Friday, January 16, 2009

PTA Video Store

I have to admit, when I think of the PTA, the Harper Valley song starts playing in my head. After that, I think of "the perfect moms" who run the PTA, making you feel like a loser for wanting to help out in some small way. You know who I'm talking about - the thin, exquisitely dressed, perfectly coiffed and made-up moms who have the perfect 2 children who are on the honor roll and involved in 20 extracurricular activities; the mom who doesn't forget about events and stop at the grocery store on the way there to pick up a package of cookies; the mom who makes Martha Stewart recipes for class parties. I'm sure a lot of you know what I'm talking about here. Seriously, that was about the extent of my knowledge about the PTA.

Awhile back, I had to opportunity to speak with April and Kate from the National PTA. They set me straight. Did you know, not all school are involved in PTA? Some schools have PTOs, for example. This is not the same thing as the PTA. I had no idea. I thought it was all the same thing!

The PTA is a national organization. It's the largest volunteer parent organization in the U.S. They have more than 5 million members devoted to the success of children and the promotion of parent involvement in schools. The PTA prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in the PTA is open to anyone.



And did you know there's a PTA video store? I had no clue! They sell only family friendly movies so you don't have to worry about adult content when you order from their site. While browsing titles this morning, I saw several for only $8.99! I know a lot of people rent movies, but when it comes to kids' videos, I like to own them. Why, you ask? Because kids like to watch the same movie over and over and over and over and over again until you can recite the entire thing in your sleep. And it's nice to have a babysitter some quality shows on hand to entertain your little ones now and then. Brooklyn threw a fit the other day because she wanted to watch Phineas and Ferb. It wasn't on TV right then and she's too young to get the concept of "YOU CAN'T WATCH IT IF IT ISN'T ON TV!!!" It's nice to have DVDs of some of their favorites shows on hand. Really nice. Trust me.

You can check out the video store here! And you can buy gift cards, which are great to have on hand when your kids are being constantly invited to birthday parties week after week. Kids can pick out their own movie and parents can know that they'll have a G or PG rating. And when you purchase a card, a percentage of the proceeds go toward the PTA.

I have a $20 gift card to the PTA movie store for one lucky reader! Just leave me a comment here and I'll select a random winner on Tuesday, Jan. 27th. Please check back in on the 27th to see if you've won because you'll have 2 days to contact me with your shipping address. If I don't hear from you, another winner will be selected. Good luck!

125 comments:

Lisa Noel said...

Our school has a PTO. I have yet to make it to a meeting but did finally "sign up" last week at a family fun night event. Luckily, I have yet to see the skinny put together PTA/PTO type mom anywhere in our school, but I still know the type. They ran rampid at the school I grew up in.

Anonymous said...

Movies!!!! Yippeeee!

Anonymous said...

I love the PTO at my kids new school ..before that for the last 4 years I have BEEN the pto .. a few would drop in but it was me and one other lady .. no skinny snotties walking around there LOL
@jennhoop

Courtney said...

We love movies at this house!

Jenn said...

Wow... what a great idea!! We have weekly Family Fun Nights and a movie is a must!!

Thanks for the great giveaway!!

JLWalden1{at}gmail{dot}com

Anonymous said...

Sounds fun!

Stacy said...

Count me in!!

Veggiemomof2 said...

Brooklyn sounds like my son & he's 14! LOL When he wants to watch something, he wants to watch it NOW. That's why we have tons of movies.

Covey said...

Oh that sounds awesome!

Anonymous said...

I'm a PTA member at my son's elementary school. Great organization. Would love to get some educational movies for the kidlets :)

Steffers said...

I am always looking for new kid friendly movies for my kiddo.

zekesmom10 said...

I love having movies on hand for the kiddos. I was just talking with some mommies the other day though, about how every kids movie has shut up, idiot, or stupid in it. WHY? Is that really necessary? I told my 3 year old no more movies until he stops saying shut up, because I've had it! The only recent movies I'm pretty sure didn't have anything like that in them were Despereaux and WallE.

Triplet Mommy said...

That sounds great! My kiddos would love some new movies!!!

KAL071203 said...

I had no idea there was a difference between PTA and PTO either! our schools have PTO.

Jennifer said...

I had never heard of a PTA video store. I will have to check into it further. I would love to win by the way.

Anonymous said...

Sounds great! Always love to get movies.

Thanks, Dawn!

Alexis AKA MOM said...

I try to sign up for all things at my oldest school, helps with my SALT hours ;). Would love this, thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

I'm always looking for good quality children's movies. Add me to the giveaway, please!!

-Lori

Katina Sharp said...

Sounds great!

Snoopyfan said...

New movies, sounds good! Now will the kids watch new ones? Hmmmm

Juneau Poole Party said...

Pick me!

zeitersouth said...

What a great idea! My kids love movies!

Kelly B said...

I had no idea that they had a Video Store. That's a great idea.

Anonymous said...

I didn't realize that PTA & PTO were 2 different organizations! My oldest starts Kindergarten next fall, so my knowledge of these things will likely increase! lol

Anonymous said...

I <3 movies!!!

Anjie said...

Cool...I'd love to win!

Anjie B.

Aleta said...

Well, I homeschool, so I don't know about PTA or PTO :wink: But I do know that my kiddos love to watch the same thing over and over and over and over and... OVER!!! LOL!

Denise said...

Awesome! I want to win! We love movies!

Anonymous said...

I didn't know they had any stores. It was just something I join every year. We could always use some more kid friendly movies.

Anonymous said...

Sounds great!

Beverly said...

Thanks for the offer, Dawn!

jillw920@hotmail.com said...

We'd love new movies at our house! Thanks for giving us the chance to win!

Jill W.

Tiffany said...

Wow thats pretty cool I didn't know it was nationwide OR that they had a store. I will have to check that out. Thanks - your always pointing out more stuff for me to spend my hubby's money on LOL.

Amy said...

Thanks for all the cool offers! Sign me up, please. ;o)

Michelle said...

I may be part of a school that has PTO vs PTA, but ummm your image is totally not true. I'm the president of the PTO and I'm so not perfectly coiffed and not forgetting anything etc etc etc. It's all about helping in whatever way we can.

And way cool on the video store -- I had no idea, but I love the idea!

Blake and Laura said...

I didn't know there was a difference either. Movies are always fun, though and it's so hard to find anything family-friendly nowadays.

Kitti said...

This is pretty cool!
~K

zap1605 said...

I would like this

Anonymous said...

That sounds great!! There is so much garbage out there, it's nice to know that you can still find some somewhere and not have to worry about it.

Anonymous said...

I am off to check out the site now.

-T- said...

Awesome giveaway!

onehotrobot said...

Oooh, this is awesome!

Nicole said...

We love family friendly movies that we can all watch together!

Anonymous said...

Count me in for this one!! Deb in Gervais, OR

ptamom said...

As a member of a PTA, thank you for your blog and getting word out about us and the movie store! I found your blog link on another site and I hope more people click on it! Thanks!

Amanda said...

We watch movies until I have them memorized here. Currently, it's Thomas the Train DVDs with my 2yo.

Ashley said...

Whew - lots of giveaways going on! Come on, I've gotta win at least one! :)

Anonymous said...

Wow - I didn't know about that site. I went and looked around and bookmarked it for when the kids are available to look at it. Thanks for letting us know about the site. Our school has a PTO, I didn't know there was difference.

kirine said...

Oh yay! Movies and good causes. My favorite combo!

~Jennifer F

Anonymous said...

We love movies, Thanks

Jennifer in Wisconsin said...

I am part of our school's PTA and we were introduced to the PTA this year. It is a great resource and for things that are bought, the school receives a cut. As for the skinny snotties, we have now here, just many devoted over worked moms you want to make sure there is the best for our kids at school. Nice to have a place where we can be heard.

Anonymous said...

Ooh-great giveaway! Count me in!

Anonymous said...

I never knew all that--thanks for the education. I'd love to get the kiddo some more videos. He's just now getting addicted to television so anything to encourage the habit is appreciated.

maidto5 said...

I promise our parent volunteer thing is NOT ran by put together beauties. Its just me and a another woman. haggerd and wore out. I hate that anyone has that steriotypical image. :(

but it explains alot, I just thought people wouldnt volunteer cause they were lazy... :)

Karen said...

I didn't know about PTO and PTA. Our school has a PTO. Learn something new every day...

Tammy said...

Would love to win - my kids need to be babysat - I mean, entertained - too. And you really need to get a DVR. I record a couple episodes of all the kids' faves. That way, I can mollify the meltdownee. I can even burn the recordings onto DVDs and we can take them with us on trips. It was a great investment. Plus, I can "rewind" or pause TV up to 2 hours. Don't know what I'd do without it, actually. Read? LOL

Anonymous said...

I've been involved in PTO for years, they truly do wonderful things for the kids. I'd love to win this for a PTO raffle.

Anonymous said...

We would love to have a new movie or two! Thanks again, Dawn!

Amy C said...

Yay! I'm always looking for good kids movies! Thanks for the giveaway!

Steff said...

this is such an awesome idea. I cannot believe the movies that are out there that children are allowed to view. This is an awesome alternative.

Patois42 said...

The national PTA and HP allowed all of its PTA-member schools Kung Fu Panda movie night fundraiser a couple of months ago. I ran our school's, and we raised $1,200. You can bet I bought a few of those cards as a thank you. But I could always use another!

Heidi said...

love the pta at our school but i'm not an elementary mom yet just a teacher

Julie said...

We love movie nights!

Jen said...

I actually did know they have a video store! When I joined the PTA and checked out the website I noticed it. It's great that you have a gift card to give away....I hope I win! :)

Amy Molander said...

We are always looking for family friendly movies. Thanks for the giveaway!

Anonymous said...

Love Movies!! This would be great!

Nikki said...

This would be peace of mind, knowing I'm buying a 'totally kid friendly' DVD!

Grammy said...

Thanks for the chance to win, and letting us know about the PTA video store. Awesome!

Anonymous said...

Our school's PTA is seriously incredible. Last year with our activities we brought in over $20,000. The money bought the kids new play ground equipment. Gotta love Walk a thons!!

Anonymous said...

Gimme some free movies!! (please)

Rebecca C.

Cookie said...

Pick me! I hate going to PTA meetings! I feel like I have ntohign in common with most of the moms there. So my neighbor and I started our own after PTA meetings meetings. We go to a restaurant after the PTA and have a drink and whine before we go home. I always feel much better after those "PTA meetings" ;)

Erin said...

Great giveaway - we love watching family friendly movies!

Anonymous said...

We have a PTA......I try to volunteer more in the classroom and help out the teacher. I find it easier and my daughter appreciates it.

DeAnn said...

Would love new family-friendly movies. I am currently involved with the parent org. at my son's preschool and I had no idea how emotionally difficult it could be--and this is preschool!

Olivia Michal said...

me, please!

Elizabeth said...

I had no idea!
That is wonderful.
And so is the giveaway!

Unknown said...

I didn't know there was a PTA store. I would love to get a movie.

pednurse said...

Our school has PAC....Parent Advisory Council. The school I grew up at had PTO. Never involved in a school with PTA, but boy would I love to have a new variety of videos for the kids....especially on all these days off of school we're having due to the horrible winter weather!

Rachel D. said...

What a cool idea! I'll have to check it out - GC or not :)

Ginny said...

I've never heard of it, thanks for the review & giveaway!

Anonymous said...

OK, I'm one of those PTA moms, but I promise that I don't fit most of your description. I'm overweight, in jeans and t-shirt most of the time, hair is clean but that's all I promise. I do have 3 very smart children who will probably be on the honor roll, but that's up to them :) They are only involved in 2 extra curricular activities each (I couldn't handle more than that). I do forget activities, even when written down - my dd just went to her third Girl Scout meeting of the year, though they've met twice a month since September. Oh, and I don't make Martha Stewart anything. :) But I am on the executive board of three PTAs (children are at three different schools). I do it so I can be actively involved in their schools, to know what is going on at school most of the time, and so the teachers/principals can see who I am and know that I'm there for my child.

So, now that I've said all that LOL - I'd love to be entered to win this!

Anonymous said...

This is really sad but I have been the Vice President of our PTA for years and I never knew there was a store. How sad is that :( I am embarassed now

Tori said...

I love me some kids movies. Not that I'd ever use them as a babysitter. Ahem.

Mark said...

GREAT idea! It is getting hard to even take my kids to the video store to pick out a video since there are so many bad movies that they have to pass and are on shelves at their eye level!
Thanks for the chance
sue
marklovessue@numail.org

JoEll said...

i would love to get some more movies and try a new company

Sherri said...

Our PTA did the National PTA family movie night with Kung Fu Panda and it was a great hit.

Anonymous said...

Sounds great!

Anonymous said...

Sounds great. Hope I win.
MomEE of six from Texas.

Anonymous said...

What a great site!

Donna in PA :)

Anonymous said...

Thats cool never knew they had a store.

Anonymous said...

Yeah for family friendly movies! Thanks

Anonymous said...

I could find some great movies for my nieces with this!

SPepper22

Anonymous said...

I love to watch movies with my kids. Please include me in the drawing.

-Donna W.

amerileira said...

Wow, this looks so cool! We homeschool, so I never would have known about this. :) Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I am secretary of P.T.O. at my oldest son's school. Trust me, I am not perfectly put together and I am definitely not a Martha Stewart :) but I do like trying to help out with things at his school. We don't have a very big P.T.O. Just a handful of moms who are trying to do the best we can to provide some fun activities for families and raise some money for the school. We are getting ready to do a movie night...maybe I'll win and we can pick something new to watch!

Connie H. said...

We don't have cable so no kids shows after 6 pm(thats when our PBS shows the news.) Love to have family movies on hand. Thanks for all the great things you give away on your site!!!!

Anonymous said...

I would be great to win one for myself, but I'm totally going right now to order a gift card for one of the prizes at BUNCO. It's hard sometimes to find prizes that will work for everyone, but this is great and helps out a great cause!

Unknown said...

Terrific! We love our movies! :)

Unknown said...

I would love to be able to get some videos for my classroom!

Jodee said...

I also had no idea about the PTA. Thanks for always keeping us educated :)

Lisa said...

Holy smokes now I have that song "harper valley PTA" running through my mind and I don't remeber all the words...wahhhh now I am off to goggle the song so I can annoy myself even more with knowing all the words

Vicki said...

I've been on the PTO for 6 years/2 kids/3 schools, and I can ASSURE you I am not the skinny, put-together, Martha Stewart type. I just want to be involved so I know what is going on in my kids' schools. And I think I have some cool ideas that will raise money for the school and let the kids have fun. Too bad our current PTO president has no vision and chooses not to implement any ideas that are not HIS! lol Am I bitter?? hmmmm...possibly. hehe But we love movies, so I'd love to win. Thanks Dawn!

Anonymous said...

I always wondered about the difference between PTA and PTO. Thanks for the info! Would love some new DVD's that are kid friendly. :)
~justme3

Ali said...

What a great site! I like the movies

Allykat said...

You are so right that once your kid latches onto a movie, it's the *only* one they want to watch! Great giveaway!

Carrie said...

That sounds great! I could use a few new DVDs around here.

Cathy said...

Yay for give-a-ways!

Steph said...

My daughter has insisted on the same movie 3-4 times a day since we first got it from Netflix -- 9 days ago. I have GOT to buy this movie for her so that I can send it back and get a new movie for me.

Anonymous said...

We can always use family friendly movies around here. :)

Heather said...

You mean PTA's are more than those moms? Wow, I had no idea (seriously).

Anonymous said...

You are such a great person Dawn - always looking out for your readers and trying to find them great deals for kid friendly stuff!
Thanks!

Cheryl V said...

This sounds cool, I'd love to try!

Anonymous said...

We aren't quite to PTA/PTO stage but it won't be long. And we still love movies!

L Robinson

Anonymous said...

Nice one.

Aimee said...

We LOVE LOVE LOVE Movies at this house!!!! Especially kid ones! :)

Anonymous said...

Would love to win!!



c66mom@hotmail.com

Victoria said...

Cool!! My daughter is the same way about Dora! She screams "I wanna watch Dora!!" at the top of her lungs if it's not on. I jsut tell her it will be on next.

Erin said...

Ohhh, movies ... and family friendly. Hard to find these days.

Anonymous said...

My kids love to watch videos again and again and again......

Rick said...

So many giveaways. So little time.

mom2lo said...

Pick me! Pick me! I loooooove buying movies for my darling little one!

AlaneM said...

Cool!! We don't have either in our school but then we only have around 40 kids in the entire elementary!

Anonymous said...

I have some movies on VHS that my mom bought from some PTA event when I was in elementary school.

Anonymous said...

I love the PTA this looks like a great site

Jennifer in Wisconsin said...

Who are the winners form the PTA store drawing? I can not find the list if there is one.