WE HAVE A WINNER! CONGRATS CLEMENCIA!

Hi all,
Sorry I haven't posted much lately. I always forget how hectic the end of the school year is.
I should be back on track in a week or two.
Now for the important news:
We have a winner!
Clemencia you have won my Apple Literacy Bag!
Please email me with your address and I will drop it in the mail for you.
Remember, to enter my giveaways you need to leave comments and/or spread the news.
Congratulations!
Pam

Manic Monday Giveaway: Apple Literacy Bag!!!!

You will receive:
Apples Literacy Bag

Hand Painted Canvas Bag

with CD containing over a dozen activities:

Sample of Activities:

Apple Tree Counting Mats 1 - 10

Five Little Apples - interactive book

How to Eat a Apple Sequence Cards

From Seed to Apple Sequence Cards

Apple Sorting Mat - Beginning Sounds

Blacklines for letter A recognition

Recipes

Crafts

and more!

How to Enter:

First, you need to follow my blog

Your comments will earn you entries!

Every comment will earn you one entry - you may comment on any or all of my posts during May 4 - 16

Visit any of my shops (links are on the left sidebar) and comment on a favorite item - 2 entries

Add my Etsy shop to your favorites - 2 entries

Blog about my giveaway and leave a comment with link - 3 entries

Send a email to your friends telling them about my giveaway and copy me - 3 entries

Giveaway will run from today - May 4th - May 16th

Winner announced on Sunday, May 17th

Have fun!
Pam

Great Sites to Save $$$$$ On Groceries

I recently found a great blog: $5 Dinners
I never realized there was so much great information on saving money.

When my kids were small, I clipped coupons and often made meals a week at a time to save money. One of my favorite cookbooks was: Monday to Friday Cookbook.

As they grew older, I slowly grew out of the habit.

Now, I have 2 kids in college and am once again looking for ways to save money.

Living as Mom is based in Atlanta and has great advice on how to save money. I never knew you could save so much at CVS!

Here are some great coupon sites:

Coupons.com

Cellfire you can load coupons directly to your kroger card - I love it!

FreeStuff4Free

I try to eat as much unprocessed organic food as possible. Here is a site for organic coupons:

Mambo Sprouts

Once a Month Mom has an entire month's worth of meals planned for you - everything you need!

Mommy Snacks - has great ways to save at Target, Kroger, and Walmart

Anyone else looking for ways to save money?

I'd love to hear how you have save!
Pam

Hands On Learning Fun Blog Updates

I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS!!!!!!!

I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to make my blog more interactive. I want to keep it fresh and up to date, without posting just to be posting. I've enjoyed getting the hang of blogging and thank goodness - I'm getting quicker!

So, I'm going to tweak a few things, keeping it fun and making sure it's not tooooo time consuming for me!

Most of my posts follow some sort of theme and I will continue following that format.

Instead of posting every day, I will introduce a topic with my ideas and hopefully your comments will help guide my future posts - keeping the topics fresh and fun.

I would love to hear your ideas on current topics as well as ideas for future ones. What you've done in the past, favorite books, educational activities, etc. Have a great craft? Email me a picture and I will be happy to post it.

Have a funny to share? Kids can say the funniest things. We all need a laugh - let's share them!

Looking for a great recipe? Or ways to save money? Leave a comment.

Looking for ideas? Leave a comment and we can all share our ideas and expertise.



It's really easy to leave a comment. At the end of every post, you will see comments. Just click on it and a new box will open up and type away! Find a really great coupon or giveaway? Leave a comment and let us know!

Later today, I will post my new giveaway. The guidelines have changed (remember it's work in progress!), so be sure and read the entry rules.

I've also stumbled across some great blogs that help me save money with coupons and groceries. I will share them later this evening.



To make it easy to remember, you can sign up for email updates. You will receive via email new posts and you can click on the link and comment away!

Happy Monday!
Pam

Teacher Appreciation Week: What is a Teacher?

WHAT IS A TEACHER?
A teacher is someone
who sees each child

as a unique person
and encourages individual
talents and strengths.
A teacher looks beyond
each child's face
and sees inside their souls.
A teacher is someone
with a special touch
and a ready smile,
who takes the time to listen
to both sides
and always tries to be fair.
A teacher has a caring heart
that respects and understands.
A teacher is someone
who can look past disruption
and rebellion,
and recognize hurt and pain.
A teacher teaches the entire child,
and helps to build confidence
and raise self-esteem.
A teacher makes a difference
in each child's life,
and affects each family
and the future of us all.
by Barbara Cage

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week

I am offering a gift certificate good in any of my shops.

Certificates can be in any amount and personalized.

Email or convo me and mention you are a blog follower and you will receive a 10% discount for gift certificates up to $50

All gift certificates $50 or greater will receive

20% savings!
Just print certificate and you are set!

Each certificate has a code and can only be redeemed once.

This offer is only good during Teacher Appreciation Week

Here are some links for other ideas:

Volunteer Spot free ebook of ideas
All Star Activities Creative Teacher Gifts

Cute door decoration ideas from Skip to My Lou

Sunshine 4 Teachers

Enjoy!
Pam

Friday Freebie

I took a personal day today and I was all excited. I was going to get caught up on my blog, vamp my shops, add new products..... instead I woke up feeling really really yucky!

So instead of having a productive day, I went to the doctor, got my prescriptions filled and collapsed on the couch! I will send Friday's Freebie tomorrow.

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, so I will be posting some ideas.

If anyone has a great idea of how to show your appreciation, leave a comment.

I'd love to hear your ideas both from teachers and parents.

Pam