How about a new lunchbox to maintain healthy eating habits outside of the home?
Ditch the brown paper bag this year.
The first day of school is just around the corner, which means you’re probably well ahead on stocking up on all kinds of supplies and essentials on your back-to-school shopping list. A few new face masks? Check! Notebooks and pens? Double check!
No matter if you’re on the hunt for the perfect kids’ bento box, a Pottery Barn lunchbox or just a simple snack container, we’ve got plenty of cool lunchbox options that are bound to work for your family.
CHECK THESE STYLISH BAGS OUT
Thermos Foogo Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Food Jar
$17.99
Summer weather is definitely in full swing — but it will be cold before you know it! For those frosty days, consider buying your child this stainless steel thermos to keep their lunch warm. It can hold up to 10 ounces of food and keep contents cold for up to seven hours and warm for up to five hours.
Thermos Foogo Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Food Jar
$26.50
For the little girl in your life who loves anything and everything that’s pretty in pink, consider getting her this fun unicorn lunchbox from Pottery Barn Kids. It’s lined with water-resistant polyester and has plenty of room for your child’s meal, drink and a snack.
Available in 17 kid-friendly designs, this Mom’s Choice award-winning insulated lunch bag from Wildkin is roomy enough for all your food containers and made with a “100% play proof” material that’s sturdy and easy to clean. Also, how can you beat a near-flawless 4.8-star average from over 7,000 Amazon shoppers?
Kiss clutter goodbye as you tackle the school year.
If any member of your household is returning to the classroom this fall or even continuing to learn from home, you’re probably expecting another thing to return — clutter.
Between sports practices, extracurricular activities and the daily bustle of everyday life, it’s easy for our living spaces to get messy, fast. However, more times than not, the hardest part about getting everything organized is finding a starting point.
You can only be as productive as your workspace, so any young learner will appreciate this organizer that will keep their desk in tip-top shape. It features nine different compartments for storage and a convenient handle so that they can bring it with them anywhere around the house.
Little ones will love this practical lunch box that makes it easy to portion out an entire meal. The leakproof box can keep everything inside fresh until it’s time for lunch, and at the end of the day you can toss it straight into the dishwasher. The top-rated mealtime hack has amassed over 15,900 verified five-star reviews, with some shoppers calling it great for “picky eaters” and “easy to clean.”
Little ones will love this practical lunch box that makes it easy to portion out an entire meal. The leakproof box can keep everything inside fresh until it’s time for lunch, and at the end of the day you can toss it straight into the dishwasher. The top-rated mealtime hack has amassed over 15,900 verified five-star reviews, with some shoppers calling it great for “picky eaters” and “easy to clean.”
These books can ease worries and make back to school more exciting.
Whether your child is strapping on a backpack for the first time or just starting a new year, the first day of school is nerve-wracking even in the best of times. With school schedules changing and new precautions around coronavirus, parents can expect even more back-to-school jitters this year.
Parents can ease first-day jitters is by establishing the new routine ahead of time and reading books to prepare for the big day.
Books about starting school range from tender to hilarious. Try one of these picture books, a mix of old favorites and titles as new as your little student.
“First Day Critter Jitters,” by Jory John and Liz Climo
$ 17.99
If you think your child is nervous for the first day of school, just imagine how hard it would be for a snake to strap on a backpack. This funny picture book shares the first day anxieties of all sorts of critters, and will show little ones that everyone gets a little nervous.
Danbi has an extra-tough adjustment to make as she arrives at her first school in America. She’ll use communication — verbal and non — to connect to her new classmates.
It’s the start of a new school year in my home and I’m determined to make sure we have a smooth, clutter-free and positive school year.
As an avid believer in and the positive impact of having a decluttered and organized home, I believe having an organization system and clutter and junk free home are essential for ensuring positive energy flow and clear thought.
I highly recommend that parents use the beginning of a school year as another excuse to get organized, not just for the school routine, but the family home in general. So even if you did Spring or New Year cleaning, use the late summer/early fall to re-organize your life and priorities as well.
Even if your kids have already gone back, you can still get started. Here are some declutter and home organization tips that I’ve put together that I hope can help get you through the year.
Clean and DeClutter
Clean and Declutter the Kids Play, Work Rooms and Nursery. Limit the number of toys and books in the kids room. Get rid of old broken toys. Give away old books and toys to the Salvation Army, Good Will or another family member with children younger than yours. Keep only a few of the favorite story books and the toys your child or children play with regularly. Don’t let them know you’re getting rid of the stuff they don’t even play with. They likely won’t even know it and you don’t need the headache of having them plea for you to keep it.
Infuse Calming Scents in the Home. I’m a also a big believer in aromatheraphy and that scents guide the mood. Buy Glade or some other brand’s plugins to keep the air fresh and clean smelling. You can burn candles when you’re home or if you’re an incense type of person, those work too. Consider using those with essential oils or scents such as chamomile, rose, vanilla and lavender. They are calming scents.
Thoroughly Clean the Room. Wash and Wipe down the walls, baseboards, windows and floors — with natural cleaners. Repair wall holes, cracks, squeaky windows, peeling paint. A clean home is great for fostering clear thoughts and just clarity, in general.
Set up Calendar and Chore Lists. Even if you’re a stay-at-home mom, you shouldn’t be doing all of the cleaning and upkeep. Set up a chore sheet for the refrigerator for after school chores. Also, start a new family calendar for keeping up with back to school nights, upcoming field trips, sports activities and other events so everyone knows what’s going on. If you’re the family manager as mom, you shouldn’t be the only one aware of what days are soccer practice. Sitters, your spouse and house guests should too. Also, a chore list is great for keeping up the principles of feng shui which are all about clean spaces.
Keep Toys Dedicated to ONE area of the home (or maybe two) Avoid the chaotic mind that comes when you have toys and other things sprinkled in every nook and cranny of the home. Toys should be kept only to the play room, the kids room or one area of the apartment that is quartered off and situated with a toy chest, storage bin or some place where you can quickly toss all the toys hanging out all over the house. The tough part may be to stick to this one simple rule.
When the kids are not playing with a toy, there is really no need for it to be taking up space on the kitchen table or creating a tripping hazard for you or a guest. Either you, your partner or trained kids if they are old enough should make a concerted effort to gather all errant toys and keep them in the designated area.
It seems pretty intuitive, huh?
Over time, it will become a habit or second nature and you will find toys are not strewn about as much anymore. I do this with other areas of my home and life. All papers, books, newspapers, invoices, magazines are usually put away in our home office. All clothes go in a hamper, closet or bedroom. Dishes, cups and silverware discovered anywhere in the house are picked up and taken in the kitchen
Think of this mantra: “There is a place for Everything and Everything in its place.” Organize the Paper Trails. Each year, families accumulate reports, information from school, permission slips and the such. It will get mixed in with bills, receipts, warranties and other paper that come into your life.
This Home Organization plan will make it easy for you: Get a binder or two and dividers or one of those mega accordion file folders with tabs and divide them in the following categories:
School Category
Car maintenance schedule/Receipts
School schedules and holiday list
Lunch menus
School information page
School reading lists
Summer Camp and programs information
Medical information sheet for each family member
Emergency directory
House-sitter information sheet
PTA newsletters and rosters
Health Categories
Prescription drug record
Health insurance information
Home Vacation
Travel packing checklist
Before-we-leave checklist
Vacation idea list
Home Renovation
Home renovation contractor lists
Contracts and Bids
Warranty information
Utilities/services directory
Home decorating ideas
Home Business
Business records
Tax Documents for Business
Consultants and Independent Contractor records
Liability Insurance
Business & Office Equipment registry
Financial
Tax Documents for Personal
Big Ticket Items receipts
Life insurance information
Budget/spending record
Bills to pay
Hope these Declutter and Home Organization Tips are helpful to you as you get yourself and your family organized for the season! Good luck!
With the economy on the downturn slightly, some families may be feeling the pinch and purchasing school supplies, getting immunizations and paying for haircuts and style could be a bit much for the budget.
Luckily, a lot of barber shops, religious, community and civic groups have organized events where they help parents out.
We’re already deep into back-to-school season and several of these have passed but I managed to dig up a few more in my area, DC, Maryland and Virginia and a few others. Do a Facebook, Google Events or Eventbrite search for one near you.
Here are the ones I found. Good luck!
District of Columbia
Washington, DC
What: Back to school physical exam, Birth Control options for college students, STI discussion and primary care needs for medicaid /private pay
What: Back to School – Free Backpacks; Come to a free back-to-school event, get free school supplies and sign up for tutoring and other academic support.
Date: Sat, August 31 10 AM – 2 PM
Where: Bowie Church of Christ, 2518 Kenhill Dr, Bowie, MD
What: The Queen Anne’s County Department of Health will be hosting Back to School (BTS) Immunization clinics beginning in late August. If your child cannot get the vaccines from their healthcare
Where: The Charles County Department of Health provides immunizations through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program to eligible children living in Charles County. Our goal is to educate and assist caregivers with making decisions that will protect them, their children, and the community. We offer back-to-school, childhood, and preteen and adolescent vaccines.
Eligibility Requirements
A child is eligible for the VFC Program if he or she is younger than 19 years of age and is one of the following:
Uninsured
Covered by Medical Assistance
Underinsured (has health insurance that doesn’t cover vaccines)
What: Committed to creating a community of healthy children, Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Programwill administer the vaccinations to children,6 weeks to 18 years of age, who need immunizations.
Children must qualify for the Vaccines for Children program (no insurance, have insurance that does not cover vaccines, or have Medicaid)
No pre-registration is required but space is limited.
Parents and guardians must bring child’s immunization records and must accompany child.
When: every Thursday in August 2019., From 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Doris Miller Community Center, 2400 Washington Ave., Newport News, VA 23607
Deets: call 757-247-8603 for hair appointments.
Norflok
What: Better Barbers Back To School Bash! GRADES K-12 Come out and join us at our first annual Back To School Bash! We will be providing *free haircuts, LOTS of school supplies, food, drinks, snacks, games and prizes for the children! Come out and celebrate the beginning of new and successful school year. School supplies will be distributed on a first come first-served basis. We currently have 121 bags to give away and the child must be present to receive a bag. If you’re vegan don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! We are looking forward to seeing everyone
When: Friday, August 30, 2019 from 2-5pm
Where: Better Barbers Tidewater Dr 7468 Tidewater Dr unit B, Norfolk, Virginia 23505
What:Village Family and Partners Back2School Expo, This is an annual community effort to help youth and families prepare for the school year that is right around the corner. Come and join us in this fun event for children of all ages.FREE backpacks & school supplies. MUSIC BY DJ NAKYLLA
When: Saturday, September 7, 2019 from 1-5pm
Where: Military Circle Mall, 880 N. Military Circle Mall, Norfolk Virginia 23502
What: Mobi Wash Cares: Back2School Bookbag Giveaway, Come and enjoy food, fun, games, prizes, and FREE BOOKBAGS. Your kids will leave happy, tired, and, most importantly, PREPARED for school!
When: Saturday, August 31, 2019 from 10am-2pm
Where: Gray’s Missionary Baptist 380 Union St, Hampton, Virginia 23669
Summer is flying by and pretty soon school will be back in session. Is your child ready to get back into the daily scholastic routine? Mine are…kinda…barely…not really! ha!
The folks at Brainly — the world’s largest peer-to-peer learning community of students, parents, and teachers— asked 600 American parents whether they feel their children are ready to jump back into the daily grind of school. Nationwide 56% of parents say they think they’re children are prepared to go back to school.
Missouri parents led the pack with 85% saying that they thought their kids were ready to head back to school. Virginia followed with 80% saying the same and the top three was rounded out by Arizona at 69%.
Brainly has put together a list of 5 tips for parents to help their children prepare to head back to school.
1. DEVELOP A SLEEP ROUTINE NOW Getting up early for school can be jarring for middle and high school students who have been used to sleeping in all summer. 62% of parents said they are worried their kids will have a hard time adjusting their snooze schedules during their first week back to school.
Brainly’s tip? Start a routine a few weeks before term begins so that your kids can get used to their new schedule.
2. ESTABLISH SCHOOL ROUTINES In a similar vein, students should get used to the hours of work (and homework) they will be expected to do during the school year. 92% of parents said homework is the biggest school-related stressor for their families.
Brainly recommends developing a routine to help them manage their time and setting up a dedicated homework space so they aren’t caught flat footed in September.
3. AVOID THE SUMMER SLUMP School-aged kids can revert by nearly a month’s worth of instruction over the summer. In fact, 82% of American parents believe their kiddos experienced at least a mild to moderate amount of summer learning loss.
The best way to circumvent this issue is to keep their skillsets fresh and mind’s sharp over the summer. Consider doing this through platforms like Brainly where a community of students can help other students and users earn points for answering questions.
4. GET YOUR SCHOOL SUPPLIES This may seem obvious but students gonna need pens, pencils, and a handy dandy new Trapper Keeper (kids still use those right?) if they’re going to succeed this semester.
Pro tip: get those things early while they are on sale.
5. GET YOUR KIDS (AND YOURSELF) ORGANIZED Nothing adds heaps of unneeded stress to and an already stressful time than not being organized. Only 22% of U.S. parents said they currently feel organized for the start of the new school year, and a mere 10% of parents said they remain organized throughout the entire school year.
Brainly advises creating a plan for before and after school for your kids and yourself and sticking to it. Routines are important for everyone.
After a Summer of an empty refrigerator, a 24-hour messy house, being responsible for keeping the kids entertained, engaged or active, a lot of moms (and dads) look forward to sending their kids back to school. It’s a running joke among many parents to rejoice and joke about their glee over sending their children back to school.
I always poke fun at my Millennial mom friends and followers over the very creative ways they use social media to show off their milestones, extravagant themed kid’s first birthday or chic and stylish coordinated holiday cards and videos.
Add to that the relatively new trend of sharing the “Mom’s First Day of Freedom” on Instagram. Some moms go as far as hire professional photographers and coordinating a photo shoot to mark the occasion.
As many children go back to school this month, several struggle in class, lose assignment sheets and notes, miss assignments and forget to bring home books needed to complete homework if he or she is not organized. There are tremendous benefits to teaching children executive functioning skills. These are the type of skills top or mid level execs use to succeed in work but certainly can apply to kids as well.
Organization and focus are key qualities for many successful adults, but these skills do not come naturally to grown ups, imagine if you were taught it at a young age and grew with those skills.
Here are 5 tips to assist all parents and children:
Stash and trash– Prevent mountains of papers from accumulating by learning what to keep and what to toss. This is a very important skill, even for the most organized adults! Teach children at a young age what types of documents to keep and throw away as well as how to best organize the materials they are keeping. Your future storage bins will thank you!
Balancing work and fun – It is important to teach children that there is a time for work and a time for play, and that they are both important for a well-balanced life! Make time for studying, after school activities and dinner with the family.
Manage the day – Parents have planners, and so should children! Teach your child to use a day planner or calendar, where they can record their school work, after-school activities, social events and family time. Whether it is paper or digital, it doesn’t matter. The point is that the child learns to manage their time and sets realistic expectations for each day.
Organize assignments –Parents can help their children stay organized with color-coded folders and a desk-top storage system for their school work. Children also really enjoy label makers. Divide the folders and storage containers by subject, and teach children how to label accordingly.
Lightening the backpack without losing the work – We’ve all witnessed the tiny child with the gigantic backpack that weighs nearly as much as they do, as well as the extreme opposite of the student who shows up to class without a pen or paper. Teaching children to carry what is important for the day will help them be better prepared for class. Go over the day’s activities the night before, make a list of what classes and activities the child has and pack accordingly.
This solid advice should help parents have a basis and foundation for passing on these critical skills to their children.
The family-owned Atlanta-based wholesale t-shirt company, The Adair Group has a very comprehensive post with cost-cutting back-to-school savings advice that those very large families, like the Duggars, with over 8 children use. They were so kind to let me syndicate a snippet of their post where they talk about school supply shopping. In light of the recent gun battle at a Michigan Walmart recently, it may behoove you to check out these awesome tips:
Today, even public schools require you to purchase many items that in the past were provided.
Pens and pencils, rulers, calculators, and textbooks—children need all sorts of supplies before heading back to school. Organizing this can be a fun task for some families, and a way to start preparing and anticipating that first day back at school.
Renee from the Little Earthling Blog, another mega family favorite resource, suggests the following tips and tricks that she uses when dealing with her family of 14.
Make a list of what each child needs and stick to it. That way you will not forget any essentials, and your children are unable to sneak extras into the cart.
Shop at home first. Go through your children’s rooms, through the office and through every other space where there might be pens or pads of paper. Everything you find is one less thing to buy.
Try dollar stores for the small items like pens and pencils. These stores can be a cheap and easy way to get most of the basics your children will need.
Take notice of back-to-school sales and shop at a variety of different stores, making sure to buy everything you need at the cheapest price you can manage.
Buy more specific items first, for example, a model of calculator or a new backpack. Generic supplies typically drop in price late in the season, so plan to buy paper, pencils, etc. then.
A tip that might not be possible is to leave the children at home. The last thing you need is for your children to follow you around and try to influence your choices.
Some more tips mega families use that might help you cost cut at this time of the year are:
Use a price comparison app such as Dealnews. Many retailers will honor competitors’ coupons too.
Buy enough school supplies for the year when they go on sale in the late summer. If you find you have too many, they will always last for another year, or you can share them with friends who are in the same situation as you.
Buy in bulk from wholesale stores and split the cost with friends, and skip the office supply stores.
Shop online for used textbooks. In some cases, it may be less costly to rent textbooks instead of buying them. Consider electronic copies, as these are often cheaper.
You can also rent calculators. Some schools have rental programs, but if yours doesn’t, try graphtor.com, which rents various models of Texas Instruments calculators for a low monthly fee.
If you are looking for activities to entertain the children this summer, have them make their own school supplies. Get directions on craftchi.com on how to create a pencil case out of a mailing tube.
Because it is back to school season and parents are on the hunt for deals and top quality clothing for their school-aged children returning to school after the Summer Break, we are sharing some of the cool and super cute clothing that our affiliate partners at various children’s clothiers and brands are offering for sale this season.
We are starting with Gymboree.
This is a personal fave brand of the blog because we know from first hand experience that the quality of the clothing is superior. They last in the wash and the colors do not fade. The brand is known for selling very well coordinated pieces with whimsical characters or in solids, neutrals and other long-lasting hues. The clothing is made of natural materials mostly, and they look really cute.
Gymboree sells from baby to tween. Click to be taken to the site on any of these below featured images:
