Fourteen more days until my children return to school, but who is counting??Things get faster paced once school starts, but the structure is so good for them.
Kid Organization-
My children, like me were NOT born organized. We all have to work at it, some more than others.The most important thing in our house is for our children to know where things should go so they can find them in the morning.Everyone needs a launch pad….even the adults in the house!
Honestly, Tommy’s launch pad for the morning is really built around the closet door in the living room.It is the place we will be walking by every morning.I post on the door the school menu and calendar for our reference each day.I have Tommy look to see what needs to be done to hopefully start setting these habits in his mind.We also post his memory work on the door.That way each time we walk by we can review his bible verse or spelling words for the week.
I have Tommy hang his backpack on the door handle of the closet each evening once we have packed it.He hangs his jacket in his room on his hooks. Everything always goes in the same place so it is easy to find in the morning.
Erik is older and I am really trying to get him to get himself ready each morning.I set up his meds in a weekly container so they are ready for him to take in the morning.At the beginning of the year, we might have to make a list for the mornings, but he is very routine based in his thinking so once he gets it…he is good.I have trained him that any papers he has from school he sets on my laptop after school.This has worked well and he always sets anything I need to see on my laptop.
Hat/ Gloves Trick: How many pairs of gloves do you go through in a year?? A little trick that has helped me a bit, is that I buy 4 pairs of the same gloves at the beginning of the school year. This way he is loses once glove we have a chance of still having a complete pair. Last year he got me on this as he lost he same glove from two different pairs. But sometimes it works out in my favor.
Uniforms: I buy enough uniforms to make it through the week. Maybe when Tommy gets older he will be able to wear a shirt more than once, but now he comes home with food on his shirt everyday. Wish he would remember to use a napkin instead of his shirt. So I buy 5 long sleeve and 5 short sleeve uniform shirts. If I was better an keeping the laundry caught up I wouldn’t have to buy some many. My trick that works well for Tommy and hubby is that the drawers on Tommy’s captain’s bed are where his uniforms are kept. They are separate from his regular clothes and every weekend I wash all uniforms and put them in the drawers for the week. He is never digging through his dresser trying to find his uniforms.
This is what works for us.What works in your house??What are your tricks to keep your kids and their stuff organized??
Lunches/Breakfast
I am not very creative with bag lunches.During the summer, Tommy takes a lunch to daycare at the college each day.This is easy to pack as I just send leftovers as his lunch bag is stored in the fridge and he can use the microwave there.School is a bit more tricky.His lunch will be un-fridgerated until lunch time and he doesn’t have the use of a microwave.
Tommy eats the school lunch a couple times a week as well.When the school menu comes each month, we sit down and read through the options and he decides what days he will bring a lunch.I pay for lunches by the month and we pack a lunch on Tommy’s chosen days.He generally will not eat at school if they are having pizza.He really doesn’t care for pizza that much.
Lunch ideas in our house are pretty boring.Tommy likes to either have a sandwich (must have lettuce), wraps or mac and cheese.I have found that mac and cheese stays warm until lunch when I pack it in an insulated food jar.I also generally add a fruit cup, a juice or Gatorade and a small treat like a cookie or something.My pantry is generally stocked with items to make a quick lunch.
The pantry is looking a little bare. I will be buying a months worth of food after we move the pantry to it’s new location. But you can see I have a plastic container that contains an assortment of granola bars. We have easy mac for those mornings he wants Mac and Cheese and I don’t have any made. We also keep chips and drinks on hand. My BIL also takes a lunch to work each day.
This year to make lunch packing a bit easier, I purchased a small food jar made by Laptop Lunches. I also bought a plastic drink bottle so I can just fill him some juice vs buying juice boxes and gatorade. Of course I will keep a few juice boxes on hand for those rushed mornings. It would just be cheaper to fill our own juice.
I would like to be a bit more creative with packing lunches this year, since I also take the same thing to work with me. Here are some recipes I have been collecting in planning for making lunches.
Turkey Wrap
Lunch Box Taco Salad – might be too messy for Tommy, but I would like it!
Ham and Cheese Quesadillas
Bologna Slaw Wraps
Top Five Freezeable Lunch Sandwiches: such as – Ham Salad Wraps, Tex Mex Pitas, Chicken Pesto Sandwich, Freeze Ahead Tuna Sandwich
For in the Food Jar: I want to be able to send hot food or soup with him!
Frank and Bean Soup
Chicken Chowder
Snacks or Treats to add to Lunchbox:
Oatmeal Cookies
Chewy Cereal Bars
Chocolate Chip Muffins
Homemade Cracker Jack
Numerous Snack Mixes
Healthy Snack Ideas
Zucchini Brownies
Drink Recipe : Sunny Orange Delight
Sarahdusenberry shared in comments that Hillbilly Housewife had some lunch ideas on her site. I found this great list of lunch ideas there!!
So those are my ideas for lunchbox options. I am in desparate need of more ideas! What do you send to school with your children?? Please share!!
BREAKFAST:
After reading what others are doing to organize for school, I came across a great idea I plan on implementing this year.Breakfast can be an issue at our home.Tommy will not eat cereal, he wants a hot breakfast every morning.This isn’t the problem.The problem is that he takes FOREVER to decide what he wants for breakfast.So this year we have a set breakfast menu and we are sticking to that.Now I can get breakfast ready and have it waiting for him when he gets up, because I know what we will be having.I am thinking of a way to do this with his lunches too, but haven’t came up with a good plan yet.
BREAKFAST MENU
Monday – Boiled Egg/Toast
Tuesday – Oatmeal
Wednesday – Pancakes
Thursday – Muffin/Yogurt
Friday – Cheesy Eggs/Toast
How are your back to school preparations coming?? Check in with us!!
