Jakaranintakan School

Record keeping in Homeschooling

A topic that frequently comes up in meetings and forums that deal
with homeschooling is record keeping. The importance of record
keeping cannot be ignored. It is not only legally required in
various States, but also provides important milestones in your
child’s learning experience. An interest-initiated homeschooling
approach means that the topic of studies is far ranging and
multifarious. Thus, it can be something of a challenge to write
quarterly reports for the school district, when it is difficult
to classify learning into neatly pigeonholed areas.

Record keeping is important not only for the sake of regulations.
It is also an exciting way to record and document the learning
process of the child. When most of the learning is done through
play and there is no clear cut index of topics that have to be
covered, it is necessary for the parent to keep some sort of a log
which records the child’s progress.

The records you keep can be as simple as a daily journal, or as
elaborate as a software program. If you participate in a support
group, you probably have set forms and requirements. But even so,
keeping track of daily work makes reporting easy and efficient.

There are various record keeping methods used by various
homeschools. Some of the more popular ones are:

Journal:
This can be maintained by the teacher or the student. This
basically aims to keep a log of what was learned and what was
done. Recording memorable events that happened in the course of
the year is a great way to reminisce later on.

Daily planner:
Lay out the plans and the assignments for the week in a teacher’s
planning notebook. Check each item as it is covered. Maintain a
separate area where any additional things can be recorded. This
includes educational trips, visits and videos etc. Any extra
topics that were covered are also recorded in this area. Make a
summary every quarter.

Portfolios:
This consists of a collection of varied materials that show what
the child has achieved and done during the course of study.
Portfolio assessment is a very effective way to chart the child’s
progress. It gives structure to the otherwise loose and flexible
form of schooling called homeschooling. A drawing portfolio will
consist of some paintings or sketches that are considered the best
in that quarter. A language portfolio may consist of essays,
stories, reading-logs, spelling samples or letters. Progress in
mathematics, fine arts, history, science and social studies can
all be recorded this way. The biggest advantage is that portfolio
assessment places control in the hands of the children. Having a
tangible record of what they have established eggs them on to
greater heights.

Other than the above-mentioned systems, there are also purchased
record-keeping systems that lay out a good checklist. Some of
these allow one to personalize the organizer. Irrespective of the
methods used, record keeping in one form or the other is
essential. Your child’s future may well depend on the
well-maintained record that you have meticulously kept over the
years.

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A lot of people want to know that magical time to list their item for sale on eBay.  That precise moment when their item will sell for the best possible price.  What they don’t wan to hear are those dreaded two words:  it depends.

My eBay selling experiences have always put me squarely in the camp of “Sunday night is the best time to list on eBay”.  For me, anyway, it seems my items have always sold best with a 7-day auction that I began (and ended) at 7PM to 7:30PM PST on Sunday.  The second best day and time for me has always been Monday at 7PM to 7:30PM PST.  The worst day for me has been a Tuesday, any time.  I never tried Fridays because I always perceived Fridays as being a bad time for an auction to end.

The truth, of course, is that it depends on quite a number of factors, and what you’re selling is a major component to what day and time is the best.  For example, if you’re selling office and business products, Tuesday through Thursday during the day might be the best times.  Why?  Because that’s when people from businesses might be bidding for office supplies and equipment.  And, I would have a tendency to exclude Monday and Fridays because some people might be taking a three-day weekend.

If you’re selling items that school-age kids might want to bid on, then the hours immediately after the school day would be good.

If you’re selling items that appeal to young adults, it’s good to take a look at the television schedule. Maybe ending an auction during an episode of “Lost” isn’t the best time.  Nor would a Friday night be a good time.

Why is the beginning and ending time so important?  It seems the bidding for items is most active when an item is just listed and several hours before the end of the auction.  Of course, you’ll always get bidders between those times, but it does seem that the intensity of the bidding builds up in the last hour or two.  Therefore, you’d want to have your auctions end when your target audience is at home and available to follow the last-minute bidding.  (Which is why Sunday night has gained a reputation for being a good time to begin and end an auction — most people are home on Sunday nights.)

Of course, if you have items that are in high demand you don’t have to worry too much about not having enough bidders.   Any time would be a good time to list your items.  But, for the most part, you do want to make sure you have the most bidders as possible.  Be sure you check for any special television programming that would take your bidders attention away from your auction.  And, if you have an auction limited to a geographic area, make you don’t end an auction during a special event, like a concert in that area.

If your item is not particularly in high demand, make sure your item’s not going to end when an auction for a similar item is going to end.  You want all potential bidders focused on your item, not split between yours and theirs.

As with all online selling, research is the key to a profitable outcome.
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eBay has quite an intricate and long-winded dispute resolution procedure. In this email, I’ll try to break each step down for you, so you can see what’s involved and how long it takes.

As an example, let’s go through what you would do if you paid for an item but didn’t receive it from the seller.

Before you open a dispute: Give the seller a chance to send the item before you get ahead of yourself and open a dispute. If you’re concerned about how long the item is taking to arrive, the first thing you should do is send a polite email to the seller saying that you haven’t received it and asking whether they have posted it. You should also check your own email address in eBay’s options, to make sure that the seller can reply to you. As a last resort before opening a dispute, you should try to call the seller on the number eBay has for them. You might have to pay long-distance charges for the call, but that’s better than dragging the auction through mediation for months.

Step 1 – You open an Item Not Received dispute: You can do this here: http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?InrCreateDispute.

All you need to do is enter the item number and say that you did not receive the item.

Step 2 – eBay contacts the seller: eBay sends the seller an email that tells them that you’ve said you didn’t receive the item. Then can then choose to tell you one of three things: that your payment hasn’t cleared yet, that the item is in the post, or that they’ll give you your money back. The seller can also tell eBay that they would like to send you a message.

Step 3 – You talk to the seller: You try to work out what’s happened directly with the seller, sending messages back and forward. Hopefully they’ll agree to give you a refund for the sake of their feedback, or your item will turn up in the post during this time.

Step 4 – Closing the dispute: After 30 days (or 10 days if the seller didn’t respond), you have two options to close the dispute: either you were satisfied or you weren’t. If you weren’t satisfied, then you can claim under eBay’s purchase protection program for up to $200.

Independent Dispute Mediation.

If you don’t want to go through eBay’s own process, and especially if the auction was for a high-value item, then you can use a third-party mediator. eBay recommend SquareTrade, at http://www.squaretrade.com, who provide mediation to many websites where there are buyers and sellers. They will contact the seller on your behalf and then mediate as you negotiate what to do from there.

Sellers who are committed to going through SquareTrade’s mediation for any disputes can sign up to display the ‘SquareTrade seal’ on their auctions. This gives their buyers $250 fraud protection, and shows that their identity has been independently verified so they are who they say they are.

When your sellers aren’t in such good standing, though, you need to be careful to avoid being a victim of fraud. There are a few scams that you especially need to look out for – we’ll cover them in the next email.
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One key for business success using eBay is sourcing products to sell. The first questions eBay sellers should ask themselves are: “What can I sell?” and “Where can I buy?”

There are two kinds of sellers on eBay, garage sellers and business sellers. Garage sellers are people who sell products they are not going to use any more and that are usually not new. Garage sellers are not profit driven, their main objective is usually to get rid of some stuff they don’t need. They will be happy to make some money by selling something that is no longer useful to them. On the other hand, business sellers are people who will buy and sell products for profit, they consider eBay a business and need to earn profit on the products they sell.

The first key to success for business sellers is an old marketing rule, RESEARCH. The products you need to sell are products that eBay buyers will want to buy. Apart from being a massive market place, eBay offers you a cheap source of research that you can conduct without moving from your computer.

If you are a business seller, it is fundamental that you spend some time researching before you decide which products you want to sell. Follow these research guidelines:

1. Search for the categories that are most popular. The first index is the number of listings that exist under each category. In addition, you need to look at how many bids the products have.

2. Look at the ratings of the sellers who are listing products in each category and study their profiles. See how many products they are selling and how many products they have sold in the past.

3. Analyze prices. You need to become an expert in your category and you need to know at which price a product is worth buying as well as the expected final winning price of your auction.

4. Select no more than one or two categories. “Specialization” is another basic rule of marketing. It is better to become an expert on something, as this will inspire confidence and trust in your potential customers. Online marketing is all about trust.

For conducting good research, you need time and organization. There are different software programs in the market that can help you save time as well as optimize your research.

Now that you are becoming an eBay expert and have conducted a proper search, you are almost ready to start your business. Before starting to sell, you need to buy! Here are some ideas from where you can source products:

1. Write your own e-book and sell it. If you have any passion or are an expert on a subject for which you can find a niche in eBay, do not hesitate to spend some time on writing your own book. The advantage of this is that after your initial time investment, you can sell and sell copies of the book without having any additional costs. Selling information products is one of the most profitable businesses. Even if you are not an expert writer, you can find other people who can write the book for you.

2. Use drop-shipping. There are wholesalers that will sell you products and send them to the address that you tell them. The advantage of this source is that you do not need to carry inventories, so your investments are minimized. After your auction is finished, you send them your customers address and they will do all the shipping. If you decide to use this kind of source, you need to make sure that your auctions winning price can be higher than the price you will pay for the articles. At minimum you should expect to double your costs.

3. Buy from eBay. Many eBayers success comes from knowing how to buy well on eBay and sell the same products at a higher price. If you know your category very well, you can easily find opportunities that will allow you to buy and resell making profit. Again, solid research is fundamental.

4. Buy Asiatic products. If you are willing to carry some inventories, you can invest on Asiatic products and buy them for a very cheap price. You can easily start importing Asiatic products from the Internet at www.alibaba.com.

5. Sell local products. If you live in an area that produces local products which can be bought at a cheap price and shipped to other areas where people would pay more, you should take advantage of the situation.

Best wishes for your success
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There is not much that is needed for starting an eBay online auction business. Besides the right eBay auction software, you also need to have a computer, an internet access and of course, an eBay account. You also need to have a PayPal account as many buyers prefer making payments in credit cards. And if you have PayPal with you, you are sure to find an increased demand for the products on your eBay auction site.
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EBay has revolutionized the concept of online auctions. And to help you hold auctions much more easily and conveniently, eBay programmers have come up with various eBay software. You find eBay auction software like accounting auction eBay software, eBay checkout, eBay listing software, eBay api and eBay etailsolution software.

EBay etailsolution software are available from many eBay certified developers and companies. Channel Advisor is a great source for eBay etailsolution software which is used by many powersellers. You find lots of ecommerce applications offered here like listing automation, inventory management and customer service management. With Andale, you find many email management and listing management tools.
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Infopia is an eBay certified developer that is a listing automation and inventory management software solution. In Marketworks, you find a new eBay etailsolution software that includes international listing and sales automation software to be used in eBay and other marketplaces.

In Wholesale Marketer, you find an eBay certified wholesale drop ship leader where you are offered access to over 90,000 wholesale products for auction. Here you find a reliable source of drop shippers where you can first try out their services, and then subscribe to it as a paid member. As the name implies, the eBay certified developer Drop Ship Source Directory is a directory of wholesalers and drop shippers. You also find a market research tool here with lots of free informational products on online businesses.
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When it comes to making money on the Internet, far too many entrepreneurs take a very casual attitude. There are plenty of ways to make big money online — Adam Ginsberg has sold more than $20 million through the eBay auction site alone. Whether you are trying your hand at affiliate marketing, Google Adsense, or eBay, though, you need to have a professional attitude, a common-sense business plan, and a mentor to show you the way to big profit.
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One big mistake that many online entrepreneurs make is to treat online business like a hobby. If you want to make real money through the Internet, you simply cannot afford to do this. You need to approach online business the way you would any other business — with professionalism. Just as you would probably not launch into a non-virtual business without learning about the industry, you cannot simply begin selling products online with no concept of how to succeed.

If you’re interested in selling on eBay, for example, small details — such as when you place your listings, the types of photographs you use, the photos you take, and your prices — can mean the difference between pin money and an affluent future. If you’re interested in affiliate marketing, knowing how to use articles and Web copy effectively can mean the difference between a few dollars a month and a serious passive income. If you’re interested in using Google Adsense to create advertising revenue from your web site, blog, or other online presence, learning how to build traffic with viral marketing, newsletters, and other online tools can help you build profit.

There are lots of online programs that promise to teach you all the secrets of making money online, but many of these are written by people who really haven’t made money through online business. If you want to learn how to succeed online, why would you ever put your trust in the hands of someone who hasn’t done it themselves?
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1. You don’t offer free original content. It’s important to give your visitors information they can’t find anywhere else. If you’re the only source for a certain type of information, people will flock to your web site.

2. You don’t offer free software. Most people like to find good deals on software for their computers. If the software is free, that is even better.
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3. You don’t offer a free contest or sweepstakes. It’s a fact, people like to win things. If you can fulfill that need, people will stop by to visit.

4. You don’t offer a free directory. Create a directory of web sites on a particular topic that is related to your target audience. People will visit because they will find what they’re looking for, all in one place.
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5. You don’t offer a free e-zine. Most people love to get free information that they’re interested in emailed to them on a regular basis. This saves them time and money.

6. You don’t offer a free community. People like to have a place were they can have discussions with others on a particular subject. You could add a chat room or message board to your web site.
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7. You don’t offer a free affiliate program. One of people’s basic needs to survive is money. When you offer them a free opportunity to make money they’ll line up to visit your web site.

8. You don’t offer a free online utility. When you offer a utility that can solve a problem, people will visit your web site. The utility could be a free autoresponder, e-mail account, search engine submission, etc.

9. You don’t offer free current information. Supply news stories related to your web site. People want up-to-date news on the topics they are interested in. They will also be interested in visiting your web site.

10. You don’t offer free samples of your product or service. Have you ever been to a store and you jumped at the chance to get a free sample of food? This same concept will also attract people to visit your web site.
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There are numerous tools available on the Internet to assist online businesses. A valuable tool that you should use is the Alexa Toolbar. Even better, this tool is free.

Alexa Toolbar

Founded in April 1996, Alexa.com was designed to provide an interactive web navigation system. The most impressive part of the platform, now owned by Amazon.com, is the free Alexa Toolbar.
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First released in 1997, the Alexa Toolbar is known as the “B.S.” detector for Internet sites. With over 10 million users, the toolbar tracks how people use the Internet and turns this information into ranking statistics for each site on the Internet. For instance, Yahoo is ranked as the number one most visited site on the Internet.

So how do you use this tool? First, you download the Alexa Toolbar as follows:

1. Go to Alexa.com.

2. Click “Download Alexa Toolbar” at the top of the page.

3. Click “Install” on the next page.

Reload the page you are viewing and the toolbar will appear across the top of your browser. The tool provides you with valuable information regarding any site you are looking at, including your own. It tells you the traffic ranking of the site compared to all sites on the Internet. The tool also provides you specific traffic information for the site and lays out sites that are similar to the one on your screen. Instead of making baseless assumptions regarding how “good” a site is or whether it is successful, you can use the Alexa statistics to get a better idea. If any company approaches you claiming they have a lot of traffic, you can just pull up their site and review the Alexa statistics. This allows you to verify who is receiving a significant amount of traffic and who is feeding you a line of “B.S.”

Let’s look at Google.com using the Alexa toolbar. Load Google on to your browser and click the #3 number in the toolbar. The Alexa Toolbar information for google shows:

1. The site is the 3rd most popular site on the Internet. [Yahoo is No. 1.]

2. The site takes .8 seconds to load, which is very fast.

Next, click the “see traffic details” link on the page to dive into the site statistics:
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The site shows consistent traffic through the year, maintaining a number 3 position. 214,00 out of every million surfers visit the site, which is an excellent “reach” rating. Each visitor views approximately 5.4 pages on the site, which means that users are working there way into the internal pages of the site. This is always good news for a site.

As you can see, using the Alexa Toolbar system can provide you with specific information regarding web sites. The next time you are contacted by someone claiming they have millions of hits or are considering advertising on a site, you can use the Alexa toolbar to get an objective view of the site.
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What is Natural skin care?

Put simply, ‘natural skin care’ is caring for your skin in a natural and chemical-free way. ‘Natural skin care’ advocates enabling the skin to take care of itself (without any assistance from synthetic materials/ chemicals). ‘Natural skin care’ is about inculcation of good habits in the way you lead your day to day life. A lot of natural skin care measures are actually the same as those for body care in general.
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So let’s see what these natural skin care measures are.

Well the first and the foremost natural skin care measure is – ‘Drink a lot of water’.  Around 8 glasses of water is a must everyday. Water helps in flushing out the toxins from the body, in a natural way. It helps in the overall upkeep of the body and promotes good health for all organs (not just skin).

General cleanliness is another inexpensive way of natural skin care.  Daily shower, wearing clean clothes and sleeping on a clean mattress/pillow are all part of general cleanliness. After all, clean skin is the key to keeping the skin disorders at bay.

Regular exercise is the next thing on the cards. Exercise increases the flow of blood that helps in getting rid of body toxins and keeping you healthy.  Exercise also helps in beating stress which is the worst enemy of good health.

Healthy food and eating habits are also recommended for natural skin care.  Some type of food (e.g. oily food) is know to cause acne and should be avoided as much as possible. Your diet should be a healthy mix of various nutrient providing foods. Raw fruits and vegetables are known to provide freshness to your body and help in getting rid of body toxins.
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A good sleep is also instrumental in maintaining good health and in beating stress. As a natural skin care measure, a good sleep delays slacking of skin.

Beating stress is another natural skin care therapy. Stress causes overall damage to body and health. Drinking a lot of water, getting a sound sleep and exercise has already been mentioned as stress busters. Indulging in a warm bubble bath, listening to music and playing your favourite sport are also good ways of beating stress. Yoga is yet another way of beating stress; it is fast gaining popularity amongst the masses.

Avoiding excessive exposure to sun (by wearing long sleeved clothes, hat and umbrella etc), is another natural skin care strategy. Sunscreen lotions are also recommended as necessary.

A lot of traditional and home made natural skin care products/ measures are also known to be very effective. Such measures are not only natural and easy-to-follow, but also relatively inexpensive.

Besides that, a lot of natural skin care products are available in the commercial market. These include things like lavender oil, aloe vera etc., which don’t have any side effects.
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Anti aging skin care
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One of the most interesting topics on skin care is ‘anti aging skin care’. As one gets older, the natural defence of our skin (and in fact of the whole body) weakens. ‘Anti aging skin care’ is about protecting your skin from the negative effects of aging process. ‘Anti aging skin care’ helps in maintaining a young and fresh look for a longer period of time. However, ‘anti aging skin care’ doesn’t end just here. Besides maintaining your looks (good looks), ‘anti aging skin care’ is also about retaining the resistance to disease. Though the awareness about anti aging has increased over a period of time, still a lot of people are unable to recognize the aging symptoms (and hence are unable to determine if they are in need of additional anti aging skin care measures).

Here is a list of visible anti aging symptoms that will help you in the planning and execution of your strategy for anti aging skin care: baldness, forgetfulness, graying hair, wrinkle formation, loss of eyesight or hearing loss and menopause. The occurrence of one or more such symptoms is an indicator for upping the ante on anti aging skin care. Note that we are talking about introduction of additional measures for anti aging skin care, we are not talking about starting ‘anti aging skin care’ altogether. ‘Anti aging skin care’ actually starts much before the symptoms of anti aging appear.  Serious anti aging skin care is building and following a proper skin care routine much earlier in life (say in your teens). Anti aging skin care doesn’t mean adoption of any special skin care procedure but just following a normal procedure in the right earnest. Eating a lot of fruits, avoiding stress, drinking a lot of water and using natural therapies can delay the aging process.
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Once the signs of aging start showing up, you should start using some additional measures in the form of anti aging skin care products. The market is full of anti aging skin care products. In fact there are so many anti aging skin care products that they will probably find you even before you find them. Also, with age, the skin undergoes significant change. So you will need to analyse your current skin care procedure to check if it still holds good i.e. if it is still suitable for your skin.

You should remember that aging is a natural process and there is nothing that can stop it from happening. All these anti aging skin measures can just help in delaying the aging process.
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