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Back to School

It's that time of year again.....Back to School in Plano, TX! Find out what Plano ISD is requiring for your kids to go back to school! We have the scoop!

Be sure to check out our TUTORING PAGE if you are considering Tutoring for your child.

For extra-curricular activities such as Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Dance, Art, Music etc see our Classes section.

Are you in need of school supplies? Find out programs to help the needy with School Supplies!

BACK TO SCHOOL EVENTS:

*Mayor's Back to School Fair - August 5th for economically disadvantaged children.

*Frisco Family Services - Back to School Program - Sponsor a Child, Make a Donation or do an Item Drive for items needed on the list.

*ACO's Fill the Bus School Supply Drive - August 9 - 13

*Lifestyle Wellness Back to School Supply Drive - August 9 - 13

*Back to School Blast Off - donate school supplies for needy children & have fun - August 14

*Be a Super Hero for your Community - Dr Pepper Star Center - Games, prizes & more.
FREE admission to all those that donate at least 5 school supply items to those in need.
August 14 - Dr Pepper StarCenter, Frisco; August 20 - Dr Pepper Star Center McKinney; Aug 21 - PSA StarCenter, Plano; Aug 21 Dr Pepper StarCenter, Plano

*Tax Free Week-end - Aug 20 - 22

BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIALS:

AEROPOSTALE:
*Get a $20 Pair of Jeans - Enter JEANS20 when ordering online. Offer ends 8/8/10.

ART EXPRESSIONS:

*Save 10% off semester tuition when paid in full by August 24th! We offer painting, mixed media and clay classes for 3-6 and 7-13. Fall Classes start Sept 7.

FRISCO SCHOOL OF MUSIC (Formerly Music Conservatory of Texas)

*$11.00 registration fee in celebration of our 11th year - a $39 savings (for enrollment in group lab classes, private lessons, Star Power Performance Series). Expires September 15, 2010.

EAGLES WINGS ATHLETICS:

*New members get ½ off Registration Fee till October 1, 2010Fall Schedule starts 8/30

GATTITOWN:

*Bring in a school supply item (to be donated) and get a free $5 game card.

GROOVY CUTS for KIDS:

*Toddler Special - $3 off Haircuts Monday - Friday @ 10am - 3pm
*Back to School Specials - $3 off First Child, $4 off 2nd Child, $5 off 3rd child - Mon - Fri.

GYMBOREE, Dallas & Plano:

$40 off 1st month enrollment plus $25 Gymbucks (cannot be combined with any other offer). Valid for Plano, Dallas. Offer good thru 8/31/10.

GYMBOREE, Allen:

Pre-opening promotion of 50% off membership plus 50% off first month enrollment plus $25 Gymbucks (only for new customers who enroll prior to Grand Opening).

HANES:

*Bras, panties, shapewear, hosiery & socks at Hanes.com. Offer is valid now through Sept. 6th.

JUSTICE for GIRLS:

* Extra 40% off everything when ordering online. Use coupon code: 703

KIDS R KIDS

*Pay 1st Week Tutition & Enrollment is Waived.

*only available at select Frisco & McKinney locations.

KOHL'S:

*40% off kids Jeans, $13.99 backpacks, Various Girls Tops 2 for $10; 40% off Boys Tees. Prices good thru Aug 18.

KURT THOMAS GYMNASTICS:

1/2 off registration plus a free shirt with registration by 9/15.

LEGACY ER:
$15 for a Back to School Physical for the month of August

MACY's:
*Free shipping on school uniforms.

MARKET STREET:

*Meal Planning 101 for Back to School Meals - Tuesday, August 10th, 6:30pm-8:00pm - $25

MATHNASIUM, McKinney:

*Sign up for a 12 month membership before September 3, and pay no registration or assessment fees.

*Sign up for a 6 month membership before September 3, receive 50% off registration and assessment fees

(Offer good for New enrollments only, one per student.)

METROPLEX GYMNASTICS:

Back to School Special & 35 Year Anniversary!

*Swimming-Save $35 off fall lessons

*Gymnastics-Save $35 off your first month's tuition

*New students only, not good with any other offer*

MUSIC INSTITUTE of NORTH TEXAS:

*50% off Registration

OLD NAVY:

*$10 for Kids Jeans, Boys Polo shirts, Girls Knit Dresses thru 8/19.

POTTERY BARN KIDS:

*Gear Ships Free - Backpacks, Lunch Boxes, Luggage

SMASHING TIMES:

*$10.00 off off After School Camps in Sept & October 2010

SPORTS AUTHORITY:

*Online shoppers get $15 for spending $75.

STAPLES:

*1-cent deals on reams of paper & notebooks, $1 mini staplers, $ Sharpies, $1 Scissors - some require a $5 minimum purchase

TKD FIT:

*Pricing Rollback - $99.00 gets 6 Weeks of Classes; Registration Fee included; Uniform and Belt included; Half off registration for 1st Rank Testing.

TOYS R US:

*Buy any backpack for $12.99 or more & get a free lunch kit! Crayola Crayons, Pencils, Markers, Paint etc are Buy one Get one Free! Purchase any Crayola color set for $9.99 or more & get a Free Crayola Color Surge Deluxe Set.

WALGREENS:

*only 99cents for Crayola Crayons, Sharpies Highlighters, Rubber Bands etc. Aug 8 - 14

WALMART:

*Free shipping on school uniforms. Some backpacks on sale as low as $9.00! Notebooks only 0.15.

SCHOOL SUPPLY INFO:

ALLEN ISD: Allen ISD School Supply List.

FRISCO ISD: Check out the Frisco ISD School Supply Lists

MCKINNEY ISD: Check out the McKinney ISD School Supply List.

PLANO ISD: Get the Plano ISD School Supplies List & PISD Dress Code

BACK-to-SCHOOL TEACHER GIFTS:

See below for some Back to School Teacher gift ideas that we found for you. Some you can make, some you can buy.

Back to School Handmade Teacher Gifts

If you're at all crafty, check out these ideas of possible teacher gifts. If your kids are older, they can help!

GIFTS TO MAKE:

PENCIL POT:

Put a lid on desktop clutter with this handy holder for school supplies.

Materials

·Empty coffee can or oatmeal carton

·Construction paper

·Colored pencils

·Markers

·Old magazines

Total Time Needed: 1 Hour

Instructions

1.First, wrap a piece of construction paper (trimmed to fit) around the container and tape or glue together the overlapping edges.

2.Decorate the canister with personalized designs or magazine cutouts.

3.Next, use a craft knife (adults only) to cut a series of X-shaped openings in the plastic lid for inserting pencils, paintbrushes, scissors and a ruler.

4.Finally, glue a magnet to the side of the can for holding a few paper clips (remember, keep the magnet away from your computer).

HALL PASS CRAFT:

These handy hall passes can be hung on a door knob, cabinet door, or coat hook so they are always ready when they are needed. You can make one general "Hall Pass" or several special passes that say "Office", "Library", "Nurse", "Bathroom", and "Lunch". I bet you can think of more! These make fun gifts for teachers; not only will the teacher enjoy them, the students will too.

Age Guideline: 6 Years and Up

Time Required: 30 minutes (Does not include drying time)

Materials Needed:

Craft Foam
Ribbon
Pony Beads
Misc. Items to Decorate
Craft Glue
Scissors

Instructions:
To make my colorful hall pass craft, I bought craft foam already cut into the shape of the door knob hanger and alphabet letters. You can easily cut your own out or buy pre-cut craft foam shapes.

Start out by writing "Hall Pass" or or a specific destination on the door knob hanger. You can use craft foam letters, stickers, or dimensional paint. If you use craft foam letters or stickers, you can trace around them with dimensional paint to add more texture. Decorate the hall pass with anything else you like. I used stickers that looked like little flowers.

As a finishing touch, cut a piece of ribbon about 10" long. Thread one end through the hole in the door knob hanger. Now, hold both ends of the ribbon together and slide a few pony beads onto them. Tie the ribbon ends together to hold them in place. Add a few beaded ribbons in this manner!

TEACHER SURVIVAL KIT: (great one to start the year out with!)

Materials Needed:

Survival Kit Contents (See List Below)
Small Paper Mache Box
Acrylic Paint
Paper
Ribbon
Printer or Pen
Craft Glue
Paint Brush
Scissors

Instructions:
This is very simple gift project! Start out by painting the outside of the paper mache box however you want. Set aside to dry.For crafty moms you know it doesn't have to be a paper mache box. Or you don't have to paint it - decoupage it, cover it with scrapbook or craft paper. Or get a metal or wood container & decorate it. The possibilities are endless!

Gather together the survival kit contents below (usually just one of each item per kit). Write or use your computer and printer to make a small piece of paper, small enough to fit on the cover of the box, listing the ingredients from below and what each ingredient signifies.

Trim the page to fit and attach it to the lid of the box using small dabs of glue spaced evenly around the edges of the paper. Glue pieces of ribbon around the paper to frame it. Put these survival kit contents into the box and give to a special teacher.

Choose one or all of these survival kit ingredients, or you can think of your own:

Aspirin: When all else fails, take 2 and take a time out.
Band-Aid: For when things get a little rough.
Crayon: To color every day bright and cheerful.
Ear Plugs: For when the noise get's too overwhelming.
Life-Saver Candy: Because you are a life saver to many children.
Marbles: To replace those you might loose from time to time.
Mounds Candy Bar: For the mounds of knowledge you share.
Paper Clip: For when you need help in holding things together.
Peanuts: To remind you to be a little nutty sometimes.
Puzzle Piece: Because you are a big piece of every child's life.
Rubber Band: To remind you to be flexible.
Starburst Candy: To give you a burst of energy when you need it.

This survival kit gift will certainly be a hit with every teacher you present one with!

TEACHER TISSUE BOX:

Every teacher needs tissues for their classroom! Make a cute one for them and they'll appreciate it! It will get used!

Materials Needed:

Plain Wooden Tissue Box Holder - available at craft stores such as Michael's & Hobby Lobby.

Craft Paint

Decorative Scrapbook or craft paper (optional)

Ribbon or other embellishments (optional)

Modge podge or other preferred adhesive

Tacky tape or other preferred adhesive for any embellishments

Box of tissues for when you are done

Directions:

1. Paint the outside of the wooden tissue box. If you are going to cover it with scrapbook paper we recommend only painting the perimeter of the box. Most craft paint dries very quickly. Allow it to dry before applying the paper over it.

2. If you are covering it with scrapbook paper, cut the paper so that a slight amount of the painted edges show as if to "border" the paper.

3. Use Modge-podge or other preferred adhesive to cover the under surface of the paper to adhere it to the wood.

4. If you are going to place an embellishment on top of the paper, use your preferred method of glue to the back of the embellishment. We cut out an apple on the Cricut machine and the teacher's name in letters. We used modge podge on the back of the apple and letters to stick them to the paper.

5. We then modge-podged over the top of the apple and the letters to "seal" them onto the paper. If you have a pre-made embellishment that is more fancy you may not be able to or choose to modge podge over it.

6. We chose to border the top of the box with ribbon and adhered it using tacky tape.

You may embellish the box with anything you like. Maybe your child would like to attach a hand written note or a drawing. Maybe you'd prefer a poem. The sky is the limit, it's your gift! Have fun with it and enjoy!

10 Teacher Gifts to Buy to Start the School Year

Here are some ideas of Teacher Gifts that you can purchase. Since you don't know your teacher yet and the year hasn't started, practical gift ideas to get the year started are the best.

1.Construction Paper or Colored Copy Paper - stock up on colored paper for the teacher. You know they'll use it! With school getting ready to start, many school supplies are on sale.

2. Custom Note Pad - If your child is just beginning to write, this teacher gift is very special. Have your child write out "From the Desk of" at the top of a sheet of paper and the teacher's name at the bottom. Then ask him to draw something simple like the sun or a flower next to the teacher's name. Use a black felt-tip pen and a plain sheet of white paper. Then take the masterpiece to a copy shop and have it made into note pads! If it doesn't all fit on two lines, just make copies and cut and paste in place. We had ours reduced so that the pads were smaller and less expensive. The copy shop can help you with this. The teachers loved it!

Variation: As an early-childhood educator, my all-time favorite gift was a notepad from a student. Her mother had encouraged her to draw a picture of herself and me, then took the drawing to a local copy shop and had it reduced in size and placed in the corner of a 5x7 notepad. Along the bottom, the pad was inscribed with "A note from Mrs. Murphy ..." I've already told the mom that I hope her son (who is in my class this year) will draw me another picture for a new notepad!

3. Personalized Stamp

As a kindergarten teacher I have received so many gifts over the years. The most useful would have to be the stamp with my name on it. I use it to stamp everything possible. Custom stamps can be purchased at Staples and other office supply stores.

4. Phone Cards

I have bought packs of pre-paid phone cards from a large warehouse/discount store. Each phone card can be put into a card your child makes or along with a drawing from your child. Teachers have commented that this is a unique and thoughtful gift.

5. Seed-Planting Kit

The best gift we ever gave a teacher was a seed-planting kit. It had everything in it from the pot to the seeds that the teachers needed to grow a plant. This way they could either keep it at home or use it as a great learning experience if it is kept in the classroom. The teachers loved it!

4. Special Reminders

We came up with a list of items to give the teacher that had a special meaning. The kids and I had a great time thinking these up, and their teachers said they had never gotten a more thoughtful gift:

Sponge - to soak up the overflow when your brain is too full

Candle - to light a small mind

Modeling Clay - for being a great model

Smarties Candy - to help stay smart

Highlighter Pen - for being a big highlight of my life

Glue - for holding everything together

Bubbles - to keep a bubbly personality

Cup - when yours is overflowing

Marbles - to replace those lost from time to time

Crayon - to color your day

Hanger - to hang in there -- summer vacation is almost here!

5. Thank-You Notes

We gave the teacher a box of thank-you notes, a package of stamps, and return-address labels. Real handy for quick notes for gifts. If you're crafty you & the kids can even make these! Take it one step further and put them in a pretty basket or decorate your own container and embellish with ribbon, paint etc. Get creative! And comb the clearance aisles at your local craft stores - they oftentimes have very interesting containers that can be re-purposed for things like this.

6. Tickets & Subscriptions

Tickets to a minor league ball game -- the teachers loved it! Or give a subscription to a magazine that either caters to a teacher's interest (the outdoors, fashion, the news, etc.) or can be helpful in the classroom (a crafts magazine).

7. Gift card to local teacher supply store

For years we gave this gift and it was so appreciated by the teacher. So many expenses end up coming out of their pocket so this is a great way to help their budget!

8. Tissues

Little noses always run! Keep tissues handy for the teacher.

9. Prizes

If your teacher has the "prize box" like ours have had, go to your local party store or visit orientaltrading.com & stock up on trinkets the teacher can use in their prize box.

10. Stickers

Many teachers use stickers for good behavior, the bulletin board or prize box. If your teacher does, stock her up on stickers! Again, visit orientaltrading.com or check your local teacher supply store.

If you have others ideas you have given or received (if you are a teacher or former teacher), please feel free to email us. We'd love to include your ideas!