Back to School: the morning routine

My 2021 graduate!

Well my daughter started kindergarten this week (early I know!!) and I am quickly realizing that we need a fun way to get our morning must do's done. I think we'll start with a sticker chart option complete with little pictures of a tooth brush, a made bed and dressed girl. That way Afton can check her on her own what else needs to be done. Once a row, probably 3 days, gets filled up she can pick something from our family prize bucket.

While I have been brainstorming how I wanted to handle this morning program, I remembered some great ideas I have heard about or read:

• Each morning a surprise waits inside a brown paper lunch bag for each child who has successfully gotten ready on their own. The surprise could be a treat, a TV coupon or the chance to choose the after school snack.
• A ready-to-go kid gets to watch a small show, or play 15 minutes of computer time before school.
• A week's worth of smooth mornings from a particular child is rewarded with choosing the weekend movie of family fun event.

I'm interested in your tips on getting kids ready for school (or for the day) with minimal Mom interruptions!

Tippin' Tuesday

ebags.com

our question today comes from 2 lovely readers: korie and eliza. they want to know what to put in their kids lunches.

thermos.com

i love these little thermos' for hot things, like rice or soup. my kids usually like a "hot" lunch option, so these are excellent for our family. you can also use them for cold stuff too. a tip though, do not wait for these to go on sale. i tried for 2 years, and finally gave up. they are either sold out, or never make it to a sale. maybe you will have better luck though. they are definitely worth their price tag.

the foodnetwork has a bunch of great recipes for stand out lunch items. and to help you pack healthy, start with the healthy eating helper.

what else can we feed them?

Back to School: deals on clothes

We won't be needing to pull out any real Fall clothing for at least a month here in sunny and hot Colorado. But the idea of going back to school, makes me think of boots, jeans and sweaters. Careful not to get caught up in the moment and spend your yearly clothing allotment on 4 outfits for you kids!  Here are some great ways to save on clothes (year round!)

1. Lands End Overstocks. Save just about half the price on snow boots winter jackets, and regular clothing.  I love knowing that when my kids are wearing Land End snow gear, their toesies and belly buttons and nice and warm!
   
2. Sears has a program called Kidvantage.  Anything you buy is covered under a "wear out" warranty as long as your child is wearing the same size.  So if those size 6 jeans wear out, get holes or have a broken zipper, while your child is still a size 6, you can get a replacement pair for free.  I think I"ll buy jeans for Afton at Sears this year.  All other brands I've recently tried have gotten holes in the knees before she outgrew them.
3. Wait until stores mark down their Fall gear before you buy.  This usually happens right about the time Fall weather kicks in anyway!
4. If you do buy full price clothes, make sure you are aware of the stores price adjustment policy so you can try to recover some of your costs.  
5. Hit the used stores.  I like the local used kiddie stores. Their prices are usually lower than chain discounts stores.  But all of them have great deals!  Check online for coupons before you go to save even more.
6. Swap.  Christy and I trade our kids clothes back and forth.  Right now Afton is set through size 10, and Abel and Haven through size 4.  We have tight rules to make the swap work well and ensure clothes stay neat and nice.  It is so great to pull out a big bag from my garage and have a seasons worth of "shopping" done!

Know about other great places and ways to save save save on clothes?  Share it with us!

Back to School: supplies

Lucky for me, kindergarten supplies don't cost that much. But I imagine families with multiple kids in school (Christy!!) can easily spend $100-150 on school supplies. Yikes! Here are a few ways to save some money on back to school supplies:

1. Dig through last years supplies and your craft storage to see what you already have. Shiny new markers are cool, but not necessary.
2. Scour the online and newspaper ads to find the best deals and sales. I saw a fill and save bag in my paper this weekend, and sale adds everywhere for crayons, glue and calculators.
3. Hit the discount stores or store brands for classroom donation items.
4. Swap supplies with a friend. This works especially well for calculators and other spendy items
   

If you don't have kids in school yet, this is the best time to stock up your craft caddy. Glue won't be 20 cents again for a year!