Your students can grow as environmental stewards through Disney's Planet Challenge. It's a project-based environmental competition for third- through eighth-grade classrooms designed to teach kids about science and conservation while empowering them to make a difference in their schools, homes, and communities. Enroll now at www.disney.com/planetchallenge.

The Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation awards grants up to $1,500 to organizations and K–12 schools for environmental projects incorporating basic ecological principles and fieldwork. Past recipients' projects have included studying the urban forest to determine tree health and examining the problem of lead poisoning by collecting paint and water samples. The deadline for proposals is September 25, 2010. Log on to www.mgaef.org for more information.

Family Day—A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children is a national movement to inform parents that frequent family dinners help keep kids from drinking, smoking, and using drugs. This year's celebration is September 27, 2010. Log on to www.casafamilyday.org for more information and a free family dinner kit with recipes, word games, and conversation starters.

Spread awareness about amphibian extinction by entering the Save the Frogs art contest. One grand-prize winner will receive $100; category winners get $35. The best artwork will be displayed at www.savethefrogs.com/art so everyone can vote. Students of all ages can participate. The entry deadline is September 29, 2010.

Teachers in grades K–12 who have creative classroom projects can apply for grants from the Kids in Need Foundation. Every year, the foundation awards 200–300 grants, ranging from $100 to $500. Apply online until September 30, 2010, at www.kinf.org/grants, where you'll also find detailed submission guidelines and a list of award-winning project ideas.

Develop the best public awareness campaign that incorporates the 2011 National Library Week theme, "Create your own story @ your library," and your library could receive the $3,000 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant. The grant will support a single library's public outreach efforts during National Library Week, April 10–16, 2011. Apply at www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/pio/natlibrary week/nlwgrant.cfm by October 1, 2010.

Schools planning youth gardens in 2011 can apply for the Subaru Healthy Sprouts Awards. To be eligible, you must have at least 15 children ages 3–18 participating and you must use the garden to teach about the environment, nutrition, and hunger in the United States. Awards include a $500 gift certificate for gardening materials and nutrition lessons from the National Gardening Association. Apply by October 1, 2010, at www.kidsgardening.com.

Read for the Record brings millions of adults and children together one day a year to all read the same book. The next celebration is October 7, 2010, with events to be held across the U.S. and around the world. This year's book is The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats. Log on to www.readfortherecord.org for more information.

Spark your students' interest in geography by entering the National Geographic Bee, open to grades 4–8. Principals can enroll their schools at www.nationalgeographic.com and receive instructions, sample questions, and a first-place medal. Top students move from school to state to national levels and are eligible to win scholarships of $10,000 to $25,000. There is a registration fee; the deadline is October 15, 2010.

Design a great poster and have a chance to win art supplies by entering the ArtSkills poster contest. Winners in three age categories—12 and under, 13–18, and over 18—each get $100 in ArtSkills poster-making supplies. Three winners are chosen every month; enter any time at www.artskills.com.

Do Something Seed Grants of $500 are available to people age 25 and younger to start or continue community action projects. Recent examples include organizing an antismoking class for students and building community gardens and then donating the produce to food pantries. There is no deadline; grants are accepted on a rolling basis and awarded weekly. Apply at www.dosomething.org/grants.

Help your students make a difference in the lives of others and join millions of students in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's School & Youth Program. While raising more than $100 million over the past 14 years, the program gives students hands-on experiences that cultivate caring, respect, and sharing with others. Programs include Pennies for Patients, HOP for Leukemia & Lymphoma, and Olive Garden's Pasta for Pennies. Call (888) HELP-LLS or go to www.schoolandyouth.org to learn more.

Show veterans how much they are valued by participating in History's Take a Veteran to School Day campaign. The initiative links veterans of all ages with students in grades K–12. Get free teacher resources, including a how-to guide, at www.veterans.com.

FoodMASTER is a free online curriculum of hands-on and virtual programs that use food to teach math and science skills. Programs are available for grades 3–5, with those for other grades being developed. Visit www.foodmaster.org to download posters, supply lists, and the teacher's manual and student workbook, which contain chapters on measurement, food safety, and more. The program is funded by the NIH NCRR Science Education Partnership Awards.

Get a free one-year e-book site license by applying for a resource grant from Sylvan Dell Publishing. Available to schools, libraries, and homeschool associations, the grant offers one year of access to over 50 picture books with English and Spanish text and audio. Just fill out a short application at www.SylvanDellPublishing.com. No special software is needed.

We Give Books, a free reading Web site, lets students up to age 10 enjoy picture books and give to charity at the same time. Select a literacy campaign from the Web site; then read a free book online. Every time you read a book, We Give Books donates a book to the literacy campaign of your choice. Check it out at www.wegivebooks.org.

Launch your K–12 students' names into space with the free Student Signatures in Space program. About 500 schools will be selected to receive giant posters for students to sign. Signatures are then digitally captured, and NASA includes them in the manifest of the space shuttle mission scheduled for fall 2011. Find out how to apply at www.spaceday.org.

Help your students understand advertising and become savvy consumers with Admongo, a new campaign from the Federal Trade Commission. Geared toward 8- to 12-year-olds, Admongo consists of a free interactive game where students create an avatar and progress through four levels. A free curriculum for grades 5 and 6 and sample ads for classroom use are also included. Visit www.admongo.gov to get started.

The Autism Teacher Capabilities Web site has free resources to help schools create autism-specific professional development plans. The site contains evidence-based classroom strategies and interventions, IEP and communication support tools, a worksheet to calculate the number of students expected to be diagnosed with autism in your district and the costs of educating them, and more. It's all at www.AutismPro.com/PD1.

Explore the Blue is a free online initiative that encourages K–12 students to go boating and fishing and emphasizes the value of water conservation. The site has free cross-curricular lesson plans, activities, worksheets, multimedia content, and interactive games. A digital essay contest lets students document their on-the-water experiences. Take the plunge at exploretheblue.discoveryeducation.com.

The Adopt-a-School Program introduces upper elementary and middle school students to engineering with a free 28-page book called Those Amazing Engineers. The program matches corporate donors with schools and can be used to supplement science and math courses. Sign up to receive free copies of the book and a teacher's guide at www.trilogypublications.com or by calling (201) 816-1211.

Project Learning Tree, the American Forest Foundation's environmental education program, offers free and inexpensive professional development workshops for PreK–grade 12 teachers. Teachers who attended a workshop are then eligible to receive a free PreK-grade 8 environmental education activity guide with 96 interdisciplinary activities. Visit www.plt.org/cms/pages/21_20_8.html to find a workshop near you.

Microsoft Office Online has free templates for grades K–12 teachers and students. The collections include flash cards, math and science tables, award certificates, coloring and activity pages, and more. Download everything at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates.

Makeuseof.com has 14 free application cheat sheets and posters for popular computer services and programs, such as Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and Twitter. Download, print, and keep them handy on your desk. The information includes keyboard shortcuts, command-line switches, definitions of buzz-words, and more. Check it out at www.makeuseof.com/tag/14.