Labor of Love: The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine Subscription Sale! ends 9/15/10 Pin It

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine (a favorite of mine and my children) is extending an extraordinary subscription offer to homeschool families. Receive a one-year print subscription for just $7.95 or a one-year plus current issue subscription for $12.95.

One-year subscriptions start with the winter issue. The one-year plus current issue starts with the fall issue.

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is a favorite of ours because not only does the magazine have great articles that are useful to me regarding Unit Study ideas, curriculum reviews and much more but also interesting articles that lures my oldest two boys into reading the magazine. A recent issue had an article about the Pony Express.  They both wanted to read it so rather than making one wait on the other, I read it aloud to them and their younger brothers and sisters during our read aloud together time.  They ALL loved it and were still discussing the story hours later.   Another recent issue had an informative article on Abraham Lincoln and Ford’s Theater that enticed my 11 year old, history loving son into reading it and then telling me all about it.  

Only 5000 of these special subscriptions are available from August 31
through midnight on September 15. Once the 5000 are gone, they'’re gone!

Hurry and grab this crazy price today!

 

 

Disclaimer:  This post is written in exchange for product received with an honest endorsement of said product that has truly benefited our family with it’s articles and more.

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Rite Aid: Spent $4.23 and saved $159.23 plus I figured out a way to keep my big binder from falling off those small shopping carts of theirs Pin It

So what did I get for $4.23 you ask?

Well this:

• 39 4x6 digital prints
• 1 see through 5 Star Mead Binder
• 19 trial size Herbal Essence shampoo
• 19 different Herbal Essence Stylers and Aussie Stylers
• 1 jumbo pack of Huggies pullups
• 1 maybelline lipstick
• 1 Listerine Whitening
• 1 Crest 3D mouthwash
• 1 Colgate Pro-Clinic Daily Whitening Toothpaste
• 1-1/2” Clear View Binder
• 2 packs of dark chocolate M&M’s (not shown)
• 2 fast break candy bars (not shown)
• 2 air heads candies (not shown)

I used store coupons, mfg coupons, VV, and UP+ rewards and the $4.23 is just cash from my pocket.  Gotta love coupons!  Oh and I have a $2 rebate coming back on the 3D Mouthwash so actually, I only paid $2.23 for all that.  Still haven’t bought enough to qualify for the Glam Bag offer they have.  I would have to buy 2 more lipsticks or something Maybelline or other qualifying items.  I don’t wear that much makeup!  lol

And I figured out a way to get my big 4” Case It Binder from sliding off their too small shopping carts.

I take the bottom clasp of the carry strap and clip it to the holder on the binder and the little metal loop on the front of the buggy. VOILA! It stays put.   Now I need to see if CVS has a little metal loop on theirs and get it to stay on there that way too.

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Home Preserving Tally 2010 Pin It

My Running tally post (you all do not have to keep a running tally if you don't need/want one. This is just for my old brain to keep a record of mine.)

Canned:

5 1/2-pints jars of Pickled Onions (larger bulbs from green onions given to me by a neighbor)
24 1/2-pints jars of kale pesto (kale - homegrown)
1 pint of Chive Blossom Vinegar
10 quarts of salsa
10 pints of salsa
5 pints of hot banana peppers and garlic (all from our garden).
5 1/2 pints of Orange Marmalade (had about 1/2 of another jar that I put in the fridge) <-- sold all 5 jars to a friend's sister. lol So gotta make more now
1 quart of Lavender Syrup
7 quarts okra pickles
2 pint of okra pickles
1 pint of bread & butter pickles
9 1/2 pints of Citrus Marmalade (mixture of oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit)
5 quarts of bread & butter pickles
6 pints of pickled eggs
28 jars strawberry syrup (reused Sweet Leaf tea and Kombucha bottles) - perfect for syrup
19 quarts apple jam
21 pints apple jam
12 quarts of pear butter
6 pints of pear butter
43 quarts of cinnamon pear sauce
5 pints of cinnamon pear sauce
8 pints of squash relish
33 quarts of pear syrup
2 1/2 pints of pear syrup
6 quarts of apple syrup
15 pints of zucchini relish
2 quart of pickled cucumbers and onions to snack on.
29 quarts of tomato sauce
42 quarts of apple sauce
3 pints of apple sauce
2 quarts of grape juice concentrate
43 quarts of apple syrup
2 pints of apple syrup
1 1/2 pint of apple syrup

 

Frozen:

18 pint size baggies of sliced green onions with 2 cups in each bag (green onions given to me by a neighbor)
a pint size bag of blackberries
10 1- gallon size bags of whole bananas, peeled and frozen individually - bought on markdown
2 gallon size bags of sliced strawberries (bought on sale)
strawberry freezer jam 2 quarts
strawberry freezer jam 7 1/2 pints
strawberry freezer jam 25 pints
22 quart baggies of blueberries

 

Dehydrated:
2 quart of blueberries ( = 4 bags of frozen blueberries - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
2 quart of blackberries - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
4 quarts of mixed veggies - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
2 quarts of green onions - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
2 quarts of broccoli - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
2 quarts of broccoli and cauliflower - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
3 quarts of corn - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
1 quart of green beans - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
2 quarts of green peppers - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
1 pint of pineapple chunks - trying to clean out the chest freezer as it is having issues)
1 quart jar orange peel
1 pint jar of lemon peel
1 1/2 gallon container + 1 gallon bag of apple chips
10 rolls of mixed fruit leather
12 rolls of blackberry fruit leather
18 rolls strawberry fruit leather
90 rolls of pear & apple fruit leather
54 rolls of pear fruit leather
22 trays of pear chips
9 trays of apple chips

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$2,248.92 worth of school supplies for $52.23 Pin It

That’s a savings of $2,196.69! 
Final count of supplies bought at Kroger during the Amazing School Supply Deal that ended 8/21/10, Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, and Staples is:

• Kroger:
• 418 packs of Crayola 24ct crayons
• 27 packs of Crayola 12 count colored pencils
• 17 packs of Crayola Classic Fine Line Markers
• 42 packs of Crayola Classic markers
• 308 packs of Papermate black pens
• 292 packs of Papermate blue pens
• CVS:
• 4 count pack of dry erase markers with eraser – Join CVS Consumer Panel and take surveys to earn ECB’s and use those like cash to buy items you need.
• 2 packs of college ruled paper (see CVS note above)
• Staples:
• 4 dual sided write on/wipe off boards  - recycle your ink cartridges and earn cash back in the form of a Staples Reward Check. They have changed it from $3 per cartridge to $2. These boards were bought with a rewards check.
• Walgreens:
• 45 Elmer’s 2 pack glue sticks – on sale for .19 a pack
• Walmart:
• 23  Super Sticky Post It Notes:  reg. price $1 - $1/1 printable (no longer available) = FREE

We are still stocked on notebook paper and spiral notebooks as well as file folders so I didn’t pick any of those up this year.  I did however buy a few 3 ring binders at the thrift stores for cheap… less than a $1 for a 3” binder as well as a few 2” binders.    So all the above restocked our school supply totes.  It’s been a few years since I’ve bought school supplies other than a binder here or there when I saw them or a school supply item at the thrift stores like packets of paint brushes, etc. or a pack of crayons, pack or markers, or pack of colored pencils last year (waiting for the school supply sale I knew that had to be coming somewhere).   The last time I stocked up like this was when Staples used to do the 110% price guarantee… meaning they price matched and gave you and additional 10% off the price. That stocking up event was probably 1999 or 2000.  Seriously, it’s been about that long.  I think hubby may have bought a few of the .05 spiral notebooks a year or so ago at Walmart --- I think he actually bought 100 of them and that’s what we have leftovers of. 

So what does $2,248.92 worth of school supplies look like?  Well this… (minus the post its, and a few other things that are not showing from the list above)

We should be well stocked for a while and I have some to share with friends, family, etc.   Recently, I used some of the crayons as birthday party favors for our second son’s 10th birthday party. They along with a few other items I put together for the favors were a big hit!

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Rite Aid: Less than $2 for all of this… oh wait, I made money! Pin It

So what will a little bit of time, coupons, and a little less than $2 buy you at Rite Aid?

Well  all this….

• 2 Kotex U Overnight marked at $2.49 ea
• 1 bottle of Listerine marked at $2.99
• 1 box of Visine marked a $3.29
• 1 Maybelline lipstick on sale $3.11
• 1 J&J guaze pads  priced at $2.87
• 1 pack of Pullups  on sale $8.99
• (24) one load Tide packets $1.03 ea
• (24) Tide to go packets  $1.11 ea

I paid a total of $1.73 for all of that!

I did 3 separate orders, used q’s on everything I bought (combining store q’s mfg. q’s when & where possible), as well as taking advantage of sales, etc.

q’s used: 

• (3) $5/$25 RA – 1 per order
• (2) $1/1 Kotex U from All You Mag. Sept. issue
• $2 RA Visine
• $2 mfg Visine
• (48) $1/1 Tide (any – no size specified)
• $2/1 Pullups IP
• $2/1 Pullups VV
• $2/1 RA Listerine
• $1/1 mfg Listerine
• $2/1 RA J&J
• $1/1 mfg J&J
• $2/1 Maybelline VV
• $1/1 mfg Maybelline

 

OH WAIT!…I got back a total of $7 in UP+ rewards so I actually made money.

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Do you have a child struggling with the Multiplication Tables? Pin It

My oldest daughter struggled with her multiplication tables.  When we removed her from public school in the 4th grade, she didn’t know past her twos on the times table. The school system she came out of prior to the one she was in when we decided to homeschool, let her fall through the cracks horribly. She was reading on a second grade level and doing math on a low third grade level.  

I wish I had a product like this one… Timez Attack back then as it may have helped her as much as it has helped our two oldest boys who are 11 and 10.  They were struggling with the times tables too and then I discovered the free version of Timez Attack and downloaded it. THEY LOVED IT!  We did eventually purchase the CD for them so I could put it on a couple of computers (so no hogging would go on. lol) and it truly has helped them to build their multiplication skills up.

Timez Attack is a multiplication video game.  They LOVE IT! and it’s been helping them memorize their tables.  The  games teaches all the facts from 2 – 12.

I quizzed the 10 year old in the truck not long ago on his times tables and he missed only one or two out of them all.  The 11 year old is doing great with them as well.     Now our middle daughter who turns 8 today, is starting to play the game and is loving it.  It’s funny – the other children (the youngers as we call them. 6, 5, and 3) crowd around to watch the other children play this game. They may pick up on the times tables quicker!

So if you’re in need of something to teach your child multiplication or to reinforce their ability with them, check out Timez Attack. Try the free version then buy the CD to unlock more.  It really is worth it.

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links. This post is my honest opinion and recommendation for a product that truly works!

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The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Expo is coming soon! Pin It

It's back to homeschool time and registration is open for the online Schoolhouse Expo, October 4-8. It's five days of top homeschool speakers, fellowship, and fun door prizes.

Save $5 per ticket! Register between August 16 and midnight August 22, and you'll pay only $19.99. Plus you'll receive over $200 in free E-Books.

You'll be inspired by speakers including: Zan Tyler, Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie
Fulbright,Carol Barnier, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Davis Carman, Kim Kautzer, Lee Binz, and many more!

A special teen track is planned--the entire family will definitely want to listen to these special sessions. We've also planned a special focus on a topic that touches every homeschool--writing. Plus, an array of other topics that will inform and inspire you throughout your homeschooling years.

Don't forget, MP3 copies of each session comes with your LIVE event ticket.

Two special preconference shows on August 24 and September 21 with Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, and Kim Kautzer!

Register starting 12:01 a.m. on Monday, August 16.

The theme this fall is "Celebrate Homeschooling!" We're going to celebrate the unique blessings of homeschooling, the beginning of another school year, our families, and the freedom to tailor our children's education to best meet their needs.

If you cannot make the Live event,  then the October Expo To Go is just your ticket! You'll reserve MP3s from all of the workshops. This week only, pay just $14.95!

You can visit either of these links to get more information.
http://www.SchoolhouseExpo.com or  http://bit.ly/aWHFiL 

 

Purchase the TOS HS Expo tickets here this week only and get $5 off!

 

 

DISCLOSURE:  In exchange for promoting the above event, I received a free October Expo to Go package from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.  No other financial compensation was received for promoting said event.

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Kroger School Supplies! – An AMAZING DEAL!! Pin It

This has been going on for about 3 weeks now and it’s a sweeeet deal!!

Kroger has the Crayola Crayons on sale (still!) for .25 with your Kroger Card.

They also have the:

• Papermate pens for .33 w/card
• Crayola Classic Markers for $1 w/card
• Crayola Colored Pencils for $1.50 w/card
• and other school supplies are on sale too.

Those prices are great in themselves BUT.. the deal is sweeter and here’s how.

There is a catalina coupon (the coupons that sometimes “spits” out at the registers when you buy something.

The catalina details are as follows:

School Supplies

(Papermate, BIC, Expo, Mead, Avery, Sharpie, Crayola, Planahead, Five Star & Carolinapad) between July 11 - Aug 21
Spend $10 get $2
Spend $20 or more get $4

(total is calculated before sale price!)

The catalina is rolling! Meaning it can be used on your next purchase of School Supply items (listed above).

Now keeping that in mind, the total amount is calculated before any sale price.  Meaning that the catalina is generating on the regular prices.

 

Some scenarious for you:

• Buy 10 packs of Crayons and pay $2.50 w/card Get back a $4 OYNO )(off your next order coupon aka catalina). This one is a Money Maker! as you’re only paying out $2.50 but you get back a $4 OYNO. Now you will need fillers for subsequent orders unless you go with one of the below deals instead.

• Buy 5 packs of the Crayola Markers and pay $5 w/card (But using a $4 OYNO earned previously you'd only pay $1+tax) and get back a $4 OYNO.

• Buy 10 packs of Crayons and 1 pack of Colored Pencils. Total $4 w/card (But using a $4 OYNO earned previously you'd only pay tax) and get back a $4 OYNO. You’ll just pay tax on subsequent orders if you do this one multiple times.

• Buy 9 packs of Papermate pens (black or blue) and 1 pack of markers. Total $4 w/card (But using a $4 OYNO earned previously you'd only pay tax) and get back a $4 OYNO.You’ll just pay tax on subsequent orders if you do this one multiple times.

It is being reported that it is YMMV, please check your "before sale" prices and maybe try one transaction first to make sure it’s working right in your area.

As you can see from my previous post, it is working and working well here!:   So what will $12.85 buy you…

 

and just today – 2 Krogers supplied us with

That’s…

• 100 packs of 10ct Papermate blue pens
• 80 packs of 10ct  Papermate black pens
• 8 12ct packs of Crayola  colored pencils
• 6 10ct packs of thin line Crayola  Classic Markers
• 12 10packs of Crayola  Classic wide markers
• 60 24ct Crayola Crayons
• (the 2pk glue sticks are from Walgreens at .19 ea)

I spent $10.66 and saved $683.84 (Kroger card savings and OYNO q’s) !

 

The end date for this deal in this area is 8/21. The end date for the sale prices are 9/11 for this area.  That gives me a few more days to get some more items… like more markers and colored pencils to fully stock our homeschool up and enable me to share with some others too.

 

Thanks goes to fsc at WeUseCoupons for the information on this AMAZING deal!

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Save up to 75% at CurrClick now through August 31st! Pin It

Check this out for great deals on homeschool items you can instantly download!

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Do you ever wonder what happened to the ones you went to high school with? Pin It

Recently, I’ve got a few friend requests on facebook and I sent a few out to people I went to school with. Well I have never been curious about some of them because there is a lot of hurt issues there.  You can forgive a person but is oh so hard to forget.

I guess the curiosity got the better of me though.  Many seem to be doing good. We’re all getting older, etc.

Many of them have children and a few are grandparents now (myself included).

I hope they have taught their children how to be kind to one another and not torment or belittle another.

You see, I was tormented during most of all my school years from elementary to high school. From being called "dog", "ugly", "four eyes", and more to being laughed at and mocked for the clothes I wore, the family I was from, or numerous other things such as being accused of stealing something from a desk of the girl in front of me... that pencil sharpener was actually mine I had loaned her;  or the time I was accused of cheating on a test.  Um... don't think so!  I studied and studied hard.  Those were just a few of things I endured in elementary school!

Those same children continued the taunting, etc. into high school where it was egged on by their peers, etc. 

People do not realize just how much harm they can do to someone with crap like that. There are stories in the recent news of teens committing suicide for the taunting, etc.  When is it going to stop?!

I never thought about suicide but sure wished that we could move to a new school and away from the horrible things I had to deal with.  I have low self esteem issues now because of their junk!  Some of who have "friended" me on facebook now were the guilty parties involved in a lot of it.  I accepted some of their friend requests just to see if they had grown up in the last almost 25 years.  It would be nice for some of them to offer an apology for the crap they did but I highly doubt my little ol’  facebook page will ever be read by them and thus they will know nothing of what they did They will have no clue what they did and sadly some are probably still those immature jerks they were in high school and couldn’t give a hoot about what they have done or do to others.

 

Did you deal with stuff like that in school?  I hope you didn’t have to endure it.   If you were one of the offenders to someone else (not just talking about myself), maybe you should look that person up and apology. It could mean the world to them.

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So what will $12.85 buy you… Pin It

Well if  you have a Kroger near you and have a couple of coupons and some patience… you can buy all this…

• 204 packs of Crayola Crayons 24ct <--- not a typo                   (buy in multiples of 10  AND buy them during this weekend if you live in TN so you don’t have to pay tax!         They end up costing you $2.50 for the first 10 packs then you get a $4 OYNO (off your next order) and it ROLLS meaning you can use it on the next transaction of crayons BUT remember to add a few things to your order so you cover all the OYNO and have a low oop (out of pocket)– I bought 4 extra to make one transaction a .05 out of pocket) 
• (1) 18oz box of Cheerios $2.25 on sale - $1/1 q = $1.25
• (4)  Packs of Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs on BOGO = $2.00 ea
• (2) Kool Aid Fizz FREE wyb 2 Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs (peelie coupon found on the Hot Dogs)
• (5) packs of Hot Dog Buns .88 ea
• (2) large ct packs of hamburger buns $1.49 ea
• (1) Big Watermelon $5 (and I already had a $5 OYNO so I got it free)
• (16) rolls of Mentos .50 ea (these were used as fillers on a few of my transactions)
• (11) packs of Tic Tacs $1 ea (these were used as fillers on a few of my transactions)

Total paid (aka oop) for all that $12.85

Total savings (this includes store discount card, coupons, and the OYNO coupons): $554.02

98% savings!

 

We are having a 10th birthday party for son #2 this weekend so the hot dogs, buns and watermelon are for that.  The Crayons and maybe a roll of mentos are going to be party favors for the children. lol   Hey it works and I’m not buying some junky little trinket toys that cost outrageous money.  Needless to say, we’re set on crayons for a while now.  They come in handy though in this homeschooling household!

 

REMEMBER:

Sales Tax Holiday

The State of Tennessee's Annual Sales Tax Holiday is held every year on the first Friday in August and ends the following Sunday night. This year's tax-free holiday weekend begins at 12:01 a.m on Friday, August 6th and ends Sunday, August 8th at 11:59 p.m.

 

 

and not to be stopped there, I went to Rite Aid to terrorize… er give them some business too.

I got all of this:

(1) Pampers Easy Ups $8.99
(1) Pampers Wipes $3.32 w/wellness card
(2) Herbal Essence Trial Size Shampoo .89 w/wellness card
(2) Herbal Essence Hair Spray $2.50 ea
(2) Colgate Extra Clean toothbrushes .89 ea w/wellness card
(2) Pantene Hair Spray clearanced to $2.49
Used these q's:
- $5/25
- $3/1 (from previous package)
- (2) Free Herbal Essence Styler wyb any (no size specified) Herbal Essence Shampoo $2.50 each q
- (1) FREE Wipes wyb Pampers
-(2) .75/1 Colgate Toothbrushes
- $2 UP+ reward previously earned
- $1 UP+ reward previously earned
- (2) $1/1 Pantene styler
Total oop: $3.28
Got back $2 Pampers UP+ reward   and  a $2 Herbal Essence UP+ reward

 

second  transaction:
(8) Herbal Essence Trial Size Shampoo .89 w/wellness card
(2) Herbal Essence Hair Spray $2.50 ea
(6) Aussie Hair Spray or Mousse (grabbed a few of ea) $2.50 ea
Used these q's:
- $5/25
- (8) Free Herbal Essence Styler wyb any (no size specified) Herbal Essence Shampoo $2.50 each q
- $2 Up+ Reward
Total oop: $2.28
Got back a $2 UP+ Reward on the Herbal Essence   and  a $1 UP+ reward on the Aussie

 

third transaction:
(8) Herbal Essence Trial Size Shampoo .89 w/wellness card
(8) Herbal Essence Hair Spray (or mousse - got a few of each) $2.50 ea
Used these q's:
- $5/25
- (8) Free Herbal Essence Styler wyb any (no size specified) Herbal Essence Shampoo $2.50 each q
- (2) $2 UP+ Reward
Total oop: .28
Got back a $2 UP+ reward

 

All three transactions totaled $6.38 and I still have $3 in UP+ Rewards total!

Total Savings with coupons and Wellness Card:  $136.66

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