Heading Back To School With My Superkids!
I’m totally one of those mamas who always has the BEST intentions to get her act together. Every year, there are two times when you’re likely to find me frantically pinning ideas to organize my household, help my kids, and make our lives run more smoothly. The most obvious time is late December, as the promise of a new year approaches. The second time, which I think is much more mama-specific, falls in mid-late August. As back to school season looms, I start resolving to meal plan more, pack healthier lunches, and most importantly?! Help my kids AND husband become more self reliant.
The promise of a fresh school year as well as the return to a more regimented schedule is the perfect atmosphere for fostering change. That said, have you guys seen Pinterest lately?! Holy how-to overload! I was so excited to have the chance to check out this brand new book from Dayna Abraham of Lemon Lime Adventures. When my husband saw me reading it, I seriously described The Superkids Activity Guide To Conquering Every Day as ‘the best ideas you might find on Pinterest, but in a book.’ Read on to see how we’re implementing some of the amazing ideas in OUR back to school preparations this year, and find out where you can grab a copy for yourself!
WHAT WE’RE DOING
1. What’s in your backpack? shrinky dink® zipper charms
Not gonna lie guys, I’m making 2 sets of these. One will be for #thebigone’s backpack, so that he can work on being more responsible. A major goal for him this year is to be more accountable for his own belongings, and packing his own backpack each night. The zipper charms are going to take so much guesswork out of the process for him.
That second set I mentioned? Yup, that set is going to be attached to #thelittleone’s daycare backpack. While it’s going to be a great way to introduce my toddler to the idea of preparing his own bag, I’m realllly attaching it so that my husband doesn’t forget something important in the daycare bag! (Sorry honey!) I used the templates provided in The Superkids Activity Guide To Conquering Every Day to create the charms, and made a few small tweaks to better suit my boys’ needs.
2. Magnetic Morning Routines
This is definitely a project I’m tackling for #thelittleone! He starts daycare part-time this week. After 2 solid years home with me full-time, it’s definitely going to be an adjustment to get him up and moving in the morning. (Confession: he’s definitely been to big brother’s bus stop in his jammies many times!) Hopefully having a clear visual of what needs to be done and the order it should be done in will help establish a bit of early independence.
3. Weekday Rock Star Wardrobe Organizer
The best part about having a two year old right now? He still lets me dress him however I want! #thebigone, on the other hand, has not informed me that second grade is the year that he needs to look ‘cool’ and will therefore be choosing his own outfits each day. [Sidebar, I was a children’s fashion designer! How on earth am I choosing clothes that aren’t cool?!] I’m making these upcycled wardrobe organizers to help keep my boys’ well dressed all year long. My hope is that once a week, #thebigone and I can fill his together, so that he makes most of the choices but I still have a little bit of veto power if needed. I’ll fill #thelittleone’s once a week as well, to help encourage him to dress himself more indpendently. (And I’ll also confess, to make sure his outfits match, because that is NOT my husband’s strong point!)
4. Dynamite Dinner Table Conversation Jar
Along with that whole ‘mom doesn’t choose cool clothes thing’, we’ve also reached the point where getting #thebigone to tell us anything substantial about his day is like pulling teeth! We’ll sit down together as a family to put together this conversation prompt jar. That way we’ll have a great variety of questions to ask each other at dinner, and my oldest will hopefully also feel a bit of ownership over the activity.
5. Mega Mealtime Decision Boards
#thebigone almost never buys school lunch, because he claims he doesn’t want to make us spend money on a meal that isn’t healthy. (Trust me, my kid loves the unhealthy stuff as much as most children do, so I’m not really sure where this argument came from). Because I’m terrible at waking up in the mornings, #thehubs generally has the pleasure of packing lunch for #thebigone. My kiddo is surprisingly picky, and his tastes seem to change with no notice. Last week he loved grapes, and this week they’ll go entirely uneaten. Pouches of applesauce used to be delicious, now he refuses them. I’m so excited to hang this tool on the fridge, and empower him to help plan lunches he will love. I also intend to refer to it with him when I’m writing our weekly grocery list, so my kiddo can give some input into what he would prefer to eat from each category that week before we do the shopping.
WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK SO SPECIAL?
Sure, Pinterest is free, so you can always look for ideas like this there. But truly, this book is well worth the purchase. Dayna has written The Superkids Activity Guide To Conquering Every Day for kids as well as the parents who will benefit. Each activity addresses the child, so it’s perfect for helping a student take control of their own learning and responsibilities. The positive message she uses to empower all children is incredible. The typical ‘kid negatives’- stubborn, impatient, messy, etc, are all re-framed in positive terms. While you’re using the activities in the book to help your child gain more control in life, you’re also able to help empower them to see their own strengths and further develop them. It’s truly an amazing way to look at raising your child, and I encourage every parent to find ways to do it, whether through the purchase of this book or not.
>>> LOOKING FOR EVEN MORE IDEAS ABOUT HELPING YOUR KIDS EMPOWER THEMSELVES?
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