Teaching With Style: coupons

Showing posts with label coupons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coupons. Show all posts
If you are like me, you are putting something off right now - taxes! So much paperwork, so overwhelming.  I dread this time every year! Sound familiar?

On top of the task of actually doing my taxes, I also have to worry about keeping all my information safe.  Protect your digital presence with Norton Security!  I know some of my family's important information is saved on different devices around our house.  Norton Security and Norton Security with Backup is a great solution! Sometimes my son is playing games on my laptop and I need to pull up a document from my Dropbox account.  Luckily, I can easily pull that up on my iPad.  But now I need to make sure that information is protected on more than just my laptop!

A nice added feature of the backup option is 25 GB of additional online space to store family photos and other mementos.  I actually had my hard drive fail this past week.  All my documents and clip art were backed up on Dropbox, but my photos were not.  After the tech guy at my school did his magic, no pictures.  So sad!!!!! I'm still in shock and I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I know that I won't let that happen again.  I'm getting serious with my document protection!

Luckily, Coupons.com Norton coupon codes have got you covered! Check it out!

I was compensated by Coupons.com for this post, but my opinions are entirely my own.
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Peekapak is a monthly box for children that combines the magic of storytelling with the excitement of hands-on crafts.  Each month, your child receives an original storybook featuring an educational adventure story and all the materials to create two items that are features in the story.

Peekapak offered to send me a complimentary box for my family to try out.  This is what our box looked like when we first opened it up.

The first project was to make storytelling puppets to use while reading the story.  We'll keep these to use with future boxes, too. 

We sat down at our art/homework table in the corner of our kitchen and got to work.  I cut the shapes out and Audrey taped them to the popsicle sticks.  The tape that came in our Peekapak wasn't that sticky, so I swapped it for some Scotch tape in our junk drawer. 

The story was about tangrams.  A wooden set with a page with patterns came in our box.

As we read the story, we got to make the same tangrams as the characters.

Audrey used the retelling sticks to act out the story.

These are the supplies to make a kaleidoscope.

She had a lot of fun decorating her kaleidoscope and looking through it!

This is what we needed to make a parachute drop.  The pattern on the cup is so cute!

All the activities in the box were great for a couple of afternoon projects.  And the best part was that they all can be used more than once.  Even after a few months, she still plays with the tangrams and the kaleidoscope!

Are you interested in trying Peekapak for yourself? You can get $10 off your first month with the code SPECIAL10.
Just click {HERE} to check it out!

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I love giving and receiving gifts - most people do! This year I am participating in 5 different gift exchanges.  It's a lot! And some of the people I've never bought gifts for before, so I'm not entirely sure what they would want.  I could go the easy route and choose something off their Amazon Wish List, have it shipped to their house, and call it a day.  But I don't like the easy route! 

 When I'm buying for someone that I'm not too sure about what to get them, I either do one of the following:
  1. Buy them something unique, like from Etsy, the Museum of Modern Art, or Uncommon Goods
  2. Buy them something unique to Maui, where I live
  3. Buy them something I would want, like a makeup set from Sephora or a scarf from Anthropologie
  4. Or make them something
My "make something" repertoire isn't that amazing.  I like simple projects that don't take a whole lot of time.  And I LOVE using materials I already have on hand.  That's bonus points in my book.

Here are some real gifts I've made for people.  They are functional, pretty cute in my opinion, don't take forever to make, and are fairly easy.  
 Cloth napkins

Coffee Cozy

Cork frame

Silhouette ornament of a friend's dog

Oven mitt - this one was probably the hardest, but I've gotten better at it.

Simple tote or reusable shopping bag

A painting I'm working for a friend this year! Can you tell what it's going to be?


But what if you are still stuck on what to get someone? Luckily, Coupon.com's blog The Good Stuff has 3 gift guides:
  • Budget-Friendly Gifts 
  • Gifts for Enthusiasts
  • Hostess Gifts
And while you're checking it out, you can enter the sweepstakes that's running from today until December 25th! There will be one $100 winner per week and one $500 grand prize winner! 
The Good Stuff 2014 Holiday Sweepstakes


What are you planning to give this holiday season? 

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Coupons.com.  However, all ideas and opinions are my own.  



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Are you gearing up for an awesome Cyber Monday? I just love sitting in my pajamas and getting everything I need for Christmas taken care of on one day!

Coupons.com has awesome savings with all the retailers I love!  First up, I plan to type my way to Toys R Us and scooping up some toys for my kids.  Right now, Audrey is into princesses and Nathan loves all things Harry Potter.

Next, I have to get something for my husband.  We are working on fixing up our new-to-us home right now, so I'll head on over to Home Depot and pick him up some tools.  

I also will need to get some gifts for my co-workers.  I love the little gift sets from Sephora, especially from my favorite brands like L'occitane, Bare Minerals, and First Aid Beauty! 

And I can't forget myself! I'll go to Gap and scout out some new school clothes! 

Don't forget to head on over to check out Coupons.com's Cyber Monday Sweepstakes!  There are also informative Cyber Monday savings articles on The Good Stuff.   

What's on your list for Cyber Monday?

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Coupons.com
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Are you as excited about Black Friday as I am?? I love saving money on things that my family loves.  Stocking up on Christmas gifts is a bonus, too! 

I remember the first time I went shopping on Black Friday.  I was home for Thanksgiving when I was pregnant with my son.  My mom and I got up at 5 am and headed out to my small hometown to scour for some deals.  We hit up Walmart and got my son a Nintendo DS on super sale, as well as a digital camera for our family.  We also went to Staples for some computer accessories (and teacher stuff!) and Sears for some tools for my husband.  Another year my sister in law and I woke up super early and headed to Target, it was a madhouse! We also waited in line for over an hour at Old Navy just to save extra money on clothes for our families.  Even though it was busy and we had to get up early, we were able to snag some awesome deals and made our dollars stretch extra far for Christmas those years.

When we were on Lanai for the past two years, I couldn't participate in Black Friday because there is no where to shop there! Literally! But now that we are over on Maui, I'm excited to go out again, get all my Christmas shopping done, and save some money while I'm at it!

A funny story - last year we actually spent Thanksgiving weekend on Maui.  We stayed at a hotel, played in the pool, and went to a Luau that served traditional Hawaiian food, as well as a Thanksgiving feast.  It was awesome! My husband worked in the purchasing department of a hotel on Lanai and they had ran out of Snapple.  Since the island is remote, it was hard to get things out there last minute.  Even though he was on vacation with his family, he had to run out to Walmart on Black Friday, buy Snapple, then drive it 30 miles away and put it on a ferry for Lanai.  My husband hates traffic and general busyness.  Let's just say that he was not a happy camper!

This year, I'm going to use Coupons.com to make sure I save even more money! While over on their site, make sure to check out Coupons.com Black Friday Sweepstakes!

Also check out the Black Friday articles on The Good Stuff.  It's the Coupons.com magazine where you will find everything you need to know for Black Friday shopping!



What things are you excited about snagging on Black Friday?

I was compensated for this post by Coupons.com, but the opinions are my own. 
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In my classroom, we are finally starting to get ready for Halloween! Hawaii doesn't have traditional seasons, so I don't do too much about fall.  We don't have any apple orchards so it doesn't make sense to do apple week.  We don't have trees with leaves that turn colors and drift to the ground, so we don't do too many activities around leaves and trees.  But we do have a local pumpkin patch and a long tradition of Halloween!

To gear up, I busy prepping my Pumpkin Life Cycles and Experiments unit.  I know the kiddos are going to enjoy exploring the scientific method while counting seeds, experimenting with pumpkins, and even tasting the seeds!

We talk about spiders, especially since there is currently a huge cane spider living in our classroom! Last week we made an adorable spider subtraction craft that my colleague Lora-lea made a few years ago.  Lucky for you she gave me permission to re-create it and share it with all of you! Thanks Lora-lea!  They're hanging in my room and are a fun, glittery decoration for fall! 

Click the picture to download your copy for FREE!

I enlisted the help of my son tonight.  First he colored the spiders and the border around the word problem. 

Then he drew a web with a white crayon and squeezed some Elmer's glue onto it.

Then sprinkled with glitter.


Shook the glitter off, then glued the spiders and word problem paper on.  

Another way I like to decorate is by using fun containers and manipulatives in math.

I downloaded this freebie Mixed Addition Halloween center game from my friend Fern.  We started addition a few weeks ago, so this is perfect! I printed, laminated, and cut the game pieces and placed them in this fun pumpkin basket I got at the craft store.  I then threw in 12 bat rings for the kids to use as manipulatives.  Luckily, the little bag of rings I got at the store has 100 in them, so I have plenty to give out to the kids and replace in case one turns up missing.  No biggie! 

So now, you might be wondering about all these extra goodies I've purchased, like baking materials for the pumpkin pie in a crock pot recipe from my Pumpkin Experiments pack, the pumpkin basket and rings from the game, or even the glitter for the craft.  That's where Coupons.com comes to my rescue!  You can search their site for coupon codes and get them for stores like Michaels, OfficeMax, and even Target! Check out The Good Stuff here! 

Right now there is a Coupons.com Halloween Creepstakes going on.  The Creepstakes gives you the chance to win $100 in daily prize giveaways and a $3,000 grand prize.  It ends October 31, so hurry quick!

One last goodie - check out this post from last year to snag my freebie Halloween goodie bag toppers! :)
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I get asked all the time about where my favorite places to shop for clothing are.  And one of them is American Eagle Outfitters!

We have one in the Queen Kaahumano Center here on Maui, but I order from online, too.  I headed into AE the other day just to see what they had...


The front table always has the cutest things.  You can find the AEO new fall collection here.   They have 14 different fits of denim and over 100 different washes, so I know I can always find a pair that I love.  All jeans are on sale right now, starting at $24.99.  You can find American Eagle denim here.  I love that AE helps me save money all while still being on trend! 


I also love their accessories.  They have such cute necklaces and earrings! And look close at that sign - buy one get one 50% off! It's available in stores AND online! Score! 

Don't forget to save with Coupons.com! They are also having a free shipping sale online - today only (9/28).  So hurry fast! You can also save over 60% on clearance items! Starting tomorrow, you can get free shipping on orders of $50 or more.  You can find American Eagle coupon codes here.  

So, want to know what I got? Living in Hawaii, I can go pretty casual at school.  I can wear denim any day and I wear tank tops most days.  When I was teaching on the mainland, I paired tanks with little sweaters all the time.  I loved to layer! 
Black Lace Front Henley Tank, on clearance! 

AEO Shimmery Dot Henley Tank, on clearance! 

AEO Printed Flounce Tank

AE Sky High Shortie 
(these are too short for school, but I couldn't pass them up for weekends!)

AEO Turquoise Dot Chandelier Earrings

With the BOGO 50% sale, here is what I spent in the store (on Maui, mind you, a pretty expensive place):
Black tank - $14.99
Shimmery dot tank - $7.49
Ruffle tank - $24.95
Shorts - $19.99
Earrings - $6.25

Total: $73.67.  The receipt says I saved $48.75! Not too bad! I think I got some pieces that I can dress up for school or dress down for the beach.  I can layer them with boots and sweaters when we visit the mainland, too! 

I was compensated for writing this post, but all ideas and opinions are my own.
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Today I'm here to tell you about something that has saved my sanity on my 30-40 minute commute to work - Audible!


Audible is a service, now owned by Amazon (my fav!), that provides instant download, digital audiobooks.  They have over 150,000 titles in their inventory - the largest amount in the industry!  You can buy books for usually under $20 each.  Then you can listen to them as many times as you want.  There are also daily deals that are under $5.  I love Audible because I love to read, but don't always have time for it.  Being a mom and a teacher, I am always trying to find new ways to multitask.  One Saturday afternoon, I tackled deep cleaning our kitchen while listening to the entire book of Bossy Pants by Tina Fey (and read by her, too!) on my iPad.  It made the task so much more fun! I also painted our old bedroom while listening to One for the Money by Janet Evanovich and painted our old dining room while listening to Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close.

My new school is a 30-40 minute commute for me each day, so Audible has been awesome.  I downloaded the app and listen to the books in my car through the Bluetooth.  I've already listened to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer and started The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene just the other day.  What I love the most is that it only takes about a week to finish a book! Now that school has started and my kids will be commuting with me, we'll be listening to books that they will be interested in, like Charlotte's Web, Because of Winn Dixie and The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

And when you head over to Coupons.com, you can find an Audible promo code to either try the service free for 30 days or get your first 3 months for $7.49/month!

So what are you waiting for? Go grab the next book on your list and listen away!

I was compensated for writing this post, but all ideas and opinions are my own.
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Today is the day that teachers go back to school for opening week.  Next Monday - kids come! So for me, it's buckle down time.  I gotta get my room and my plans all ready for the first week in my new classroom and in my new school.  
I shared a few pics of my classroom progress on instagram.  

Here is what I saw when I walked in for the first time.  The sweet custodians moved all of my boxes in after the secretary made me leave them in the office back in June. 

Here is after the first day of furniture arranging.

Then it starts to get bad as I unpack boxes, take everything out of the cupboards, and generally make a huge mess.

Empty book bins with boxes and boxes of books waiting to be sorted.

HUGE mess on my desk.

Tech cart spewing out technology.

So.over.whelmed.  I can't handle this!!!

Now it's finally getting better.  I cleaned out the art cupboards, the teacher book cupboard, and the manipulative closet.  My boxes are all unpacked and most things have found a home.

Here is my To-Do list for the week, as I'm going to Oahu this weekend to visit my good friend Angelia from Extra Special Teaching.  We get to take our hubbies out to see Jack Johnson (my musical LOVE!)  But because we'll be gone, everything in my room has to be done THIS WEEK!
  • Finish putting away the library books
  • Finish organizing math manipulatives
  • Finish sewing computer covers and curtains
  • Arrange my desk and teaching area
  • Put away all the stuff on the tables
  • Put out name tags, practice workbooks, etc on student desks
  • Put together homework folders, portfolios, and data binders
  • Clean out the posters drawers and construction paper drawers
Luckily, I've already gotten all the shopping done that I need: Mr. Sketch Markers, stickers, prize box items, matte photo paper and ink, composition books, and extra boxes of crayons and glue bottles.  It helps that we live on a bigger island now and have options for shopping!  I've also been able to utilize Coupons.com back to school sales! Not only can you find coupons for places like Target, Staples, and Office Depot, but you can even enter the Back to School sweepstakes at Coupons.com and maybe win $2,500! 

So make sure to check out Coupons.com, and also check back here in the next week.  Not only will I have another post for the Teaching With Intention book study, but I may also show you sneak peeks into my finished classroom! I have so many fun projects planned for my room and I can't wait to show you!
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