Back to School ideas

Every month I send out a traditions newsletter with wonderful ideas to engage your family for that month's upcoming holiday. This month's theme was Back to School, so we're tangenting a bit from the holiday traditions, but I thought I would share some of these great ideas with you. Especially, creative solutions on keeping the kids artwork under control.

Teach your children a little bit about nature. Watch plants grow before your eyes with a bookshelf terrarium. Cover the bottom of a jar with gravel, then add 1/4 inch of ground charcoal. Mix 2 parts potting soil, 2 parts peat, and 1 part builder's sand; add to jar. Dig small holes for plants, such as sweet flag or Chinese elm. Spray completely with water before putting on lid. The terrarium should retain moisture, so rewatering won't be necessary, but you should check the soil periodically to be safe. Your child will be more likely to eat lunch if he gets to help choose the menu. We have made it easy for the two of you to map out lunches for the week which will make great use of your time and make grocery shopping easier. Just download and print our magnetic chart onto a full-size magnet sheet. Then print the food name label onto a second magnetic sheet and cut it out. Together, come up with a variety of sandwiches, fruits, healthy snacks, and desserts; then print them out and let your child fill in the blanks. I offer a beautiful family meal planner in our Chaos to Connection line, as well as "Homemade in a Hurry" meals and mixes allowing you to gather around the dinner table more often. With the start of the school year, children will begin their after-school activities and consequently spend more time in the carpool. A canvas shoe bag is perfect for keeping toys tidy & easy to reach in the car. How many little masterful works of art do you currently have in your home? Whether your child attends preschool or kindergarten or is home schooled, arts and crafts are a natural part of any curriculum. What do you do with these masterpieces? Before we explore the solutions, there are several things to consider when organizing children's artwork. * Be consistent. Kids thrive on structure because they know what to expect. If they know they can keep one art piece a week to go into their monthly file, they will be prepared emotionally which will make the decisions easier. * Realize it is not about the artwork. At a much deeper level it is about teaching them the skills to make decisions and live a clutter free life. * Have the children make the decision. Empower your child to choose which art piece to keep and how you can enjoy it the best. Instead of holding out 10 pieces at a time, try holding two and have them choose one. Then hold two more and so on. Decisions are often easier when there are not so many choices all at once. Okay, now we are ready for creative solutions to keep the artwork under control while honoring your child's creative spirit. 1. Postage Stamps: Can you believe you can turn your child's artwork into real postage stamps? Check out PhotoStamps or PictureItPostage to see how easy it is! 2. Greeting Cards, Calendars, Postcards, T-shirts, etc: You can turn the masterpiece into an actual greeting card! You can do almost anything now digitally! Cafepress.com offers a wide variety of products that can show off the artwork, and family and friends can purchase what they like for themselves! If you have a Mac, use iPhoto to create cards, calendars, postcards and more. Online photo albums will also have these features. 3. Online Photo Album: Create a special website to display all the kid's artwork for everyone to enjoy. Before you think you can't possibly do that, there are easy ways to have an online photo album without knowing all the technical stuff. 4. Turn the artwork into a business: If your child is producing a ton of amazing art, you may want to consider creating a business by turning the art into products others can enjoy. Again, with CafePress.com you can set up your own store. The possibilities are endless--journals, mugs, t-shirts, cards, magnets, stickers, bags, and so much more! 5. Stationery: Who wouldn't love to get a fun piece of mail? In fact, you and your child can create different stationary sets for family and friends so they too can share the artwork with others. Your child can also use their artwork for thank you's, invitations, journal entries, or a simple hello. 6. A Year of Art: Choose 12 pieces of art and turn it into a calendar for your family to enjoy or for other relatives who want a piece of your child in their home. You can do this several ways: buy a calendar and paste the artwork over the picture page, scan the photos into the computer and order a calendar with the artwork online, or make it completely by scratch! 7. Snap Shot in Time: Take a picture of your child with the art piece and place it in a scrapbook, memory box, or online album. Can you think of a better way to capture the age of your c hild and their masterpiece? This suggestion works especially well with larger than life projects that take up way too much space or would require crazy storage solutions. 8. Artwork Portfolio: Contact me about purchasing our Artwork Portfolio (it's huge and beautiful). It's on special this month for $30. Regularly priced at $45.

"Here's a way to make a kid smile and let him know you're thinking of him during those long days when they’ve gone back to school. Place a smiling piece of fruit accompanied by a silly note in his lunch bag. Use a nontoxic dry-erase marker to make faces that are safe to eat and flavorless. While a smile is always nice, a slumbering fruit with closed eyes is cute, and a jolly face with a tongue sticking out is saucy and fun. Then write a short happy note to include with the fruit, such as ‘You're apple-solutely fabulous!’ " ~ Stories of My Life Booklets & Box Set The Stories of My Life are a series of booklets in which you write about events, opinions, feelings, ideas and more. The important thing is that the story is in your own words and your own handwriting. Just imagine how treasured these stories will be years from now as they are shared generation after generation. Store them in our beautiful Stories Of My Life Box. Box measures 6.5" x 5.5" x 4.5". #LC055 Retail: $39** , Special Price: $25*** Artwork Portfolio Show your little "Picassos" just how much you value their artwork by keeping it all in this beautiful but sturdy 20.5" x 26" portfolio with protective sides. Treasures such as these should never be stored in drawers or attic boxes where they can get lost or damaged. #CC021 Retail: $45** , Special Price: $30*** *Special is valid Sept. 1 - Sept 30, 2008 **Customer pays shipping on the retail price of the Customer Special Product.

Stories of My Life Booklets & Box Set The Stories of My Life are
a series of booklets in which you write about events, opinions, feelings, ideas and more.
The important thing is that the story is in your own words and your own handwriting.
Just imagine how treasured these stories will be years from now as they are shared
generation after generation. Store them in our beautiful Stories Of My Life Box. #LC055 Retail: $39** , Special