[Edited to Add: This giveaway has closed - WE HAVE A WINNER - Congratulations, Amanda!!!]
Welcome to Day 8 - the final installment of our Back-to-School Picks & Giveaway sponsored by some awesomely generous people who have graciously agreed to provide some really cool stuff for you (yes, YOU!) and your...I mean, mine...okay, isn't it time we ALL kicked our kids...back-to-school!?!?
Seriously, I've got lots of great stuff to share with you.
Our kick-off giveaway drew 400 responses - Holy Craps! - what a great way to celebrate the last week of summer!
Having 4 kids, attending 4 different schools this year, we've got something for everyone and giving cool stuff away, everyday:
Day 1: Coloring Fun - for my 2nd grader, Mini-me.
Day 2: Sports and More - for my 4th grader, The Boy.
Day 3: Street Smart Supplies - for my 7th grader, Thing Two.
Day 4: A New Backpack - for my...GULP...9th grader, Thing One.
Day 5: TGIF: It's movie night.
Day 6: Lunch Box Fun and Healthy Snacks.
These picks, as always, are advertorial free. No one is paying me, to talk about their product. It's just some really nice stuff that I thought you guys would like, too.
Let's hit the books!
When he was in the 2nd grade, my son received the "homework from hell" award, a title his two oldest sisters were more than happy to pass on.
Two pages of math, reading and one page of either Science or Social Studies, Spelling, Fix-its (correcting any work from the prior school day) and at least 20 minutes of reading...every single night...it WAS his best year.
For me, not so much!
According to by AskKids.com (a popular children's and tween's search engine launched last week, by Ask.com) 43% of 778 surveyed parents admit that they actually do their children's homework for them in order to ease the strain of busy schedules.
On the one hand...WHOA!...yet, on the other hand...SERIOUSLY?
I mean, they ARE teaching my kids to do basic math, in a different way, this year without using the good old-fashioned multiplication tables and flashcards I grew up with.
It's called "new math" and I am actually attending a "special" meeting arranged by our school system as a courtesy for "those parents" who perhaps feel the need to go back-to-school and, you know, get it.
[looks to the left, looks to the right and slowly raises hand]
No worries, for less than the cost for a tutor, Microsoft has an economical and easy solution for struggling parents...um...like me.
Microsoft Student is an all-in-one homework tool and tutorial that is jam-packed with features, including:
Encarta Premium: A multimedia encyclopedia with 60,000 interactive articles, thousands of music and video clips, a comprehensive world map with 1.9 million locations, and 28,000 trusted links to Web sites.
Encarta Kids: Designed for K-5, Encarta Kids features kid-friendly research tools, music, movies and a safe place to learn.
Microsoft Math: Comprehensive tutorials and instruction, including 3-D graphing calculator, Step-by-Step Equation Solver, Equation Library, Triangle Solver, and Unit Conversion Tool.
Learning Essentials 2.0: Templates for writing papers, reports and presentations using Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
Foreign Language help: Tools for completing assignments and a full-featured dictionary to help translate and conjugate verbs in Spanish, French, German and Italian.
Book Summaries: More than 1,000 book summaries for literary help.
Phew, that's a lot of homework help...huh...want one?
To celebrate the close of our Back-to-School Event, one winner will receive a complimentary copy of Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2009 for download, courtesy of the generous folks at Microsoft!
[Note: Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2009 is only available to PC users at this time.]
(Retail Value: $49.95)
WIN IT: Just leave a comment on this post by 10:00 a.m. on September 7th (Sunday) and you ARE automatically entered to WIN IT! One winner will be picked (via random.org) and announced on September 8th (Monday) via email and post on PRIZEYWinners!
HEY, you (yes, YOU!) are you a blogger? Excellent! Blog about this contest and get THREE chances (for a total of 4) to win! Check out the instructions to see how.
Thank you for joining us -- our first year of hosting a week-long Back-to-School Event & Giveaway -- it was SO MUCH fun and I hope that you join us for our Holiday Picks & Giveaways, coming in November 2008!
Good luck and, you know, wake me when September ends!
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