Have a Say at Your Child's School

I felt there was room for improvement when it came to my child's school communicating with the parents.  After doing a bit a research, I realized the school's PTA is responsible for keeping the parents informed of the happenings at school.  So, I decided to become an active member of the PTA at my kids' school. 

I contacted the PTA President via email and found out that there was a need for someone to maintain the fairly new school Facebook page and the newsletter.  So, I quickly volunteered to help out with both - especially since these are the main means of communication with parents, which was my biggest concern. 

Now, I'm a PTA board member.  The title felt a bit overwhelming at first but, working on the Facebook page and newsletter are things I can do at my own pace and on my own hours from home.  So, it is perfect for me being a stay-at-home mom with two Elementary School kids and a 2 1/2 year in tow.  The bonus is, I have the opportunity to speak up about decisions being made at my kids' school and I finally get to see things change that had always worried me. 

If you feel there is a need for change at your child's school and you can spare 1 HOUR per month, join your school's PTA and make a difference in your child's education.  There is a membership fee for the year but, it's usually small.  Our school's PTA membership is $5 for the year.  That's it!  So, join the PTA and speak up for your child.

You Can Save ALL of Their Artwork

Having kids in school means having tons of artwork and worksheets brought home from school.  Every Mom wishes they could save it all but, who has that kind of storage space?  And throwing our your little one's childhood memories can be hard on you, especially if the kids catch you!  So make it easier on you and them and save every single drawing, painting and letter DIGITALLY! 

With today's technology you can scan your child's artwork and store it on your computer or burn it onto a disk.  If you don't have a scanner, take a picture of it with your digital camera and download it onto your computer.  You can do more than digitally store their masterpieces:

• Make a DVD slide show
• Develop the photos of them, frame it and display on a wall
• Have your child help you make a scrapbook with small photos of their art
• Make a hardcover book with them via Walmart.com, shutterfly, etc.
• Share them online for all your friends and family to see
• Have it turned into an art canvas on websites like Personal Creations

The possibilities are endless with digital replicas of their cherished treasures.  Get creative and have fun!

Box Tops for Your School

With a new school year starting, it's a great time to help your child's school.  A great way to earn money for your school is to collect Box Tops!  There are a lot of great brands that participate with Box Tops:  Cheerios, Ziploc, etc. 

Visit the Box Tops website for lots of great ways to help your school earn money to help fund for your school's needs.  You can also earn eBox Tops buy shopping online at great stores like GAP, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and Land's End.  So, while doing your back-to-school shopping, think about Box Tops!  Gather them to send to school with your child. 

You can view Box Top Success Stories online for motivation.  Also, "Like" Box Tops on FACEBOOK for events and information to help your school collect Box Tops. 

Mario Kart Wii Birthday Party

I threw my son a Mario Kart Wii Birthday Party.  And as usually with the themes my kids pick, there weren't many options at our local stores.  So, I made almost everything for the party myself.  Click on the links below to find out how you can make them too:

Invitations & Gift Bags

• Mario Kart Wii Invitiations

• Mario Star Gift Bags

 Decorations

• Boo Ghost Balloons
• Standups

Food

• Mario Mushroom Cupcakes
• Cupcake Toppers
• Mario Star Sandwiches

Games & Activities

• Yoshi Egg Race & Mario Bingo
• Coloring Pages

I also bought Mario Kart Wii Wall Stickers, since I didn't have time to make them myself.  =)  We had a great time and best of all, my son was over the moon! 

Mario Star Sandwiches

For fun themed snacks, my husband helped me make Mario Star Sandwiches.  We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cut the centers of them with a star-shaped cookie cutter.  Then we buttered the back of two raisins and pressed them on the front of the sandwiches for the eyes of the Mario Star.  They turned out really cute and the kids loved them!  We were lucky not to have anyone with a peanut allergy but you could do this with any type sandwich.

I also had Mario Brothers fruit snacks to add to our theme.  We had my son's other favorite foods too: chips & dip and a meat and cheese platter.  It was super simple but still tied into the party theme.  Perfect!

Mario Kart Wii Wall Stickers

Every birthday party I throw for my kids, I try to find wall stickers/clings to match the theme.  Then I decorate the dining room (aka party central) with the wall stickers.  When the party is over, I move them to the birthday boy's/girl's room for them to enjoy for the rest of the year.  For my son's Mario Kart Wii birthday party, I found great Mario Kart Wii Removable Wall Decorations on BirthdayExpress.com for $14.99.  They were the perfect touch for our party decorations!

Mario Boo Ghost Balloons

While doing research for decorating ideas for my son's Mario Kart Wii birthday party, I came across a blog called Corner House.  She had a post about a Mario party she threw for her son.  And one of the decorations she used were Boo Ghost Balloons.  She used white balloons, white paper cones and a sharpie.  Well, I didn't use the paper cones, I stuck with the white balloons and sharpie.  I used scotch tape and white thread to hang them from the ceiling. 

My son got a kick out of seeing them flying throughout the house when he woke up the morning of his party.  All the guests loved them!  They asked if they could each take one home.   

Mario Mushroom Cupcakes

My son had a last minute change of heart for his cupcakes.  He decided to have Mario Mushroom cupcakes instead of using the Mario Kart Wii Cupcake Toppers.  His favorite Mario Mushrooms are the Mega Mushroom (yellow with red dots) and the Mini Mushrooms (blue with white dots). 

So, I used a normal muffin tin for the Mega Mushrooms, yellow icing and red M&M's.  For the Mini Mushrooms, I used a mini muffin tin, white icing and blue M&M's.  (I know I have the colors reversed with the Mini Mushrooms but, it was easier and my son didn't mind.) 

I used white muffin cups for all the muffins.  And I drew the eyes on the outside of the muffin cups with a non-toxic magic marker.  Then, I lined a cookie sheet with foil and arranged the Mega Mushroom cupcakes in the middle and made a border with the Mini Mushroom cupcakes.  I topped it off with a number candle.  My son and all his friends loved it! 

Homemade Mario Kart Wii Standups

While searching for Mario Kart Wii party supplies, I stumbled upon a cardboard Mario Kart Wii Standup at birthdayexpress.com.  It is 6 feet high and cost $40 with a $10 additional shipping fee for an over sized item.  So, needless to say, I didn't get it!  But, it did give me an idea.  I decided to make my own Mario Kart Wii standups but smaller. 

So, I had the birthday boy pick his three favorite characters from Mario Kart and I searched the Internet for an image of each of them.  Once I found large enough images, I copy and pasted them onto a word document.  I minimized the margins and blew up the image as big as I could to fit on one page without going outside of the printing margins.  Then I printed them on white card stock.  I trimmed the pictures down but, I made sure to keep a flat edge on the bottom for better stability.  Then I used the excess card stock that I cut off and glued it to the back of each image to make the pictures stand up (like a support on a table top picture frame).  It was super simple and they came out great!  I sat the standups next to the Mario Star Giftbags, as part of the pary decorations. 

You can do this with virtually any party them.  You just have to find the pictures online.  And after the party, you can trim off the flat bottom, glue the standup to another colorful piece of card stock and frame it!  It's a great way to decorate a room!  I plan to do this for our toy room.  Be creative and have fun!