5 Tips to help the school run go smoother! It’s all in the planning!

So, it’s morning, even though it feels like the middle of the night because surely you have only had a nano second of sleep and the bloomin alarm is shrieking at the top of its voice that you should wake up. If you are anything like me then now is the time that the skill of juggling really comes into its own. Breakfast for the family, just a cuppa for me, after all it’s still the middle of the night in my head *note to self to be a good role model and eat well* it’s on my to-do list!

So before I get side tracked then – here are my top 5 things to help the school run go better!!

The key is, to start from the beginning……

1. Change the ring-tone of your alarm! For years I had the cutest sound of my boys saying for me to wake up, I couldn’t bear to take it off for ages but as the years wore on it was so loud and high-pitched that it wasn’t waking me up the right way. So I’ve saved it to be used for other things and now gone onto a lovely gently undulating tone that lets me wake up in a more gentle way as opposed to heart thumping shock to the system! Try it, even if it’s just for a week.

2. Breakfast, aside from the fact that I am a hypocrite and can’t stomach breakfast in the morning, make sure that the kids have it and digest it properly. In our house that would mean, trying to control their urges to practice dance, gym, football, karate moves while spooning in shreddies to their mouths, jumpers, hamsters and the floor.

3. Teeth! You might have got this one sorted. I have 50% success here, one boy is glued to the bathroom doing his hair, pearly white smile and generally grooming to perfection his appearance while the other one is, well lets just say…not quite there yet. You would have seen from one of my previous posts about motherhood that I have a little trick up my sleeve for how we are currently making sure his teeth are getting cleaned.

4. Everything has been lined up the night before, so we have; uniform, school bag, shoes, coat, drink and whichever activity they have (that they’ve told you about!) The 5 P’s are in operation here; Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. I’ll leave the 6th one out, after all it’s a family blog:0

5. Then it’s in the car with a double and triple check, a final grilling of have they got everything and off to school we go. 9 times out of ten this can work, on the odd occasion for us then this will be the point that one of them tells me that it’s World Book, Children in Need, day of the peach, environment, woman, man or child day! It’s at those times when I have to whistle a happy tune, turn the radio up and think happy thoughts!

How do your days go first thing in the morning? Have you got it sussed? Have you got any tips to share?

Let see if we are alone in the dreaded prep for the school run. Tweet to share.Click To Tweet

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Princess Party Pack Giveaway

Don’t you just love a party? Living life just like a princess can be made all the more real with my Princess Party Pack giveaway this week.

To set the princess party theme from the very start we have the You’re Invited invitation cards.

Cake decoration princess rings will twinkle on the birthday cake then a big slice can be given to everyone in their very own Princess Her Highness goodie bag.

Next up in this regal pack is the Thank You cards to show her perfect princess manners off to the full.

Good luck everyone!

Giveaway

To enter, use the Rafflecopter entry here.

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Open to Worldwide entries

If you like this giveaway, you might enjoy this Olaf from Frozen one too!

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It’s Homework Time

Homework, creative play, jotters, notes stuck on the wall are all on the go in our house. My eldest is now self sufficient and takes his whiteboard where he needs to be.

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It’s a busy Thursday afternoon in our house and we have just all bounded in through the front door almost rolling in the cascade of shoes, blazers and bags as the boys start shedding their school skin and morphing into home boys. At 9 and 12 they have gone past the novelty of school and are now firmly planted into the routine. They love being on the go and all the joys that school brings aswell as the woes of coming to grips with the understanding that algebra may seem like a waste of time to a young lad. Fast forward to a time when he has to fill his car up with petrol, has £20 and has to work out how many litres he can afford if each litre is a certain price, then he might just see the ‘point’ of it all.

So with homework to add to the daily learning schedule, drinks and snacks are procured, the first pangs of hunger dealt with then our homework time can begin!

I have been sent a whiteboard to try out and very excited about. We have an A3 Folding Wedge Landscape which as you can see from the photos is a great size, has a carry handle on top and looks very sleek. It feels robust enough to tackle being carried around and assembled in an array of places which will surely happen.

Now that my eldest is in senior year his homework has really increased and needs far more planning and thought behind it.

As far as the geography project goes, it has to be done! One of the things I was pleased about was that my eldest was suitably impressed with how it looked. In the days of image being very important, to get a big tick and dare I say it a grin from my growing lad, were signs we were off to a great start.

The board is perfect for standing on the table as you can see and working with it on either end will give you the views you need depending on the project.

Use a drywipe eraser to clean off the writing and start again. This can be done really simply and within seconds the board is ready to use again. Even with the bright orange we used, it didn’t stain or leave the shadow of the words, it was bright white once again.

As the board is designed to make use of both sides, one side was used for written planning and one side was used for the layout of the design.

I love the use of all sorts of learning aids and devices to enhance the experience for my kids. This board helped with the visual display of bringing together what was in his head.

My youngest didn’t want to be left out of trying our new board and as soon as his big brother had finished his homework he folded it down and carried it up to his room where he settled into his bean bag for some relaxation time. He loved the easy flow the board created for his drawing skills to flood out without worrying about mistakes or scrabbling around for scrap paper. This was one of the quietest after school times I’d had in a while and it was great to see the boys so engrossed in what they were doing.

It's Homework Time — Not one to be left out of the fun!

Conclusions:

For us this is something that is not just limited to homework. As a company director I have so many uses for this board and I will be sneaking this away to use on many occasions. Travelling is a big part of what I do and gone are the days when people want to be encumbered by large items to battle out of the car. This board can be used to illustrate the steps my team decide upon to take projects forward and are great for recording those idea provoking discussions. The fact that I can carry it next to my computer case with ease is a huge buying point for me.

It is fun, it looks good and it has a use! So many gadgets get forgotten, this one won’t.

Have you got whiteboards at home. How do you think you would use them within your environment? Let me know in the comments below, it’s good to share.

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Disclaimer: I was gifted a whiteboard for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions included in the post are my own.

How Quality Child Care Can Affect Your Child

As a parent, we all want to give our children everything that we can, and one of the best places to start is education. Embracing your child’s natural curiosity and creating a positive learning experience from a young age will give them the tools that they will need to succeed in life. When you send your child to day care, you should choose an establishment that is of high-quality, as well as a good reputation, and that will help your child to develop into a wonderful person.

Communication And Interaction Skills

When you send your child to child care in Sydney, or anywhere else, it will be a new experience to which they are not familiar. However, one of the first lessons they will learn is how to interact appropriately with each other and enhance their overall communication skills. They will learn to follow simple instructions and also to get along with each other. Having excellent communication skills and being able to interact with other members of society are essential skills for them to succeed in their lives.

Create A Hunger For Learning From New Experiences

One thing that you may find when your child starts to attend nursery for the first time is that they develop a hunger for learning and trying new things, which is common in many children. The newly found passion can be something that they will take with them into their adult lives, always wanting to learn more, try new things, and expand their horizons.

Help To Develop And Heighten Their Senses

When you immerse your child in a creative learning environment, you will also help to develop and enhance their five main senses which are;

Sight
Sound
Touch
Taste
Smell

As well as these main senses your child will also benefit from the development of other senses such as balance and special awareness. When they are introduced to new situations with strange sights, sounds, smells, and so on, it will heighten their senses and help them to be comfortable with new surroundings and people.

Becoming Adaptable And Self Sufficient

Another significant benefit of sending your child to a quality child care centre is that they will learn to adapt to new situations and people, and also start their long journey on the way to self-sufficiency. The road is a long one, and it will be many years before they are ready to fly the nest, but giving your child these essential life skills from an early age will provide them with the tools that they are going to need to be successful in their lives.

If your child is coming to the age where they are ready to start nursery school, take your time and look at all of the options that are available. Choose a facility that excites your child and will nurture their hunger for learning, take a look at various local government websites for advice from the government on schools in New South Wales or wherever you live. Visit and speak to each establishment and choose the option that will give your child the start in life that they deserve.

This is a collaborative post

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The Best Beginners Guide to Making Mum Friends

We’ve all felt like the odd one out when starting a new school right? Well starting school or nursery when you are the parent can be just as daunting, if not worse! Fears and self-doubt can creep in and old leftover experiences of when we were younger can all surface again.

As a parent, waving the little ones off …well peeling them off you as was sometimes the case when mine were little is one milestone to get over. The next is standing there having waved them off and then walking home or back to the car-park alone.That feeling is the pits and I think, totally unnecessary! Now is the time to get in with or make your own Mum Tribe, it will make the next few years so much easier!

Here is the best beginners guide to making mum friends:

• Smile Smile Smile, it can take the place of a thousand words and can be a huge pick me up for whoever is on the receiving end.

• Make something happen! Arrange a coffee morning as a way to get to know people. Odds on you aren’t the only one feeling the same way. Arranging a time and place to meet takes the headache out of it for other people. We are all so busy that having to hang around and umm and ahhh over where to go often leads to absolutely nothing, nada. If you take the initiative and arrange something, even if only one person can make it then that’s fine, it’s one person you will always have to laugh with about that first get together.

• As with the point above, you have to make things happen. So, if someone asks you to go along to an event that they have planned then try your hardest to go. You might feel tired, not of washed your hair or don’t fancy meeting over the other side of town. The thing is making the effort and then feeling the benefit afterwards. You can even have a look at my post 5 tips to help the school run go smoother which should help in getting there on time and without being too stressed!

• If you have to go past other mums who are all gaggled together like they’ve known each other for years, take a deep breath, walk over and say hi. You’ll get a feel for them pretty quickly and you have the most legit get out of jail card by saying that you can’t stop as you have to dash off to work – doctors-friends etc. But what you would have done is broken the ice, said your name and made the first move.

I mean, what’s the worst that can happen!!

• Volunteer to help out at the school or nursery and before you go all shivery and think ‘No Friggin Way’… do it, even if it’s just the once. Think about it, you probably always have to talk to the teacher right? – So that’s one person who you know and can chat to. It’s your way in. If you volunteer for just one cake, book, uniform or whatever the heck sale it is then you will have people coming to you to talk and it’s ready-made intros.

Let's share so that everyone can feel the love to find their mum friendsClick To Tweet

It might seem a little daunting or hard work at first. Over time, just like when we were at school or starting out at work or uni, it falls into place and we settle with friends that we click with. Being in your new mum tribe is just one more path of being a fully fledged grown up. Enjoy the riches that these women can bring to your life.

What tips have you got? What were your first experiences of making your new mum friends.