August Newsletter

August Monthly Newsletter

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People tend to think when spring rolls around that is when they get the most done in their home due to “spring cleaning”. I disagree, come August and September when families are getting ready for a new routine, the home completely changes. New schedules, new materials, new organization. How long do families really keep this doing? Maybe one semester out of 4 the routine stays. Why does this happen? Maybe the goals are too big, or they were never fully prepared. Either way this newsletter can help you get ready and can help and change your family.

Difficult to implement organizational structure in your home? Give us a call! We are more than happy to work alongside of you to accomplish your goals.

Charity of the Month

This August we will be donation our 5% of sales to Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian organization. We are dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide and to making adequate, affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action. Our ministry was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, decent place to live in dignity and safety. To learn more about them visit www.habitat.org.

Organization Idea of the Month

                Aw, with school right around the corner you have some great idea’s I am sure to make the school year run more smoothly, your children to get better grades and to make your life a little easier.  Many times we make huge adjustments that arent realistic for the whole family to stick to. However here are some easy ideas to make your life a little easier and more organized this school year!

Establish fresh routines. If mornings are chaotic (or just not your prime time of day) consider taking care of as many daytime preparations as possible the night before. Layout clothes. Pack lunches. Set out the breakfast dishes and cereal. Pack the backpacks. And so on.

Make your new systems kid-friendly so your young helpers can help you get things checked off your to-do list. (The more help you have, the more time everyone has for fun.) For example, carve out a spot on a low shelf in the pantry to store lunch boxes and lunch making supplies. Then, have your helper be responsible for putting away his empty lunch box at the end of the day or even packing lunch. Install low coat hooks so your child can hang up his own coat and backpack at the end of each day.

Create a homework station. If a task is simple to do, it’s more fun to do. Homework is no different. Decide on the best spot in your home to set up homework central. Once you have a place picked out, corral together handy homework tools and supplies into a nearby bin, cabinet or drawer. Stock up on age appropriate supplies such as pens, pencils, erasers, paper, crayons, markers, a ruler, a calculator, a dictionary, scratch paper, basic craft supplies and a pencil sharpener.

Create a system for school papers. There are three types of papers, recycling, those you need to take action on and those you’re keeping for future reference. Designate a convenient spot, like a cork board, or a binder, for items you need to act on or refer back to throughout the school year. Items like classroom rules, schedules, class lists, and teacher contact information will be right at home in the binder.

Create a communication hub. Your communication hub can include a family calendar, your binder, colored markers, pens and pencils, and all your supplies.

Remember not to forget. Create a simple system by the door to help you remember your new routine or special items you need to take with you each day: gym shoes on gym day, violin on music day, and snacks on snack day. Hang a bin or basket by your door to corral the items you need to remember, or create a fun little daily checklist.

Backpack station. The kids know exactly where their backpacks need to go when they get home from school and the central location allows me the opportunity to check the packs each day to ensure notes are received and homework is done. Mornings are also a snap because backpacks can quickly be grabbed on the way out the door.

Cleaning Idea of the Month

                Can you imagine a summer with a child around the clock running in and out of a room, playing for hours doing what they do best with their imaginations in there, and many threats from you saying “You can’t go unless your room is clean!”, what that room would look like? Take a stroll thru their room and see. That means a closet’s worth of stuff shoved under their beds, drawers a disaster, their desk a mess and something smells funny in there. If you are going to implement a new routine you should also spend some quality time in their “sanctuary” cleaning it up. But not just clean it up, do an over haul. Here are some check points:

ü  Empty everything under the bed, and then move it

ü  Empty each desk drawer with a large recycling bin next to you

ü  Empty the dressers of old summer clothes the school won’t allow them to wear and re-fold everything back

ü  Move the furniture and vacuum behind

ü  Go thru their books to see what is age appropriate

ü  And set aside things they can’t use or wear till September to get them excited for the next year to come!

 

Craft of the Month

                A great craft for the kids to get back to school with is a teacher’s gift! A great and inexpensive way to say “thank you” this year to your new teacher would be to purchase a reusable cup and insert items into it. You can purchase these reusable cups in dollar stores or even your grocery store! A fun way to decorate it is to insert single serving tea packets into it and print out a note to insert over the straw saying “Thank you for keeping up TEArrific” or looking forward to having a great TEAcher like you!”. You can also insert lemonade single serving packets and the notes saying “Thank you for being a great ‘ade’ to our class” or  “Thank you for giving us a thirst for knowledge”. Doing this is always a great way for the child to be more comfortable with the teacher and the teacher to fall in love a little faster with your little one in such a uncomfortable time.

Healthy Idea of the Month

                Ringing in the new school year many people send their children to school with their packed lunches. Doing this is a worthwhile investment. The schools lunches are not known for being healthy. They tend to be filled with high fat, high processed foods that are easy, quick and every kid is willing to eat them. This concludes the severity of how unhealthy they are. If every child of every unhealthy lifestyle is ready to eat it and 60% of American children are obese that goes to show the standard of quality. However going thru the nightly argument of what goes into their lunch seems almost not worth it at times. To help prepare and to stop the arguing before it begins a great idea is to make a list of foods you both agree on and post it up on the fridge. Then you both can always agree and the child can choose by what meal they want according to mood. An example of this is at this website: http://www.tipjunkie.com/lunch-menu/. Enjoy packing!