We don't have cable so we were using one of those boxes that the government was giving out coupons for in anticipation of the conversation from analog to digital in February (which has been postponed or something). Then our analog tv died. My husband bought an HD and I have to say that I do NOT see any difference. It may be because it's not hooked up to cable with the fancy channels, but two of our local news stations and our PBS station are already in digital, so we do have stations that are supposed to be better....but honestly, I don't see it. I've tried flipping back and forth between the HD and non-HD to figure it out, and I'm not seeing any difference except the size on the screen (we got an HD widescreen). And the non-HD channels sometimes seem distorted...I'm sure when/if the switch to all HD happens that will go away, but ....sigh....I really wish we had saved half that money and stuck with another old TV. We watch mostly news and DVDs so I may not be the best judge. My DH on the other hand says that he does see a difference even if the kids and I don't....so we kept it. We bought it at Walmart and they have a 90 day return policy, so maybe you could buy it, keep the box and all the "stuff" and use it for a week or two to see if you see any difference. If not, return it, as they don't care if your reason for return is "I changed my mind", and then get a cheapy. That's what we were planning to do but since DH says there is a difference to him, we're keeping it. Since we tend to keep TVs until they die (the second set in the bedroom is at least 11 years old as it's older than one of our kids, lol)....so at least I can console myself that this $400 expense is amoratized over at least 10 years right?

I'm so glad that it turned out well in the end for you. Many times when sellers are willing to take an item back it's with the buyer paying the return shipping and the refund not including the shipping that was paid in the original purchase. The fact that she paid shipping both ways means she likely knew she was in the wrong, or at least that she'd lose in the dispute. It may be interesting to watch her listings and see if she relists it and makes the proper corrections about it's condition and the missing items.

I tried doing it alongside our History, but found that because our chronological history doesn't cover each and every year, but instead more like a group of years, that there were just too many states to try to do all at the same time. After the first 3 or 4 states and I realized we'd continue to fall way behind as the first 16 states joined over the course of a decade (a blip in our history studies). So I stopped trying to catch up, and we just did them in the order of admission and it was actually nice to be able to say "remember we discussed that in history". So we did a much more in depth study of the state than we could have if we'd had to rush on to another state because we were moving on in history. And of course I didn't want to stop and wait with history! So we just plodded along doing one state about every week. Worked out nicely as far as library books too, because I'd just concentrate on one state for this week's library run. We did a full notebook/lapbook/scrapbook for each state as well. I also went online to each state's website and requested their information package. Some came right away, some took a few weeks, so I'm glad I ordered them all at once. Most of them were geared toward enticing someone to move their home or business to that particular state, but it had a lot of touristy information as well as the trivia and facts for each state. Some were better than others, but all had wonderful pictures to cut out and include in our binders. If you have more than one child, I would suggest requesting packages for each because each will want the photos to cut out. I didn't do that and had to scan and print extra copies (pretty expensive as they are color photos mostly). I remember back in 5th and 6th grade having to do an extensive report on a country one year and a state the other year. We did something simliar for each state because we were able to take the time to do it over the course of a whole week (or more for some of them) rather than trying to keep up with history. There is a TON of stuff available on the state's websites to download/print, and a google search for each state's information will come up with even more. I did buy a few things, but now I realize that I really didn't have to as it was all available somewhere online if you're willing to spend an hour or two searching (not per state, but for all 50 of them). 50states.com is a goldmine.....enchanted learning had outline maps of each state and flag too....and there were many others that I can't recall right now.

You have to file your dispute with Paypal within 45 days of making the payment. You basically open up a dispute and through their process you are stating your case in an email format that goes to the Seller. They then have a specific time to respond. If they do not respond you must escalate your dispute to a claim (or if they respond but it doesn't resolve it). Watch the documentation you receive from Paypal closely for the date you must escalate....failure to do so timely forfeits your case! Assuming that the dispute process doesn't resolve things and you escalate it to a claim, paypal will then review the case and make a decision. If the ad said that there were CDs included and they weren't included.....then that would qualify under their "substantially not as promised" (or whatever the wording is, I'm on a laptop on a modem and can't open a second window, lol). I'm not sure that the Loom CD issue will stand up unless the ad specified it, maybe if it's a part of the program and not an extra? But, with the 4 CDs she specified not being there, that should be a given. Now...the rub goes that even if you win, if there is no money in her account, then paypal can't pay you from that. Since it doesn't sound like it was purchased through ebay you also don't have their buyer protection, which would guarantee your refund even if the account is empty. You can NOT file a dispute with your credit card company if you file a dispute with Paypal. Once they receive notice from the credit card company that you have done so, they will dismiss your paypal dispute and you can't refile it. BUT.....if you're not certain that there will be money in her account, going through your credit card company may be the better method in this case. I say that because you don't have the ebay protection which typically helps even if the paypal is empty. If your credit card finds in your favor they will do a charge back against Paypal (which means your money comes from Paypal's account, not the sellers). This gets your money back to you, but don't be surprised if Paypal then shuts down your Paypal account (they seem to do this sometimes, not all the time). I always figured if Paypal shut my account, I'll open one in DH's name. One other suggestion.....some websites don't keep the advertisements up for very long after they are sold, so be sure that you print it out and also save it to your hard drive (if you use IE, choose "file" then "save as" then change the "type" to Web Archive. It will save the page as a .mht file which is viewable as an offline archive. Your credit card company will likely accept a mailed/faxed copy of the page, but Paypal may want a web based documentation, as they rarely do anything by snail mail or phone. Good luck to you. I've had a few ebay purchases go south and it's never a good feeling to know that someone deliberately ripped you off. I hope that she writes back to you and it was all a mistake and she fixes it to your satisfaction, or if she doesn't have the CDs you need, that she offers a full refund. I've had those happen as well, so there is hope.

Taquitos!

Well, one potential problem with Paypal payments is the dispute process, so be SURE that you "dot your I's and cross your Ts" so that you have the proof necessary if she tries to dispute her purchase. I believe that the biggie is that you need to have PROOF from the post office showing that you shipped the item to her VERIFIED address. If she doesn't have a verified address on file then do NOT ship it until she fixes that problem. The other problem is if she's somehow stolen someone else's Paypal account. I had a friend who accepted paypal payment, shipped the item, only to then have the payment rescinded because it turned out that the buyer had hacked into another person's paypal and paid my friend. The true owner noticed a payment to Paypal that they hadn't authorized, disputed it as fraud and the money was taken away from my friend. Of course, I guess that my friend had followed the advice I gave you in the first paragraph, maybe it wouldn't have happened. To verify your address, Paypal sends you a letter to that address with a code in it....you have to insert that code on paypal as proof that you received it. Probably not impossible to do fraudulently but a little more difficult because of the time involved, plus the send a letter to your default verified address to alert you that this was happening. I would think that if you're getting bad vibes, perhaps what you should do is contact Paypal and tell them what has occured and see if there is a way that they can verify her account is legit. What has she said that gives you the bad vibes? And does she have other feedback that is all (or mostly) positive?

Just an FYI....having one "no pay" isn't going to hurt you. The seller has to file this with Ebay so that they can receive a refund of their listing fees. For that matter, having two won't either, lol. I bid on two items and then before both auctions ended our computer hard drive failed. We did not have the funds to replace it for several months. Of course, did I remember that I had bid on two items, no of course not, I'm an airhead, lol. So a couple months later we get the new (used) computer set up and over 1,000 email messages dump into my Inbox....all those junk emails and newsletters and friends who didn't realize my computer died.....and the ebay confirmations of winning the bids and each seller sent multiple requests for payment, then one sent several nasty notes about deadbeats, etc. And yet nothing happened to my account. One of the sellers left me negative feedback (yes, the deadbeat one)....and it was too late for me to respond and say what happened. It took my rating from 100% to 98% until I made a few more perfect purchases and now it's back up to 100%. The negative feed still shows as 1 in the last 12 months, but honestly with over 300 transactions I doubt any seller will refuse to sell to me. I don't sell on ebay but even still 1 negative wouldn't stop me from buying from someone, especially when I see it was a failure to pay with dozens of "paid promptly" type positive feedback around it. I've seen sellers that I'm buying from with negatives before and I always check what the negative was about......if there seems to be a pattern than I rethink....but most times it's a case of "can't please everyone" or something that you can chalk up to being human like took a week to mail when all the other feedback talks about good shipping. Definitely keep a copy of that email where they assured you it was lavender in case ebay's rules have changed in the last 14 months since my goof up. Then just send a copy of it to ebay telling them that you did ask about it and they misrepesented (i.e lied) about it. Oh, and for future reference, you CAN cancel a bid before the auction ends. I think there is a limit to how many ebay will allow you to cancel (read their policies) but I've also done that before, when I've realized that what I originally thought was a good price wasn't and the other time was because I found a "buy it now" for less than my bid on the other. My daughter loves Airel also and has the lavender one in the picture.....it's cotton not satin, and probably 3 or 4 years old so I doubt they sell it in stores any longer. Just FYI

Just a suggestion for anyone else that runs into the same situation of a thrift store refusing to take a donation because of fear and the lead law (and I'm not bashing them, they have to protect their business, I guess, so it's certainly their right). Daycare centers, church Sunday schools, even some public elementary schools would have probably been thrilled to get those puzzles and games. Since they aren't re-selling the items, they aren't required to concern themselves with the lead law.....and common sense hopefully would prevail that cardboard/paper puzzles, even plastic toys aren't likely to be any more harmful to their students than the items they already have in their classroom! I'm sure after a long day of garage selling you will be too tired to want to find one of these places, so maybe keep it in mind now before your sale and inquire about whether they're interested in any leftovers. I know our church even put a notice in their bulletin that they'd appreciate being thought of for donations of items refused by the local Goodwill. They run a preschool so they can always use stuff, and they store a lot to rotate every couple of months so the kids don't get bored. If you have just a few items, even check with your doctor/dentist office, as they may be thrilled to have a few more items to entertain their patients (ok, maybe not the cardboard/paper items which couldn't be cleaned for the next day.....ahhhh, my first job as a tween was sterilizing my uncle's waiting room toys each evening). I totally love the idea of keeping lead items away from children.....but I have some real concerns about the stupidity of this new law. I've never in my life read a report that paper could contain lead......or fabric clothing without metal buttons/zippers/etc. I hope that some level headed non-government overreactors get involved in revising this law to protect our children without unnecessarily filling our landfills and raising prices because we can no longer buy safe things used! Ok, climbing off the high horse here, but our local used stores are dying a slow death, where last year I was probably up for selection as best customer, now I find myself leaving empty handed. And at this point I'm still too cheap (and broke) to buy new, my kids don't have any new toys to play with, and by summer will likely be required to stay in the house instead of appearing in public naked!

Academic Superstore's price is $59 but they charge $12.50 for shipping, making the price $71.50. And their return/warranty policy are better than the Homeschool co-op but still not as great as buying it from the manufacturer's website. Though for those of you out of the USA who wouldn't be looking at return/warranty as a benefit, it might be worth jumping through the hoops to qualify (if out of country can). And...the hoops a homeschooler has to jump through to qualify at Academic Superstore is a bit too labor intensive for me, lol. But...if there was other stuff at their store that I might be interested as well, it might be worth jumping. Their shipping is based on the cost of the product, so it might get more reasonable as you add more products. THe $12.50 is for $50-99 in product, but for $100-250 it's only $14.50. Divide that by several products and it's reasonable shipping.

I heard back from TomSnyder and like Melody's link shows, you can print it. Another feature they mentioned is that apparently once you've created your timeline using their software you can export it as a .pdf file and print it like any other pdf file. Which means that I could imagine us creating the timeline, printing it on banner paper and putting it on the long wall in the hallway. Just wanted to let everyone know the response I received.

Think carefully before making this purchase through the co-op. Here's my thought process on it: Cost is $59, plus $3 for co-op fee, plus $8 for shipping. Total cost $70. BUT....you will NOT be able to return the product in the event that you decide you don't like, it doesn't work on your particular computer set up, etc etc etc. Through the co-op there are NO REFUNDS whatsoever. If it's a defective product they will EXCHANGE, however it clearly states that even for a defective product YOU have to pay the shipping fee to return it. Now...look at the same product on the publisher's website (www.tomsnyder.com) and you'll see that it's $75 for an individual issue, and the shipping was $6. So that makes it $81. So for an additional $11 I have ONE YEAR to decide if I like the product....if I don't, I can return it for a FULL refund. One year! I find that an amazing return policy frankly. PLUS.....they offer a LIFETIME warranty on the disks.....if a disk is scratched or otherwise damaged, they'll replace it for you at no charge. Don't know about your house, but we have a lot of scratched disks around here....to the point where now I actually make copies of them so we aren't using the originals. I've watched the kids and they don't seem rough on disks, but they still end up constantly scratched! I love the concept of the co-op....but I've yet to find a deal that is worth doing with them.....for the few items I've been interested in the dollars I'd save aren't worth the restrictions. Money is tight around here and yes that $11 would be nice to save, but not if it is going to limit my options so much. I absolutely love the idea of having an entire year to see how much we actually use and enjoy and benefit from the product before losing my chance to return it. Oh if only more things came with that! I can't tell you how many times I've bought something that looked like it would be great, we get it home and hey it is great.....well, for the first few times we use it, and then we realize it's really not as great as we thought and it sits on the shelf until I resell it at a loss. I know I can't be the only one with that problem. So, the idea of being able to return it when/if the product sits on our shelf for weeks is a big plus. And the lifetime replacement disks mean that if it IS a great product that we use then I don't have to worry about the scratches that seem to happen no matter how careful we are. I have Tom Snyder's Timeliner 5.0 which is a product we used for quite a while, but now we have upgraded our computers and it won't run on the newer operating system. So I'm going to probably get this new version as it looks even better than the one we had. My big question (and I sent Tom Snyder an email late Friday but haven't heard back because of the weekend).....I wonder if this new version allows you to print out your timeline after you create it. I loved the concept of creating it on the computer, but I'd really prefer to have the ability to print it and put it on the wall, or in our notebooks so that we have more constant access to it. When we used the older version we didn't have a color printer so it was never something we wanted. Anyway...hope my thought process anaylsis helps you decide!

Have you asked him what type of curriculum he might want? Sounds like you've tried enough that he might be able to tell you I hated this I liked this. Or is it just his personality to dislike everything. I've started giving my kids the Rainbow Resource catalog (about the size of a NYC phone book!) and telling them to make a list of a few items in each subject that appeals to them. I make NO promises that they'll get what they want, but their lists give me a real sense of what they want to be doing. We all have very different personalities so while reading a zillion historical novels would have me in seventh heaven, I have one daughter who almost comes to tears when I even LOOK at that section in the library. So she reads her dry boring-to-me fact books, and the other kids and I dive into the novels. I have another kid who couldn't possibly write a full page by hand on even his most passionate hobby, but put him in front of a keyboard and I have to tell him that the teacher (me) only has so many hours a night to read his assignment and to bring it to a conclusion and print it out soon. Did your child attend public school? Because an off the top of my head thought while I read about him was "Here's a kid who got seriously turned off learning and hasn't found his way back yet". Not all kids will ever love learning, but from listening to other families, I know that I am VERY fortunate to have children who are pretty hungry to learn, so even the subjects they don't like they at least don't fight me on. We keep those lessons short, but daily, so they plug along but we stop before they get frustrated. There are also lots of online sites that will talk about learning style, so you may want to wander through some of those and see if you don't recognize your son in there somewhere, and then check to see if you are teaching in a way that is compatible to his style. It's very hard for me to do that because obviously I have my own style too, but I spent time with the child with the most divergent learning style explaining the whys and hows, so that now when I start getting off their track, they let me know and I/we can work on getting back. Of course, my kids are a couple years older than your son, but he ought to be old enough to help you remember!

Is there still a free trial offer available? I signed up when there was and it was ok.....but as with most of EMC and other companies like them, I found after a week or so of doing these daily they all seemed to be the same, only the topic changed. Of course, our family isn't exactly a big worksheet fan in the first place, so that could have a lot to do with it. If the free trial offer isn't listed on their website....it never hurts to email them and ask if there is a trial offer, worst they can say is no. But, be prepared to use a lot of paper and ink. And, as someone else said, unless you're really into worksheets, you'd probably be better off just buying the few books that you'd want to use.....because at least then you'd have the book to resell when you're done with it.

Thanks so much! Kareni those links are wonderful, and actually made me think now I'll start lurking on the high school board a little bit, lol. Somehow high school just seems so far away, but in reality it's less than 2 years! And Stacey, thank you so much for that review.....it sounds like exactly what made me hesitate to buy it was exactly what you experienced. Considering that I don't lecture (or even close), I'm sure that our methods of study leave a gap in their skills as far as note taking and essay/report writing because we use such a "living books" type approach. We jointly read and then talk about things so that the kids are discovering the information instead of me simply filling their heads for them. They use the teacher guides as much as I do! I know that isn't how it will be in college, lol. And I laughed heartily at your android acronynm.....I've often suspected that speakers combine many people when they start describing someone who made such remarkable feats seem simple. I sometimes wondered if I suspected this as my way of not feeling totally incompetent, but maybe not!

Hey...for those of us apparently not yet there, hows about sharing and saving us from the same fate! LOL:tongue_smilie:

Is this a website?

Does your library system participate in the netlibrary.com website? Ours does and it's available for download through netlibrary.com for free.

Someone recommended that I get these now (eldest is 7th grade) so that we can start to develop the techniques to help in our high school years. It sounds interesting, but when I looked at Worldcat (our library doesn't have any) the descriptions of some of them sounded extremely pro-school socializing.....for instance one of the 30 minute lectures is devoted to why you should be very involved in your school. Obviously, not gonna want to listen to that one, lol.....since we homeschool, but I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if the other lectures all have the same attitude? I'm mostly interested in getting some suggestions/help/ideas about note taking, study habits, organizing your work, etc. Since she's the only student in "class" she's not really had to do these things, but I know in college (and hey, real life too) she's going to need these skills. THis is one of those intangibles I'm having a lot of trouble teaching.....I'm a relatively organized person, and I had hoped she'd pick it up through watching what I go through when I fail to stay organized, but it's not happening, lol. If not Teaching Company's series, do you have some other suggestions?

Where in the Bay Area are you? Funny....you say you were in Arizona and now you're in California.....I was in California (Fremont) and now I'm in Phoenix, lol. It's been a couple years but I know there were several very active support groups....one in Castro Valley that was something like Bay Hills was a large group. I also looked online and found this list of support groups, but gosh, none of them look familiar, so maybe it's been longer than I thought, lol. But check this and see if there is anything near you that might be more to your style. http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/CaliforniaBayArea.htm Several of them have yahoogroups.....so even if they are too far for you to drive to for most get-togethers, but sound like your style, join the yahoogroup and see if there isn't someone that might want to swap skills and maybe each of you can drive to a middle ground to meet weekly. The Bay Area has SOOOO many great parks and a fantastic library system so there would always be places for you to meet. Or maybe you don't even really have to meet, you could do things by phone and with the computer most weeks. It's really going to depend on all the kids and how much hand holding any of them need, vs just talking them through any bumps. I don't know anything about this company, except that he advertises on several support groups that I'm on....and several of the folks on there rave about it but you might want to check it out: http://www.historyatourhouse.com/main/index.html

Are you a part of a homeschool support group? Since most parents are in need of help when it comes to the higher math, and YOU have those skills, I'd most definitely say look into finding a few families that need YOUR skills and trade them for their help in History/Lit. You tutor their kid, they tutor yours. Obviously, you'll want to find curriculums that are more child-led than teacher required, then your families meet once a week (or whatever) to review things with the children. Each teacher be available by phone when there are questions, but otherwise it's more oversight than day to day teaching. It sounds like your daughter is more than capable of working on things by herself, so she should be able to handle only having "supervision" or "oversight" instead of hand holding and spoon feeding, lol. And I'm with you....although I do love history and reading, I don't do well with the analyzing of it all. I just accept history as stories and love them, and like to reading even non-fiction, but I get all queasy when some study guides wants me to analyze the characters and their motives and what they really mean. Ummm, why can't the author tell me what the characters mean? Give me math with it's "only one correct answer" and I am in heaven. My DH says that when it comes to "black and white" I have no clue that there could even possibly BE any shades of gray. Which of course, leads me to say to him....but you said "black and white" you never mentioned gray.

Can you provide some detail about the "teacher intensive" part of these programs? I've been wanting to get CW for a while now, but I'm not sure if I have the ability or time to implement them, so I keep putting it off. I have struggled through many threads about the progym and still don't quite even understand IT, so I get scared thinking of buying these programs and having no clue!

I would love the recipe for the creme brulee. Thank you. What a fun job (oh, I know it's a LOT of work, but making something that people will love just sounds so satisfying!).

To add to Joyful's comments.....send items to her husband but tell him NOT to wrap them or even to give them to her. Instead, just plant them around the house, just casually like they've always been there. She'll come into the kitchen and find a paper airplane on the counter...."where did this come from dear".....and hubby will say "I don't know". As the day wears on she'll start wondering what is going on, strange items just appear out of nowhere and no one knows anything about them. Then in the evening at a prearranged time, all the friends gather at one person's home and telephone your far-away friend.....just called to say hello. If she's smart and open to games, she'll start adding things up and the laugh will be on her when it suddenly dawns on her that you all had something to do with the strange goings on. We did this when we sent my mom (and dad but he was in on it) on a cruise as part of a reunion with her siblings that were flung across the universe. Some other ideas: Photos of all the parties involved...framed...and suddenly hanging on the wall with the rest of the photographs. A plane (in our case ship) sitting on top of the television. Each of the family members called her "just to chat" that day.....and the whole reason for the reunion was they never seemed to find the time to call and stay in touch.....and suddenly they ALL call on the same day! After the 3rd sister called Mom said "Ok, what's going on here, am I deathly ill and no one's told me??" She was giggling so she knew something was going on but had no clue. We printed out pictures of things they'd find or do on the cruise, places they'd visit, different events that would happen on the cruise, even the singer that was scheduled for one of the nights....and left them casually laying around. "Dear what is a photo of Singing Sensantion doing on the patio table?". "No idea honey". "honey, why is this photo of this gorgeous skort and top on my bureau?" "No idea dear, did you plan to order it". "I don't even know which catalog it's from" "Oh don't worry honey, you'll remember eventually, we're not getting younger you know". When we all us kids and grandkids showed up en masse (we met at the park down the street and drove up together), she knew something was happening. We made her guess....forever....until we saw she was starting to lose her usually fun loving self, lol....mean kids that we are....then we had the youngest that could walk was given an envelope to take to grams......and in it was the tickets, itinerary, etc. It was absolutely hilarious to hear about all the things she had said and done from dad....better would have been if we could have been there, but that would have really made her suspicious. Hope you and your friends enjoy this special occasion...it sounds like it could be a total blast!

I'd love to have someone living with us (maybe in the "guest house" I'd build disconnected to the house, but still on property) that could speak Latin and Spanish so that the kids (and parents) could learn languages from someone other than a video! As it is we go visit some neighbors who are Mexican and kind enough to have conversations with my children in their native tongue. But "on site" would mean this could occur with much more frequency. Of course, my first choice would have been to say I'd want to go live in Mexico for a year or two, but you didn't want travel ideas, lol. Our Mexican neighbors have often suggested that we hire their niece as our housekeeper and she'd talk to the kids every day. Yeah, wish I could afford a full time housekeeper/linguist.

My suggestion is a little light on the health part, but would be a great precursor to a health discussion.....Teacher Created's "My Body". It was so much fun and the retention level was extraordinary. Basically you take a large sheet of butcher paper (we used the brown paper you use to wrap packages for mailing). Lay your child on it and trace around them. The book offers kid sized drawings of the various organs of your body. There is a brief lesson on what each organ does, then the child pastes it onto their life size outline in it's proper place. We had those bodies hanging in the hallway for several years (only came down because we moved and the new house doesn't have enough wall space for everything, so now they "live" inside their closet, lol). We're enjoying Jeannie Fullbright's Elementary Science (from Apologia) and while it's not secular, it's pretty easy to edit out or at least tone down.