1. Shopping for school supplies at Walmart on the first Saturday of the school year is some inner circle of hell. Shop early if you can.
2. We acquired supplies for both kindergartener and preschooler. Preschooler will do preschool activities while kindergartener does school lessons. All preschool stuff goes in a box that comes out at school time.
3. Many school lessons/activities, both can do. And there are plenty of ways to do family educational activities, from visiting the zoo to a trip to the library.
4. Tangle toys were recommended as learning aids. Kids play with toy while listening to instruction, which lets them engage both hemispheres of the brain, and learn better. Very good for ADD type kids; fidget therapy! We found them at a toy store, but they’re also available online.
5. Tangle toys are good for grownups, too, to lower stress and increase creativity. We got one for everybody. At $3-$5 apiece, it’s cheap therapy. And after Walmart’s back to school crush, you’ll need therapy.
6. For helping preschool to early elementary kids learn social skills, music therapy is great. There are also other general teaching CDs, and we’re so impressed with the first CD, we’ll probably get more.
7. For kids who have trouble falling asleep and thus start off the day on the wrong foot, the Baby Go To Sleep CD is priceless. We’ve gone through three of them. The music is based on the human heartbeat, and as the CD progresses, the heartbeat slows down. And. You. Fall. Asleep…
8. Motivation for small people to leave the lights off and stay in bed; a constellation of glow in the dark stick-on stars.
9. Small kids’ attention brain chemicals hit a low state in the afternoon. Physical activity is the cure. Balls, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, you can outfit your backyard with after school supplies at the dollar store.
10. No matter how the day has gone, ending it by reading together lowers everybody’s stress and helps kids transition from busy time to sleepy time. If you can’t read out loud for whatever reason, Audible sells some wonderful collections of Dr. Seuss. If you want a serial story they listen to in nightly installments, The Cinnamon Bear is a holiday classic I loved as a kid.
Got any back to school tips I missed? Share in comments by Monday evening and I’ll put your name in the drawing for a signed copy of Satisfaction Guaranteed.
I bought a paper cutter today so I can cut a bunch of geometric shapes (and to do other crafts of course *s*) to use to make patterns and pictures. My hands were getting sore doing the cutting the old fashioned way. lol
My nieces (who I take care of) love using the shapes to make things and it’s been a good way to practice all sorts of math concepts. So far now the 2 year old knows her colours, can count to 14 fairly consistently before skipping numbers and is learning her shapes!
Oh, hey, great idea! I could cut out a bunch of fabric shapes to put in a ziploc and add to the Pre-K kit.
Hi Charlene!
One thing I did is print initials on the tag of the kids coat. I don’t know how many times it happened where my kids would come home with someone else’s coat! It helped my kids when younger to know their initials and too, when bit older to know which is their’s when others have the same color and all. Too I suggest too on bagpacks. I use that marker that doesn’t wash out.
Too I start writing down list of supplies early! I keep a place on the fridge with magnets, to keep adding to the list. I would forget things and have too many lists so I kept in one place and told them thats the only place I add to the list too.
Too, the hand sanitizer is good to have! They have now sizes that you can travel with.
I don’t have kids, Charli, but I’ll admit a lot of the things on your list for the kiddies sound great to me! I need help with creativity and definitely to go to sleep some nights… 😉 Not to mention I like stuff that glows in the dark. Yes, I’m an overgrown child at heart.
Your kids are lucky to have such an involved, proactive mom. 🙂
Carolynn, Shhh, don’t tell, but I want to go back and get a set of stick-on stars for me. And I’ve fallen asleep to the heartbeat lullaby CD right along with the kids most nights, since their bedrooms are close enough to hear. I think pretty much anything good for kids is good for adults, too. Activity and creative aids are good for creative adult brains!
I do keep a list on the fridge, and we love the Marks A Lot pen which will mark anything and not rub off. (Just keep it out of the hands of kids.) And purse-sized hand sanitizer is a miracle. So are purse-sized first aid kits. I have one the size of a CD case.
Don’t enter me! But I had to pop in and say I am SO getting those TangleToys for my ADD Boy! I’ve finally decided it’s time to medicate him–I held off for as long as I could–and now it’s just about finding a good doc *sigh* Soon as I finish this book!
No need to include me in the drawing for the book. Really enjoyed reading Satisfaction Guaranteed.
For indoor relief of energy (sometimes the weather outside is problematic), my kids were entertained for long stretches with several balloons blown up to play with in a relatively clear space and a good sized box. In fact, after one of our moves, we had not fully unpacked and had an empty room. For a birthday party for one of the kids, we bought several packets of cheap balloons and blew them up so that there was a layer covering the floor and we could shut the door. It was the most popular birthday party ever.
Ames, I’ll email you with more suggestions. It’s such a hard decision to make, but you have to do what’s best for your kid. The Tangle Toys are amazing. I think you’ll be happy.
Little Lamb, thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed SG. And great idea for indoor activity. That’s the killer for us, when they can’t go outside.
I already have SG (loved it) so don’t enter me.
Since you can get good deals on school supplies at this time of year don’t forget to buy extras. Crayons get broken, erasers used etc.
A great indoor activity
Put about a tablespoon (maybe less) of water in a balloon (nice helium sp? ones you can buy in a pack for about $2.) before you blow it up. Put a string on it. Then hang it low enough so children can hit it. The water makes it heavy enough so it comes down faster. You can raise or lower the balloon to make it easier or harder.
Ruth
Charli, Oh yes those markers are ones that don’t come off anything, so I always bought just one and knew where I kept it instead of buying a package of them and losing them!
I had no idea about the small first aid kit! I wasn’t able to find that and found one thats bigger, but thats ok for sending him off with. I was hoping to find something like that so he could keep in his bag as he goes across the campus.
We were in Wal Mart today and got pretty much the rest he needed before we send him off on Sunday. I had tears in my eyes every time I think about my ‘Baby’ leaving. It will be an empty nest here. 🙁
Ruth, thank you! And what a smart idea, buy doubles this time of year when they’re on sale.
And the winner is Erin! Congrats, Erin.