Teacher Discounts

Diane Flynn Keith publishes the rave-reviewed Homefires Ezine . If you're ready to save time and money, ease your anxiety, and learn how to have fun homeschooling, get your FREE subscription now at http://www.Homefires.com.

Save $$$ With FREE Educator Discount Cards!
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piggy bank

One of the best money-saving tools for homeschool parents are "educator discount cards" that typically provide 10% or more off of educational products and supplies.

I have used discount cards at book and craft stores and to cut costs on printing and photo copies. Most of the educator discounts are limited to in-store purchases and the amount of the discount varies from one store to another - but it all adds up to big savings!

Most companies that offer educator discounts require some kind of identification in order for you to qualify for the discount. You may be asked to provide:

* A teacher photo I.D. card
* Proof that you belong to a homeschool program or organization
* A copy of your school letterhead
* A copy of a document that you may file with the state in order to legally homeschool

Once you provide the necessary "proof" you'll receive the discount card entitling you to savings on homeschool supplies and resources. Below, you'll find a list of some of the national companies that provide discounts.

* Apple - Offers up to 15% off their educational product line to homeschoolers. Get the details at the website.

* Barnes and Noble Bookstore - Get 15% off soft cover books and 20% off hard cover books. B&N also offers "Educator Appreciation Weeks" a couple of times throughout the year when they discount many products and provide free refreshments.

* Book Warehouse - Take an additional 15% off on already low prices when you make in-store purchases.

* Borders Books - Receive up to 25% off on in-store purchases of books and some other products. Sponsors semi- annual "Educator Appreciation" events.

* Fed-Ex/Kinkos - Get 15% off on most products and services at participating stores. To receive your National Educators Discount Program discount card, fill out the online application.

* Jo-Ann - Apply for the Teacher Discount Rewards Card at this craft and fabric store by registering online, you will receive 15% off each total purchase (some exclusions apply) all year long.

* Michael's - This craft store offers a "Teacher Appreciation Week" annually. (In 2009, it's taking place August 12-18.) Take 15% off purchases including sales items. Must present Teacher I.D. to get the discount.

* Microsoft Academic Discount Pricing - Get up to 40% off on specific products to home educators who can provide written proof of either belonging to a nationally-recognized homeschooling organization, or is expressly recognized by a local school district as an acceptable alternative to an accredited or state- recognized/approved educational institution.

* Office Depot's Star Teacher Program - Earn rewards on purchases. Receive a 15% instant discount on qualifying design, print & ship services. Office Depot also offers a "Teacher Appreciation Breakfast" in the weeks prior to the opening of school. Teachers get free breakfast, discount, and gift. (Varies by store.)

* Office Max - MaxPerks for Teachers Works program provides "rewards" with each purchase and for recycled toner and ink cartridges that can be applied toward future purchases.

* Staples Teacher Rewards Program - Earn rewards based on select purchases and recycling ink cartridges.

Please remember that the companies listed above offer discounts for educators and may question purchases that don't seem to be "educational." That is their prerogative, so be respectful of their policy guidelines that may change without notice. Not all of the stores in a particular chain will participate in discount programs. It may save time to call and inquire before visiting any given store.

Do you want to find local retailers and other organizations that offer discounts to homeschoolers where you live? Check out the Homeschool Buyers Co-Op database. Just enter your state and zip code in the search engine and see what's available within a select mileage radius of your home.

The Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op also offers free Homeschool I.D. Cards that you can use to secure educator discount cards.

Finally, no matter where you shop, don't forget to ASK if they offer an educator's discount. Your wallet may be pleasantly surprised to find that many stores do.

Copyright 2009, Diane Flynn Keith, All Rights Reserved.

A. stood

A. stood for 3 seconds by herself today. :-)

Here's a freebie site for coupon alerts, just subscribe.

http://ccherrypicker.blogspot.com/

CA's GO VOTE!!!!!!

Easy Garden Pest Controls

Easy Garden Pest Controls

Adapted from A Year on The Garden Path, by Carolyn Herriot
(Earthfuture/ Adapted from A

So often the home garden pest control remedies work as well or better than
the chemical counterparts, and with the added bonus that with these
formulas made of kitchen cupboard ingredients, you don't need to worry about
poisoning yourself, your pets, or your garden!

Print out these five standby remedies for yard and garden, including a
natural fungicide for mildew and black spot:

Simple Soap Solution
2 Tbs. soap flakes
2 litre warm water
Dissolve soap flakes in water and apply directly to infested areas every
5-7 days. Note: Too much soap can cause burning on plants.
Pests affected: aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies.

Garlic Oil Spray
10-15 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp. mineral oil
600 ml water
1 tsp. liquid dish soap
Soak garlic in mineral oil for 24 hours. Strain garlic out and add 600 ml
water and 1 tsp. liquid dish soap. Mix thoroughly. Spray plants with this
solution.
Pests affected: Aphids, spider ites, and whiteflies

Fungicide for Mildew and Black Spot
1 tsp. baking soda
1 litre water
1 tsp. soap flakes
Dissolve baking soda in 1 litre of warm water.

Add soap flakes to help solution cling to leaves. Remove infected leaves
from plant, then spray top and bottom of remaining leaf surfaces to control
spread of the disease.

Sticky Traps
1-2 Tbsp. Vaseline or preferably, Unpetroleum Jelly
4"x8" plastic cards or cardboard
Waterproof yellow paint
Apply paint onto both sides of the card and let it dry. Once the paint is
dry, apply
Unpetroleum Jelly liberally over both sides of the card. Place the card
just above the plant canopy.
Pests controlled:Flying pests, such as fungus gnats, and whiteflies.

Sowbug Traps
1 small plastic container with lid
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
Cut a small hole at the base of the container, large enough and close
enough to the bottom to allow sowbugs to climb in. Place cornmeal in container.
Place container into area infested with sowbugs. After feeding on the
cornmeal, the bugs will drink and then explode! (Replace cornmeal frequently.)

Toilet Bowl Cleaners:

Toilet Bowl Cleaners:

1) Baking Soda and Vinegar: Sprinkle baking soda into the bowl, then
squirt with vinegar and scour with a toilet brush. Cleans and deodorizes.
2) Borax and Lemon Juice. For removing a stubborn stain, like toilet bowl
ring, mix enough borax and lemon juice into a paste cover the ring. Flush
toilet to wet the sides, then rub on paste. Let sit for 2 hours and scrub
thoroughly. For less stubborn toilet bowl rings, sprinkle baking soda around
the rim and scrub with a toilet brush.
3)1 cup borax, 1/2 cup white vinegar. Flush to wet the sides of the bowl.
Sprinkle the borax around the toilet bowl, then spray with vinegar. Leave
for several hours or overnight before scrubbing with a toilet brush.
4) Denture tablets are an excellent substitute for toilet cleaner. Drop two
tablets into the bowl and clean as you would with toilet cleaner.
5) Liquid castile soap and baking soda or Borax, scrub with a toilet
brush.

My Dad sent me another great way to clean the toilet:
"How to wash a toilet

This is simply too much of a time-saver not to share it with you:


1. Put both lids of the toilet up.

Add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

3.. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close the lid.
(You may need to stand on the lid.)


4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. ( Never mind the noises that come from the toilet.)


5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a 'power-wash' and rinse'.

6. Have someone open the front door of your home.
(Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door)

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift the lid.

8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where he will dry himself off.

9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.


Sincerely,
The Dog

Bye! - A.

so, for some reason I can't post a video...any ideas? mine off the camera are in mpg, I think...or dvd format. do those not work??

After Dinner Chores (sounds like a mint)

Two days ago, I stated my grief about the state of our kitchen and told my son H. that we needed to begin doing our after-dinner chores again. Somehow we got out of the habit. So, on his own, he got out some index cards and drew the jobs and numbered them. So, we have clearing the table, rinsing the dishes (the favorite), sweeping, and washing the table and chairs. Here is our routine...whoever finishes their dinner first gets to pick a card and that is the job they get to do that night.



So, last night, we used the cards. I. was first and selected rinsing the dishes. I was second, but let H. pick first. He picked clearing the table. But, in order for I. to be able to do her job, the dishwasher needed unloaded, so as I was printing out the newly arrived 4th Sunday subjects for the Sunday lessons in Relief Society, H. decided to unload the dishes. He and I. put EVERYTHING in their place. It was so cool. Then H. announced to I. that she could do her job, so I finished up a blog reply and hurried over to "help".

I am so grateful to H. and I. for helping last night. They really did help keep our kitchen clean.

I. decided that she too wants to make some cards, so she is going to help me with the Saturday chores. Whoever wakes first gets to pick their job.

Speech technicalities

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html

This website will help you see how to say individual sounds (phonemes) and then you can help your children learn them better.

We've been studying the /r/ and /l/ "liquid consonants" at our house. :-)

Math-U-See

I bought the primer and the alpha of this series today and it is arriving tomorrow. I love UPS when it is being shipped from your own state!!! SO fast!

So, I'm pretty excited. I think that our kids will love this math curriculum. Go take a look! www.mathusee.com

Homemade Hand Sanitizer

Homemade Hand Sanitizer

1 cup aloe vera gel
1 tsp rubbing alcohol
2 tsp glycerin
8 drops of tea tree oil or a favorite scent


Don't know if it works, but that may save a lot of bottles heading to the recycler...

Grow 100 lbs. Of Potatoes In 4 Square Feet

Grow 100 lbs. Of Potatoes In 4 Square Feet: How To
Potato Box Project By The Seattle Times

http://tipnut.com/grow-potatoes/

Potato Box Project By The Seattle Times
Quite the clever gardening tip here folks! Today’s feature includes tips from three different sources for growing potatoes vertically (in layers) instead of spread out in rows across your garden. If you have limited garden space or want to try some nifty gardening magic, this could be a great option for you.

First, there’s this article from The Seattle Times: It’s Not Idaho, But You Still Can Grow Potatoes:

The potatoes are planted inside the box, the first row of boards is installed and the dirt or mulch can now be added to cover the seed potatoes. As the plant grows, more boards and dirt will be added.

You plant potatoes in one bottom layer, boarding up the sides of each layer and adding dirt as you go higher (you wait until the plants have grown a bit before adding a new layer). While new potatoes are growing in the top layers, remove the boards from the first layer at the bottom to carefully dig out the potatoes that are ready for harvesting. Fill the dirt back in and board up the box again. You move up the layers and harvest as the potatoes are ready. I imagine the new potatoes in the first couple bottom layers would be somewhat awkward to get at but as you move higher–not so bad.

I traced the information provided in the article to Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, they have another how-to article online here: How to Grow 100 lbs. of Potatoes in 4 Square Feet. They also advise you can skip the box and try growing the potatoes in a barrel or wire cage instead.

In another article on The Seattle Times (How To Grow Potatoes At Home), I came across this blog post from Sinfonian’s Square Foot Garden that details his attempt at growing potatoes with this potato box method: Build-As-You-Grow Potato Bins. The info was from last year (lots of pics) and he’s promised updates of this year’s attempts. He added this tip for a better yield:

Greg from Irish-Eyes Garden City Seeds let me know that Yukon Golds, and all early varieties set fruit once and do not do well in towers. You only get potatoes in the bottom 6 inches, which is what I got. Late season alternatives to yukon gold are Yellow Fin and Binjte.

Bonus! For a handy project sheet, The Seattle Times has a nice image file detailing the steps (click to view the original):

How To Build & Use Your Potato Box: Click To View Original File

How To Build & Use Your Potato Box: The Seattle Times

Imagine growing all those potatoes in a just a few square feet–and how drastically reduced the potato-patch weeding job will be! So Clever.

Someone better for CA?

Well, Mitt seems to think so...

http://www.megwhitman.com/index.php