Looking for some back to school coupons? Below are almost 50 coupons at various clothing and office retailers to help meeting all your back to school clothing needs while staying within your budget!! Let me know if you’d like to see coupons from particular stores in the future, this is a list of stores that I found currently offering discounts.

*Click on the store image to be taken directly to the offer page or coupon.

Notice that some coupons expire soon and some don’t expire until the end of the year!

Retailer	Discount	Coupon Code	Expiration
	15% off + Free shipping on $50	SCHOOL	08/08/11
	$20 Off $80 purchase	20SCHOOL	08/07/11
	$10 off $50 | $15 off $75 | $20 off $100 Purchases	KIDSBTSPrintable Coupon	08/06/11
	$10 off coupons	Printable Coupon	09/25/11
	$10 off $50 Kids School Uniform Purchase	12DOCKERS10Printable Coupon	09/17/11
	Free Amazon Prime for college students for one year	Online Offer
	25% off Your Entire Purchase	10071	08/07/11
	Free Shipping on Any Order (No Minimum)	FREESHIP711	08/08/11
	20% off purchase	29756561	08/07/11
	15% Off Any Order	79361031	09/01/11
	20% off purchase	39456721 Printable Coupon	08/07/11
	30% Off Any Order	FRIENDSFB	08/07/11
	30% Off Any Order	FRIENDSFB	08/07/11
	20% Off Entire Order	AUGUST20	08/31/11
	20% off $100, 25% off $150, 30% off $200	BRNEW	08/07/11
	15% off entire purchase	ENTXB24	12/31/11
	40% off entire purchase	AUGFLASH11	08/09/11
	20% off entire purchase printable coupon	Printable Coupon
	$15 off $30, $30 off $100, $60 off $200 or $90 off $300	1605	08/07/11
	25% Off Entire Purchase (Regular Priced Items)	124864343Printable Coupon	08/25/11
	15% off $89	LKS1TCB3	10/29/11
	$10 off $60	EXTRA60	10/15/11
	30% off entire purchase	30OFF	08/07/11
	25% Off Your Entire Purchase	30180	08/06/11
	20% off $60+	HTA20AUG	09/02/11
	10% off purchase	DBGAFF10	01/26/12
	20% off entire purchase	CCAUG62	08/09/11
	Various Michaels coupons	Printable	09/30/11
	$25 off $75+ purchase	1290	10/31/11
	$10 Off $50	15863609Printable	08/09/11
	20% off purchase	42565	08/31/11
	$25 off Your Purchase of $100 or more	SASV815	09/05/11
	15% off entire purchase	H3E2011	09/05/11
	20% off + Free Shipping	465	08/18/11
	$15 Off $100,$30 Off $150,$75 Off $250,$150 Off $500	FA1127349	08/15/11
	$15 Off $100,$30 Off $150,$75 Off $250,$150 Off $500	DIVEIN20	08/07/11

There are tons of FREE and discounted things for your kids to do this summer! Take advantage and don’t pay retail! This blog post consists of all the fun activities we do during the week and on the weekends! Most of the programs we participated in last year. Also make sure to check out my blog post about 2010 Summer Reading Programs for Kids (to learn how to get free books, t-shirts, and gift certificates to reward your children for reading over the summer!) Some of the activities were mentioned in my blog post, 6 Kid Activities for the 6^th Day of the Week!

Bass Pro Shop

I hope you have one nearby, they offer great activities over the summer (and throughout the year!) They will be offering FREE/Fun activities and make your own crafts! EVERYTHING is FREE! Activities include crafts, shooting galleries, casting ponds, family workshops, making s’mores, photo opportunities (FUN!!), shooting range, merit badge workshops, and more!

When: June 5 – July 11

Time/Day of the Week(s): Tues/Thur (at noon) OR Sat/Sun (at noon) { Schedule }

Cost: FREE

Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinics

Make sure you check out my recent blog post about these quality activities that occur every other week! Your child will enjoy getting the free Lowe’s apron, goggles, and hammering away at the wood craft of the week!

When: Indefinitely, not just for the summer!

Time/Day of the Week(s): Every other Saturday, next event is 6/12/2010, after that is 6/26/2010 – starts at 10am and supplies go FAST! { Schedule }

Cost: FREE!!

Home Depot’s Kids Workshops

Another fun, FREE activity, Home Depot activities are very similar to Lowe’s. Really quality crafts! Have made a wooden airplane, treasure box, pirate ship, and more!

When: Indefinitely, not just a summer thing!

Time/Day of the Week(s): First Saturday of EVERY month, starts at 9am – get there EARLY! { Schedule }

Cost: FREE!!

Lakeshore Learning Store

Another really quality craft activity, this one is fun and can kill a couple hours! After making the craft, walk around the store and play with all the displays set out on Saturday for kids to experiment with. A fully stocked kitchen, put on a puppet show, go fish, and much more!

Also, on special holidays they sometimes offer multiple crafts! Great gifts for grandparents! They also encourage parents to participate if you’re feeling particularly crafty.

When: Indefinitely, not just summer!

Time/Day of the Week(s): Every Saturday from 11-3pm…try to not just show up at 2:45pm when they’re trying to clean up. The San Antonio location brings out supplies as long as there are kids which I’ve always appreciated. { Schedule }

Cost: FREE!!

Target Arts + Cultures

Target is supporting the Arts by offering over 2,200 FREE and reduced-price events sponsored by Target! Click on the link to find events near you!

Pottery Barn Kids Book Club

When: Indefinitely, not just for the summer

Time/Day of the Week(s): Tuesdays at 11am-1130am { Schedule }

Cost: FREE, after 5 visits get a FREE gift!

Last summer, while visiting my sister in Houston, I vividly remember reading a front-page story that made me so excited!  It was about Lemonade Day, sponsored by Prepared4Life.org (P4L), a program the entire city of Houston supports that encourages kids to become young entrepreneurs, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, by teaching the fundamentals of business and financial planning.

Lemonade Day is a citywide program designed to teach children how to start, own and operate their own lemonade business.

My daughter, imaginative and resourceful, has always wanted her own lemonade stand.  This program not only gives kids (many from high-risk neighborhoods) the opportunity to have a stand of their own, but empowers them with important planning information to maximize their potential for success.

It provides an opportunity for families, businesses, faith-based community organizations and schools to come together for a common purpose – to train the next generation of entrepreneurs through a free, fun, engaging, experiential activity.

When:  May 2, 2010 | First Sunday in May

Background Information

Originally started in Houston by Michael Holthouse (the founder of P4L) a master entrepreneur himself.  After creating a company that surpassed the $100 million mark, 6 years after starting it from scratch (Paranet),  Holthouse created:

He created the Holthouse Foundation for Kids to help at-risk children acquire the skills and habits they need to become successful adults…He and his wife, Lisa, later founded Prepared 4 Life, a non-profit organization that started by offering after-school programs for at-risk middle-school children in Houston.

He got the idea from his daughter who woke up early in the morning, excited to start her own lemonade stand.  Together they put together a business plan taking into consideration marketing, location, and paying back her investors and from the ashes Lemonade Day was born:

The ideas was to give kids an engaging workbook that would guide them through the process of setting up a stand.  An adult member would help walk each child through the process, but would be asked to leave most of the problem-solving to the kids…It would teach young kids the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurial startups: setting goals, planning for success, securing a loan, choosing locations, procuring supplies, making their product, and turning a profit.

Every Lemonade Day participant picks up a bag at a local station that includes a workbook for the kids and another one for the parents.

Although the kids are allowed to keep all of their profits, their encouraged to not only pay back their investors, they also are encouraged to donate a portion of their profits to a charity of their choice.

Exponential Success Over the Past 3 Years

Lemonade Day 2007 - 2600 Participants

Lemonade Day 2008 - 11,232 Participants

Lemonade Day 2009 - 27,389 Participants

Lemonade Day San Antonio

Check out San Antonio’s local website: http://sanantonio.lemonadeday.org/home

Contact information (local & national):  http://sanantonio.lemonadeday.org/contact-us.aspx

*I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sara from the CE group who is San Antonio’s project manager for this HUGE undertaking!  By using the link above you can also contact her for more information on sponsoring, volunteering, etc.

**Local Restaurants - our volunteers will need refreshments!  Join the movement by donating meals/snacks for volunteers, your location could become a Lemonade Day backpack pickup location!

Sign Up Here!

I’ll be updating with more information as I get it as well!

- 2010 Lemonade Day | Informational Video -

- 3rd Annual Lemonade Day | Houston, TX -

Listen to why all the kids LOVED Lemonade Day in Houston, TX last year!

I Love Lemonade Day from Geekette Bits on Vimeo.

I got home from work and needed to relax so I decided to see what my tweeps were talking about on Twitter. I was going through the tweets when I saw one from @JoshGroban asking:

If I’m not familiar with the series, should I begin with If You Give A Mouse A Cookie or If You Give A Moose A Muffin?

And so of course, anyone familiar with Laura Numeroff‘s beloved books, illustrated by Felicia Bond, which started in 1985, would know that you have to start with “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. So I tweeted back to @JoshGroban (just to let him know, along with his many other followers) and decided to write a blog post about what a great children’s book series it is…

If You Give a… Book Series

After deciding to write about it, I realized that it would be great to include information about the author so I googled “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and found a link to the publishers website for each book at Harper Collins (link to If You Give… series).  Of course I knew that I couldn’t write a blog post without looking at each of the following books:

Includes a link to an audio excerpt, the critic’s corner, and a link to the books’ official website: MouseCookieBooks.com.

Help Pig find her way to a pile of pancakes with this printable activity…when you’re done with that, help Pig look for hidden words with this activity.

This cool Cat comes with a complete activity kit filled with many different printables, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake stickers, and a coloring sheet.

And if you decide to throw a pig a party, you might want to have printable activities to pass out to your guests:

• Pick the Correct Pig sheet
• Pig Party Event Kit filled with activities and suggestions.

Online Games

Once I made sure I had read all of the books, I wanted to see the If You Give… books official website.

You can play a matching game that starts off more easily with Mouse’s Little Matching Game but you can work yourself up to a bigger challenge with Pig or Moose.

After matching, you can play more education games, Mouse’s Counting Game, Pig’s Letter Game, and Moose’s Shape Game.

If you’re like me and the Cat with the Cupcake rocks your world the most, you might want to play the If You Give a Cat a Cupcake Game in order to win a very special recipe!

Teacher Resources

And if your getting you child ready for school, you’re going to want to check out this interview with the author and book activity which is not only fun but a great way to get your kids excited about school.

And if you want to get your child excited for school, you might want to help their teacher discover these incredible fun resources like this classroom activity guide for teachers which includes fun lesson plans for many different school subjects. And if you’re already doing a lesson plan on the books, you might want specific worksheets like this specifically for If You Give a Cat a Cupcake book.

And if you have already spent all of this time writing a blog post, you’re going to want to see what’s been happening on Twitter. And if you check your tweeps’ tweets, you might get the idea for another blog post.

If you’re looking for game schedules, freebies, athletes that tweet, and other details about this year’s Winter Games, check out my other blog post, 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.  As I was writing that post I ran into incredible education resources and fun stuff for kids…I wanted to keep it separate and figure out which was worth investigating.

This post is dedicated to the educational opportunities for teachers and kids being offered online!  I have found links to online games, printable worksheets and coloring pages, and also information that I definitely didn’t expect to find preschool aged children through the 12^th grade!  Emotionally connect your family and students to the 21^st Winter Olympics with these resources!

Meeting the 2010 Olympic Mascots

From left to right, meet snowboarding Miga, Quatchi who loves playing hockey, and Sumi.

***Find out when you can meet them LIVE!

Mascot	Meaning Behind Choice
Quatchi the Sasquatch	The sea bear is inspired by the legends of the Pacific Northwest First Nations, tales of orca whales that transform into bears when they arrive on land.The Kermode bear is a rare white or cream-coloured sub-species of the black bear that is unique to the central West Coast of British Columbia.
Sumi the Animal Spirit	Transformation is a common theme in the art and legend of West Coast First Nations. Transformation represents the connection and kinship between the human, animal and spirit world.The bear often represents strength and friendship. And the thunderbird — which creates thunder by flapping its wings — is one of the most powerful of the supernatural creatures.
Miga the Young Sea Bear	The sasquatch is a popular figure in local native legends of the Pacific West Coast.The sasquatch reminds us of the mystery and wonder that exist in the natural world, igniting our imagination about the possibility of undiscovered creatures in the great Canadian wilderness.

Online 2010 Olympic Games & Activities for Kids

Game	Details
Miga Moves	Mascot Rockband, match the letters V/B/N/M in time to falling starfish!Difficulty:  MediumThis one takes some keyboard coordination…older kids (and adults) will really enjoy!
Soaring Sumi	Keep Sumi flying across Canada by hitting the spacebar to move up!  Fly up or down to avoid obstacles and hit health points!Difficulty:  EasyEasier than most games, simple hit spacebar without worrying about other keys/mouse.
Shootout Shutout	Face off against Miga and Sumi in some fast-paced one-on-one hockey!Difficulty:  HardThis game takes the MOST coordination, not only do you have to use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to move back and forth as the goalie, you also have to use the 1-3 number keys that correspond with colored pucks.  Definitely for older kids.
Operation Recycle	Help Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi with their neighborhood recycling program!Difficulty:  Easy/MediumAlthough it does not require a lot of coordination it does require some thought.  Complete rounds by successfully finishing 5 levels.  Includes a little physics, test your trajectory skills by holding the mouse button down and dragging to aim towards target! *My 6 year old daugher enjoyed this game the most!
Which Mascot Are You Like	Take this quiz to see which mascot you’re most like…your child’s first personality test…next stop Meyer-Briggs!

Other Fun Activities:

Send E-cards	Select 1 of 4 mascot scenes, decorate VERY easily, add verbage, and send to family and friends!
Crafts and Color Printables	Download and print craft activities (make 3-d mascots!!) and get printable coloring sheets
Download Desktops & Wallpapers	Download (for Windows only…) an interactive desktop to decorate with stickers, information about the ceremony, add an Olympics countdown, and much more…Download static Wallpapers for those that desires less interactivity.

Paralympic Games

Sumi is officially the mascot of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Game…check out this printable passport activity book to track his and your journeys!  After printing out those, print out this printable coloring sheet to color your own Sumi!

Featured Programs

Check out these fun facts about the Paralympic Winter Games (pdf).  Although Paralympic School Week in School has already passed officially (November 2-6, 2009) you can still support the Paralympic Games any time.  Resources for educators found on the official games website here.  Here’s the link to the “Guide for Educators” to celebrating in your skills with informative details, activities, and other helpful stuff.

Educational Resources

The Canadian Olympic School program seeks to inspire young students through Olympian stories, activities, projects, activities and more and offers:

• Teacher Resources for educators with printable PDFs, videos, pictures, and more!
• Student Lounge geared towards school aged kids
• Playground for Younger Kids means you don’t have to be in school to catch the spirit with additional games, puzzles, and contests.
• Library section to answer all your kids’ questions

School-Aged Kids: Additionally there are these printable Olympic Games Project Packs pdf.  Includes additional resources for teachers or your kids:

• Destination Vancouver - Planning a vacation to Vancouver
• Tough Call - Respond to tough situations as the Olympic Team’s communication staff
• Speedy Recovery - Create an athlete’s injury treatment plan
• Save, share, and Spend –  financial planning during tough economic times
• Own the Podium - Analyze data with probability and trig skills to find out what it takes to “Own the Podium”
• Financing the Olympic Dream – what it costs, how to budget, invest, and borrow to reach Olympic goals
• Design brochure – hired to develop the ultimate youth travel package, come up with the advertisement!

Passing the Torch Activities:

Make Your Own Peace

This is a wonderful opportunity to teach kids about practicing peaceful behaviors and making peace in their home and communities.  Starting on February 4, 2010, check out “Sharing the Dream” webcasts inspired by the Olympic Truce and led by children.

***Educators – Check out my post on how teaching professionals (current and retired) can save during Borders Educator Appreciation Week (Sept. 29 – Oct. 7)!!

Check out these deals of the week!  Something for everyone – teachers, coaches, kids, food, everything!

Almost 20 coupons this week, in alphabetical order:

Banana Republic: 20% OFF + Free shipping on orders of $75 or more – Coupon code: BRSAVE20

Barnes & Noble: Get $5 gift card and $10 gift card from Barnes & Noble – Reply must be postmarked no later than 10/7/09.

Bath & Body Works: 10% off Entire purchase – Coupon code: 1032

bebe: Take 15% OFF $100 exp. 10/4.

Boston Market: Two FREE Kid’s Meals at w/ family meal purchase.

Build-A-Bear Workshop: $5 off $10 or more purchase – Coupon code: 94425, Exp: 09/28/09.

Champs: Take $5 off $25, $10 off $50, or $15 off $75 – Coupon code: CPCH9SYA, CPCH9SYC, CPCH9SYE respectively. Exp: 10/31/09!

dELiAs: – $10 off $25 – Coupon code: DXJ, Exp: 11/30/09.

Dicks Sporting Goods: Are you a coach coupons $10 off $25-or 20% off any 6 or more identical items, exp. 1/31/2010.

Einstein Bros Bagels: 25% Off exp. 9/29.

Home Depot: – $10 Off a $100 – Coupon code: SAVECJU29, Exp: 09/30/09.

Kate Spade: Sale Up to 75% Off + Extra 25% Off Handbags + Free Shipping – Coupon code: GLAMBAG, Exp: 10/18/09.

KIRKLAND’S: 20% off Single item 9/09-10/14.

Oriental Trading Company: 20% Off Any Item – Coupon code: HE1052223, Exp: 10/15/09.

The Children’s Place: Fall Sale, Take an Additional 25% OFF + Stack with 15% OFF – Coupon code: V4989, Exp: 09/26/09.

The Limited: Take $20 OFF $60 or $30 OFF $100 – Coupon code: 830, Exp: 10/04/09.

Toys R US: Over $370 in Savings w/Coupons at Toys R Us – savings start 5pm – 9pm at your local store and valid on Sept 23rd only.

NOTE:  Educator Appreciation Week

Twice a year, teaching and retired educators and instructors will get 30% off including everything (even the Seattle’s Best Coffee!) for professional OR personal use.

9/29/2009 thru 10/7/2009 – Tell a teacher and make a difference in their classroom!  During this time, 10/10 at 6pm at Borders locations will be a Where the Wild Things Are rumpus!  Come for activities, crafts, and other giveaways, this Friday!

Website of the Week (WoW): BORDERS Teaching Zone

Quick Bit: I was very impressed with Borders Book Store’s thoughtful, one stop shop for back to school teachers (preschool through high school, librarians, and homeschool educators.) Check out their list of why to join
with information about fundraising for your school, getting required reading lists out there, to events your students can enjoy throughout the year.

They also offer different media teaching resources online with suggested books, online videos from other educators. I’ll do a longer post high lighting other awesome offers from Borders online…I really wanted to spread the word on opportunities that educators may not have known about. Please let your child’s teacher know about this incredible savings opportunity.

$$$-Saver(s):

• 25% off Classroom Discount Card – save 25% off list prices of books and CDs, 10% off
  DVDs, sign up, in-store with proof of teacher card, not just once but EVERY purchase!
• Educator Appreciation Week
  – twice a year, teaching and retired educators and instructors will get 30% off including everything (even the Seattle’s Best Coffee!) for professional OR personal use.
• FREE E-cards
  – send one to a fellow co-worker or a teacher that’s made a difference in your life! Parents, sit down with your children and send one to your child’s teacher…start the school year off right! No gift could be more meaningful or encouraging!
• 20% off Toy Coupon
  – look at age appropriate gift and classroom toys, use their coupon!
• Used Textbooks
  – search through Borders Used Books catalog to save up to 90%!

Time-Saver(s):

• Favorite Books for Educators
  – don’t waste your time searching for the next book to read, check out what Borders recommends.
• Early Childhood/Education
  – Check out what they recommend for your classroom and then suggest your own on their discussion board.
• Middle/High School Education
  – suggestions for middle school through high school. Includes test prep books, social issues, and popular reads!
• Special Education
  – check out their suggestions for parents, teachers, and also read some memoirs.
• Teachers
  – more categories involving curriculum development, classroom management, gifts for teachers, and top picks!
• Homeschooling Information
  – Homeschooling curriculums and philosophies.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Borders-Teaching-Zone/119980846515

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bordersmedia

E-mail Group: Signup now to receive awesome email alerts!

Northside school district (NISD) offers Adult and Community a diverse range of classes including the following categories:

• Profit & IT – computers, business solutions, minding money
• The Arts - dance, fine arts, jewelry making, make-it-yourself, music, languages
• Mind & Body - Body/Mind/Health, defensive driving, leisure, personal growth, study skills, etc.
• Fun & Play - kid summer camps, animals, clowning, D-I-Y, home/garden, sports, travel, etc.
• Online Computers - basics, networking, programming, web design, etc.
• Online Mind-Body - accounting, cert preps,
• Online Personal Interest - everything under the sun…

I have enjoyed taking several different classes through NISD including a sushi class, advanced French class, a first-time homebuyers  session, and a financial planning class for women.  Although my daughter will be out of town during the week they’re offering this awesome class  - Robotics using Legos – I contacted the coordinators and they graciously setup another class for a different time (the response was QUICK!)

Some classes I haven’t tried yet but want to include:

• Auto repair
• Step by Step to a User-friendly Closet

Get the FREE course catalog by mail if you don’t already – if you do stop throwing it away and check out the awesome offers!

Have a workshop in mind?  Teach it!  They’re always looking!

Some other cool links on the NISD website:

• Raise Your Hand Texas - “a non-profit, bi-partisan advocacy organization made up of business and community leaders, parents, taxpayers and concerned citizens, all with a single focus: supporting the more than 4.5 million students in the Texas public education system.” Support them on Facebook too!
• Volunteers/Mentors - everything you need to know and fill out in order to volunteer in the NISD. (Parents – fill this out before you try to help out in the classroom – go to your child’s school prepared!) Opportunities for parents and friends in the community – be a positive role-model for a child today!
• NISD Weekly Newsletter - find out where your taxes are going and how NISD is contributing to the community! (Signup for e-mail or txt alerts here – get alerted with emergency notices, academic notices, and event reminders!)
• NISD News - NISD details making the news…voting, information about new schools and the school boards…anything and everything else you wanted to know about the Northside school district.
• Facility Rentals – Hosting an event like an HOA meeting? Rent the neighborhood school in the evening instead of inviting strangers into your home…
• Reunion Announcements - did you graduate from a NISD high school? Have a reunion coming up?
• School Menus - if you can’t remember what’s for lunch check out this site.