Academic Toolbox October Newsletter
It’s that time again to write just a quick Toolbox Newsletter. Major moving has taken place within the walls of the Toolbox. After much thought and debate, we decided to flip-flop the store. And you ask, what does that mean? We have moved ALL the toys to the front of the store and have moved books, math, language arts, social studies, history etc to the back of the store. All classroom decorations, stickers, and what I call “teacher foo-foo” stuff is in the small side room where the toys were. Why did we make these changes, you ask? Well as many of you know, the teacher business sure isn’t what it used to be. We have had to figure out a way to stay open, “think outside the box”! So we are now focusing on TOYS and becoming Wenatchee’s Neighborhood Toy Store. It is our hope and prayer, that by becoming a unique toy store, we will be able to continue to serve the needs of teachers, parents and homeschoolers as well. Dwight has done a fabulous job moving racks and re-merchandising.
To highlight our transition we will be supporting “Neighborhood Toy Store Day”. Mark your calendar for Saturday November 12th from 10-5. Several events are planned for the day, which includes L-Bow the Clown who will be here to make balloons & will teach juggling to those who want to learn. We will have set times for “juggling 101”, which we will post on our Facebook page. There will be a variety of game & toy demo’s, highlighting some of our newest toys. There will be craft projects too. We are asking for donations of good quality dog or cat food (dry kind) for the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society Shelter. If you choose to donate, we will give you 10% off your entire store purchase.
FREQUENT SHOPPER CARD DRAWING WINNER
This month’s winner is Anita Griffin! She wins $25 of credit to use at the store. In December we draw 3 names to help with Christmas shopping so if you are close to filling your card or have a full one, now is the time to use it.
REMINDER PARENTS
During your teacher conference ask what particular skills your child needs to improve so we can help you find the right workbook, game, or manipulative to enhance your child’s learning while still having fun.
NEW ITEMS
Lots of new items coming! Received 35 cartons today. Will post on Facebook as we unpack. Last month Sharon’s favorite was cookie cutters. Yes, we had requests, mostly for apples but we went ahead and brought in others like the pumpkin and scared cat for Holloween. Recipe included.
ZIG ZIGLER QUOTE
Everybody says they want to be free. Take the train off the tracks and it’s free – but can’t go anywhere.
SERVICES
Have been hearing a lot about Layaways coming back to the big box stores to help you in these ‘recessive’ times. Well, at the Toolbox they never went away and we do not charge any fees to do a layaway. We only request a minimum initial payment of 20% of the total price including tax and a monthly payment of any amount.
We also still offer our gift registry to allow children and/or parents to compile a list of their favorite items for friends and relatives to buy for the child. That even allows out of town people to phone in purchases to be mailed or held here at the store.
Don’t forget Gift Certificates are also a great gift for the child. They also can be mailed or held here at the store.
We also do gift bags and limited wrapping at no charge.
ASTRA
We have joined ASTRA, which is the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. All the members vote each year for their choice of the BEST TOYS FOR KIDS. We have the list at the store or you can visit www.astrabesttoysforkids.com to view. This list is great because we toy sellers get to see the kids interact with the toys in the store and we hear directly from the child and parents what they like and/dislike about the toys. We plan on having all of the top toys in the store for the holidays but one, which happens to be the most expensive one on the list and is from Playmobil which we have not done business with due to large minimum orders.
LITTLE FEEDBACK
Have only had a few responses about www.khanacademy.org. Those that did respond were positive. This month I’m sharing another site by Sandra Day O’Connor, that she started because she feels America is being hurt by No Child Left Behind since there is no talk of civics and therefore not on the test and not being taught. Her talk included that we are asking young adults, now able to vote, to help elect a president and they know nothing of how the government was designed to work. She is writing curriculum but has a web site up and running with video games that teach such things as “how a bill passes through congress”. Check it out at www.icivics.org. Again, please share your comments.
Enjoy the great fall weather!
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On the web www.academictoolbox.com
On Facebook www.facebook.com/academictoolbox
On the phone 667-8746 or toll free at 866-458-0239
E-mail atbox@nwi.net
Hours: 10-6 Weekdays, 10-5 Saturday, Closed Sunday