Join us for Story Hour on Saturday, February 2nd and Monday, February 4th from 10:30-11:00 AM

Celebrate Groundhog Day with us as we read Wake Up, Groundhog! by Susanna Leanoard Hill and Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela Curtis Swallow. Everyone will make a pop-up groundhog puppet and a silly groundhog mask. Will he or won’t he see his shadow this year?

The Teachers' Lounge is having a HUGE construction paper sale this week only! Buy 3 packs of paper and get 3 more packs free!* You can mix and match any colors and sizes of paper you like! Stock up now for all of those cool winter crafts you've been wanting to do with your kids. Or, think ahead and get all of the paper you need for Vacation Bible School and Summer Camp. You can't beat this deal! This sale ends Sunday, Feb. 10th.... so stop by before it's over.



*This sale applies to in-stock merchandise only. There is no limit to this offer, but there is a minimum of 3 paid packages of paper. For each item purchased, you get one free item valued at equal or less than the item purchased.

We are excited to announce that The Teachers' Lounge catalog is now online! Just visit the Shop Online link located at the top of our website to start shopping. With over 10,000 products to choose from, you'll be able to find everything you need.

As you put your Christmas decorations away, I wanted to let you know of an organizational tip that will help you when you are putting up decorations next year, especially in regards to outside light displays. When taking down your light display, use a commerical light organizer or what I did this year was to wind my lights in an orderly fashion around a piece of cardboard. On each section of lights I posted a note reminding me where they were in the yard. For example, along the left side of the drive, around the stone wall, on the fence, above the porch, by the basketball hoop, etc. Just like this year, next year when I take out my decorations I won't have to remember what went where or figure out exactly how many light strands I need for each area. It saved a ton of time and hassle this year and I know I will be so glad next year that I was a great organizer!

Change the wreath, remove the bows and garland and You can still have a festive front porch for the month of January!

Did you take advantage of this balmy weather and get all of your outdoor decorations down? This year we were really lucky in St. Louis. We had ideal weather the weekend of Thanksgiving to put up the decorations and 60 degree weather in January to take them down. It sure beats frostbitten hands and cold feet when working outside! I don't know about you but it is not the happiest occasion for me taking down the decorations. I always think the house looks so naked and empty, bereft of all the colorful decorations. This year I decided to keep a little bit of Christmas outside, more like alpine ski decor. I am hoping to hold onto the Christmas spirit a bit longer and have found that Christmas decorations inside can be swapped out with a snowman motif that can keep you in a festive mood until at least Valentine's Day. I think it is human nature to cling to the special days in the calendar. Even in classrooms, we move from holiday to holiday. Have you added snowmen to your bulletin boards yet? Our seasonal section at The Teachers' Lounge is boasting some fun snowman and penguin characters and we are even ready for Martin Luther King and President's Day. What about the 100th day of school celebration? Count the days on your school calendar and plan some fun activities. What a great way to bring more cheer to your day especially when we could be heading into the cold dark days of winter!

With the Iowa caucuses drawing to a close tonight, I was prompted to do a little research on the presidential candidates. I found a terrific website that shows where each candidate stands on education. You can even choose two candidates and do a side by side comparison! Check it out and be an informed voter!

Click Here

The next time you stop by The Teachers' Lounge, be sure to pull up a stool and try out our demo bar. When Scott and I first talked about opening a teachers' store, one of the features we wanted to include was a place where parents, teachers and kids could try out products before they purchased them.

How else would you be able to tell if a specific board game would be fun for all the members of you family? How would you know if the CD you were thinking about buying taught the specific skills you were covering in your next lesson plan? Could you tell which of the three alphabet DVD's we carry would hold your child's attention the most? These questions cannot be answered by just reading the outside of a box. Sometimes you need to see exactly what a product does and how it works in order to make an informed decision. With The Teachers' Lounge Demo Bar, you now have that option.



We currently have about 20 products throughout the store (board games, toys, CD's and DVD's) that can be seen at the Demo Bar. These items are marked with a blue lizard tail sign. If you are thinking about purchasing one of these products, ask any team member to demo it for you. Our team members love playing games, trying out toys, listening to music, and watching movies. They are more than happy to show you how our products work so that you can find exactly what you need.

We hope to see you at the Demo Bar soon! Come and play with us today!