First Day of School Traditions

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Connie

As my daughter continues through school, I have kept the first day of school traditions that were started back in preschool and some that were added along the way. Some are traditions inspired by our parents and my in-laws with some slight changes.These traditions help give my child a positive outlook on school and help with family bonding.

Here are some first day of school tradition suggestions:

Take A Photo – This is a very common tradition that has been passed down from generations, but now many of us share that photo on our blogs and other social media sites. As your child gets older, you may get some flack about having a photo taken, so do it in private at home and not in front of the school bus! Keep each photo in a special photo album and always write a date and the grade your child is attending on the back of the photo.

Special Breakfast – Prepare a special breakfast for your child. You can surprise them with something new, or something they’ve eaten a few times and really enjoyed or that fancy breakfast you only make for guests. You can also set the table with a new place mat, fresh flowers, or add a card that will put a smile on your child’s face.

Small Gifts – Give your child a small present, like that super-duper sharpener they asked for when you were buying school supplies, a new book, or a key chain with the school year. Decide if you want to give the gift before or after the school day.

Dining Out – Some families have dinner out on the first day of school to celebrate this special occasion. Go to your child’s favorite place to eat, spend time together as a family and talk all about what happened during the day. You can also do this for breakfast. Just watch the time!

Special Notes – Children of all ages love to get notes from Mom or Dad in their lunch box, backpack or pocket. They just won’t admit it when they’re older. Write something sweet, funny or both and be sure to add a smiley face or a heart. If your child is in grade 5 or higher, you will want to be sure the note is found only by your child and not by classmates. Lunch boxes are out by that age.

What are your first day of school traditions? Is this something that you came up with on your own, was it passed down from your parents or did you learn about it somewhere else?

Valentine’s Day Projects

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Connie

Valentine’s Day may be my favorite day of the year. It is a day to show your love and appreciation for your family and friends. Plus I love the color red and chocolates. For those who love to bake, Valentine’s Day Cookies maybe up your alley. Kids love to participate in the kitchen. My son loves to “help” and dig in. My eldest is in middle school and isn’t into Valentine’s Day (yet). I remember when he was in Elementary school.

At his school, he had to bring something for each classmate on Valentine ’s Day. One year, I forgot about it and had to scramble at the last minute. Luckily, I love buying school supplies at the back to school shopping sales. There are great bargains to be had.

Here are some things that I always keep in stock for the last minute projects or Valentine’s Day cards

Colorful construction paper
Stickers, glitter, ribbons, and glue
Markers
Old Shoe Boxes—they come in handy if you have to bring notes for 25+ people.
Fancy cut scissors are extraordinary. They are a simple twist that goes a long way.

With supplies, the options are truly endless—simply making “love” coupons that they can give to their friends or siblings for a hug or a smile or a nice gesture could make some kids truly happy. And don’t forget that you can make a special valentine for your kids as a surprise as well such as a Valentine’s Day Coupon Book. Use any of these ideas as a starting point and think about what would make your kids feel the most loved.

Most of all, remind them that caring for each other should happen year-round, not just on Valentine’s Day. But there’s nothing wrong with an extra-special treat on this extra-special day.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

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This is a guest post written by Aparna Vashisht who is the founding mom and CEO of Parentella.com.

Back To School Already

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Connie

This summer has flown by and it’s back to school time for us in two weeks. My daughter will be attending middle school this year so it’s a big transition for all of us. We are prepared though! We’ve already been to visit the school and will be back for their open house.

This weekend is tax free shopping in my state, so we’re going to hit the stores for the school supplies she needs. This always makes both of realize that it’s time to get back into a routine. It’s actually exciting too when there’s new books, clothes, and other supplies in the house.

I tell my daughter about what it was like for me at back to school time, especially when I was starting high school, which was an all girls school. This brings some humor into our talks as she can’t imagine that I went to a school without boys, not that she likes boys or anything!

Elmer’s Bag It Forward Charity Post

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Connie

I was tagged by Robyn of Robyn’s Online World to take part in the Elmer’s Bag It Forward Charity Post -

The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward is charity blog meme, bloggers are able to raise $10 per blog post for Adopt-A-Classroom by writing a blog post and donating a virtual bag of school supplies . Elmer’s will donate $10 per each post written to Adopt-A-Classroom, up to $10,000.

HOW CAN YOU JOIN? It’s easy.

Participate in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward and by giving away a virtual bag of school supplies and creating a blog post with specific rules described below.
Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom.
You can give as many virtual bags as you want.
The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 12 PM EST on September 10, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted.
The blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.
In addition copy and paste the following text into your blog post:

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES

Copy and paste these rules into your blog post.
Create a blog post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by August 12, 2010).
Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

Here is the photo you can use for your virtual bag or create your own!

I’m giving virtual bags to anyone who wants to accept them and write a the same type of Elmer’s Bag It Forward charity post.

Preparing For Middle School This Summer

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Connie

We’re preparing our daughter for middle school this summer. Do we sound like awful parents who won’t allow our daughter to enjoy her summer vacation? Just take a look at what we’re doing and then judge us!

Social Skills Readiness

In middle school, children will be meeting new students from other schools and from home school. This is a time of making new friends. For some children, this is something they can handle easily, for others it is one of the most frightening events in their lives. Our daughter is in between. She’s not shy, but doesn’t make friends easily.

We’re preparing her by registering her for summer activities where she doesn’t know anyone. When we travel, she’ll go off to the children’s events on her own. She’s been reading books about friendship and I’ve bought one for her as a surprise to read over the summer – Fab Friends And Best Buds: Real Girls On Making Forever Friends

Getting Organized

We’ve already started helping our daughter get better organized during the end of this school year, but will work on it more over the summer. She’s going to be responsible for getting herself ready in the morning. When we go out for the day she’s going to be in charge of bringing her belongings. When we travel, she’s going to pack for herself. We’ll be buying school supplies that she can use to help in this area too. She’ll be using her calendar and the one on her computer to remember important dates.

She’ll be rewarded for her accomplishments over the summer and of course when school begins again. She wants more time on the computer, to see movies and to have friends over the house. All fine with us.

More Focus on Academics

When we went to the middle school open house, we were given a list of the Florida Sunshine State books, which are recommended reading for students based on their grade level. The principal stated in his speech to us that this was not required reading, but since our daughter enjoys reading, she’ll be going through the list. To keep her focused on math, one of problem subjects, we’ll be using math in our daily lives. We’ll have her choose the lowest price items when we shop, figure out the tip when we eat out, help with measuring when we cook, etc. She’ll also play math games online.

She enjoys meteorology so she’ll track the weather for our trips, keep track of the tropical storms and hurricanes and play with a new weather device she received as a gift. None of these are things that she doesn’t enjoy. We plan on making them fun and exciting for her.

Keeping Communication Open

We have worked at keeping communication open between us and our daughter, but this summer we are going to work extra hard at this. We want her to voice any concerns she has about starting middle school.

Visiting The School

There are a few opportunities to visit the middle school over the summer and we’ll take advantage of them. We need to fill out forms when she decides what sport she’s interested in. I signed up for the PTSA so I’ll go to any meetings or see if there’s any volunteer events where we can help. There’s also another open house right before school starts which we’ll attend.

Book Recommendation

We already purchased this book and highly recommend it – Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, The: Middle School (Worst Case Scenario Junior Editions). It covers everything from what to do if you’re bullied to how to cope with pimples.

Are you more concerned about moving on to middle school than your child? What did you do to prepare your child for middle school?

Ferdinand The Frog Uses The Potty Book Review

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Connie

Ferdinand Uses the Potty is a book with colorful images, rhymes and humor and a built in lesson for your child about toilet training. Covering a topic that can cause problems among parents of all walks of life, this book is a fun way to get your child to open up about his fears or concerns about potty training.

ferdinand uses the potty

Ferdinand, a yellow frog,Â wets his bed one night, but has no idea what has happened. When he tells his friend, a boy, who has gone through the same thing, he is told how to handle it – use the toilet. But Ferdinand remembers what happens with toilets:

“Oh no,” said the frog, “I’m not going in there.” I’ve heard the loud sound that thing makes!” “Every time you go in there, I hear a WHOOSH sound, I’m afraid that thing gives me the shakes!”

Soon, though, Ferdinand conquers his fear and is very proud of himself. His fear is put into words that are easily understood by toddlers as well as the way that he gets over them. Written by Jay Tucker, a father, teacher and writer and illustrated by D.E. West, a father, husband, graphic designer and artist, Ferdinand Uses the Potty: An Empowering Toilet Training Tale is published by Loving Press.

My Review: The rhyming, adorable character, Ferdinand and the bright, cherry illustrations make this a book that your child will want you to read again and again. My daughter had major fears of potty training and I wish that I had this for her. Seeing a frog go through it with the help of a child is a creative move. I recommend this to parents who are in the throes of potty training of going to give it a start.

To Purchase: Available on Amazon.com for $11.86

You can also read a parent’s guide, get coloring pages and play Frogger on the Ferdie the Frog website.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of the book by Loving Press and The Parent Reviewers for this review. The opinions stated here are my own.

Back To School Schedule

Posted on September 6, 2009 by Connie

We began working on getting back into the swing of things about a week before school started. Our back to school schedule has been working out very well. My daughter has no trouble waking up and getting ready for school.

There has been a change in her school hours though. She is in school about a half an hour longer than last year. That doesn’t sound like much, but it throws off our home schedule, especially dinner time. We’ve come up with one solution where she eats her snack while doing some of her homework. We look over what is required and chose something that is easy for her to do.

I sit with her while she’s eating and work with her a bit. Then she’s on her own with her homework. I do check it of course. Next we work together on some chores which help her calm down after her day in school. After dinner, she has plenty of time to play, talk on the phone and read. Bedtime is a set time every night.

Having a schedule makes school time easier and calmer for parents and children. No more yelling in my house!

President Obama Addresses Students

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Connie

President Obama will address students on Tuesday welcoming them back to school. It will be live on the internet and contains a lesson plan. This is optional for school districts. And for those schools that are showing President Obama’s address, parents have the right to request that their children stay out of the class when it is shown. On Monday there will be a text of the speech available online for parents to read.

The main message of the address will be about students working hard and staying in school. At first the President asked for students in Pre-Kindergarten to Sixth Grade to write letters to the him about how they can help the President. That has now been changed to having students write letters to themselves about the goals they want to achieve.

There has been an uproar about this speech. What do you feel about it? If your school is going to show it, will you allow your children to watch it?

Children’s Educational Search Engine

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Connie

Many children turn to the internet to do their schoolwork. To make homework and reports easier for your children use a kids search instead of a normal search engine. These types of search engines pull information that is only from educational websites.

No worries about coming up with something that you don’t want your children to see. There is only material that is G rated and pertains to what you are researching. You will find images, videos, an atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia, songs and even games. It’s fun and easy to use.

This kids search is even helpful for parents of toddlers. For example if you want to find a song or nursery rhyme about clouds, just put the word “clouds” in the search box and move the drop down box to “songs”.Â For older children, you can go as broad as using the encyclopedia to read everything about clouds to narrowing down to finding specific names and images of clouds.

Educational search engines like http://www.kigose.com can assist homeschoolers, public and private school students and parents. Teachers can even use this in the classroom to have students do some research on their own in the classroom.

Educating Esme Book Review And Giveaway

Posted on August 30, 2009 by Connie

I value children’s education, therefore I value teachers. After reading Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year by Esme Rajii Codell, my admiration and appreciation for teachers and their work and passion grew even more. Written in diary form, I learned why Esme became and teacher and what her actual days in the classroom were like. Make no mistake, Madame Esme is one of the most zealous teachers I’ve had the pleasure to learn about.

educating-esme

Madame Esme? Yes, that is what Esme expects her students to call her to the chagrin of her principal. In the Chicago public school where she taught that first year, the students were commonly beaten by their parents, hungry, and lived in poverty. Expecting anything of them was, well, unexpected. But Madame Esme held high expectations for every one of her students.

Her unique teaching techniques brought out the best in her students. She used her creativity to inspire her students to learn to love reading, to get over the hurdles they had in certain subjects or even behavioral issues and to believe in themselves.

There is humor and sadness, feelings of futility and motivation, a call to action to parents, the government and others on behalf of teachers and heart warming stories that you won’t forget, all in Educating Esme. I highly recommend this book for parents, for people considering entering teaching, novice and experienced teachers and anyone that has an interest in education in the US.

This is the expanded edition for the 10th anniversary, which includes a Foreward by Katherine Paterson, author ofÂ Bridge of Terabithia, Afterward by Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook and “Advice for Aspiring and New Elementary School Teachers”.

*There is some adult language in this book. I did not feel offended by it as this is a diary and factual book. The language was also commonly used by her students.*

*You may leave comments about this book, education, teaching, etc. even if you do not want to enter the giveaway.*

Giveaway: 1 Winner will receive a copy of this book.

The Rules:

1. Contest starts now and ends Monday Sept. 7th at midnight EST.
2. Open to US Residents only.
3. Winner will be chosen by Random.org.
4. Winner has 2 days to claim prize.
5. Have fun and tell your friends.

How To Enter:

For One Entry For Each Below: (please leave a separate comment for each entry)

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