Teacher Discounts

It is no secret that educators do amazing and inspiring work, often for very little compensation. In these difficult economic times, and with Christmas right around the corner, many stores are offering teacher discounts and homeschooler rewards. For anyone on a budget, you might want to check these out:

• Ann Taylor Loft – Loft Loves Teachers is partnering with DonorsChoose.org to help education professionals bring their program proposals to life. Lend support, sign up, and get 15% off of each purchase.


• Staples – Teacher Rewards is a free program where, when you sign up, you will earn 2% back in rewards up to $15 per quarter when you spend $200 or more. You will get free delivery on all your phone and online orders, and much more.


• A.C. Moore – Offers teacher discount cards to be use in-store on your purchases.


• Michael’s – When you sign up to be a member of The Knack Faculty, you'll be get access to online educational projects, a monthly e-newsletter, special offers and promotion.


• Lakeshore Learning Store – The Teacher’s Club gives you 15% in saving on hundreds of classroom items.

Fund Raising Events

Giving back is essential to furthering child literacy, education, and family values. Often times, for example, if money is needed to expand the school library or to institute an after-school reading club, the most effective way to fund raise is by getting people together in the same room at an event, rather than send out a mail campaign.

Effective fund raising events are usually tailored to the interests of your community. There are two significant ways to get people involved when they come to your event. One is to sell products such as cookie dough or auction off goods, with a portion of the proceeds going to your cause. Sites like JustFundrasing.com make it easy to get products tailored to your event that can be sold with a high margin of profitability. A second way to get people involved in giving is to offer an interesting activity at your event, such as a book signing or lecture on a hot topic. Pennie Rich Publishing, is a Monte Vista, Colorado, based company that offers their services and support for these kinds of fund raising efforts. They are the publisher of the Stanley the Christmas Tree book and audio book CD by local resident R. E. Hughes. R.E. Hughes can provide his services for book signings. Company founder Pennie Hughes, also has years of experience in education as a school principal, and can speak on a wide variety of topics concerning education, literacy, and the writing process at your event.

Holding a fund raising event is a fun and practical way for schools, communities, associations, and other programs to drum up support that makes their activities possible. It is essential to the success of fund raising events that the activities going on are interesting, enticing, and set the tone for patrons to give support.

Library Book Late Fees

Homeschool teachers can rack up a lot of library book late fees. While public libraries can be our best asset, providing free books, keeping track of your due dates can be a hassle and result in otherwise unnecessary costs.

Homeschooling on a budget is especially important these days. In the face of high oil prices and a struggling economy, the Elf system can be a great way to avoid library book late fees. This free service will send you email, text message, or RSS news feed alerts before your library materials are due. It also allows you to consolidate your family’s library loans and allows for real-time updates. The Elf system works with many libraries across the country, and you will need your library card number and PIN to set up an account.

Library book late fees can now be a thing of the past. Libraries are a great resource for homeschool curriculums, teaching materials, and support, so take advantage without any worries.