Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Pinching Abe's Ten Tips for Ensuring a Healthy, Safe and Successful School Year

Wow, I can't believe it is almost August.  School here starts just after Labor Day and I have a few things on my to-do list that I still need to do.  I can't wait for Kindergarten (freedom!) to start.  TwitterMoms wanted to know: What are my ten tips for ensuring a healthy, safe and successful school year?  Here they are, in no particular order:

1.  Get my kids eyes examined.  Like soon.  My son didn't pass his vision test at the pediatrician, so this is definitely on the to-do list.  Good vision means good learning (and hopefully good behavior in school....)

2.  Get new, eco-friendly lunch boxes for the kids.  I'm tired of wasting baggies!

3.  Good shoes!  No matter how much they beg for pretty or manly shoes, they have to have the right support.  Pretty doesn't support your spine!

4.  Choose my snacks more wisely.  I pack lunches on auto pilot most days since I don't really wake up until maybe 10 AM.  So I think I should pre-pack snacks - preferably veggies and fruits - the night before so they're just there for the taking the next morning.

5.  Have a stash of ones!  For variety, I made my daughter choose two days each week where she would buy lunch instead of pack.  There were a few times I didn't have any singles for lunch.... so I sent her with a bunch of change.  Bad mommy!

6.  Review the bus rules the day before and again the day of the first day of school.  Though my 9 year old knows the rules, my kindergartener might need a little reinforcement.

7.  Meet the teacher when they have open house.  Though my son might get the same kindergarten teacher as my daughter, there's a 50/50 chance we won't get her a second time around.  I want her to know that she can call me, email me, ask me for things her classroom doesn't have, etc.

8.  If my children do end up needing glasses, I'm going to push aside my frugal nature and insist we get two pairs.  Why?  Kids lose or break their glasses and I am not so far past my childhood that I don't remember breaking or mislaying my glasses and then having to go to school without my glasses until they could be found (or replaced).  As you can tell, I'm a bit worried my kids will need glasses! 

9.  Dentist... oh another to-do list item.  I need to beg the dentist to squeeze them in before September.  For me, rural livin' means no direct access to specialist people... like dentists!  If I get them in to the dentist in August, then that means they will only have to miss school once - in six months - for a cleaning.  That means more learning time since the dentist is so far away.

10.  The final thing is that I will do is to not bend on bed time!  You need a good night's sleep to do well in school and my kids will need to be in bed by no later than 8 PM on a school night.

Airwear Essay Contest you might be interested in...

Head to http://www.lightersafergreener.com/  and enter their essay contest.  What's up for grabs?  One grand prize winner will win $1,000, and 10 first prize winners will receive vouchers for Airwear lenses valued at up to $400.  Lighter lenses may mean that kids will be more likely to leave their glasses on where they need to be.  Sharing how you plan to make this school year a healthy, safe and successful won could win you some money, so be sure to enter!

Disclaimer:  I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Airwear blogging program, making me eligible to get a $25 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, visit http://airwear.twittermoms.com/about.

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