By no means comprehensive, this list includes those items brought to the attention of the webmaster. If you hear of a good deal that should be shared, please pass it on to the Communications Chairman.

This list is only provided as a helpful resource to you and is not sponsored by any of the listed organizations. Just the same, accurate and up-to-date information can only be guaranteed by contacting the organization or company itself. While ERCHA is not responsible for misinformation we graciously welcome corrections and suggestions anytime!

Teacher Appreciation Events

August 4-9, 2008
Office Depot. Ask for a Star Teacher Card (a rewards card). Teacher Brunch on Saturday, August 9 from 9-11. Enjoy some treats and get a gift bag with Office Depot products.

August 12-18, 2008
Michaels. 15% entire purchase including sale prices

August 21-23, 2008
Office Max. Come in and get a lunch bag filled with coupons, stickers, etc. We will have the code stickers for the Office Max Retail Connect Program at our August picnic.

Borders and Barnes and Noble will offer their Educator Appreciation events in the Fall.

Eagle River Fun (and Cheap or Free) Spots

Archers' Den (is in the same building as Chugiak/ER Library). One hour of range time is $7/person. There are bows and arrows that you can borrow before you commit to buying your own. The owner is going to offer the Archery in the Schools program for homeschoolers this fall. Call for details.

Chugiak/Eagle River Branch Library. Summer "Catch the Reading Bug" Programs: Thursdays (weekly)
All presentations begin at 2pm in the back story room

• June 5, All About Bees!
  Meet Herb Putney, beekeeper, and see his viewable hive with queen bee laying eggs. He will display honey from around the world and demonstrate his bee keeping equipment. Observe the miniature hive (mechanical, no bees) that produces honey.
• June 12, The Boy Who Ate Too Much
  Storyteller Jack Dalton mesmerizes with the traditional Yup'ik tale, "The Boy Who Ate Too Much." After surviving starvation and then eating everything he hunts, the boy learns powerful lessons.
• June 19, “Nature Kids” Folk Singer Betsy Stern
  Betsy is a solo musician who performs music from around the world for children and their families.
• June 26, More than Mosquitoes!
  Check out the variety of our native bugs in a presentation by the Eagle River Nature Center.
• July 3, The Imaginarium presents "BUGS".
• July 10, Don Russel, Magician - "To Catch a Reading Bug"
• Saturday, July 12, 1:30p (after Bear Paw Parade) - The Character Workshop presents "Bugs Galore: A Variety Show"
• July 17, Movies -Bugs on the Big Screen: The Bee Movie (rated G, 2 hours)
• July 24, Mad Science of Alaska
• July 31, Juggler, Megan Holtan "The Clown Who Caught the Reading Bug"

School Year: Science in the Library - Tuesdays (second & fourth)
All presentations are from 12:30-2:00pm in the back story room

• Participate in a child/adult learning experience featuring theme-centered science activities including crafts. (past programs included Dolphins, Plants, Alaska Song Birds, etc)

For more events, pick up a copy of the current Activity Calendar at any branch or download the PDF version from the library's website.

Book Store/Office Supply Educator Discounts

ERCHA members receive the added benefit of an Educator's Discount with several businesses in the Anchorage/Eagle River area. These discounts typically apply to items used for homeschooling. Please ask when in doubt.

In order to get your discount, each will have a verification process but, oftentimes, you can bring in your copy of the ERCHA newsletter with the labeled envelope. HSLDA membership cards should work as well or cards from any other homeschool organization to which you belong.

• Barnes & Noble, 279-7323
  15% discount on purchase of educational books
  Homeschool organization members - show your card or ERCHA newsletter (showing address label)
  Non-members - bring copies of your lesson plans
  
• Borders Books and Music, 344-4099
  20% educator discount throughout the year (20% on CDs/10% on DVDs for classroom use)
  Ask for the discount and they have you fill out a form and give you a card.
• Book Shelf (Eagle River), 694-4660
  ERCHA/Homeschool discount is 50% off used books; 20% off new (not applicable for scrapbooking supplies). Some exceptions do apply to new and ordered books. Use your ERCHA Newsletter and envelope for membership documentation.
• JoAnn Fabrics, 277-3620 (Northway Mall, Anchorage), 357-3600 (Creekside Mall, Wasilla)
  Best way to get a teacher discount card (for items used in your classroom) is to go to Parents Educating at Home website (www.peah.com/joann.php) to get an access code to use on the JoAnn website.
  Side Note: Can also sign up to get their regular ad (or from the newspaper) which usually contains a 40% off one item coupon and other sale items.
• Office Depot, 562-3993 (Tudor), 277-7470 (5th Ave) - Receive 5% discount on office/school supplies as well as points back each quarter as credit toward purchases, 15% discount on copy/print center services.
  Ask about the "Star Teacher Program". Fill out their form.
• Office Max, 522-3080
  Pick up a Retail Connect Program bar code sticker from an ERCHA Meeting to save money on copies and some products.
  
• Staples, 1 800 3STAPLE - Teacher Rewards Card
• Waldenbooks, 276-2876 (Northway Mall), 561-7644 (Univ. Ctr)
  20% discount on materials used for school.
  Show a membership card (or ERCHA newsletter) and fill out their form.

If you know of any other business who extends discounts to homeschoolers, please email newsletter@ercha.com so we can list the information for all ERCHA members.

Free Curriculum:

CurrClick: Curriculum in a Click. A free Curriculum eBook download is offered on their website just by registering. These are not a samples, but a full product that they normally sell. There is no obligation (other than registration) to obtain the free weekly offers (note: you can select how you wish to be contacted by 3rd party publishers through "My Account").

Free Old Time Radio Shows

Homeschool Radio Shows. A weekly "Living Books for the Ears" newsletter brings you outstanding "old time radio" adaptations of great books and historic stories absolutely free. These fully dramatized half hour audio programs are a terrific way to introduce your kids to these classic tales. But everyone, young or old, will enjoy listening to these excellent, wholesome radio adaptations (in great sound quality).

The Internet Archive. IA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. Founded in 1996 and located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in its collections.

Free Audio Books:

You Need a Story. A weekly free audio book read by a Mississippi homeschool Dad, Robert Green. Occasionally he even tries his hand at writing one. He's just a dad with an incurable Southern accent who loves a good story. But more to the point, he loves his children with all his heart and wants to see their minds trained and their lives filled with living books, great literature, and wonderful stories that not only entertain, but inspire and instruct them in wisdom and virtue and decency. He's happy to share their reading time with others.

Internet Archive. This library contains over a hundred thousand free digital recordings ranging from alternative news programming, to Grateful Dead concerts, to Old Time Radio shows, to book and poetry readings, to original music uploaded by our users. Many of these audios and MP3s are available for free download.

BOOK IT! Program

Read books; get rewards! This is a national reading incentive program sponsored by Pizza Hut. Programs available for Preschool through Pre-K and K through 6
Information about the program: http://www.bookitprogram.com/parents/about.asp
Enrollment forms: http://www.bookitprogram.com/enrollment/

Homeschool Videos

Great Homeschool Videos. A family-safe version of YouTube. A viewing place for some of the best family-friendly, educational and just plain fun videos you can find online. Brought to you by the Old Time Radio homeschooling family two sections up.

Municipality of Anchorage Swimming Lessons

Swim lessons are available at many of the high schools in Anchorage/Chugiak/Eagle River. Multiple times/days to fit your child's schedule and abilities. $8/per child, per half-hour lesson.
Swim Information Line: 343-4402.

H2Oasis Toddler Swim

For children 5 years old and under. Generally begins in August and continues through the school year on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11am - 2pm. Cost: parent and one child - $6.00, parent and two children - $9.00. Phone: 522-4420

Discount Theater Productions / School Performances

~Alaska Theater of Youth - Sydney Laurence Theater, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts

• "Ramona Quimby" October 18, 25, 26, 2007
• "A Christmas Story" December 6, 7, 13, 14, 2007
• "The Just So Stories" February 21, 22, 28, 29, 2008
• "Julius Caesar" April 24, 25, May 1, 2, 2008

Shows: 10:30am. Tickets: $6. Email: alaskatheatreofyouth@yahoo.com. Phone: 338-4902.

~Alaska Junior Theater - Alaska Center for the Performing Arts

• Kahurangi: Maori Dance Theatre, October 25, 2008
  Recommended for ages 5+ and grades K-12
• Madeline and the Bad Hat, December 13, 2008
  Great for ages 10 and up and grades K-4
• Soul Street Dance, February 20, 2009
  Recommended for all ages and grades 4-12
• Black Violin, April 3, 2009
  Great for ages 10 and up and grades 5-12
• The Frog Bride, May 8, 2009
  Recommended for ages 7+ and grades 3-8

Shows: 10am & 11:45am/Noon. Tickets: $6. Phone: 272-7546

~UAA Theater for Young People - Wendy Williamson Auditorium

• "The Elephant's Child", December 6-16, 2007
• "Ashlad and the Good Helpers", April 17-27 (Suitable for all ages)
  

Shows: 10:00am and Noon, Thursdays and Fridays. Tickets: $5 (discounts available with the purchase of two or more shows or save $1 per ticket by paying balance two weeks before the performance).
FYI: General Admission prices for "public shows": $7-adults, $5-children/students/seniors.

Please note that, without large group participation some school performances may be cancelled. Call ahead if requesting tickets for individuals or small groups. Phone: 786-6883

~Anchorage Concert Association - Alaska Center for the Performing Arts

• Jake Shimabukuro, Ukulele; Sept. 19, 2008 - 10:30am; Best for grades 4 & up
• Aga Boom; Oct. 6, 2008 - 10:00am & 12:00pm; Best for grades k-6
• Asleep at the Wheel, Western Swing; Nov. 3, 2008 – 10:30am; Best for grades 3 & up
• Pat Mendoza, Native American Storytelling; Nov. 5, 2008 - 10:00am & 12:00pm; Great for all ages!
• Interpreti Veneziani, Chamber Orchestra; Jan. 9, 2009 – 10:30am; Best for grades 3 & up
• Martha Graham Dance Company; Feb. 6, 2009 – 10:30am; Best for grades 4 & up
• La Theatre Works “War Of The Worlds”, Radio Theatre; March 2, 2009 - 10:00am & 12:00pm; Best for grades 6 & up
• Lazer Vaudeville; March 31, 2009 - 10:00am & 12:00pm; Best for grades k to 6
• Yuval Ron Ensemble, Middle Eastern Music; April 16, 2009 - 10:00am & 12:00pm; Best for grades 4 & up

Shows: 10:30am. Tickets: $6 & $7, depending on show. Payment due two weeks prior to the event.
Contact: Erynn Smith (esmith |at| anchorageconcerts.org), Education and Outreach Director. Phone: 272-1471

Free Family Film Festival at Regal Cinemas (Summer)

When school's out, kids around the country come to selected Regal Entertainment Group theatres for our Free Family Film Festival. It's a fun-filled nine weeks of movies for kids and their parents. Since 1991, Regal has provided this service to the community, and best of all it's FREE!

Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.

Restaurants

• Chuck E. Cheese
  Printable coupons. Look under "savings" menu (although, they do change the links often)
  Tokens for Grades: Show them your most recent report card and get free tokens (not showing now; maybe check back after school starts?)

Museums

• Alaska Public Lands Information Center
  Admission is free. Exhibits, movies, daily 2pm program, interpretive walks all for no charge. Open 9a-5p daily through Sept 17, 9a-5p weekdays during the winter. More info, click here.
  Location: Downtown Anchorage in the Old Federal Building. Phone: 271-2737
• Alaska Museum of Natural History
  Admission: $3 children, $5 adults. Look for a free admission day during the summer. The non-profit Alaska Museum of Natural History fills a special need for science education in Alaska. No other organization in the state educates exclusively on Alaska's unique geological, cultural, and ecological history. For a list of education exhibits, click here.
  Location: 201 N. Bragaw (Mountain View). Phone: 274-2400.
• Alaska Native Heritage Center
  Free for children 0-6 (Ages 7-16, Alaska resident: $6.95)
  Look for a free admission day during the spring. For education information, click here.
  Location: Exit at Muldoon Road NORTH, off the Glenn Highway. Phone: 330-8000
• Anchorage Museum of History and Art
  Admission: Free to children 0–17 ($2 donation suggested for those 6-17). Look for a free admission day during the spring. Educators information here. For exhibits, games and projects for kids, see their "Kids Corner".
  Location: Corner of 7th Avenue and C Street. Phone: 343-4326
• The Imaginarium
  Check out The Imaginarium for FREE in September during their Homeschool Open House, 3:00-5:00 pm
  This is your first chance to sign up for workshops. Homeschool classes are offered monthly from October through May for a fee.
  Location: 737 West 5th Ave. #G (as you would go into the Brewhouse). Phone: 343-0625.

Free e-Libraries:

The Baldwin Project. Named in honor of James Baldwin (1841-1925), it seeks to make available online a comprehensive collection of resources for parents and teachers of children. Their focus, initially, is on literature for children that is in the public domain in the United States. This includes all works first published before 1923. The resources are offered at no charge and permission is granted to individuals to print copies for personal and educational uses. The texts are formatted so that attractive copies can be printed easily, in larger type for younger readers and smaller type for older ones, with illustrations included where possible. Teachers and parents can make use of the readers that are already available, or they can construct their own readers by selecting stories from the existing pool. To guide parents and teachers in their selection of stories for particular children, suggested age ranges for each of the stories are included, both the age at which children first enjoy hearing the story read to them and the age when they can typically read the story to themselves. In addition we look forward to compiling anthologies of stories and lists of books suitable for each age.

The Online Books Page. This is a website that facilitates access to books that are freely readable over the Internet. It also aims to encourage the development of such online books, for the benefit and edification of all. Major parts of the site include an index of thousands of online books freely readable on the Internet, pointers to significant directories and archives of online texts, special exhibits of particularly interesting classes of online books, Information on how readers can help support the growth of online books. The Online Books Page was founded, and is edited, by John Mark Ockerbloom. He is a digital library planner and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania and is solely responsible for the content of the site.

Bartleby. The concluding line of Herman Melville’s classic American short story Bartleby, the Scrivener reads "Ah Bartleby, Ah Humanity!" And so, Bartleby.com—after the humble character of its namesake scrivener, or copyist—publishes the classics of literature, nonfiction, and reference free of charge for the home, classroom, and desktop of each and every Internet participant. Bartleby.com began as a personal research experiment in 1993 and within one year published the first classic book on the Web (Whitman’s Leaves of Grass). Since its incorporation in 1999 and the release of preeminent contemporary reference works, Bartleby.com becomes the most comprehensive reference publisher on the web, meeting the needs of students, educators, and the intellectually curious.

Accelerated Schools (Kansas). ERCHA Disclaimer: This is a difficult and cumbersome to navigate site (in the webmistress's opinion), but it claims to offer 5000 free audio books. Some are read by humans (although I did get an unrecognizable "playlist format" error message for the audio, I was able to see the text). I found some books in dowloadable mp3 format, but it appears that most are digitally "read". Bottom line: Good luck in your search.

The Internet Archive. The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. Founded in 1996 and located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in our collections.

This is a list in progress. Please email the Communications Chairman if you know or hear of any other discounts...OR, if the links are out of date.