Using Time Wisely

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Summer Reading: Half Price Books

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Another summer reading program for students 14 years and younger is offered by Half Price Books. With all these summer reading programs, your student can enjoy many rewards for his/her efforts. Using time wisely working toward the reading goal will result in wonderful rewards when the goal is reached. Keep aiming for the goal!

Photograph Credit: Half Price Books

Here’s how kids 14 and under can participate:

  1. Get a Feed Your Brain Reading Log and set a goal to read each day for at least 15 minutes or more throughout June and July. Grown-ups may read aloud for kids who are still learning.
  2. Join us for our Feed Your Brain kick off on Sunday, June 5 at 2 pm for the Biggest Storytime of the Summer at your local Half Price Books.
  3. Add up your minutes and have your parent or guardian initial at the end of each week.
  4. Check-in at your local Half Price Books store to find more great books to Feed Your Brain throughout the summer!
  5. Did you read 600 minutes or more? Turn in your completed reading log at Half Price Books July 25 – August 7 to receive your $5 Back-to-School Bucks summer reading reward!
  6. Do you think you’re a Top Reader this summer? We’ll award one top reader per age group with a TOP READER prize, a $20 HPB Gift Card!

Finding something to read for 15 minutes each day amay seem difficult if you are looking for individual books. If you choose to read each day, try to start a series. For my little ones, I read a chapter of a Nancy Drew book or a Hardy Boy book each night. Sometimes, I will read more than one chapter if they ask or need a little more time to fall asleep. We enjoy the adventures and look forward to the resolution to the mystery. These mystery books have been enjoyable for my family. I hope you will find books or a series that works for your family. Happy reading!

Summer Reading: Borders

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Photograph Credit: Borders

The Double-Dog Dare Challenge by Borders is a summer reading program for students under 12 years old. When you read 10 books, record those titles on the coupon form, and take that coupon form to a Borders, Borders Express, or Waldenbooks, you can trade your form for one of the remaining books available. This program runs from June 1 through September 5 only while supplies last. Here is a link to the available titles. Since these books are in a limited supply, you might want to use your time wisely and act on this program quickly.

Summer Reading: Barnes & Noble

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To encourage students in using time wisely by reading and learning this summer, a number of organizations have developed Summer Reading Programs. The bookstore giant Barnes & Noble offers a free book for reading 8 books.

Photograph Credit: Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program is here to help you on your way, encouraging you to read books of your own choosing and earn a FREE book, simply by following these three easy steps:

1. Read any eight books this summer and record them in this Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Imagination’s Destination Journal. Be sure to let us know to whom you would recommend each book, and why.

2. Bring your completed journal to a Barnes & Noble store between May 24 and September 6, 2011.

3. Choose your FREE reading adventure from the book list featured on the back of the journal.

Participation is for students in 1st through 6th grades. To participate, visit the Barnes & Noble web site, download and print the journal, and read.

Father’s Day: Personalized Photo Cards

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Photograph Credit: Shutterfly

If June flies by as quickly as May, then Father’s Day on Sunday, June 19 will be here soon. In past years, I have created personalized photo cards for each of my children to give to Paul. Since the cost of most photo cards start at $2.99, one can quickly spend upwards of $10 just on cards. Ouch!

Thankfully, we can get these cards for the price of shipping through Shutterfly.com. Heather over at Freebies4Mom.com shares the details for claiming 5 free cards for $5.99. This deal ends on June 9. I purchased 5 Father’s Day cards with this same deal (different promotional code) last week. For this deal you can either order 5 identical cards or 5 different cards. I could not order 3 different cards and 2 identical cards. When I was charged full price for the second identical card, I removed it from the shopping cart and created an additional card. Then the promotional code worked, and my order is being processed.

You will save money, but you will also spend time creating these cards. For me, the time is well spent since the cards are personalized with pictures of each of my kids with their Daddy. If you are looking for other personalized gifts for Dad, check out this post from centsiblesavings.com.  If you find other inexpensive personalized gifts for Father’s Day, then please share the details in the comments section.

National Doughnut Day: June 3, 2011

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Photography Credit: LaMar's Donuts

Yes, there is a National Doughnut Day, and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and LaMar’s Donuts are celebrating with free doughnuts.

Yeah, another great family adventure to start off next weekend.

If you have a participating location near you, then mark your calendar for these free events:

Krispy Kreme tweets on Twitter:

Friday 6/3 – KKD is offering 1 FREE Doughnut on National Doughnut Day. This offer is good at participating U.S. KKD retail shops.

LaMar’s web site announces their celebration:

We celebrate National Donut Day by giving visitors a FREE Gourmet Donut with a hole – No purchase required! Since National Donut Day started in 1938 as a tribute to the “lassies” – women volunteers who helped feed soldiers in World War I, we find it an appropriate patriotic salute to give every visitor a gourmet donut – free, for no charge. Imagine: a donut that doesn’t require any dough!

In addition to the free doughnut announcement, LaMar’s web site includes the history of National Doughnut Day. Since I found it interesting, I am including the information.

THE HISTORY OF NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY

National Donut Day is celebrated on the first Friday in June. In 1917, Salvation Army female volunteers known as “lassies” prepared thousands of donuts to the homesick soldiers that served in France during World War I.

The doughnuts were made by filling a pail with oil and using left over dough flour and other ingredients on hand and a wine bottle as a rolling pin. Doughnuts were fried – seven at a time – in steel helmets on an 18-inch stove. The 100 doughnuts made that first day were an immediate success.

Soon, hundreds of soldiers stood in muck outside the tent, waiting for the sweet taste of doughnuts. Before long, The Salvation Army was cooking thousands of doughnuts around the clock. National Donut Day was officially established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise much-needed funds during the Great Depression.

Please visit the links to these establishments to locate a participating location near you. I have learned to call ahead to confirm participation since, more than once, our family has arrived for an event only to find the business not participating. Use your time wisely and check first. Enjoy your time with your family!