Using Time Wisely

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2013: Black Friday Store Hours

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2013: Black Friday Store Hours

Photograph Credit: iCLIPART

Not sure what to call this season anymore as Black Friday has expanded to include a few days on either side of the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Some stores are calling their event the After Thanksgiving Sale, but their on-line sale starts before Thanksgiving. *Hmm.* Since I am unaware of a new term given to this event, I will stick to Black Friday.

If you are interested in this craze of great deals which will save you lots of money when you time it right, then plan what you want to purchase, check your timing, and hunt for your favorites. The lines to some stores begin weeks, days, and hours prior to these sales.

To plan accordingly, here are the Black Friday Store Hours arranged by the time the stores open their sales.

Thursday, November 28

6:00 a.m.

 5:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

Friday

5:00 a.m.

6:00 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

If you head out, be careful. Yes, the deals are great, but fighting, pushing, and trampling is not a way to using time wisely. Most stores are organized making this a time of fun, and I wish you lots of savings as you venture out, stretch your dollars, and use your time wisely. Happy shopping!

Question: Will you head out to the stores for Black Friday deals?

2013: Thanksgiving Printable Activities

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http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/thanksgiving-printable-pack/

Photograph Credit: Gift of Curiosity

Wow, the world of printable packs has burst wide open with so many bloggers offering FREE Thanksgiving printable activities.

Since the list was getting quite long, I chose to dedicate an entire post to highlight these FREE printable activities.

I focused on the truly FREE printable packs. There were many options, but some required signing up for a newsletter, mailing list, or membership.

Of the printable packs chosen, most are designed for ages 2-7. But I found some of them quite interesting, and I am a tad bit out of the 2-7 age range. 😉 Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Printable Activities

1. The Pilgrims at Plymouth

The Pilgrims at Plymouth pack by Lauren Hill at Mama’s Learning Corner is one of my favorites as Miss 6 just finished this unit study in 1st grade. This pack is 18 pages and designed for 1st-3rd graders.

2. Notebook Pages and Activities

The Thanksgiving Notebook Pages and Activities pack by Betsy at Notebooking Nook offers a variety of handwriting practice. The Thanksgiving poetry included is great for beginning writers to copy the poems on the lined pages.

3. Mini Books

The Thanksgiving pack by Crystal Brothers at Serving Joyfully includes two mini books. The first is pre-printed for reading, and the second gives the writer space to write for what he or she is thankful.

This printable pack is FREE, but requires a “like” on Facebook in order to download. I used my junk Facebook account to get the FREE download.

4. Gratitude Journal

The gratitude journal by Stacie Nelson at Motherhood on a Dime offers a place to record your thankfulness highlighting one nugget each day for 30 days. The printable sheets can be cut and bound or stapled for a keepsake.

5. Hymn Study Unit

Sarah at Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies created a wonderful Thanksgiving hymn study unit. This resource includes 12 hymns, the history of each writer, and printable sheet music.

6. History of the First Thanksgiving

The History of the First Thanksgiving pack is another resource by Lauren Hill at Mama’s Learning Corner. This unit study includes a list of children’s Thanksgiving books. In encouraging children to read, parents have a starting point for discovering a different perspective from what we celebrate today.

7. Various Activities

The Thanksgiving pack created by Erin at Royal, Baloo, and Logi-Bear Too provides addition and subtraction practice along with lots of other activities for students ages Kindergarten to 2nd grade.

8. Multi-sensory Activities and Links to many more Thanksgiving Printable Packs

Not only has Katie at Gift of Curiosity created a wonderful Thanksgiving pack for ages 2-7, but she has also posted a roundup of FREE Thanksgiving printable activities.

I am very grateful for Katie contacting me when she releases a new printable pack, so I can share her hard work with you. These packages are well done and provide lots of practice for little ones.

In approaching Thanksgiving, these wonderful resources provide practice, fun, and learning opportunities focused on why we celebrate this holiday. From math, reading, writing, and history, these printable packs offer hours of opportunity.

With my children out of school during Thanksgiving week, these printable activities should keep my crafty Miss 6 occupied for a little while. 😉 Reinforcing her study of the Pilgrims, I hope she will enjoy the games, printing practice, and reading focused on Thanksgiving while using time wisely. Happy learning!

Question: What types of resources do you find interesting around the holidays?

2013: Patriotic Crafts, Printables, and Recipes

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2013: Patriotic Crafts, Printables, and Recipes

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

Celebrating the red, white, and blue with a family cookout comprises our July 4th festivities.

From hamburgers and hot dogs to bubbles and sparklers, our activities are small and quiet.

We watch the fireworks from our home windows and the televised displays which are always bigger than those around our town.

With so many creative patriotic crafts, printables, and recipes for painting your celebration red, white, and blue, I have gathered my favorites to share with you. Enjoy!

Patriotic Crafts

Printable Patriotic Packs

  • 4th of July Pack based on the book America the Beautiful: Together We Stand by 3 Dinosaurs

Patriotic Recipes

Happy 4th of July, America!

Mother’s Day FREEbies – May 12, 2013

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Mother's Day FREEbies - May 12, 2013

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Bombarded by opinions on Facebook surrounding Mother’s Day, I disagree with many individuals regarding their disapproval of setting aside a special day to celebrate motherhood.

Yes, we have a holiday for everything, but that doesn’t mean you have to celebrate every holiday or special event. Agreeing that I prefer not to be the center of attention, I do like the special treatment naturally presented on Mother’s Day.

I appreciate my mom and I express my gratitude to her often, but I join others in celebrating the special moms in my life and making them feel special this Sunday, May 12, 2013.

Celebrating being one of the girls, I like the community of Mother’s Day because we are not alone as we raise and invest in the lives of our children.

To honor the special moms in your life, celebrate with these Mother’s Day FREEbies:

FREE Mother’s Day Card

I love giving and receiving photo cards. At Treat.com, you can create your own FREE Mother’s Day photo card. Use promotional code MDAYFREE at checkout for a limited time.

FREE Mother’s Day Collage

Walgreens is offering a FREE 8×10 collage through Saturday, May 11 when you use promotional code COLLAGE4YOU at checkout and pickup in the store. To add more pictures to your collage, just select your uploaded pictures from an album. The collage will adjust to fit your selections.

FREE Mother’s Day Coupons

Mommy’s little helper can offer services via coupons. Kayla at Somewhat Simple posted FREE instructions and a template for creating a coupon booklet. Though the posted instructions require some time and energy, one can just print the template and place the coupons in an envelope.

Leap Frog published a FREE printable fill-in-the-blank page about mom and FREE printable mom-redeemable coupons for children to print and give. My favorite coupon is the one FREE hug anytime.

FREE Zoo Admission

Over 60 zoos will grant FREE admission to moms on May 12, 2013. Check with your local zoo. Our local zoo will admit mom for FREE when accompanied by one or more children paying full-price admission.

FREE Dessert

O’Charley’s will give every mom a FREE slice of pie on Sunday, May 12, 2013. (Thanks, Erin!)

With a purchase of a meal or entrée, Shoney’s will give every mom a FREE slice of strawberry pie on Mother’s Day.

TCBY will honor moms on Sunday, May 12, 2013, with a FREE 6 oz. cup of frozen yogurt with the flavor and topping of their choice.

As you plan this weekend’s Mother’s Day activities, these FREEbies for mom offer options for honoring the special ladies in your life. Whether you like or dislike the holiday, value motherhood this Sunday while using time wisely. Happy Mother’s Day!

Question: Do you know of additional Mother’s Day FREEbies?

2013: Spring Break Opportunities

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2013: Spring Break opportunities

Photograph Credit: iClipart

An early Easter means an early spring break this year. The air is still chilly, but there are still lots of options for a fun-filled spring break.

Whether spring break is upon you or coming very quickly, the following list contains our favorite spring break opportunities:

Inexpensive Outings

  • Chuck E. Cheese: We eat before arriving and use a coupon to purchase tokens where each child gets between 15-20 tokens. We play the arcade games, and then save the remaining tokens for another day.
  • Zoo: Though we have an annual zoo membership, the reciprocal program gives us a 50% discount at our local zoo. (We get free admission to the zoo where we purchased the membership.) With a less than $8 fee per adult, a day at the zoo is a reasonable family outing.
  • Daily Deal Vouchers: Purchasing admittance into venues through daily deal sites offers 100% fun with at least a 50% discount. Without our annual memberships, we would seize more of these deals for spring break fun. 

Free Outings

  • Park playground: Our parks and recreation department invested their resources into updating a number of playgrounds in our area. My children enjoy testing as many as possible. 😉
  • Play Date: Invite a friend or more to your home or park to play and build relationships.

Free Outings for Members

  • Jump Zone: To get the wiggles out, my children love to go bounce for a few hours. We gain free admission with our annual membership, and entrance for our friends cost around $7 per child.
  • Science museum: Using our annual membership for free admittance, we enjoy a day browsing and learning about the world around us.

Inside Outings

  • Movie: Picking up a Red Box movie (use promotional code F2AMA8TG3 for a free one-day rental – valid through May 8, 2013) and snuggling in bed with a bowl of popcorn equals perfect bonding time.
  • Easter crafts: Coloring eggs, creating Resurrection eggs, making cards, painting, an egg hunt, or any other Easter activity or tradition makes memories.

With so many options, we might need a two-week spring break. Oh, won’t that be nice – although, I might not want to return to our normal school routine. Knowing that our fourth quarter starts the week we return shows us the light at the end of the tunnel. Only two more months of school until we get summer break. This year, I need that vacation more than my children. 🙂

In using time wisely with your children, nieces, nephews, cousins, and grandchildren enjoy an activity or outing with a little planning and a day of fun. Happy spring break!

Question: What are your plans for spring break?