A new year is a great time to expand your horizons by learning something new. Whether you take a class, pick up a skill, or do some independent research, our tips can help you get started.

Go Back to School
Taking a college course is a fantastic way to advance your career or to help you get a better job. Sitting in on a course is also a fun way to learn more about a subject you’ve always been interested in. Check the course offerings at nearby institutions of higher learning; if you can’t commit to a traditional physical classroom, look into taking a class or two online.

Discover Your Community
Your local parks and recreation or leisure department is a wonderful resource when you want to learn a new skill. Connect with your neighbors over cooking classes, exercise classes, sewing or crafting classes and more for a small fee and minimal time commitment.

Check It Out
In this internet age, it’s easy to forget the power of your local library. There’s nothing quite like picking up a good book, heading to a quiet corner, and losing yourself for a few hours. Libraries are still amazing places to find information on a variety of topics, from automotive repair to zoology. Browse the stacks on your own or enlist the help of a knowledgeable librarian; you won’t be disappointed.

The Power of the Internet
If you’ve never watched an internet tutorial, 2012 is your year. Sites like YouTube and howstuffworks.com offer thousands of how-to videos on just about anything you can think of, providing easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.

Educators tell us that learning to read well is the key to academic success. Phonics are the tools we use to unlock the mysteries of words and learn to read. Children with a firm understanding of phonics become better readers and have proven to be more successful in the classroom. To give their children a head start at school, many parents have turned to Click N Read Phonics. With a money-saving 40% off Click N Read Phonics coupon available only on Coupon Cactus, you too can give your child the edge he or she needs to succeed academically. If you are a Coupon Cactus member, you’ll also receive 12% cash back on every Click N Read Phonics purchase, maximizing your savings.

Click N Read Phonics offers a complete phonics curriculum for students from kindergarten through third grade. Using fun lessons and games, children learn correct letter sounds and how to sound out words and blend letters together to form words. Click N Read Phonics teaches sight words and spelling rules. Children learn about word families, prefixes and suffixes and how to find clues to a word’s sound and meaning. The program also reinforces listening skills, provides story reading practice and teaches basic keyboarding and mouse computing skills as students complete their lessons.

Click N Read Phonics is an effective way to teach reading skills and can be used with children as young as 3. The program is particularly helpful for children with poor reading skills, those with learning disabilities and can be a valuable aid to immigrants struggling to learn English. Give your children a helping hand at school with Click N Read Phonics.

Just in time for the start of classes, Cliffs Notes is offering a CliffsNotes coupon for 15% off any order when you shop online at Coupon Cactus. Since 1958, CliffsNotes has been helping students from junior high through graduate school learn faster, study more efficiently and excel academically. CliffsNotes.com offers a complete range of well-organized, understandable study guides in core academic subjects, including algebra, geometry, calculus, chemistry, history, languages, literature and more.

CliffsNotes breaks subjects down to help students figure out, comprehend and retain classroom subject matter. Many students use CliffsNotes in concert with classroom assignments or as study guides to augment classroom learning and prepare for tests. Written by professional teachers and professors, CliffsNotes can help explain challenging subject matter, assist students in refreshing their skills in a particular subject or allow students to deepen their knowledge of a subject.

CliffsNotes is also a respected provider of specialized study aids and helpful guides designed to help students prepare for tests, learn more effective study habits, prepare for college and graduate school, apply for financial aid, even get ready for that important first job. CliffsNotes guides teach students the secrets of testing successfully. AP digital flashcards make sure high school students perform their best on important AP tests. CliffsNotes.com also offers digital downloads and new mobile apps for iPhone and iPod touch. From the beginning of a student’s academic career, all the way through grad school and beyond, CliffsNotes is there to support and assist secondary, college and post-college students to achieve their full academic potential.

Studies show that children who read do better in school and succeed in life. Click N Read Phonics is the fastest, easiest way to teach children to read — and kids think it’s fun! Give your child a boost at school and in life with a valuable  Click N Read Phonics coupon on Coupon Cactus that’s good for 40% off any order. Coupon Cactus members also receive 12% cash back.

Click N Read Phonics provides a complete Kindergarten through Grade 3 computer-based phonics reading curriculum. Clever games and graphics teach children letter sounds and how to blend those sounds into words. Children learn about word families and how to make sentences with the words they learn. Fun games take the mystery out of special rules like the silent E rule and help children unlock the magic of word prefixes and suffixes.

While they’re playing children are learning. Educators say a phonics-based reading approach not only makes for better readers, it improves spelling skills. Phonics teaches children the sounds associated with each consonant and vowel and teaches the many unusual sound combinations inherent in the English language. Children develop the skills that allow them to unlock spelling puzzles and figure out the correct way to spell words.

Special animated stories build vocabulary and reinforce word recognition while helping children improve listening skills. While your child is learning to read, he’s also learning valuable basic computer and mouse skills. Click N Read Phonics is so certain you’ll be satisfied with their product, to company offers a money-back guarantee that also applies to children with learning disabilities and adult learners.

As parents, we all want our children to develop proper reading skills that will help them learn more efficiently throughout their formative years. When a child has difficultly with reading, it can affect their ability to comprehend what they are reading and how they learn to write. Additionally, it can be difficult to duplicate what techniques are being taught at schools today as many of them have changed since we were children ourselves. For children, not mastering the skills of reading can lead to life-long struggles that can be hard to overcome.

Click N Read Phonics offers amazing programs to help your child learn to read and write. Their online reading, phonics and spelling programs are currently being used in both schools and homes in over 100 countries. In the program, each lesson is taught by a nationally recognized education professor in a simulated classroom. The program is specifically designed to teach Pre-K to 5th grade students and allows children to work at their own pace so that no child is ever left behind. The Click N Read Phonics programs are designed for many different skill levels and are guaranteed to work for both children and adults. It is perfect for beginning, struggling, learning disabled children, teenagers and even adults too. 

Be sure to stop by Coupon Cactus to pick up the Click N Read Phonics coupon codes before you place your order. Coupon Cactus currently has coupons for 25% Off ClickNRead and ClickNSpell (expires 6/30/10) and 40% Off Any Order (expires 12/31/10). Coupon Cactus members will save even more money with the 12.00% Cash Back that is offered. Put an end your child’s daily reading struggles, try the Click N Read Phonics programs today!

Cliffs Notes have been helping high school and college students succeed in school since 1958. CliffsNotes.com offers dependable study guides for literature, writing, math, sciences, foreign languages and many more subjects. Written by experienced teachers and college professors, CliffsNotes study guides are well organized and easy to understand. These handy study aids break difficult academic subjects down into well-explained, understandable segments so they are easier for students to learn.

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In addition to the world’s best known study guides, CliffsNotes also offers test preparation tools for important College Board exams. Use Test Success to prepare for upcoming SAT and AP tests and ensure the scores you need to get into your first-choice college.  Full-length practice tests help you hone both your academic knowledge and test-taking skills so you’ll score higher on these critical exams.

On CliffsNotes.com you’ll also find plenty of helpful information and tips about applying for college, navigating the confusing world of financial aid, adjusting to college life and figuring out your post-college career path. You’ll also find information on grad schools and resume writing advice for that important first job. CliffsNotes.com on Coupon Cactus is your complete online resource for high school and college study guides, college prep and exam tools, and everything you need to know to move successfully from the classroom into the workplace.

I know it’s vacation time. Just mention homework and my children groan. But vacation also offers quiet moments away from hectic school routines to assess and plan for the future. With a daughter in the final months of her senior year in high school, our dining room table is again littered with college brochures and application materials. We’ve been taking advantage of the down time to review and compare schools on her short list. And I’ve been encouraging my daughter to start working on her application essays.

Having already shepherded one daughter into her first-choice college, I understand the importance of writing a well-crafted college admissions essay. With so much at stake, competition to get into one of the nation’s top schools is cutthroat, particularly for the most competitive colleges like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Stanford. Where you go to college can significantly impact graduate school opportunities, job offers and future earnings.

The quality of your child’s admissions essay often determines whether he’ll be receiving that prized acceptance letter or a disappointing letter of rejection. Essay Edge can help ensure that your child receives the college admissions offers he’s worked for. With a 92% success rate, the professional editors at Essay Edge (most graduates of the nation’s most prestigious universities themselves) have the skills and knowledge to guide your child in crafting the personal statement he needs to achieve acceptance to the nation’s top tier universities.

Until December 31, 2008, you’ll find valuable Essay Edge coupons on Coupon Cactus that offer $5, $10 and $15 dollars off Essay Edge services. Coupon Cactus members receive an additional 6% cash back when they order Essay Edge services through Coupon Cactus. Coupon Cactus is sure to have new online coupons after the new year as well so be sure to check in often.