts on books and audio, sure to entertain and educate all through the summer - whether you're at the beach or in your own back yard!

 As always could I ask you to consider using my affiliate links to go and make your purchases at Currclick please? It costs no more for you, and I will get a percentage of your sales to use in purchasing my own families curriculum. You can click on either the banner at the top of the page or the square box in the right sidebar. Thank you kindly!!

   A good friend of mine in the states (Texas to be presise!) has developed a great homeschool planner that is available as as ebook. So NO SHIPPING!!!!! Always a good thing living across an ocean.

   She has it for sale at a bargain price at the moment and is running a contest to win one. (hence the fact I'm posting this here and telling you all about it since I want to win one! ) Here are the details complete with pictures!

   I was just strolling around over at Currclick and found something wonderful!! It is from Westvon Publishing and is called the Master Planner!!

   I purchased this product in the states over a year ago and it cost me $20. Currclick is selling it for $15 and this week it is down to $9!!!! That makes it about £4.50 for us and of course no shipping and you can download it directly online.

   This is an amazing collection of hundreds of record keeping forms, lesson planning forms, certificates, rewards, coupons for kids, household forms and just about every other type of form for homeschooling you could ever think to make! It has some really cool reading acheivment charts where you can make lists of books for kids to read and when they do five of them they can get an award.

   There are so many useful and fun things in this set and it has several different ones for diffent style of homeschooling too. So there is something here for every one!

   Thank you to the ones of you who do use my link. I have no way of knowing who you are but I know that someone does as my balance goes up a little every so often. So thank you for your support!

 

The Same great site and customer service … but better! Experience our improved previews of thousands of your favorite homeschool titles, easily and from the comfort of your own home!

We are happy to announce the Grand Opening of CurrClick.com. Get 10% account credit on every purchase you make from March 10th-March 17th, add future purchases to your wish list, experience a more intuitive browsing experience that makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, send your wish list to friends and family members and find out what other people think about the curriculum you are considering, by reading our staff and customer reviews.

And if you’re an affiliate or wish to become an affiliate, for the week of March 10th-March 17th, get 15% on every purchase initiated through your website by using our Grand Opening CurrClick Banner, available at HomeschoolEstore’s affiliate resources page: http://www.homeschoolestore.com/catalog/affiliate_faq.php (The same "Grand Opening Banner" can be found on CurrClick's Affiliate Resources page, after March 10th.) 

CurrClick.com is the only eBook and audio site specializing in instantly downloadable Homeschool curriculum. At CurrClick, you can choose from thousands of homeschool titles from hundreds of your favorite publshers, cheaply and completely free of shipping costs.

   This one runs until the 26th so the 'and then some'! It is from our friends over at Knowledge Box Central.

   This one if from our friends at Hand of a Child. And we have the up on everyone else since the earlier you buy the cheaper it is! Just to help you figure out the time - 3am EST is 8am here this morning. Then you can just work it out from there! It is basically add five hours to the time and you have the time here!

2nd Annual HOAC Black Friday Sale

www.handsofachild.com/shop

 Are you dreading the after Thanksgiving sales?  Trying to squeeze into your jeans that fit on Wednesday, but are now too tight after Thanksgiving dinner?  Exhausted at the thought of the hustle and bustle and chaos of pushing your way through store aisles to find the perfect gift?  Wondering if you’ll get a table at your favorite lunch spot in between shopping?  Pull out your leftovers from Thanksgiving Dinner, grab a cup of coffee, keep your pajamas on, and relax!

Stay home and shop at In the Hands of a Child this year!  Join us for our 2nd Annual Black Friday Sale and save big on all Project Packs and Kit Packs!  That’s right EVERY Project Pack and Kit Pack is on sale Friday, November 23. 

Whether you are shopping for curriculum or shopping for some fun activities to do with your students over the holidays, we now offer over 200 Project Packs with unit studies including Geography, Literature, Reading, Science, History, Bible, and Math.  We have Project Packs for PreK to High school and everyone in between!  Check out some our newer titles including Biblical Responsibility, Airplanes (newly revised), New York City, and Ice Hockey.

Early Bird Shoppers Save Big!  We have great savings throughout the day, but shop early and save more!  You’ll even have time to squeeze into those jeans and hit your local stores if you choose.  And check your email throughout the day, because any orders over $100 will be registered in our drawing for free gifts throughout the day! 

Here is How the Sale Works:

All Times Are Eastern Standard Time

3am - 9am: 45% off all Project Packs and Kit Packs

9:01am -11am: 40% off all Project Packs and Kit Packs

11:01am - 1pm: 35% off all Project Packs and Kit Packs

1:01pm – 3pm: 30% off all Project Packs and Kit Packs

3:01pm -- 3am: 25% off all Project Packs and Kit Packs

Here is your code:

ThankUall07

Please remember to enter the code and click the UPDATE button before proceeding through Checkout.

With the expectation of heavy traffic the wait time for approval of eBook orders may be several hours.  Please be patient as we process those orders.

NOTE: This Sale is good for Project Packs and Kit Packs ONLY in your choice of formats; eBook, printed, CD or printed/CD combo.

Cannot be combined with any other offer, sale, discount or special.

This sale DOES NOT include custom designed Project Packs.

www.HandsofaChild.com

Copyright ©2007 In the Hands of a Child

   This one is from Biblical Womanhood and all her ebooks are just TWO DOLLARS!!!! Just to translate for you, that means you will only pay about ONE POUND PER BOOK!!!!!

   Here are the details of the Schoolhouse Store Black Friday Sale! And don't forget you could still be the 21,000th customer too! They have lots of great ebooks that we can buy over here, so check it out! Just follow this link to find all the details of the free things you can get with your purchase!

   So, I realise that 'Black Friday Sales' means nothing to all of you here in the UK. So allow me to explain!

   This Thursday in Thanksgiving day in the States. Most people are off work on Friday too, except for those who are in retail mainly! LOL! Friday after Thanksgiving has been dubbed 'Black Friday'. The sales start early and are absolutely CRAZY!!! Last year my Dad lined up an hour before one store opened and was about the hundredth person in the line. He actually got what we had been trying to get which was two webcams for $10 each which retailed at $100 each!!! (I told you the sales were CRAZY!)

   So, now armed with that information here is some news! There are two Black Friday online sales for homeschooling materials happening this week. No fighting in the crowds and you can shop in your jammies! Both of these stores sell ebooks so we can take advantage of these sales too, even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving the day before!

soon to be It's HomeschoolEstore's 2nd Annual, "Black Friday Giveaway" and "Homeschooling Through the Holidays Sale." Download up to 20 titles for FREE, Nov 23rd-Nov 24th! (9:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. CST) Get up to 35% OFF on your holiday schooling needs, Nov 23rd - Nov 25th! Earn a 10% Holiday Credit on every single purchase you make, Nov 23rd - Nov 30th! Get an Evan Moor Activity Sampler FREE, with any purchase, now through Dec 31st. Just use coupon code, 19a2fe Beginning on November 23rd at 9:00 a.m (CST) and ending at 9:00 a.m. on November 24th, download up to $200 in free homeschool curriculum, lapbooks, workbooks, notebooking pages, unit studies and more, from all your favorite publishers. Over 20 titles to choose from! No purchase necessary. Put on your slippers, avoid the holiday rush and experience the very best kind of sale: one that doesn't cost a thing! Need a holiday-themed unit study or lapbook and need it instantly? Don't wait for slow holiday shipping or pay high prices! Experience our Homeschooling through the Holidays Sale, where you can instantly download your way to awesome bargains on all your holiday schooling needs. November 23rd through November 25th.

    The second one if for the Schoolhouse store but I can't get the email to copy and paste in here. They say that they are sending out more information to us on Wednesday, so watch this space and I'll post up the details of that one when I get them.

   Hope you snap up a real bargain!

   I know the Schoolhouse store doesn't ship overseas! I didn't forget! But remember that they also do all those fantastic ebooks that I blogged about last week. So you are still in with a chance of winning this contest if you are the chosen customer!

The Race to be the 21,000th Customer! You could win a gift package worth over $600! Greetings! We wanted to recognize the 20,000 store customer but before we knew it that mark came and went!  Still, we love a good give-away; just take a look at all that you could win in the right hand column, so we are now anxiously counting down to the 21,000 customer and it could be YOU!  The best gift? A 12-year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine! Why are we doing this? We just wanted to celebrate the 21,000th customer to The Schoolhouse Store by giving that customer a gift package worth over $600! Could it be you?!? It certainly could! As of this writing, order #20010 just came through.....so what are you waiting for? You can start by looking at our current specials!    Do you need reading material? We've got fiction, non-fiction, books for kids, and e-books galore!  Do you need some help planning? Got preschoolers you're just starting to homeschool? Need some ideas to get you started? How about getting a subscription to TOS or renewing for another year? We're offering all one year subscriptions for only $25.00 plus 25 FREE gifts while gift packages last.   So hurry and receive the 25 free learning gifts too! Tell all your friends!   Don't miss our magazine back issues either! There's literally something for every reader in the house! What else can I tell you? With the holidays coming up you'll want to be sure to  take a look at all the curriculum we have for Thanksgiving and don't forget Christmas! We have fabulous gift ideas, including educational toys! Perhaps you're looking for something new to get your child excited about learning. Search through our art, bible, geography, handwriting, history, language arts, literature, math, physical education, music, reading, science, spelling, foreign language and writing categories. Are you a Charlotte Mason, Unit Study, Classical or textbook homeschooler? Do you have some special learners? We've got tons of resources for you! Do you have children who need to learn how to manage money? What about computer nuts? Any crafty kids? Teaching critical thinking or logic? Preparing your daughter to be a homemaker? We know...learning is fun, but here is some truly fun stuff. (Shh....don't tell, but some of this is educational too!) Need to have a DVD learning day because Mom is sick? Check out our media section! Let's see...did I leave anything out? Oh yes, here's a category all about family. Hoping the 21,000th customer is YOU!   Blessings,   Dena Wood, Director The Old Schoolhouse Store The biggest gift of all? A 12-year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine! $300 value!                       YOU can be the winner of one giant package with all of these fine products, just in time for the holidays, and you get them all from: The Old Schoolhouse Store $100 Gift Certificate to The Old Schoolhouse Store        $100.00 Value! Worldwide Guide To Homeschooling by Dr. Brian Ray $10.25 Value! The Harsh Truth About Public Schools $22.00 Value! Public Schools,  Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie to Parents $17.75 Value! Millstones & Stumbling Blocks: Understanding Education in Post-Christian America   $14.00 Value! Taking The Frustration Out Of Math by Dr. Mary Hood $6.50 Value! The Relaxed Home School by Dr. Mary Hood $10.95 Value! The Joyful Homeschooler by Dr. Mary Hood $12.50 Value! Signs & Seasons Astronomy Curriculum with Eclipse Shades  $39.99 Value!   Secrets of Successful Homeschooling Audio Book $17.95 Value! Homeschooling The High Schooler Audio Book $17.95 Value! Homeschool Dialogues Audio Book $17.95 Value!