Today’s ifriend is someone you should all be extremely familiar with because she is one of the blog-lebrities you may be planning to bribe who is judging my tons of fun So NOT dumb Photo Contest for Photos That Are So NOT dumb.
That’s right peeps.
Lolli, mom-blogging-photo-taking-super-hero-ish-person behind the way more popular than pBd blog, Better in Bulk, is judging you and your awesomeness in the upcoming contest!
To give prove her worthiness she is here today as ifriend of the week.
Check her out here and then head over to her blog and stalk her about. How else are you going to know what to send her as a bribe?
As for her official Dumb Mom special intro song, there’s not really going to be one.
Sadly, the only songs in my brain these days are those by a notorious musical artist most moms misunderstand consider a menace. So, in an effort to not inadvertently call her a hooker or make her think I’m going to set her bed on fire, how about I go a little grade school for today’s introduction…
Roses are red,
Monkeys are brown.
Lolli is a chick,
who lives near my town.
With her five kids!
That’s right. She’s got five.
I know that you,
are surprised she’s alive.
And, I’m lucky she is,
‘cause she’s so cool.
And she’s here to talk
about the first day of school!
Good luck Lolli’s kids!
The Summer went by altogether too quickly (and that was single-handedly due to the fact that my four younger kids were in Summer camp from 9:00 to 3:30 five days a week). Add to that the craziness of camp a family trip to Pennsylvania and my no-kids-allowed weekend in New York City and this Summer has been non-stop action. Today is the BIG DAY around these parts. Back-to-school. I am one of those moms who dances in the streets when the kids head back to class, and yet I am simply not feeling ready for back-to-school today. Ready for some peace and quiet for a few hours everyday, yes. Ready as in prepared…..not quite sure about that. I’m still enjoying the last few days of sleeping in at this point. I recently polled my friends on and off line to find everyone’s best back-to-school tips. Strangely, the only tip that came back to me was some version of this:
Start putting kids to bed earlier & making them get up earlier 1-2 weeks before school starts back to get them used to it.
My kids have been so exhausted by their rigorous Summer activities that I don’t think I need to convince them to get more sleep. Our routine for the last few months has been more demanding than school, in fact (not that I would ever complain!). So instead of the typical tips (like setting kids clothes out the night before and having a set location at which to do homework) I’ve got some even more practical, less common back-to-school tips for mothers who are having their first experience with school to moms like me who are celebrating their youngest child heading to kindergarten (like me….Woohoo!).
- First-day-of-school pictures are not an optional activity. Leave extra time before they head off to school to take the pictures, because nobody will be in the mood for a photo shoot after school.
- Get really friendly with your child’s teachers. Drop by the school and stop at the classroom for a quick, amiable chat. It’s amazing what you’ll learn about the inner workings of the classroom (and your child’s real behavior habits) when you talk with the teacher outside the classroom.
- Check through your child’s backpack after school every day. As much as I love giving my kids opportunities to learn accountability, there are some things that will never make it into Mommy’s hands otherwise.
- Pay attention to what day school picture day is held. Even if you’re not planning on purchasing a photo package, it is worth it to make sure that your child is not wearing a black skull shirt and a haven’t-brushed-since-yesterday hair-do. Those pictures will live forever in their yearbooks….
- Who cares about getting your kids used to waking up on time? Get them used to eating peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese every day before school starts….or you will certainly hear some complaining about the lunch choices once they have to brown-bag-it five days a week.
- If you’ve got multiple kids in school and you’re filling out what feels like dozens of those emergency cards for the front office….make a photo copy of one child’s form with all of the family specific information filled in. Then all you have to do is fill in child-specific information on each form. And when your hand starts getting tired, just think of me: I’ll be filling out everything times five.
- Kids need a few minutes to decompress after they get back from school. Let them have a snack or just chill on the couch for a few minutes before jumping in to homework. Remember: school is exhausting!
- Talk about your child’s school experience everyday. Make a daily discussion part of the routine. Some days they won’t remember anything that happened at school. You’ll hear a lot of "I don’t knows" and "I don’t remembers." But you will also hear some amazing -and important- bits of information.
Enjoy the season, whether you’re a veteran school mom like me or a first-time kindergarten parent like my best friend. And be sure to take some pictures!
Laura http://betterinbulk.net/
www.twitter.com/1momof5
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
great tips! I think the one about photos is really important. I met Lolli this Summer at CBC10- you are right, she is very cool!
LOL at the tip about getting them used to PB&J and other sandwiches. That’s so true!!
Five is not THAT many. My friends have 9.
Thanks for letting me hang out here today. I am feeling amazingly liberated after walking home ALONE this morning…
Those tips are the best ever. I heard/read a while back that you should ask specific questions about school and not just “what did you do today.” So I ask questions like, “who did you sit next to at lunch,” “what pictures did you color,” “what did you do in center time.” This seems to get me a little bit more information. Not necessarily about what she learned, but about what is going on at school. Like the “annoying boy that sits next to her got mad because he didn’t get to do computer at center time, but today wasn’t their turn for computer center and he is going to have to just learn that you can’t go to computer center unless it is your turn and he is so annoying and I don’t know why he has to make noise all the time….” (all said in one breath). Makes me smile.