tips + tricks

Five Ways to Ease Your Kids Into a School Routine

August 25, 2020 by Rachel 16 Comments

The transition from summer to school is tough! It will be especially hard this year since we’ve been in this strange “stay at home” summer mode for so many months. To help with the transition, I’ve developed a list of five ways to ease your kids into a school routine.

Five Ways to Ease Your Kids Into a School Routine

Do Your School Supply Shopping Early

There is nothing worse than panic buying school supplies the day before school starts. The stores are packed, the supplies are picked over and the emotions are high. Trust me, you do not want to spend your final moments of summer with your kids in the school supply aisle the night before school starts. Shop for your school supplies early. It will help your kids start thinking about the upcoming year.

Get Back into a Routine

Remember that bedtime routine that your kids had when school was in session? Yeah, it is time to bring that back. Make sure you start their normal bedtime routine at least a couple of weeks before school starts. You will also want to make sure you are setting an alarm in the morning. If your kids are like mine, their bedtime has gotten increasingly late all summer. I plan to gradually make them go to bed 15 minutes earlier than normal every few nights until they are back on their normal school routine. This will make the first week of school less jarring.

Make Your Kids Get Dressed

My kids would stay in their PJs all day if I would let them, and honestly some days I do – it is summer after all. However, it is time for a reality check. After their alarm goes off, have your kids get dressed, brush their teeth, and eat breakfast. It will make that first week so much smoother if they’ve already established this rhythm.

Do a Practice Run

A few days before school actually starts, do a practice run. Have your kids go to sleep the night before at the normal school night bedtime and set their alarm like it is an actual school day. Practice how you as a family will get out the door that morning. If you have a younger kid, you might be pleasantly surprised to see that they do not need as much help from you in the morning. See how long it takes to actually get out of the house and to school. This will help both you and your kids feel more prepared for the first day of school, especially if your kids are going to a new school.

Talk to Your Kids

Going back to school is stressful for both kids and parents. Make sure you talk to your kids and see if they have any concerns. Ask them what they thought went well last year and how you all can improve your school routine as a family.

With a little planning and preparation, you can ease your kids into a school routine that will make the transition painless!

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Self-Care Routine with Post Dunkin’ Cereals

August 23, 2020 by Rachel 17 Comments

Thank you Post for sponsoring this post. Post Dunkin’ cereals are rolling out nationwide now. To find a retailer carrying the cereal, check the store locator at dunkincereal.com

Fewer things are more precious to a mom than coffee. Kids are obviously more precious, but they are also the reason we need so much coffee. Am I right? I would love to say that I getting enough sleep at night. But I’m not. As a mom of three, there just isn’t enough time in the day for adequate sleep. But there is enough time in the mornings for me to squeeze in a little self-care routine with Post Dunkin’ Caramel Macchiato cereals — which pairs perfectly with my Dunkin’ Coffee.

Need some tips for a successful morning routine? Well look no further! Here are my tried and true tips for getting a little morning boost to get you through another busy day!

But first, Post Dunkin’ Cereal … and coffee

In a perfect world, I would be waking up at dawn — before the kids groggily arise from their slumbers. But? This isn’t a perfect world. In reality, the kids are the first awake and I am the last. I try and stay in bed for those precious extra few minutes of almost sleep, but it’s never long enough. Instead, I roll out of bed and get the kids some breakfast. Once they are settled, I pour a giant mug of Dunkin’ coffee — and then a giant bowl of Post Dunkin’ Caramel Macchiato or Post Dunkin’ Mocha Latte cereal.

My kids know not to ask too many questions before I have my morning coffee. But now I have to remind them that I need to eat my coffee, too! The new Post Dunkin’ cereals are TO DIE FOR — especially if you are coffee-obsessed like me! Savoring those few moments where the kids are quiet and I’m enjoying my coffee and Post Dunkin’ Cereal is sacred for me. Because after the coffee comes the chaos!

Self-Care = Home-Care

My main job as a mom is to keep my kids alive. And I consider the day a success if I’ve done so. But I also have to clean this house, because children are tiny little tornadoes of destruction. So most of my post-coffee morning routine consists of picking up toys, gathering up laundry, and doing an endless amount of dishes. Can that be considered self-care? I sure hope so. I mean, sometimes I’ll throw on some NPR or Kidz Bop while I’m cleaning. So it totally counts.

If I’m being honest, I really do try and get in a few moments to myself. Usually it’s by reading a chapter in my Book of the Month book or catching up on some social media scrolling. But, of course, it’s between still doing all of those other mom things.

More (cold) coffee

After the self-care portion of your morning is complete, sit back down for a second cup of coffee. By this point, it’s likely cold. And, heck, why not a second bowl of Post Dunkin’ Caramel Macchiato Cereal. A second bowl is the perfect way to round out the morning.

Do all of the things

The rest of our mornings are a blur of coloring, PlayDoh, screentime, and Disney Princess movies. The days as a mom are super long. And, oftentimes, I find myself at the end of a long day thinking “What the heck happened today?!” But we have survived 100% of these days. My kids know how much I love them. And, even if I don’t sleep for the next 18 years, at least I’ll always have coffee — and Post Dunkin’ Cereal.

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Learn more about how you can incorporate Post Dunkin’ Cereals into your morning routine.

Transitioning From Traditional School to Homeschool

August 3, 2020 by Rachel 34 Comments

How to Help Your Kids Feel Comfortable Learning from Home

Whether you’re a die hard advocate for homeschooling or were pushed into the idea after the Covid-19 outbreak, we all need to find ways to help our kids adjust to this new style of learning. Even if they’re beyond excited for this unique adventure, change is awkward! These tips on transitioning from traditional school to homeschool will help your kiddos feel more at ease studying from home.

Routine

When first moving from public education to homeschool, a certain amount of structure does the body well. So many things in life are changing but if you can maintain a small semblance of routine, you’ll find that everyone feels more grounded at the end of the day.

A perk of homeschool is the flexibility to learn as you please. It’s more than okay to take breaks (it’s encouraged actually) so that you and your little ones can recharge. The daily routine is there to guide you through any given day but it isn’t set in stone. Somedays, it’ll be just to remind you of everything you aren’t going to do! Schedules are nice to start with while you’re still getting your footing, but once you feel like you and your children are embracing homeschool, you can completely shake it up. Which brings us to our next tip!

Fluidity

You might realize your child prefers to read or do art in the morning and get to math in the afternoon. Maybe they like to dedicate a few days to one of two subjects before moving on to others. However they learn best, its not a bad idea to leave wiggle room for your child to alter how it is they absorb information. Embracing new methods of learning might be exactly what your kid needed to finally fall in love with history etc. I think we can all agree that freedom often leads us towards more joyful paths and it’s no different with learning. Going with the flow could end up making your child even more curious about the world around them.

These first two tips don’t sound complimentary but I assure you these two can tango. In combination, routine with fluidity is the ideal life even for us adults. In a homeschool setting, the balance of structure and flexibility makes for a happy environment.

Don’t Recreate School

This is a super tempting option because it feels natural but this is not the way to get your child to adapt into homeschooling. While you might be able to use bits and pieces of what you liked from public school into your new homeschool routine, it’s important to be aware of how this role changes your identity. You’re now a parent AND a teacher. Which is beautiful! Instead of separating the two, leaving your children with conflicting ideas of you, you should allow them to merge. Be their parent who teaches them by integrating authenticity with education.

transition kids from traditional school to homeschool

Social Time

One of the biggest struggles when transitioning from public school to homeschool is leaving behind the social aspect. We are social creatures by nature and this can be a lonely part of the journey but it doesn’t have to be! Host play dates or zoom chats to keep friendships blossoming even when distanced. Not only will this make your child happy but will also teach them more about platonic relationships such as how to keep them alive. You can also turn these into learning opportunities by making the play date a field trip!

Transitioning From Traditional School to Homeschool

Support

This is one of the most important things to have when beginning homeschool. A network of individuals you can vent to or lean on when you need to. There are so many ways to find community through homeschooling. You can seek out co-ops in your area, follow blogs with homeschool connections, or join homeschool groups to start.

This isn’t a step to be taken lightly! It’s crucial to have people in your circle that understand what you’re going through. If you’re struggling, someone else might have just figured out how to help their own child with that and can now guide you. Homeschool promotes continued learning for adults as well!

Take it Day by Day

Allow yourself time and patience as you take on this new lifestyle. Everyone adapts differently but eventually homeschooling will become as fluid a routine as the rest of your life. Enjoy this extra time with your family. The bonds you are creating are invaluable.

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If you have any advice on how to transition your child from traditional schooling to home school, comment below!

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How to Host a Social Distancing End of Summer Cookout

July 26, 2020 by Rachel 32 Comments

Summer will be over before you know it, and what used to be a fun season of cookouts and fun summer hangouts has turned to waving to your neighbor from across the lawn. If you are looking for a fun way to celebrate the end of summer, you can still have a fun end of summer cookout, safely. Here are some tips to help host a social distancing end of summer cookout.

Keep things clean and sanitized

If you are going to have a cookout where you will be sharing items and touching surfaces, you want to make sure that you are keeping things clean! The main reason for social distancing is to reduce the number of germs being passed around, so ensure that you are keeping your areas clean and sanitized often. Have sanitizing wipes readily accessible, and don’t forget to wash your hands often.

Seat in sections and grab food in rotations

If you are serving food, make sure that you spread out seating and implement food rotation areas. This should help prevent contact between others and still allow you to talk to one another without shouting! Try to avoid sitting too close to each other and take advantage of your full yard or block if you live on a less busy street. It may not be the best option for every situation, but you can still have a decent celebration this way!

Bring your own food and supplies

If you want to avoid cross-contamination, bring your own supplies. This includes food, drinks, and whatever else you will need. While it’s not as fun to have everyone bring their own supplies, this can keep people from getting sick from contacting another person’s stuff. Having everyone bring their own things could end up being the best option if you’re feeding a lot of people. Just make sure that you still keep your distance from each other, even if everyone brings their food and supplies.

Get single-serve materials for serving, drinking, and more!

Single-serve options are not usually an excellent idea for the environment. In this case, they could be lifesaving! Encourage people to use canned sodas instead of a 2 liter and avoid contact hot spots. Encourage the use of disposable products and single-serve items that don’t require you to wash afterward.

Move to the front yard

Normally cookouts take place in the backyard huddled by the grill, but instead, bring your cookout to the front yard! Have all your neighbors sit in their yards and enjoy cookouts together! Each person can make their own dish, and you can still be near each other even if you can’t sit right next to them. You can also play fun games that don’t require you to be near each other or play contact games.

While nothing can replace the fun of standing next to your neighbors and friends to celebrate the end of summer, hopefully, this will help ease the pain of not being able to hug your loved ones from afar!

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Work at Home Mom Summer Survival Guide

July 23, 2020 by Rachel 28 Comments

Are you a mom who works from home? Wondering how on earth you’re going to get any work done with the kids at home all summer? Believe it or not you can actually keep your business going this summer, even with the kids at home. Check out our work at home mom summer survival guide!

Be Flexible

How willing or able are you to adjust your normal work at home day to meet the ever-changing demands of tireless children? It can be done!

Adjust your day to take account of everyone being home. If you’re a night owl, work late, after the kids are in bed. If you’re not, start setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier each day and starting work before everyone gets up. After two weeks you’ll be up a whole 3 hours earlier than usual and will get tons of work done before the day even starts.

Combine this with getting slack with kids bedtimes and you could get more time in the morning before they wake up. Then you can be free for most of the day to play with them, do crafts or hang out in the backyard.

Military Planning = Key To Survival

Draw up a schedule that shows when you have help over the summer, whether from your partner, family or a babysitter. If your work demands that you are available at certain times carve those out first when you set your schedule. Try to get your help to cover those hours, or plan meetings for the times you do have someone available.

Schedule in your work time, then schedule in time for fun. Make a daily nature walk a part of your routine, or a daily family pool time, whatever you know your kids will love. Print the schedule out with color-coded time blocks so the kids can see at a glance when your work time ends and the fun time begins.

Say Yes to Help

Playdate? Yes. Local youth program? Yes. Grandma helping out? Yes.

Say yes to everything. It doesn’t mean you’re neglecting your kids. Say that again: It doesn’t mean you’re neglecting your kids.

If your business and your sanity are going to survive a summer with kids at home you need to have time to get work done. Grabbing whatever help you can and putting family time or mom time into the schedule too means everyone gets what they want.

And a happy mom bringing in some bucks is going to be a better playmate than a grumpy one who can’t work and is struggling to pay the bills.

Separate Work and Home

If you have a home office and can shut the door on work and walk away, great. If not, make sure your downtime with your kids is screen-free. Put your phone in another room on silent, put your laptop away.

Having a mom playing while keeping half an eye on a screen is no fun at all, so make the break and be in either work mode or kids mode, never both at the same time.

Get Your Supplies Together

Hit the Dollar Store or Target and get together a great crafts basket. Add some different types of paper and card stock or some scrapbooks and let older kids loose. Some glitter, pompoms and a glue stick will keep them entertained for ages.

Add some old magazines, fabric scraps and a pile of junk form your recycling bin. Then issue some challenges: build a robot, the most beautiful bird or their dream bedroom for example. They’ll love it and you have guaranteed peace for an hour or two.

Be Realistic

Finally, cut yourself some slack. Come to terms with the fact that you may not be as productive during the summer and schedule your work to make the best possible use of your time.

You can easily catch up in September, and you’ll have some precious family memories to look back on when you do. Time with your kids will pass all too soon, and summer vacation is just one part of your WAHM life.

Hopefully this work at home summer survival guide will only be needed this year (and maybe next). But we will get through it together!

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Hamilton Obsessed Kids? Other Kid Friendly Musicals

July 20, 2020 by Rachel 30 Comments

When I heard that Hamilton was going to be released on Disney+, I was ecstatic. I’ve been a fan of musicals for a long time, and I was thrilled to be able to share something as awe-inspiring as Hamilton with my kids. The first time I watched Hamilton, I just couldn’t take my eyes away.

By and large, musicals seem to be one of those things. Either you love them, or you hate them. The thing is, Hamilton seemed to break that barrier for a lot of people. Hamilton is funny, it’s edgy, and it uses modern and masterful language in a way that makes people think. I think that’s part of the reason it’s been so prevalent in our culture. If you think about it, Hamilton has caused an entire generation to fall in love with musical theater.

What musicals should your kids watch next?

If you want to build that kind of love of theater with your kids, then Hamilton is, of course, a great place to start. But there are other musicals that can help them build that relationship with musical theater. I’ve put together a list of some of my other kid friendly musicals that are some of my favorites.

Into the Woods

This was one of my earliest introductions to musical theater. The first time I watched Into The Woods, it was a bootleg VHS copy of the Broadway production that my English teacher put in to keep us occupied the week before the holiday break. The dialogue was rich and listening to Bernadette Peters sing made me believe that some people were born with natural gifts. She is amazing. While there has been a major Hollywood movie made of Into the Woods, the Broadway production is available on Amazon Prime’s BroadwayHD. It’s far better than the movie. The cast is exceptional and the production values are incredible. There is some adult humor, but it’s definitely a musical for kids.

The Wiz Live

I was never really a Wizard of Oz girl. My mother liked to watch it every year on TV. If anything, it gave me a healthy phobia of tornados! But The Wiz is a whole different ballgame. I highly suggest the NBC theatrical version that aired in 2015, starring Queen Latifah, Shanice Williams, and Mary J. Blige. The original version, available on Amazon, has a few mistakes, like pyro going off at the wrong time; however, this is a great way to prepare your kids for the realities of going to see a musical in an actual theatre setting!

Annie

Annie was one of the first musicals I ever saw live. When I was really angry at my mom, I would sing “It’s the Hard Knock Life” when I was doing chores. You can guess how that went over! I did love the show, though. While it’s a little dark, it’s another great kid friendly musical.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

This biblically inspired musical has been very popular since I was young. The Donny Osmond version, long considered the standard, is available on Broadway HD. This Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber production is still popular after all this time because the production values are top-notch and the cast is fabulous.

Mary Poppins

Really, who doesn’t love Mary Poppins? I think everyone has a memory of being home sick from school and watching Mary Poppins while sitting on the couch sipping Ginger Ale and eating saltine crackers. Older kids are definitely going to think it’s a little hokey, but it’s perfect for younger kids.

Cats

As with Into the Woods, stick to the theatrical production available on Amazon Prime’s Broadway HD and skip the movie version. Cats was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and was based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. It’s one of the most popular Broadway productions of all time, with more than 7,000 productions.

The King and I

The King and I is another historical musical. Although the lyrics are not quite as edgy as Hamilton, the story is quite interesting. The musical is drawn from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who worked as a governess (more like a teacher than a nanny) to the children of King Mongkut) of Thailand (which was called Siam at the time). While it’s not as historically accurate as Hamilton, it’s an interesting look at a different time in history.

Newsies The Broadway Musical

This one is based on a movie, which was based on a real-life event that happened in 1899. Newsies is a great musical to watch if you’re studying history, so it’s perfect for distance learning or homeschooling. The stage version on Amazon was filmed in Hollywood, so you may recognize some of the faces, including Christian Bale!

The great thing about Disney+ streaming Hamilton is that this is such a great time to introduce your children to an entirely new genre of entertainment using a style of music and art that is familiar to them! Take advantage of that and use this time to help them develop a love of something that may just last a lifetime!

Tell me — what other kid friendly musicals would you recommend?