These Crazy LeapFrogs Keep Getting Cheaper!!!

I know I told you of a great way to get Leapfrog TAG books at K-Mart for $1.80 each... but what if I told you a way to get TWO FOR $0.60?

If you go here you can print a $4.00 off Leapfrog Product coupon.  These coupons are unlimited, which means you can print as many as you want... but you won't need that many, because K-Mart (where the books are on sale for as low as $4.80) offers a $5.00 coupon (the kind that prints from the machine by the register) when you spend $5.00 on LeapFrog products!

So here's what you need to do:

:::Pick 2 LeapFrog TAG books at $4.80 each.  Use 2 -$4.00 coupons.  Pay $0.80 each, or $1.60 for two books (a little less than you'd've paid for one using the $3.00 off coupon I posted about earlier.

:::Your cashier will hand you a $5.00 off LeapFrog purchase coupon that the register generates.

:::Go find 2 more LeapFrog TAG books.  Get back on line.  Use the $5.00 off AND the $4.00 coupons.  This will knock the price of one down to FREE with a $0.20 overage and the other off to $0.60 ($4.80 - $4.00 - $0.20 overage from other purchase) - Two LeapFrog Books for $0.60!

:::Another $5.00 coupon will print.

:::Repeat from the 3rd step until you have all the titles you want.

I would suggest printing about 6 coupons, which leaves you the opportunity for up to 5 transactions.  If you already printed the $3.00 off coupons, you may want to save ink on your computer and pay the extra dollar on some transactions.

You may also want to have a friend on line a few people behind you with more titles to keep things flowing - you grab 2 books and so does s/he.  You get on line, he lets about 5 people between you.  When you pay, hand off your $5.00 coupon and go get 2 more books.  Get back on line.  Your friend can hand you their $5.00 coupon while they get more books.  This could significantly speed up the process.

I have heard that to use rolling coupons like this you may want to try to get on different lines to make sure no one stops you from making multiple transactions.  I've also heard that some cashiers will let you make 2 or 3 transactions at one time, which means you can just keep handing over 2 books and using the $5.00 coupon that prints!

Best. Center. Ever.

More Leapfrog TAG Amazingness

Holy Almost-Free Leapfrogs, Cheaper Teacher!

Remember when I showed you that Leapfrog TAG Reading Systems were on sale at Target for $25.00 (down from $50), and with a $10.00 off coupon, you could get the system for $15?  And how I ran out and got 2 to create a center in my classroom?

Well, the price on the TAG System at Target is down again - this time to $12.48!  With the coupon, that brings the cost down to just $2.48, which is an incredible savings from the $50 original price.

Couple this with the K-Mart sale I told you about earlier in the week on books for the TAG System, which can get the books (retail $12-15) for $1.80 by using a coupon and shopping the clearance section, and you've got one sweet deal.  How sweet?

Imagine you want to create a center where 4 children can work at the same time.  You want to give each child a selection of 3 books and have pre-programmed the books into the TAG pens.  4 pens X $2.50 each = $10.  Each TAG comes with one free book, so you'll need to buy 8 books (either duplicate titles or different titles: if you buy different titles, each child could have up to 9 choices but if you buy multiple copies of the same title you avoid fights).  8 books X $2 each = $16.  Total cost = $26.00 plus tax (in NY, that would come up to $28), which is roughly $8-10 LESS than I paid for my two TAG systems when I bought them the first time!!!

While Target does not offer price adjustments, I have this plan worked out for getting some money back on my Leapfrog systems I bought just recently:

:::Go to Target and bring my receipt for the LeapFrog TAGs I bought recently at $15.00.  Also bring two $10-off coupons for the TAG system.  Do not bring the old TAGs with me.

:::Go directly to the toy aisle and check for the TAG at 12.50 clearance price.  If they have it, buy FOUR.

:::Get on line and pay $10 for the TAG systems.

:::Leave the store.  Put 2 TAGs in my car or ask a friend to hold them (if I'm not in the car).  Return with the 2 new TAGs and my old receipt.

:::Return 2 of the TAG Systems and receive a $30 refund.  

:::Since I spent $10 on the 4 new TAGs, I have gotten 2 free TAGs and $20 back at the new price.

:::Go to K-Mart and spend the $20 back on TAG books.

:::Create TAG Center!

Have fun!!!  :-)

$11 worth of Lysol Coupons

Hey, Cheaper Teacher.  You nasty.  

Fortunately, Lysol is offering $11 worth of coupons on various products to help you clean your skanky classroom.  With Swine Flu expected to make a second go-round in the fall, you'll probably want to stock a few of these products in the classroom.

For the record, I'm not trying to add to Swine Flu hysteria.  I had Swine Flu in the spring.  It sucked, but not as much as everyone makes it out to suck.  But teachers would do well to avoid germs.

Enjoy!

Leapfrog TAG it Up!

This is a store-specific deal, but a good one.  Remember how I told you you could get Leapfrog TAG reading systems for $15 at Target if you used the $10 off coupon from the Leapfrog site?  And remember how bummed we all were that the TAG books are not really that cheap?

Well, K-Mart currently has TAG books on sale for $4.80 (clearance items - not all books on sale).  The Leapfrog website offers a $3.00 off book purchase coupon, with no limit on how many you can print.  So if you buy a clearance book and use the coupon, each book will be $1.80!  Sweet!

You can print the coupon here.  Remember that not all stores have the same clearance items, so you may want to shop around a few K-Marts to see if you can find good titles.  I'ma get me some this weekend so the Leapfrog / Leapfrog TAG center is ready to go the first week of school.

Enjoy!

$14.98 Leapfrog TAG Reading System at Target

 Leapfrog Learning Systems are popular with parents and teachers because kids love them and they help children learn.  I have 6 Leapfrog Leappads that came with corresponding books on vocabulary, reading and math.  The Leappads are kind of old and the books are not the most exciting in the world, but the kids like them.

Leapfrog TAG is an upgrade from the Leappad; the electronics are all stored in the nifty little pen thing, which has a microcamera and can be programed to "read" up to five books at a time.  You download the electronic content off the website and buy the books for the TAG separately.  Each TAG comes with one book, and books sell at about $8-10 full price.

Leapfrog TAGs usually cost about $50.00, which is a little cheaper than the Leappad (which is about $80.00) but still way out of most teachers' price range.  However, with a great sale and a manufacturer's coupon at Target, I was able to score two Leapfrog TAGs at Target today for $14.98 each!

Target currently has Leapfrog TAG systems on sale for $24.98, which is about half price and a good deal even without any additional discounts.  However, if you got to the Leapfrog site, you can print out a $10 off Leapfrog TAG system and a $5 off Leapfrog TAG Jr. system.  I printed two coupons and was able to use both (though, obviously, I couldn't have used two to make the TAG only $5... you can only use one coupon per purchased item.

It's important to keep in mind that not every Target may be running this promotion, or may be on a slight delay from my Target.  Apparently some towns still have the TAG for $35.00, which would bring it down to $25 with the coupon.  It's still an OK deal, but not good enough for the classroom if you ask me. 

While the books aren't cheap, my plan is to buy one or two a month and upload them into both TAGs at the same time.  I might have to buy 2 or even 3 upfront and then buy more as the year progresses.  This is probably a great purchase for Donors Choose if you already have the TAG - I bet you can get a lot of books at a good price from a generous donor.  Or, if you're feeling ambitious, you can try to get some on Craigslist or Freecycle.

Let me know if any of you take advantage of this great deal!

How to get 400-ct Post-It Pads for $0.50

Post it notes are not the cheapest thing we buy for our classroom, but they're important school supplies that are useful in many ways.  Here are some of the ways I use Post-Its in the classroom.

--Write comments and feedback for student work without having to write on their work (which some schools frown upon)
--For pre-literate students who are still in the drawing/labeling stages of writing, write down what they said their story is (exactly as they say it) and place on picture (front or back) so that you remember the story or for bulletin board purposes.
--Give to students to make notes about their reading during Readers' Workshop.
--Use in Math Workshop when making bar graphs with the children - each square = one unit up on the bar.

So how can you get Post-Its for $0.50?!  Follow these easy steps:

(1)  Go to the 3M site and print their coupon page.  Coupons are good until 9/6/09 and you can print as many as you want (a lot of online coupons have 2-coupon limits).  I printed 5.

(2)  Cut out the middle coupon for $0.50 of any one Super Sticky Post-It Pad.  It's up to you if you want to spend, save or discard the other two coupons on the page for Pot-It Flags.

(3)  Go to any Office Max during the week of 8/23 - 8/29, where 400-ct cubes of Post-It notes are on sale for $1.00.  Buy as many as you have coupons for.

(4)  When you get to the register, give over your coupons!

Since Post-It packs run between $2.75 and $3.75 (according to the Office Max ad), if you buy 5 pads you are theoretically doing a B1G4 with a small discount!  Wow!

**Note - if Office Max tries to decline the coupons, remind them that they are manufacturer's coupons, so Office Max will be reimbursed for the money you saved by the 3M Corporation.  Ask politely for a manager if the salesperson tries to block your transaction - it's a perfectly OK transaction and you shouldn't have any problems!