I don't know if it was the recent election coverage or the phonics-teaching Leapfrog DVDs my kids are insanely addicted to, but I've been thinking about an old cartoon a lot lately. Unlike today, where there's cartoons on pretty much 24/7 (heck, there's even an entire channel or two devoted to 'em!), when I was a kid we'd have a few cartoons here and there every day, but it was mostly saved up for one very specific time: Saturday mornings.

All I have to say is "Smurfs" or "Herculoids" or "Jabberjaw" and chances are (assuming you're a child of the '70s or '80s), you're instantly flashing back to your own youth. Lying on the living room floor in your pajamas, with a bowl of Cap'n Crunch cereal before you, as you stared like a zombie at the TV. I'm so not a morning person, but as a kid, I definitely would be leaping out of bed by 7 a.m. at the latest on a Saturday morning to spend a few hours watching the Gummi Bears bouncing here and there and everywhere. And since Saturday mornings were pretty much it for cartoons, even the special educational shorts were great. Yeah, you guessed it... I'm talking about School House Rock!

If you don't follow the words "Conjunction Junction" with "What's your function?" or know that a Bill sits on Capitol Hill, well, then you don't remember School House Rock. You don't know about Father, Son and Lolly's adverb store. Or that the "shot heard round the world" was the start of the revolution. Or even the fact that "Three is a magic number." Nope, if you didn't know any of that then chances are you should probably stop reading now or you'll think I'm having some trippy flashback or something.

I totally loved School House Rock and remember eagerly waiting for it every week with my sister, as we'd sit around at commercials guessing which one it'd be that day. They were fun, educational and had really catchy tunes. No joke, but I memorized the entire preamble to the Constitution thanks to School House Rock, which actually came in handy in school when we had to memorize it for a test in the 3rd grade! And yes, I still remember it to this day.

If only they had kept making more School House Rocks. Say one that's all about the Dewey decimal system or the periodic table. Or better yet, something for Biology. I did horrible in Biology class, but if I had a catchy little genus/phylum song to run through my head, I surely wouldn't have fallen asleep so often in Gleichenhaus' 7th grade bio class. Or these days, maybe they could make some based on HTML so I wouldn't have to keep reaching for my "HTML for Beginners" book every time I forget how to add padding around an image. Oh! How about something even better: a School House Rock teaching all about blogging!

I can see it now:

"A blog is just a diary,
For all the world to enjoy and see.
What you ate for breakfast, how you tie your shoes,
If it happened to you, then blog it; it's news!"

Okay, so maybe it's a good thing they stopped making episodes. Or rather, that I had nothing to do with them...

COUPON TIME:

Childhood! Cartoons! Fun! Exclamation points! Sorry, got carried away there. Anyways, here are a bunch of kid-centered coupons to keep you young at heart, and of course to save you some money in the process.

$10 off online orders over $75
$15 off online orders over $100
$20 off online orders over $150 at Highlights.com
Use coupon code SAVE. At checkout you should see the following message: You provided a discount code for $10 off $75, $15 off $100, or $20 off $150. If your order qualifies, the discount will be reflected on email order confirmation.
Valid through: January 5, 2009
Cannot be combined with other Highlights Catalog discounts or offers. Excludes magazine and book clubs.


Free shipping on orders over $50 at LeapFrog.com
Use promotion code HY8FSA at checkout.
Valid through: November 23, 2008

FREE shipping on orders over $99 at Lego.com
Use this link. Valid through: December 1, 2008 11:59pm ET
Cannot be combined with any other offers. Valid only in the U.S. and Canada. Gift Card purchases do not count towards merchandise total.

10% off your order at the Nick.com Shop
Use promotional code SHOP10 in your shopping cart.
Valid through: December 31, 2008 11:59pm ET
Discount is not applicable to gift cards and gift certificates. Discount does not apply to taxes, shipping and handling charges, gift-wrapping or similar charges. Discount not applicable with returned merchandise; total discount will be deducted from the value of any returned item to which the discount applied. Cannot be combined with any other promotional offer nor is this offer valid on previous purchases. Entire order must be shipped to a single address. This promotional offer may be modified or terminated at any time without notice.

And if you're looking to pick up School House Rock on DVD, look no further than the following coupon!

25% off DVDs & Blu-ray at DeepDiscount.com
Also valid on posters, puzzles/games, and storage accessories.
In your shopping cart, enter promotional code supersale.
Valid through: November 23, 2008 11:59pm CT
Excludes pre-order DVDs. Offer valid on currently available DVDs, Blu-ray discs, HDDVDs, UMDs, Posters, Storage Units and "Fun Stuff" only. Not valid on previous purchases. Does not apply to video games, CDs, books, electronics, cell phones and magazines. Coupon may be used only one time per customer.