Free Printable Lunchbox Notes

I love to cheer up my kids while they are at school with a little note in their lunch box.  I used to just cut a square of paper and add a sticker and a handwritten note.  But, I decided to change things up and make it easier on me by searching for free printable notes to put in their lunchboxes.  I found some great ones that I plan to use all year long. 

• Deal Wise Mommy
• Frog Prince Paperie
• alphamom
• Lunchbox Jokes

I hope your children get as much joy out of them as my kids have.  Get creative and make some of your own.  If you have any printable lunchbox notes to share, I would love to see them.  Please leave a comment with the link.

Homemade Christmas Garland

With the upcoming holidays and the cold weather, now is a great time to have fun making Christmas crafts with your family.  My kids decided they wanted to have more of a say in how our Christmas tree looks.  So, I thought what better way for them to decorate our tree than with their own creations.  First things first, Christmas garland for the tree and more.  I hit the keyboard and found some fun ideas of garland that I can make with my kids.  Here are my top four:

• Dot Garlands
• Sweet Countdown
• Newly Minted
• Cranberry-Popcorn Garland

You can make these crafts your own by tweaking some details.  Replace the button thread with a colorful yarn for your Dot Garland.  Instead of using mints for a garland, maybe try gold wrapped candies to reflect your Christmas tree lights.  The possibilities are endless.  Remember, get creative and have fun! 

Check out my posts below for more Christmas Craft fun:

• Homemade Holiday Decorations
• Christmas Snacks, Crafts and Printables

Free Printable Halloween Notes

Halloween is almost here!  For fun I decided to put a Halloween themed note and a Halloween treat in my kids' lunchboxes today.  I found two great links with free printable Halloween notes great for stashing in a lunchbox.  Print them for your kids and add a little personal note to bring a smile to your child's face.

• Halloween Lunchbox Notes from Creative Bubbles
• Halloween Lunchbox Jokes from Decoration Ideas Online

Storing Crayons

If you lose the box your crayons orginally came in, as most of us do, here are some great ways to store them and keep them from breaking:

• Use an old, plastic baby wipe box and let the kids decorate it with stickers
• For smaller collections try a soap container (great for traveling by the way)
• Small baskets found at a dollar store

When you do have broken crayons, here is a great craft to make for your kids or for their teachers!

• Colorful Crayon Letter

What ideas do you have about storing crayons and what do you do with your broken ones? 

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!