Back to School Bargains
Our family loves back to school time because the bargains are fantastic. We often pair up those greatly reduced prices with coupons. Of course, if you’re coupons are not organized, this can seem like a daunting task. We’ve been clipping, saving and organizing our coupons for quite some time now and have always been interested in The Couponizer®.
The Couponizer® is a complete set of tools designed to make saving money easy. It is made up of 18 category pockets for grocery coupons and other coupon and discount category pockets.
Amy Bergin, mother of three children, creator of The Couponizer®. The #1 best selling coupon organizing and shopping system in the US and Canada. To find out more visit her website.
Radio Flyer: World’s Largest Wagon Mosaic
July 4th weekend is almost upon us, which means one thing- patriotic celebrations all wrapped up in red, white and blue! Families all over our great country will be heading to parks, beaches and backyard barbecues to commemorate the occasion with fireworks, sparklers and other symbols of Independence Day. And many of them will be pulling behind them another American icon in a certain signature color- a Radio Flyer Wagon!
Since 1917, the famous little red wagons by Radio Flyer have been a favorite of families and kids everywhere. Boasting more than a dozen award-winning wagon models and a complete line of tricycles, scooters, and other ride-ons, Radio Flyer is as synonymous with outdoor play as summer itself.
There are endless ways to enjoy your little red wagon, from standing out in the crowd at the Fourth of July parade, to toting all the ingredients for a fun summer picnic. Not only will your red wagon provide hours of outdoor adventures, it will bring a lifetime of memories too. That’s why Radio Flyer is celebrating the beginning of summer by launching the World’s Largest Wagon Mosaic. Simply capture your families’ Radio Flyer moments on camera and go to www.RadioFlyerArt.com to add your photo and help the legacy of the little red wagon live on!
Don’t forget to follow @RadioFlyerSmile on Twitter and visit Radio Flyer on Facebook for great updates and insider information.
Electrolux and Kelly Ripa Host “Splits For a Cause”
Usually when we hear the word “split”, we think of news of celebrity break-ups, splashed across the cover of tabloid magazines. Well, leave it to our favorite celebrity/brand team to prove that a split can be a good thing!
Kelly Ripa and Electrolux are joining forces once again to celebrate the launch of Electrolux Appliance’s new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer – that’s right, the familiar duo has split up. And to sweeten the celebration, they’re bringing in the “Emperor of Ice Cream” Stephen Bruce, owner and founder of Serendipity 3, the landmark New York City restaurant and dessert spot, into the mix.
Kelly and Bruce teamed up earlier today to make banana splits for a cause. And now we want you to dig in, with your virtual spoon! Starting today, at www.Kelly-Confidential.com, you can build your ultimate banana split using virtual ingredients from classic whipped cream to caramel sauce to rainbow sprinkles. For each “split”, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as part of its $750,000 commitment to help fight ovarian cancer[1].
As usual, Electrolux and Kelly find new and fun ways to say thank you to those who support this great cause. Everyone who logs on to the site and builds a split will be automatically entered for a chance to win the daily prize – $50 towards sweet summer treats – and the grand prize: the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux.
[1]From 6/29/10 – 9/7/10, Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF for each banana split made, with a minimum of $35K and a maximum of $40K.
Share The Joy Of Reading
It’s no secret that our family loves to read. We have four 3 shelf bookcases jam packed with books; two for the boys and two for our books. And that doesn’t include the two boxes of books that Grandma Deb picked up at a yard sale a few weekends ago. Guess we need another bookcase, huh?
Over at TwitterMoms, they are talking all about summer reading right now. So, how do we ensure our kids read? For us, it’s pretty simple. We supply books that they are interested in reading. As a homeschooling family, we don’t worry about keeping our kids reading during the summer because we don’t take the summer off in the traditional sense.
We go to our local library’s book sale a few times a year and the boys get to pick out whatever books they want. They easily fill a reusable bag to the brim with books. We pick up inexpensive books on Amazon, at yard sales, or in stores. We also trade books on PaperBackSwap. Most of the books we pick up are above the boys reading level because they are learning but it encourages them to learn faster.
Reading Programs: Summer is always a big reading time for us mainly because there are so many places that emphasis reading during these few months. Last summer, our boys had a load of fun doing the summer reading program through our local library so we are doing that again this summer. They have logged over 24 hours of reading since the program started at the end of May.
Magazine Subscriptions: Little T has subscriptions to Highlights and WWE Kids. Drama King has subscriptions to Highlights High Five and National Geographic For Kids. The boy just love getting mail so getting a magazine subscription was a perfect solution for them.
Cooking: I am not the greatest cook in the kitchen but I can follow a recipe. The boys, primarily Drama King, love to help read the ingredients and directions from a recipe and tell me what to do. Right now, I still need to look over their shoulders and tell them the words they don’t know.
Electronic Readers and Games: We’ve had a few book devices and educational games that help teach reading fundamentals. These are great because the kids learn while having fun.
Closed Captions: This is something Little T really stumbled upon as a great learning tool. We’ve also used it to watch movies in other languages (usually Spanish) and close caption it in English.
What tips, tricks or strategies do you suggest to make sure kids to embrace summer reading?
Bust Summertime Boredom
Primrose Schools, the leader in educational child care, recommends encouraging imaginative play and having a plan in place to keep children’s minds engaged during the summer months. Studies show that without stimulation, children can lose up to 60 percent of what they learned during the school year.
That’s why Dr. Mary Zurn, Vice President of Education for Primrose, has come up with the list of ideas below as a starting point for summer activities that offer a balance between the freedom of child-initiated play time and more structured activities.
Here are 11 ideas parents can use to keep young minds active during the summer months:
1. Boredom Buster Jar: At the beginning of the summer, sit down with your family and brainstorm a list of activities that can be done alone or that you can enjoy doing together. Encourage your children to share their own ideas and help you decorate and label a simple jar as the family “Boredom Buster Jar.” They’ll feel more involved in the project and more likely to think this is a “neat” idea, if they participate in the creation and idea generation. Next, write everyone’s ideas down on slips of paper and as a group decide which ones should go in the jar. Anyone in the family can pull any idea out of the jar to fight the summertime boredom blues.
2. Stories Alive: It sounds too simple, but reading is one of the most important ways to keep young minds engaged during the summer. Make reading even more fun by finding ways to bring the stories to life. For example, in the book Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, children create a make-believe town in the desert out of rocks, boxes, and their imaginations. Read the book with your children and then challenge them to create their own town with materials they find in the backyard.
3. Art Start Box: You’ll need to gather basic art supplies-child safe scissors, glue, markers, tape and construction paper. Put them in a special box along with empty oatmeal boxes and paper towel rolls, colorful magazines and bits of aluminum foil. Occasionally add a special surprise like chalk, stickers, or stamp pads so there’s always something new for the children to find. Even if you normally have these supplies around the house, it’s fun for children to know that the Art Start Box is just for them. They’ll probably have some good ideas of other household items that can be recycled to fuel their creative energies.
4. Family Performances: Break out old clothes or costumes and encourage children to make up characters and create a play to act out. They are the directors, actors, and producers. They can also make musical instruments out of pots/pans, wooden spoons, empty canisters and have a parade; or everyone can play along to your family’s favorite songs. Record or video the performances, and enjoy the replay. You’ll also be capturing a bit of family history everyone will enjoy for years to come.
5. Family Dance Party: Crank up the music and encourage your entire family to boogie down. Dancing gives children a great outlet for self-expression through their own motion and helps build self-esteem. It also enhances motor and coordination development by incorporating skills like jumping, landing and leaping. Dancing is a great activity that can involve the whole family and doesn’t take very much preparation.
6. Fort Building: Children love to build all kinds of structures–from small towns to large towers. Constructing forts or tents is an activity that can keep children focused and problem solving for hours. All the items you need can be found around the house- some chairs, cushions, blankets, and of course adult supervision.
7. Cookbook Fun: Have you ever shared your favorite cookbook with your children? Take it out and ask your children to choose a recipe to try. Measuring can be a fun and easy way to keep math skills fresh.
8. Summer Scrapbook: All you need for this project is a spiral notebook. Encourage everyone in the family to draw pictures of favorite activities and collect mementos from special events throughout the summer. Children love to go back through scrapbooks and albums and tell about what happened at each occasion. They will also be building their storytelling skills at the same time.
9. Listening Game: Lie down in the backyard, in the den or at the park and listen. What do you hear? Do you hear what I hear? Can you imitate the sound? This is similar to watching the clouds and naming the shapes, and it encourages everyone to slow down and focus on listening.
10. Camping Out: Pretend to camp out in the backyard. Plan a meal, pack a backpack and set up a campsite. You might even decide to spend the night!
11. Scavenger Hunt: Make a list or picture cards of common household items and have your children find the items on the list. Invite friends or neighbors to join in the fun to make it a competition.
To find these and other great tips for parents, check out Dr. Zurn’s blog at DrZandme.com. And don’t forget to grab Dr. Z’s Widget while you’re there!
For more information on Primrose Schools, visit www.primroseschools.com. You can also check them out on Facebook and Twitter!
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