I bought a set of 4 2" view binders for $9.99, and I was waitlisted for an electric pencil sharpener and a stand for the iPad. Not much else on sale that interests me. <yawn> Yep, underwhelmed is the word. I think I'll go see what Walmart.com has instead.

Thanks, ladies. 😊 I'm leaning toward the Pro.

I know the MacBook Pro is more expensive and heavier, but it does have more features. So which would you choose? Why? ETA: According to dh, who knows about these things 😉 I am a "heavy computer user." I like to have several tabs open at once, I do a lot of spreadsheet and word processing/editing/publishing stuff, including plenty of graphics/images/photos. I also have: 1) a 10.6" Acer netbook (running Windows 7 on a 64-bit system with 3 GB RAM) that I've had for about 4 years, and it is starting to really lag when I put it through the paces 2) an iPad Air (16 GB) 3) an iPhone 5s (16 GB) 4) 2 antiquated desktops (Windows XP) that we rarely use (s-l-o-w) 5) 2 or 3 older laptops (Windows XP) that work okay but are somewhat sluggish

These look great!

The horse one might just be the best suggestion yet. One of my students is REALLY into horses. She's a barrel racer and hopes to be a farrier or go into equine therapy.

I DID cry! Thank you for sharing my pain. I've been so careful with it, especially because I know that dh bought it to surprise me even though I know we really couldn't afford it. :'(

Should I send it to Apple for repairs ($299) or have someone else repair it (no idea how much)? It's a first generation iPad Air (not an iPad Air 2) with wifi + LTE and was a gift from dh in the spring of 2014, which means I've had it about 15 months. I assume it's not still under any kind of warranty. It's not covered by insurance, so I have been very, VERY protective of it. Before today, it was in like new condition--not a single scratch anywhere and worked perfectly. Fortunately, it still works fine. Well, today we were out car shopping. (And that's another story. A few weeks ago, dh was involved in an accident & my car was totaled. Dh did have minor injuries, but is on the mend and doing well.) Anyway, I brought my iPad along today so we could look up specs on the various vehicles we are considering. While we were looking at the cargo space in the back of one of the cars, I set my iPad down and the cargo cover fell on it. It was in a Belkin portfolio style case, but the cover popped open and it flipped out of the car and landed face down on the pavement. The screen is covered by a screen protector, so even though it is shattered along the edge on one of the long edges, the glass is held in place. There are a couple of long cracks that curve aross the screen. You don't really notice those unless the light hits it at a certain angle. It is still usable, but it looks terrible. 😩. So, what do you recommend? Get it fixed locally, or send it away to Apple?

I already have some of these on my shelf! Thanks! Keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks! I've heard of two of these, but not the other two. I'll see what I can find out. :)

I'm looking for books on 5th-6th grade level and preferably 150 or so pages in length. Light, easy reading, in other words. Here's what we'll be reading for literature this year: Beowulf (Globe Fearon Adapted Classics) 1001 Arabian Nights (Geraldine McCaughrean) King Arthur (Core Classics) Robin Hood (Core Classics) Canterbury Tales (Geraldine McCaughrean) Stories from Shakespeare (Geraldine McCaughrean) The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare) Calico Captive (Elizabeth George Speare) The read-alouds don't *have* to be set in the same time period as our history and literature (AD 500-1750s), but I would prefer that. ETA: The books do NOT have to be historical--even fantasy is fine--but I would like them to have the "flavor" of this particular time period (AD 500-1750). I am looking for FUN, engaging plots that incorporate humor, suspense, and especially ROMANCE--I teach teenage girls who hate to read, and I want to draw them in! Thanks in advance for your suggestions. :)

ER likes Michael Crichton, and he also likes Tom Clancy, Frank Peretti, and Ted Dekker.

We're not soccer fans and we don't even know the rules, but we did watch a good bit of this game. :)

That's pretty much the way it is in my area too.

Oh, I expect pretty much everyone to have an opinion, whether they understand all the nuances or not. That's my point exactly.

As a lifelong (54 years) Southerner, I absolutely agree with this.

Same here (the bolded part). :) I get dressed every day, even if I only change from my jammies into stretchy pants and a big t-shirt. And my babies NEVER went around in just a diaper or a sleeper. I always dressed them every day. When they got older they would occasionally wear their pajamas all day on Saturday or during summer vacation. But I always insisted that they get washed and dressed each school day.

Same here :)

Thank you! I will try this!

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What I mean is, exactly how do you implement it? I'm particularly interested in how you do SOS Secondary Spanish, but I'm also interested in hearing about SOS Spanish I. Do your children do everything on the computer? Or do you have them keep a notebook? Do they have different sections in the notebook for various assignments, and if so, how is it divided? In the settings, how do you set up the number of attempts, the percentages in regards to grades, and so on? I've had a couple of kids use these programs in the past, and while it wentokay, I don't think there was much retention. So now I'm wanting to tweak our approach so that we get maximum effectiveness. I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

Back in March, I bought the Brother HL-3170CDW on the recommendation of a fellow boardie, and I am currently in the market for new toner cartridges. I would prefer to buy "compatible" rather than "genuine." They MUST be the high capacity type, and I will need both black TN221BK / TN225BK and color (cyan, magenta, and yellow) TN221C / TN225. I prefer to order from Amazon, and I am an Amazon Prime member. I ordered a black cartridge through Amazon from Blake Printing Supply (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EV2ZJMC?psc=1), and I have been very pleased with it so far. I keep seeing lots of other brands that are cheaper, but I don't know if they're any good. Can you recommend any of them? Thanks! ETA: Any experience with Cool Toner? http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Compatible-Toner-compatible-HL-3150CDW/dp/B00FPGOKDW/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1435787574&sr=1-2&keywords=blake+printing+tn221c+brother

Care to share those hacks with me? :) Thanks!

Donny Osmond :)

Anyone know of a Shakespeare study that uses Stories from Shakespeare by Geraldine McCaughrean as its "spine"? I would like to find something that utilizes reproducible worksheets and quizzes, and I would love it if there were also viewing guides we can use to bring out important points as we watch suggested movie versions of the plays. Do you know of anything like this?