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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 04 2007 at 1:22pm | IP Logged
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Well I hope the cabinet with 8 puzzles is the wooden ones because that's what I ordered. If not, they will be getting a return! 
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Theresa
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 04 2007 at 2:12pm | IP Logged
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I forgot to mention that.....the CABINET set WITH the 8 puzzles ARE DEFINETELY wooden. I specifically asked that.
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Suzanne in ID
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 04 2007 at 2:56pm | IP Logged
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Meredith:
Did you say 10% because you were thinking of the 5% discount for the geography items and then on top of that.....the 5% discount for Homeschoolers?
Just trying to clarify....and make sure I'm not missing anything!!!! 
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Suzanne in ID
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Meredith
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| Posted: June 04 2007 at 3:10pm | IP Logged
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Well, right now, when you go into their Geography section, it says for this month only they are offering a 10% discount on all Geography Materials! Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I think this is for anyone and across the board for just the Geography Materials.
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Meredith
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 04 2007 at 3:18pm | IP Logged
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OK, here's the deal....They lowered their prices in June, so now they are offering only 5%.
ie: the full cabinet with maps WAS $485 with 10% discount. Now, it's $400 with a 5% discount.
If you're ordering other things besides the geography stuff, enter HSBC for the homeschool discount of 5% off your total order. They won't give the 5% geography discount in that case.
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Suzanne in ID
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Meredith
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| Posted: June 04 2007 at 3:42pm | IP Logged
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Ok, that makes sense, thanks for following up here Suzanne, you're like our secretary!! Can you just pace my order so I can be done with it, I keep waffling and I am SO NOT a waffler
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Meredith
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 07 2007 at 1:40pm | IP Logged
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FYI -
(Still obsessing about Geography Puzzle Maps over here......) 
The 8 puzzles + Cabinet from Kid Advance are all wooden (NOT compound cardboard pieces).
The control maps are sold separately ($4 each), unlike the cabinet from Alison's they come with the set. And, you can specify if you want Australia or Canada included in the 8 (Alison's).
(Meredith Here)Fixed the link!
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Suzanne in ID
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 07 2007 at 2:32pm | IP Logged
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I put together my map cabinet (from Alison's) last night and it is beautiful! And the puzzles are very nice. They all come with 3 full color, full size, unlabeled control charts.
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Theresa
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Erin
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Out of all Montessori materials it is the geography puzzles that draw me. My favourites  The price though always makes me gulp. Does anyone know of a downloadable outline of continents, maps etc that I could use to make my own puzzles? I was thinking of making them with timber and the jigsaw and of course the MOntessori colours, I LOVE their colours.
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| Posted: June 08 2007 at 6:52am | IP Logged
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Erin,
I loved the Geography cabinet myself! I decided to order the pdf of the geography shapes from Lori at Montessori For Everyone They're very nice and you could use them to make a pattern from if you were handy enough to make your own.
If you are looking for basic map shapes - I like Blackline Maps of the World on Cdand Blackline Maps of America. These can be printed from your own computer and printer. We plan on printing and coloring several of these. My husband is going to make a frame around cork so that we can put the map over a cork surface then we'll use stick pins and the kids will design and illustrate various things like flags, animals, places of interest that well tape to the stick pins and put on our cork-backed map. Don't know if this helps at all. It seems like it would be really hard to jigsaw the intricate details of some of the countries out of wood - but you might have a REALLY handy hubby. The stiffened felt that Donna Marie was talking about on this thread (scroll down) might be perfect for your maps though!
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 10 2007 at 11:42pm | IP Logged
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I got our geography center together, and made some simple pin maps for dd. I am very pleased with how it all turned out.
If you like, you can see them here:mapping out
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Theresa
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| Posted: June 11 2007 at 8:49am | IP Logged
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This is a must see for anyone trying to set up a geography center! The set up is beautiful, and the materials look so inviting. A warning though - you'll wish you lived next door to Theresa so you could wander over for geography lessons . This is just beautiful Theresa! Thanks for sharing - much inspiration here.
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Jen Mackintosh
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 11 2007 at 10:48am | IP Logged
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Thanks, Jennifer. You are so sweet!
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Theresa
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Meredith
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Oh my goodness, you've out done yourself here my dear!!! This is fantastic, superb, and so wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us! Geography will never be so fun 
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Meredith
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 11 2007 at 11:56pm | IP Logged
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I showed my dh this post, Theresa, and it made him VERY EXCITED about our new puzzles (that haven't arrived yet)! Suddenly, spending that $$$ on those puzzles didn't seem so ridiculous!
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Suzanne in ID
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lapazfarm
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Meredith, Thanks!
Suzanne, glad to be of service!
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Theresa
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MarieA
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Timberdoodle has these GEOpuzzles.
Marie 
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Erin
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| Posted: June 15 2007 at 7:02am | IP Logged
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SuzanneG wrote:
FYI -
(Still obsessing about Geography Puzzle Maps over here......)
The 8 puzzles + Cabinet from Kid Advance are all wooden (NOT compound cardboard pieces).
The control maps are sold separately ($4 each), unlike the cabinet from Alison's they come with the set. And, you can specify if you want Australia or Canada included in the 8 (Alison's).
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Suzanne
I am also obsessing here too
Kids Advance have the 8 puzzle maps with cabinet for $289!!! Alison's have it for $400. I can't seem to see any difference with the quality. Would anyone agree/ disagree? Can't see that Kids Advance sell globes though
What exactly are the control maps? What size are they?
I am just waiting to hear from email as to whether either freight to Australia. It appears to be much cheaper for me to buy from o/s than direct here. Some exciting news that I can't believe, I have just had a totally unexpected cheque arrive for $250 so I feel I can purchase the maps without feeling guilty.
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Erin
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 15 2007 at 8:39am | IP Logged
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Ok, the main differences I can see:
The Alison's cabinet is larger, holds 12 maps, and has a larger space beneath. Kid Advance holds 8 and appears to have less space below. I am not sure the kid Advance cabinet would be tall enough for older kids to stand at it and use the top as a workspace for atlases and globes (which is my plan). Seems like you would have to place it onto a table or counter, so I'm not sure how the casters would be helpful.
The Alisons cabinet is 32 inches tall, which takes up a lot of space. Erin, this may be a negative for you in a limited space.
With the Alisons cabinet you also get two shelves to slide into empty slots to place the control maps, or whatever else on. I don't know if the Kid Advance set includes that or not.
The control maps included with Alisons are full size and full color. Identical to the puzzles. You get three for each map.They are a nice, thick poster-like paper.
The control maps are not included with Kid Advance and the ones they have are not colored.
Judging only by the pictures at the Kid Advance site, the colors of the puzzles are less vibrant than the Alison's ones. For example, the oceans in the Alison's puzzle are a vibrant royal blue, whereas in kids advance they seem to be more of a light aqua color. All of the colors, actually seem paler on the Kid Advance puzzles. This is, of course a matter of preference.
The only other thing is that just from looking at the pictures at the site, the Kid Advance puzzles don't seem to be cut out with quite the level of detail as the Alisons ones. But this is hard to tell from pictures.
So, just my observations. I am not sure the differences are worth the price increase, but I am happy with my Alisons cabinet.
Hope this helps some and does not add to the confusion!
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Theresa
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Meredith
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For ALL of these reasons Theresa mentions above, I am awaiting my Cabinet package from Alison's Keep in mind that there is a 10% discount on all Geography at Alison's, just call them for the code to type in at checkout online. So for $360 with all the colored control maps and the size of the cabinet, I was sure this would be the best choice for us.
HTH, Blessings!
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Meredith
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Geography Puzzles and Forms Cards
