Summer is just FLYING by but it hasn't been as eventful as I'd hoped! We have had some terrible weather here in my neck of the woods. Sweltering and humid one day, then flash flooding and hailing the next. My pup has been bored being stuck inside and has been extra pesty. I can only imagine having bored kiddos!
Need a way to keep those bored little ones busy AND help them learn at the same time? I have a really great, inexpensive, crafty activity that can do both!
Easy Puzzles for Kids
Puzzles are lots of fun, but they can be a tricky toy to master! This custom children's activity is a great introduction for kids who aren't quite ready for the real ones yet. You will make your own puzzles out of sponges, and then you'll make outlines for each one you create. Your child will be able to start off using the outline to put the puzzles together, and after he gets the hang of it, he'll be able to do them all on his own! In addition to getting in some laughs and preparing for the real deal, your child will develop foundational math skills. So let's get to it!
What You Need:
Sponges
Card stock
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil
Marker
What You Do:
Outline shapes on the sponges. Be sure to create a variety of basic shapes. Squares, triangles, and rectangles all work well.
Carefully cut out the shapes.
Arrange the shapes so that they create a design or picture of some sort.
Transfer the arrangement to the piece of card stock. Then, use a pencil to lightly outline the shapes on the card stock. The card stock is the puzzle base and will serve as a reference for your child.
Retrace the pencil marks with a thick black marker, using a ruler where needed.
Give your child the sponge puzzles and the guides, and encourage him to fit the shapes together to complete his puzzle.
Once he's gotten the hang of it, challenge him to put the puzzles together without the guides. This is his first step towards doing real puzzles on his own! This is also a great way to teach your child the basic shapes. If you use various colored sponges, you could also incorporate colors, too!
If you enjoy this activity, please head to Education.com to check out some of their other fabulous activities to help build your child's skills!
Happy Couponing!
-Coupon Mama Massachusetts
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make money if you click them.
Chipotle has made an incredible commitment to the betterment of children - especially their literacy. To help motivate young readers, Chipotle has begun a new Chipotle Reading Rewards program. Reading is rewarded with deliciously yummy food!
If you are interested in your school or library participating, please check it out here.
Happy Couponing!
-Coupon Mama Massachusetts
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make money if you click them.
Once again, the amazing folks at KidStuff Coupon Books have given me the opportunity to share with you their great product via a giveaway! Skip to the bottom if you just want to hurry up and enter!
If you have kids or have friends or relatives with kids, I'm sure you've been accosted to purchase goodies from a catalog used as a fundraiser for their school. You know what I'm talking about... the 5 pound tin of popcorn you end up throwing out or the ridiculously priced tub of cookie dough? Some catalogs contain the $15 candle that stops smelling pretty two days after opening it. As a teacher, I get asked to partake in purchasing fundraising goodies all the time and often I have to politely turn down my students because I simply can't afford to buy all that stuff that I don't need or will never use.
So when I was approached by the folks at KidStuff Coupon Books to take a peek at their own version of school fundraising goodies, I was all over the opportunity!
KidStuff Coupon Books vary depending on your location. I counted 26 different books based on locations all over the country. And new this year are the RI and Albany area books!
I received the Eastern & Central Massachusetts Coupon Book which is teeming with coupons and savings passes for chain and local vendors. The book itself is separated into three color-coded sections: blue is for shopping and services, yellow is for activities and attractions, and red is for dining and food.
Coupons are included for chain vendors like Sears, Men's Wearhouse and Sonic. Then there are discounts for places more local to Massachusetts such as the Boston Duck Tours.
At the very front of the book, there's an alphabetic listing of all of the vendors included in the book to make browsing easier.
The book costs $25 and HALF of that goes directly to the school fundraising. I promise you you'll get more use out of the KidStuff Coupon Book than you ever did with that 5 pound tin of popcorn. ANDyou'll be helping a local school raise money for their educational initiatives! What a great two-for-one deal!! You get an entire book of savings (over 400 pages!!!) and your local school earns money!
If you're involved with school fundraising and are interested in more information, please contact KidStuff Coupon Books at
These books are sold exclusively through schools, however, KidStuff Coupon Books was so very generous and is offering my readers a chance to win 1 of 3 Massachusetts coupon books.
In order to enter, you must live IN Massachusetts or an adjacent state since the coupon book primarily contains deals available in MA only.
To Enter:
The giveaway starts at midnight on September 12th and ends at midnight on September 19th. Winners will be announced on Facebook and on the Coupon Mama Massachusetts website and will be contacted via email. Winners will have 5 days to respond with a valid mailing address or their prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be selected.
Disclaimer: I received a KidStuff Coupon Book to facilitate this review and KidStuff Coupon Books is providing three additional coupon books to giveaway to my readers. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Happy Couponing!
-Coupon Mama Massachusetts
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make money if you click them.
Does your child have summer reading to do before they head back to school in September? I know my high schoolers do. And often times, I find that they've purchased the book, read it once and then it collects dust bunnies underneath their beds. What a waste of money!
Here are some tried and true ways to have your child complete their summer reading assignment inexpensively and just in time for National Book Lovers Day!
1. Borrow from the library - this is 100% free, unless of course you owe fines and you tend to lose books... it also can be tough if a million others are waiting to borrow the same book
2. Search for the full text on Google - as a teacher, I do this all of the time... I don't have enough copies of books to send home for homework so I find an online version that is free so students can access it when not in school. Here are some full text books I know are on some high school summer reading lists.
3. If you prefer ebook version, Overdrive is an amazing free app for the Smartphone or tablet. You link your account to your library card and "borrow" the ebook from the library. Once your rental period is over, the book vanishes from your online bookshelf.
4. If you insist on buying the book, my favorite website for purchasing good-condition, inexpensive books is Thriftbooks. Book prices start around $2.99. If your order is $10, shipping is free. If you comment with your email address, I can send you an email with a 15% off your first order coupon (for first time users only). Best yet, once you make an account, it tracks your purchases. Once you hit $50, they send you a $5 credit to use!
5. Project Gutenberg is a great database of 49,000 books that have been converted into ebooks. They are all available for free. These include mostly classics like Kafka's Metamorphosis and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
6. Savers - many people forget about thrift stores when it comes to buying books. Savers's book prices are hard to beat. If the retail price is less than $7.94, the book is $1.99. If it's higher, it's $2.99. Children's books are priced differently but I can't recall the prices. If you buy 4 books, the 5th is free. I just walked out the other day with 5 books for my classroom for $11 including tax. It is hit or miss, though, but many of the more common, best sellers can be found on the shelves there.
Happy Couponing!
-Coupon Mama Massachusetts
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make money if you click them.
Holy cow this is a great deal, especially if you're in the market for a new reusable bag like I am. As a teacher, I need bags to haul my school supplies and lesson plans back and forth. And until 8/26, I can get one free through Shutterfly! Just use the promo code SCHOOLBAG at checkout.
As with all promotions, there are stipulations.
Offer expires August 26, 2015 (11:59 P.M. PT). Offer is good for one free reusable shopping bag through shutterfly.com or our mobile-friendly site. Offer cannot be redeemed more than once per account and/or billing address. Taxes, shipping and handling will apply. Not valid on other products, prior purchases and purchases made on the Shutterfly apps. Cannot be redeemed for cash or combined with other offers or credits. Not valid for resale. Compliance: Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of this offer will result in repayment to Shutterfly for all related expenses including but not limited to the retail value of products ordered, administrative costs, and legal fees. Participants may either upload JPEG images (scanned or from a digital camera); or use pictures shared by friends through the Shutterfly sharing system. A compatible web browser is required: Internet Explorer 6.0+ (Windows only); Netscape Navigator 7.0+; FireFox 1.5+; Safari 1.2+; or AOL 5.0+. Shutterfly reserves the right to cancel or suspend this offer at any time.
Happy Couponing!
-Coupon Mama Massachusetts
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make money if you click them.
When: Sun. August 23 from noon - 2pm
Where: Radio Remote in the Seekonk Square
Who: Students K-12 (students must be present)
What: Receive a free back and then follow clues to scavenge for free school supplies
The Southcoast Health Wellness van will be there from 10am - 4pm for free health screenings and you can stick around for some great entertainment from Coast 93.3, B101-FM and Seekonk's School of Rock.
Can't make the event? Sign up to win a $500 shopping spree!
Happy Couponing!
-Coupon Mama Massachusetts
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make money if you click them.
I know from experience that most teachers spend more than $400 of their own money each year to provide supplies and materials for their classrooms and many students do not have the access to the equipment or tools they need.
Staples is building on its decades-long support of teachers, students and education with a $10 million pledge to support Think It Up™. Think It Up, a program launched by The Entertainment Industry Foundation, is a new movement created to inspire students to pursue their passions through student-powered, teacher-led learning projects with support from Staples for Students.
As a lead donor, Staples has teamed up with multi-talented recording artist, actor and Think It Up Ambassador Nick Jonas to help raise awareness of the need to support learning projects in classrooms across the country. The public awareness campaign encourages students to collaborate with their teachers on projects that will help innovate their classroom experience.
Customers can help support Think It Up by donating at their local Staples store.
Win a $50,000 Scholarship and VIP Red Carpet Experience
For a chance to win a $50,000 scholarship and a VIP Red Carpet Experience, fans can enter the #StaplesforStudents Sweepstakes. Fifty lucky winners will fly to Los Angeles with a friend to attend a star-studded Think It Up event. Winners will receive a VIP package which includes walking the red carpet, front row view of celebrities as they arrive, VIP tickets to the event and VIP after-party passes. One lucky grand prize winner will win the VIP Red Carpet Experience and a $50,000 scholarship.
Visit staplesforstudents.org to learn about different ways to earn entries and increase chances of winning, including making an in-store purchase, sending a tweet, signing up for e-mail and more. Entries must be submitted before 11:59PM ET on Aug. 22 and participants must be 13 years or older.
Does your child have summer reading to do before they head back to school in September? I know my high schoolers do. And often times, I find that they've purchased the book, read it once and then it collects dust bunnies underneath their beds. What a waste of money!
Here are some tried and true ways to have your child complete their summer reading assignment inexpensively.
1. Borrow from the library - this is 100% free, unless of course you owe fines and you tend to lose books... it also can be tough if a million others are waiting to borrow the same book
2. Search for the full text on Google - as a teacher, I do this all of the time... I don't have enough copies of books to send home for homework so I find an online version that is free so students can access it when not in school. Here are some full text books I know are on some high school summer reading lists.
3. If you prefer ebook version, Overdrive is an amazing free app for the Smartphone or tablet. You link your account to your library card and "borrow" the ebook from the library. Once your rental period is over, the book vanishes from your online bookshelf.
4. If you insist on buying the book, my favorite website for purchasing good-condition, inexpensive books is Thriftbooks. Book prices start around $2.99. If your order is $10, shipping is free. If you comment with your email address, I can send you an email with a 15% off your first order coupon (for first time users only). Best yet, once you make an account, it tracks your purchases. Once you hit $50, they send you a $5 credit to use!
5. Project Gutenberg is a great database of 49,000 books that have been converted into ebooks. They are all available for free. These include mostly classics like Kafka's Metamorphosis and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
6. Savers - many people forget about thrift stores when it comes to buying books. Savers's book prices are hard to beat. If the retail price is less than $7.94, the book is $1.99. If it's higher, it's $2.99. Children's books are priced differently but I can't recall the prices. If you buy 4 books, the 5th is free. I just walked out the other day with 5 books for my classroom for $11 including tax. It is hit or miss, though, but many of the more common, best sellers can be found on the shelves there.
This is such a great coupon, especially for your back to school needs! Get $10 off your $30+ purchase in stores or online at Kohls. If using online, use the promo code TEN4YOU at checkout.
Coupon expires 7/26.
You can pair this discount with the spend $50, get $10 Kohls cash, too!
According to the news article, Providence, RI K-12 students are asked to bring in a school supply donation in exchange for a free haircut at select salons during specified hours.
Each year, you give away your time and energy to supply your students with knowledge and inspiration. At Ocean State Job Lot, they want to help you give less away from your wallet to supplement their school supplies. During their Educator Partnership Program (July 31st through August 13th), Ocean State Job Lot is offering teachers, educators and school administrators a 30% discount on all their in-store classroom supplies.
Please mark your calendar and head to Ocean State Job Lot and save. It's their way of saying "thank you" for all you do.
Chalkboards
Envelopes
Multipurpose &
Photo Paper
Colored Pencils
Fabric Paint
Notebooks
Portfolios
Stick-on Notes
Construction Paper
Fasteners
Packing Supplies
Poster Board
Storage Containers
Copy Paper
File Folders
Paint
Printer Paper
Trimmers
Cork Boards
Filler Paper
Paint Brushes
Push Pins
White Boards
Correction Fluid
Foam Boards
Painting Canvases
Report Covers
Correction Pens
Folders
Painting Knives
Rubber Bands
Correction Tape
Glue
Palettes
Rulers
Crayons
Crayon Sets
Hole Punches
Paper Clips
Scissors
Dated Planners
Index Cards
Pastel Sets
Sheet Protectors
Books
Hand Sanitizer
Stationery
and hundreds more
The Job Lot Educator Partnership Program
The Educator
Partnership Program
Participants receive 30% off the purchase of eligible classroom supplies, at all Job Lot stores between 7/31/14 and 8/13/14.
Who can participate?
All teachers, educators, school management and support personnel authorized to make purchases on behalf of their school are eligible to receive the Partnership discount. Proof of employment is required. Documented homeschoolers included.
What products are eligible for discount?
Eligible products include a wide variety of quality, brand name stationery products and art supplies ranging from writing instruments, markers, and crayons to poster board, staplers and artist materials, a total of 924 products in 75 different categories. However, we are not offering savings on sweatshirts, dog food, greeting cards, hammers, trash bags, ketchup and other products that have nothing to do with the classroom.
Proof of eligibility:
Program participants will be required to provide proof of school/system employment upon checkout.
Acceptable forms of ID include:
- School ID with picture
- School ID (no picture) with - - Driver's License
- School/System pay stub with - Driver's License
- School/System business card with Driver's License
- School/System stationery (personalized) with Driver's License
- Proof of home school participation such as: Home School Association membership, State authorization/approval documentation
Program period:
July 31st through August 13th, 2014.
Participating locations:
All Ocean State Job Lot locations in CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, and VT.
Check-out procedure:
1.Consult the list of eligible products BEFORE you reach the register in order to make the check out process easier.
2.Separate all classroom products eligible for discount from any personal productsyou may be purchasing. Personal products may be purchased with a separate transaction.
3. Notify the cashier IN ADVANCE that you are an educator and that you have your photo ID available for viewing. Your discount will be deducted at the conclusion of the transaction and it will appear on your receipt.
4.All standard payment terms and conditions apply. In the event a school/system check is to be used for payment, consult the store Customer Service Desk before checking out.
5.No price adjustments for purchases prior to July 31st, 2014.
What an awesome deal, especially with only a few months until the kiddos go back to school!
Old Navy is offering Buy 2, Get 1 Free clearance items throughout their store THIS WEEKEND ONLY!
This offer ends on Sunday July 13th and excludes gift cards (although when have gift cards ever been on clearance?!?). This offer is also only valid in stores.
Buy 2, Get 1 Free Clearance: Offer valid while supplies last through 7/13/2014 at Old Navy stores in the U.S. only (including Puerto Rico). Offer not valid online. Discount taken at register and is allocated across items. No adjustments on previous purchases. Not valid on GiftCards. May not be combined with any other offers or discounts, including Gap Inc. employee discount.
Back to School savings starts at Staples on Sunday, July 13th -- wow that's sort of a tongue twister!
Be prepared to get lots of great deals starting this Sunday. And just because you're not going back to school yourself doesn't mean you can't get awesome savings on things you'll use around the house or at the office.
From notebooks for 17 cents to backpacks for $29.99, Staples back-to-school deals, beginning on Sunday, July 13 through Saturday, July 19 offer tremendous savings opportunities for school essentials including:
$5 and Under
Skylander/Justice League composition notebooks ($3.00)
Fashion notebooks and composition books by Studio C, Gartner and Continental ($3.00)
Hello Kitty stapler ($3.74)
Kleenex facial tissues, 3/pack ($3.99)
Book covers, 2/pack ($3.99)
Elmer’s school glue sticks, 6+2/pack ($4.00)
$2 and Under
Monster High/Princess Ever After notebooks ($2.00)
Staples customers are guaranteed to pay the lowest price every time they shop, whether it’s in stores or online. Staples will price match items sold and shipped by Amazon.com or any retailer who sells products in both retail stores and online under the same brand. Customers will receive an additional 10% off the difference between the Staples price and the competitor price. The back-to-school 110% Price Match Guarantee is valid at the time of purchase in Staples stores and on Staples.com.
Staples Back-to-School Less List
Staples is also helping parents find everything they need on their supply list for less this back-to-school season with the back-to-school Less List. The back-to-school Less List includes iconic back-to-school products such as folders, notebooks and index cards that are low priced all season long to make it easy for families to save this year.
In addition to the back-to school 110% Price Match Guarantee and the back-to-school Less List, Staples is continuing to offer great value every week through weekly deals. Customers can find information on weekly deals at www.Staples.com/weeklyad. Staples Rewards® customers can also save by earning Staples Rewards on everything in the store and take advantage of free shipping on Staples.com.
Yes, I know it's not even halfway through July, but the stores are already starting their Back-to-School sales!
Staples has this awesome 12-pack of fine point colorful Sharpies for only $1.50 (down from $5). There doesn't seem to be any limit either! As a teacher, I love these markers so much!
If you are a Staples Rewards member, you can also get them shipped directly to your house for FREE!
HammerMill® 8.5" x 11" Copy Plus® copy paper, 500 sheets - $1 after $5.99 easy rebate
-Reg. price $6.99 (limit 2 rebates)
Save an additional $2 instantly
on the purchase of a new binder for each old one you recycle.
Recycle Binder, Get $2 off New Binder
Valid August 12 - August 18
Last week to recycle! Ends 8/18/12. In store only. For every binder you recycle in store, get $2 off the purchase of any new binder, same-day transaction required. Each binder purchased can only be discounted by one coupon, applied by cashier in the order received and prior to tax. Binder to be recycled must be surrendered. No cash/credit back. Not valid on prior purchases or purchases made with Staples® Procurement or Convenience Cards. Binder must be empty of contents
Get a FREE 1-subject FIVE STAR notebook after cash back today only!
If you do not have a ShopAtHome account, you'll need one for this offer. It's free to sign up!
Once logged in and on the main page of ShopAtHome, scroll to "Today's Deals" and click on the Walmart Deal!
Pay $1.97 for a 1-subject FIVE STAR notebook (plus tax). Select in-store pick up to avoid shipping fees. Otherwise, it's 97 cents to ship it to your door.
Since you purchased the notebook through ShopAtHome, you'll get the purchase price ($1.97) put back into your ShopAtHome account within a few days, essentially making this notebook FREE!
*You can cash out from ShopAtHome once you've gotten at least $20 cash back. I use ShopAtHome to buy everything I was already planning on buying online. This way, I maximize my cash back refunds!
I swear the stores have had back-to-school supplies in every aisle since before the school year was even over! As a teacher, I cringe whenever I see the back-to-school supplies hit the stores because it gets my mind's gears cranking about the upcoming school year. Kids get first-day-of-school anxiety and so do teachers. Or at least I do.
Like most parents, as a teacher I am always pursuing the great back-to-school sales and bargains to stock up my classroom. I can't tell you how many students show up to class, from the first day of school and on, without ANY supplies at all. No pencil. No notebooks. No binders. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. So these great steals and deals really help me help my students who don't have school supplies for whatever reason.
This year I will be focusing on purchasing back-to-school supplies to help support local Massachusetts students whose families are unable to acquire school supplies. I encourage you to also look into helping others in this small way. No child should be unable to work to his or her fullest potential simply due to lack of supplies.
Here are several organizations in Massachusetts that are collecting school supplies to help local students. Feel free to puruse these organizations or find one in your own area to donate to.
If you decide to donate, I'd love to hear your stories and even see photos. I will keep you updated in my endeavors.
My goal:purchase and donate $100 worth of supplies (at a much more frugal rate of course!) to one or more of the following organizations.
Staples Staples Pink Cap Erasers $0.01 wyb $5 Staples Ruled 3″x5″ White Index Cards $0.01 wyb $5 Sharpie Accent Tank Highlighters 5 Pack $0.50 Zebra #2 0.7 mm Mechanical Pencils $4 (Free after Easy Rebate) Pentel RSVP Ballpoint Pens, Fine Black $4 (Free after Easy Rebate) Staples8.5″x11″ Multipurpose Paper 500 Sheets $5.99-$6.99 ($1 after Easy Rebate) HP Everyday 81/2″x11″ Photo Paper $8.99-$9.99 ($1 after Easy Rebate) **See my previous post about Staples, including a $5/$30 order coupon!
Target
Up & Up 100 ct Ruled Index Cards or Vinyl Pencil Pouch or Box $0.49
Crayola Colored Pencils 12 ct $0.99
Up & Up Pink Erasers 2 ct or 1-Hole Pencil Sharpener $0.49
24 ct Pencils, 40 Sheet Drawing Paper, 96 ct Construction Paper- $1.00
Printer Paper 400 ct , 3 Subject Notebook 1 1/2″ Binder $3.00
Elmer’s Glue 6 ct $0.99
BIC Mechanical Pencils 8 ct $0.99
FREE Embark Lunch Kit wyb a Select Embark Jartop Backpack $22 -$3 Embark backpack Target printable coupon
Up & Up Filler Paper 100 ct $1.50
Mead Folders, Notebooks and Composition Books $0.99
Sticky notes (400 ct) or invisible tape (3pk)- $2.00
Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS Scientific Calculator $9
PaperMate Pens $1.00 -$1/1 PaperMate Writing Utensil Target printable coupon
Walgreens
Paper Mate Profile Pens 4pk or 300RT 8pk – $1.99
Wexford Retracable Gel Pens 10pk or Mechanical Pencils 30pk – $2.99 Wexford Highlighters – $.19 *Limit 6* Wexford or Penway Mini Memo or Composition Book 50-80 sheets – 5/$1 *Limit 10* Wexford or Penway Cap Erasers 15pk or Pink Erasers 2pk – $.29 *Limit 3* Sharpie Marker, Wexford or Corner Office 5 Tab Divider, 10pk Sheet Protectors, Wexford Sticky Notes 280pk, 2 Pocket Portfolio, School Glue 4oz or Jumbo Glue Stick – $.39
