Media Mommy–I am a plugged in Mom. I love my kids, social media–and a good deal!

It’s amazing how much teachers spend out of their own pockets in order to get their classrooms ready for the new school year. For many, it’s hundreds of dollars. If you’re willing to possibly wait in line–this Thrifty Thursday tip might help you!

The first 100 teachers at Staples stores in Southern Colorado this Saturday will get some free school supplies for their classroom. It’s part of their Teacher Appreciation Day. Here are the details.

Saturday, August 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The first 100 teachers will receive an Avery Binder filled with paper, a pencil pouch and other supplies to assist them with their classrooms.

Locations:

4520 Centennial Blvd., Colorado Springs

2955 New Center Point, Colorado Springs

16096 Jackson Creek Parkway. Monument

1411 Highway 50 W. Pueblo

I’m a little behind on my movie watching, considering Iron Man 2 is out on the big screen, but I recently watched the first Iron Man–twice.

It was pretty good, lots of action, some adventure. Robert Downey, Junior did a good job convincing me he was Tony Stark a cocky, super-intelligent jerk turned superhero.

I didn’t appreciate the fact that this movie was targeted at kids. Foul language, innuendo and the beginnings of a sex scene don’t really go hand in hand with Burger King kids meals in my opinion. I’m not sure why the movie producers thought the movie needed the adult content. It didn’t.

I give this one a C, glad I saved my money.

This Friday, June 4th, all kids ride free at the City Park Rides in Pueblo. The rides include one of Colorado’s historical carousels, along with a mini roller coaster and a dozen other kid size rides.

The rides are open from 5 to 9 p.m. Normally the carousel rides cost just 50 cents, the other rides 25 cents, so this is a bargain all summer long.

Park hours are Tuesday-Thursday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday-Sunday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

This is a blast, my kids love to ride the mini train. Just be sure to bring a bit of cash for the cotton candy at the concession stand. This is not free, but worth it. Yum!

Friday is another free day for Coloradans at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield.

The Gardens are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. but no visitors are admitted after 4:30.

Click here for more information and directions.

Have you been to the gardens? It looks like my kids would have fun there. I’ll have to wait for another free day before I can take them!

If you have a Thrifty Thursday tip to share please email me at sboe@NewsFirst5.com

If you’re like me, you’ve wanted to take the kids to Santa’s Workshop on Pikes Peak–but sticker shock has stopped you. $17.95 PER PERSON 2 and up. For small families–that’s doable. Larger families like mine–ouch.

Luckily, they’re offering $5 off regular admission until June 13. That’s still quite a bit of money, but I well deserved treat for my kids.

Click here for the coupon. Thanks Carrie for finding this deal!

This weeks Thrifty Thursday tip is from Chick Fil A. They’re offering free spicy chicken sandwiches– before they’re on the menu. Just click here and specify a location, date and time. They’ll send you an email with a coupon to get it. The days to pick up are May 31-June 5th.

Thanks to Carrie at SpringsBargains.com for this tip.

If you really like Crocs footwear you may want to head up to Boulder this weekend, they’re opening their first store!

The first 25 people in line will win all the shoes they can carry!

Click here for all the info.

Sonic is offering Buy One Get One Free on their shakes all the way through June 27th. You can either get the free one right then, or save your coupon for a return visit. Either way–Yum.

Thanks to Carrie for this one!

If you have a Thrifty Thursday tip to share please email me sboe@NewsFirst5.com

Ice cream. We scream even louder for FREE ice cream!

Head to your local Walmart between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m this Saturday, May 22nd, for a free ice cream sundae!

According to their website they’ll be serving up Breyers new and exclusive flavors, Blue Bunny Premium Ice Cream and new All Natural Frozen Yogurt topped with Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Reddi-wip, and Fresh Strawberries.

This is clearly an effort to get you to come in and sign up, but if you’re testing out gyms right now it’s a good deal. 24 Hour Fitness (as seen on The Biggest Loser) is offering free days both Saturday and Sunday for Moms!

Even better: parents will receive Kids’ Club babysitting free! And—The Biggest Loser Boot Camp class is still available.  Click here for more info on that.  www.24hourfitness.com.