Deals & Steals – Special Back-To-School Edition!

Here’s the information I’ve come across this week and want to pass along to you!  All of these are related to ‘back-to-school’ in some way. We don’t go back until September here but I know that a lot of kids are heading back as soon as this week.  Check out the following for some great deals, discounts and helpful information!

Note: Many of these are not in my own words, but taken straight from the e-mail or press release that I received. I have re-worded or re-written where I thought it was necessary or helpful.

Get kajeet (the safest cell phone for kids) just in time for back-to-school!

• Plans start at less than $5/month (no contract)
• Free Parental Controls Allow Kids to Stay Safe and Focus on School.
• Decide when the phone can or can’t be used for calls and texts. Great for school hours, study time, or after-hours. Calls to & from parents can always get through.
• Two wallets allow parents and kids to decide who pays for calls and texts. Calls to mom & dad can use the parent wallet while calls and texts to friends can use the kid wallet.
• Get the calls and texts you want. Block the calls and texts you don’t. Calls from the bully at school? Not anymore.
• Locate your kid’s phone anytime, set automatic check-ins, and go online to find your kid’s phone in real time with GPS Phone Locator.

Visit my landing site at http://www.kajeet.com/3GIRLS to save 15%!

Just in time for school, Olive Kids introduces Lil’ Readers’ Kits!  Each Kit includes everything a little reader needs to make reading more fun. There’s a personalized bookmark, a personalized name tag (perfect for a book bag) and a set of 12 personalized bookplates! All for just $24.99!  Available in a variety of “novel” designs, your lil’ readers will love them. We’ve got you covered at OliveKids.com!

According to the National Retail Federation, 56.2 percent of back-to-school shoppers will be hunting for sales more often this year and 40 percent are planning to increase their use of coupons. At ShopAtHome.com, consumers can find thousands of coupons for major retailers and earn Cash Back on their online purchases to multiply their savings. It is free to register at ShopAtHome.com. In 2009, nearly 31 million people have shopped at ShopAtHome.com, saving money through the use of hundreds of money saving coupons from top brands and earning more than $1.8 million in Cash Back rewards. The one-day Cash Back rewards include:

• Friday, August 14: Apple Store – 3% Cash Back
• Saturday, August 15: Target – 10% Cash Back
• Sunday, August 16: Office Depot – 8% Cash Back

The link to Daily Deals is: http://discounts.shopathome.com/DailyDeals.aspx

Epson is offering an instant rebate on two of its popular, affordable all-in-ones – the Epson Stylus^® NX415 and Epson Stylus NX515 – to meet the needs of parents, teachers and students during the back-to-school shopping timeframe. The $40 discount will be given instantly at checkout through the end of August, and further increases the value of these all-in-ones to accommodate any budget.

The Epson Stylus NX415 and NX515 are the perfect solutions for school projects and homework assignments, delivering fast print and copy speeds, amazing print quality, 2.5-inch color LCD screens and memory card slots, one-touch copy functions, manual two-sided printing, and instant-drying DURABrite^® Ultra inks. In addition, the Epson Stylus NX515 allows users to scan directly to e-mail with one touch, and offers built-in Wi-Fi and networking capabilities, making it ideal for college dorms or households with multiple users.

In addition to using the Epson Stylus NX415 and NX515 to print homework, Web pages, photos, and everyday projects, parents, students and teachers can take advantage of the free school-themed templates on Epson’s CreativeZone Web site to easily create and print school calendars, book and lunch bag labels, keychain identification tags and memorable scrapbook pages. For those looking further ahead, the CreativeZone also offers free templates for graduation-themed invitations, money cards and thank-you cards for end-of-the-year projects.

Recent research shows that, in the current economy, consumers are being more conservative about their back-to-school purchases with a greater focus on affordability.    At the same time, a recent American Research Group survey found that 22.3 percent of consumers are planning to shop at Walmart for back-to-school items this year, up from 15.4 percent last year.  Walmart is committed to making back-to-school shopping easier for consumer and has announced $9 product offerings for added savings on back-to-school shopping.

In addition to every day low prices on all back-to-school necessities, the $9 collection includes:

Elementary school supply basics bundle, all items purchased separately: 24ct Crayola Crayons, Elmer’s 2pk Glue Sticks, Crayola 10ct Markers, Crayola 12ct Colored Pencils, a pair of 5” scissors, Sterlite School Box, Dixon 24ct Pencils, 2pk Pink Erasers, one two-pocket folder, one wooden ruler, one 70ct notebook, Expo 2pk Dry Erase Markers

• Six Mead Five Star 1-Subject Notebooks
• Starter and BYO Lunch Kits
• San Disk 2G Flash Drive
• **Select youth eyeglass frames
• Texas Instruments TI 30Xa Scientific Calculator
• A selected variety of boys and girls basics, like socks and underwear (two packs for $9)
• Select boys and girls backpacks
• Boys and girls Starter and Danskin Now brand retro sneakers
• OP girls tops and young men’s tees, $9 or less

For more information on Walmart’s back-to-school offerings, visit www.walmart.com.

Prices and availability may vary in AL, HI, OK, WI and at Walmart.com.

* Stores will match the price of any local competitor’s printed ad for an identical product. Not applicable to Walmart.com.  Restrictions apply. See store for details.

** Professional eye exam and lenses not included. Valid eye doctor prescription required. Eye exam by independent state licensed doctors of optometry. Good through October 5, 2009 on selected youth frames.

“In its latest rating of the most durable school backpacks, Consumer Reports has conducted its own survey to determine how much weight kids are carrying as a result of overloaded packs. The researchers visited three New York City schools and weighed more than 50 children’s backpacks. They found that kids in the 2nd and 4th grades are carrying about 5 pounds worth of homework and books. But once kids reach the 6th grade, the homework load gets heavier. On average, 6th graders in the study were carrying backpacks weighting 18.4 pounds, although some backpacks weighed as much as 30 pounds.”

Consumer Reports also recently evaluated 14 backpacks to find those with the best balance of fit, quality, comfort, and other features. They tested each backpack in a “tumbler” to see how well each would stand up to regular use (and possibly abuse). And they asked 35 panelists to test the backpacks for comfort, using them in ways that simulate movements an average person makes in a typical day—walking, running, going up and down stairs, and picking things up from the floor—while wearing each backpack.

So which backpacks rated the best? Well, for kids from 4’ to 4’9” in height, an economical choice is the Disney Hannah Montana Undercover Pop Star backpack. And for taller kids, a couple of the JanSport backpacks rated well (the ‘Big Student’ and the ‘Boost’). Check out Consumer Reports for more information – and you can also use their backpack shopping and fitting guide. And check out this article, “Aching Backs Affect Children, Too“.

pingg is an online invitation and event management site. With back-to-school coming up, busy moms can always use a helping hand. pingg is the most stylish and efficient way to send invitations and ecards for all your events: birthdays, play dates, school plays, team dinners and more.

Some Features (for complete list click here):

• Focus on Style: Choose from the extensive pingg gallery, which includes images contributed by Martha Stewart and many talented independent artist, or upload an image for a more personalized invitation.
• SurroundSend: Send invitations and ecards via email, print/mail, SMS Text, Web, Facebook and Twitter–it’s your choice and with pingg you can do all at the same time.
• Organize: Easily import contacts and store them in your pingg address book. See who opened, forwarded and RSVP’d to your event. Tag and sort guest into groups and export and print guest list.

When you’re juggling a million different things, invitations should be easy-to-use and functional without compromising style. Regardless of the occasion: personal or professional, pingg offers the best solution for invitations and ecards.

Have you heard about 6pm.com – the best kept secret for online shopping out there?  6pm.com is a one-stop, online source for brand name shoes, apparel and accessories for women, men & kids – all at up to 75% off retail prices!  What makes them different is that unlike other discount shopping sites that only offer overstocked or outdated products, 6pm has an enormous selection of hundreds of thousands of products that are the “must have” fashion for kids (and adults) right now. Before dragging your kids around the mall, anxiously overspending money on brand name shoes, accessories and apparel – check out 6pm.com – the selection and prices will astound even the most seasoned shoppers.

At Good For The Kids, orders placed now will be 20% off plus receive a coupon for 25% off all orders through the end of 2009. And Melissa & Doug and Zoobie Pets will remain on sale for 25% off MSRP through Labor Day! Here are the details:

• Receive 20% off your order now with coupon code aug12email.
• Orders using this code will include a coupon card in their orders that will be valid for 25% off orders until December 31, 2009.
• 20% off coupon code valid through Monday, September 7, 2009.
• 25% off coupon card will be available while supplies last, not to be less than 50 available cards.

EXPO (makers of dry erase markers, boards and accessories) has launched a contest to recognize great teachers for their hard work and the money they spend out of their own pockets on school supplies. You can nominate an extraordinary educator by visiting www.expoeducator.com and submitting a brief essay about the teacher you feel deserves a little more recognition. 12 semi-finalists and one-grand prize winner (known as the “EXPO Extraordinary Educator”) will be given a financial break – prizes include cash, free EXPO school supplies and more. Nominations can be made through September 15th.

To ensure that every child goes back to school in style this year, Goodwill Industries International and Family Circle have teamed up to launch a five million pound clothing drive which will run from Saturday, August 1 through Wednesday, September 30, 2009. The partnership will be featured in the September issue of Family Circle, the magazine’s first ever issue dedicated to Back-To-School, as well as www.shopfamilycircle.com, the brand’s new e-commerce destination.

Family Circle and Goodwill invite moms and dads to put their gently used adult and kids’ clothes to work by donating them so that another child can have a “new to them” outfit for their first day of school.  The donated items will be sold at more than 2,300 Goodwill® retail stores, making affordable, contemporary clothing available to families on budgets. The program will also generate revenue that funds Goodwill’s job training programs and career services to help families achieve economic success.

“Not only is donating to Goodwill a great way to clean out closets and teach your children about gratitude, responsibility and the opportunity to help others, but your donation will help fund support services such as youth programs and childcare so that people can stabilize their families while finding good jobs,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.

Readers can help Goodwill and Family Circle reach their five million pound goal by attaching the donation coupon from the magazine’s September issue with their clothing contribution. The coupon can be downloaded from www.shopfamilycircle.com/goodwill, where readers can also find helpful information about organizing their own Back-to-School Clothing Drives.

“The Family Circle community is always looking for ways to give back and get involved,” said Carey Witmer, Publisher of Family Circle. “Partnering with Goodwill – both in the magazine and on our new e-commerce destination – is a great way to give our readers the tools to help families in need.”

Diane Peters Mayer, MSW, a psychotherapist specializing in school anxiety is the author of OVERCOMING SCHOOL ANXIETY: How to Help Your Child Deal With Separation, Tests, Homework, Bullies, Math Phobia, and Other Worries (AMACOM; 2008).

Many students are worrying excessively over the first day of school: sweaty palms, heart racing, an upset stomach – and that’s before they even get to school. These symptoms of acute anxiety put students at a disadvantage academically, socially, and they can suffer physically.

Mayers’ advice to parents is:

1. Communicate—talk to your child about how they feel about school without judgment. Feelings are feelings. Listen without jumping in to fix things.
2. Stay calm—no matter what your child says remain calm. Your child is worried and is counting on you to be their “rock”, to create a solid structure—this will help your child feel safe and to calm down too. Learning belly breathing will help.
3. Understand—don’t downplay your child’s fears. Don’t say. “It’s silly to feel that way.” Honor your child’s feelings.
4. Problem-solve—work as a team with your child. Say, “Together we are going to figure out how to make things better for you—I’m here for you.”
5. Guide—encourage your child to become independent through play with other kids, independent play, leave your child with trusted sitters, let them try to work out problems they can manage before you step in to help, model independence in your own life.
6. Build self-worth—build your child’s confidence by celebrating your child’s unique qualities and talents.
7. Believe—believe in your child’s ability to work through problems and overcome adversity—this is empowering for your child. Also believe in your parenting skills, that you can help your child.
8. Prepare—as school approaches prepare your child for school morning routines, make shopping for school supplies fun, visit the school before it starts or go on the school website, find a buddy that your child can go to school with. Make learning an exciting adventure.

She recently blogged about this topic at: http://bit.ly/dZJ7N

You can find additional information at http://overcomingschoolanxiety.com/ as well as at the publisher’s website: http://bit.ly/GNsOV.

You can save on everything you need for Back-to-School season by shopping at Kmart! The weekly savings are absolutely saletastic! There’s even a layaway program so making purchases at Kmart is not only a great deal, but convenient too. The site has a bunch of online offers (because we know Moms love coupons!) and is where you can enter your kids in the “Be a Schoolebrity” sweepstakes. The grand prize winner wins a shopping spree with a Nickelodeon celebrity! (For Official Rules and prize details, check out www.kmart.com/schoolebrity/rules.htm).

There’s a new deal every week just for shopping for your kids’ back-to-school supplies at Kmart, so check out the site today: http://www.kmart.com/schoolebrity!

That’s it for this week, happy Friday and check back next week for more ‘Deals & Steals’!