Signs: Make as many signs as you can to put up the afternoon before the sale (so people will see them on their way home from work). I have 10 now, and I intend to make a few more for next year. Make sure you put one up at the major intersections nearest your house, then lead people there with the signs. Don't forget one for the front yard, so people know when they've arrived! I try to put them up around 2:30 the day before to catch those getting off at 3:00, but certainly get them up before 5:00 for the big rush hour. Make the signs as big as you can, with bold arrows to direct those who don't have time to read the address. Make them all match, so people don't have to wonder when they come to another person's sign. Cover them with plastic to protect them in case of rain. (I slit some sheet protectors for mine - overlapped the four in the middle and taped them.) Advertising: Do, if you can do it cheaply. Newspaper ads cost a lot here, and I've found that ads don't significantly increase sales, because my signs are already good advertising. Are you in a home school support group that has a website allowing classified ads? That could be a good place to advertise, as could your church, etc. Prices: Low, in $.25 increments. You don't want to have to deal with nickles and dimes. Time: Start early and plan to stay open until at least 3:00. Plan to stay open half an hour longer than your sign says, no matter what it is, as people may continue to arrive. Marketing: Put the big stuff closest to the street to tempt people to stop. If you don't have any, ask someone else to join you in the sale so you will! Some people won't even get out of the car if there's no big stuff. Have fun!

Thank you!!!!! When I googled this, the ESPN site came up, and I assumed since it had all of the schedules it had the exclusive contract. If I'd just looked on the next page of google hits, I would have found NBC. I am excited! We can watch! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! :D

I just realized we can't watch, and I'm bummed. I don't want to camp out at my in-laws for this. Any other great ideas for how to watch without buying an expensive cable package?

Do you have a friend or neighbor with a dog that hates snakes and would bark at it if it smelled one? One that wouldn't get close enough to experience a bite, but that would let you know where it is so your brave helpers at animal control or in the neighborhood could take care of it for you? Otherwise, I'd be wearing boots, gloves, thick jeans, a jacket, and would shine light everywhere before every step. I, too, have a thing about snakes. I almost stepped on a coiled water snake as a child and I've had a great deal of fear ever since. I'll pray for you.

One is online reading sports news with dh, one is lying on the bed reading a book, and one is dancing around pretending to be an animal. All should be getting ready for bed. Thanks for the reminder!

I think it's a DHL thing. Every package they've delivered here has been late and/or damaged in some way. I saw in the back of their truck one day - there was nothing to keep things from jostling around, sliding across the floor, etc. What's with that? There should be bins, ropes, shelves, or something to keep things safe and organized. Give me my nice, friendly, organized UPS guy any day! He even delivered a package to me that was mistakenly addressed with a house number blocks away that didn't even exist. He recognized my name, so brought it here to ask if it was mine. That's service. :)

Please share the recipe!!!! Do you make your own coconut flour or do you purchase it? Where have you found the best price?

This was in an ad on Crosswalk this morning. It might be worth investigating. http://www.gcp.org/curriculum_kids_quest.asp?referral=CROSSWALK

I'm just trying to decide if we should go with something else entirely different. A friend has offered us her Style and Structure to use, but it looks like the same material as the intensive, for the most part. Is the repetition worth it? Should we go ahead and do it, or should we look at something else?

Please post a link here! I know several who would love them!

Thanks! That's what I was wondering. I guess I just get to wait a little longer!

What an excellent idea! Thanks for sharing!

What history will you cover this year? Do you like your lit to coincide as much as possible, or do you like variety?

I'm still waiting for my dc's ITBS results to come back. I know the dc missed some questions. Just wondering if anyone can give an idea of how mistakes in a section translate into percentile scores.

Oh, boy, I just scheduled this in for this year. Why did you sob? Death? Happiness? I cry so easily when I read to the dc, I like to know what kind of tears I'm going to shed ahead of time! If it's too huge, I can just cancel the library request!

Anne dies at the end, right? So is The Hiding Place less traumatic for a sensitive child? What says the Hive?

I am delighted to find timeline cards in the activity book 4, but I wish we had them for the others, too! Do newer editions have them, or are they available for purchase? Googling for images gets old!

I love the lights attached to the desks! What a great idea! Your room is off to a terrific start! I wish I could borrow a little of your energy to take care of some things around here!

((Camy)) Praying for your brother, that God will use this event in his life to draw him close, and that all will be well in the end. :grouphug:

I am astonished a priest would think that was okay, and I can't believe the other pastoral staff there would either. Wow. You are doing the right thing in leaving this particular congregation. Isn't there a conservative Episcopal group based in Africa that has broken away because of doctrinal differences? Maybe there's a congregation near you. If not, I suspect you could find a Catholic, Lutheran, or Orthodox church near you that could meet your needs. If not, surely there are other churches nearby that would support you in raising your dc the way you see fit, even if they aren't liturgical. It's worth starting the search. FWIW, I'm proud of you for talking with the priest. It must have been difficult to do, but you did the right thing.

I was talking this week with a friend who homeschools her dc through a virtual charter school. She is pleased with the quality of the curriculum, but frustrated with the pace and with the fact that she has no flexibility. If her dc don't understand something she can't slow way down to work with them on it, as they have to keep meeting the deadlines for turning in work. She says they have no love of learning, although that was the reason she wanted to teach them at home in the first place. Yet, she isn't willing to take the leap out of the charter school into the unknown of private homeschooling. She doesn't think she can pick out curriculum herself, despite many friends willing to help, and she can't afford to buy the curriculum her charter school uses for all 3 dc. So, she's going to stay with it, even though her dc's desire to learn lessens every year. I'm astonished and saddened. I hardly know what to say to her. I've heard the argument that homeschoolers who use the virtual charter schools would get dependent on them and unable to make decisions for themselves, but I honestly thought it was just hype from private homeschooling organizations to keep their membership high. I didn't expect to see it happen to a smart, capable person who is completely dedicated to her dc. Have you seen this happen IRL, too?

I feel sad for you! When I was in Brownies we wore brown dresses with orange neckties and our beanies (of course), and some lucky few among us even had genuine imitation leather Brownies shoulder bags with the Brownie emblem on the front. (Think hard, formed purses of the late 60s.) I loved it all. In fact, even though we moved and I wasn't able to continue with Girl Scouts, I still have my brownie uniform. I just can't quite let it go even though I can see that it's rather hideous. At 6 I thought it was beautiful!

One of my dc was like your ds for the first year or two of reading "real" books. This dc will still pick up any book, anywhere, regardless of how many others are unfinished. As I tend to read multiple books at a time, this doesn't bother me much, but I have had to watch this dc to be sure books I want read get finished. This problem has lessened as reading speed has increased, however.

What I'd like to know is, where do you ladies find the specialized smilies? These are hilarious!

What smart dc you have! I'll have to remember to point that out to the dc the next time a drug commercial comes on!