The Back-to-School Prep Checklist

It is that magical time of year again – your kids are preparing to go back to school. This busy and hectic time is full of excitement at a new school year, nervousness about the teacher and classmates, and sadness that their carefree summer is over. There are a lot of things that need to get done before sending them off to school, and SesameYou is here to help make sure you remember everything!

Adjust the Sleep Schedule

Your kids are most likely on a sleep-in-late schedule which is a bit of a rude awakening when school time arrives. Start slowly adjusting your child’s sleep schedule by waking them up 15 minutes earlier every day until they reach the time they need to be up for school. A week before school starts, start practicing the morning routine so they don’t run late the first few days. 

Go Over the Daily Schedule

Make sure your child knows exactly what to expect every day for school. Go over:

• What they need to have ready the night before
• What to do in the morning
• How to get to get to school (bus, walking, carpooling, you driving, etc)
• What their day will be like at school
• Lunch time practice so they have enough time to eat
• How to get back home
• Where to put their stuff when they get home
• What they need to do each evening (sports practice, homework, relaxing time)

Start Prepping for School Activities

Once you have the school calendar, go over the activities they might want to participate in and start making a schedule for it. If your kids are involved in a lot of activities, make sure they understand school and homework is a priority. Schedule time in every night for homework along with plenty of relaxation time. 

Visit the School and Buy Supplies

To make your child feel more comfortable with the new school year, take trips to the school to walk the hallways, get their desk set up, and meet the teacher. The more exposure they get before school starts, the more comfortable they will be. Take your kids with you when you buy school supplies also. It’s fun to pick out the colors and types of things they want in their desk! 

Get Ready the Day Before

The day before school starts, you have a lot to do! Have your child pack his or her backpack up with all the supplies they will need. Pick out their perfect first day of school outfit. Have them choose what they want to eat for lunch and what breakfast they want before they go to school. Go over the everything with them one more time before bed. Ease their worries and get them excited for the school year!

Parenting Photos You Can Totally Relate To

Parenting is by no means easy. It is full of stress, disbelief, and often hilarity at your children’s expense. This week on our Facebook page, we shared this photo:

 

This picture received a ton of well-deserved Likes. We realized that, throughout our crazy day, every parent needs to take a second to laugh at the insanity their life has become. To give you a big of a giggle-break from work and parenting, here are some photos you will absolutely be able to relate to.

Let us know which photo is your favorite and share your own crazy parenting photos in the comments!

5 Tips to Protect Your Little Pyromaniacs This 4th of July

The 4th of July is one of the most exciting holidays we celebrate in the year. In my mind, it ranks Christmas is first, Thanksgiving is second, and 4th of July is third. The 4th activities can range from taking your families to watch a beautiful, professional fireworks display in a park or going rural and lighting off your own fireworks show.

No matter what your plans are, many of our kids are little pyromaniacs and love the thrill of being given PERMISSION to play with fire! Their excitement can sometimes cause them to be a little unsafe with the tamest of explosives. To keep your kids safe this 4th of July, follow these five tips.

 

1. Never let your kids light and then throw fireworks. Even smoke bombs can explode early if they get wet. I watched it happen to one of my friends when I was a kid and she still has the scars.
2. Watch out for the “cute” fireworks shaped like tanks or cars. Once lit, they can zoom unexpectedly and shoot sparks on your child. Make sure if your child lights one, they stand very far back from the firework.
3. It’s tempting to run away from a firework once you have lit it. Tell your kids to instead speed walk away from them. They could trip and, not only scrape their knees, but stay too close to the firework as it goes off.
4. Tell your kids to stay far away from adults lighting off big fireworks. Then can wander too close and sneak up behind an adult as they are lighting a mortor, risking injury.
5. Sparklers are regarded as a kid’s firework, but improper handling of fireworks can cause burns. Children should hold sparklers at arm’s length and never light more than one at a time. They should also stay a safe distance away from other kids with sparklers. Once the sparkler is done burning, have your kids place them in a bucket of water to cool them off. The metal of the sparklers stays hot for a long time after burning out.

 

There is definitely reason to be cautious. Children account for 30 percent of fireworks-related burns and injuries each year. This means an estimated 1,900 burns occur with children every Fourth! Following these tips will help your family stay safe and enjoy this spectacular holiday.

5 Ways to Take Back Control of Your Kid’s Clutter

Let’s face it – we love our kids and buy them a ton of toys. But it seems no matter what age they are, kids leave their toys EVERYWHERE in the house. Or the toys are coming to life like in Toy Story and we can’t stop stepping on them, moving them out of the way to sit, or sweeping them onto the floor so we can actually put dinner on the table. If you feel like toys are taking over the home, try these easy de-clutter life hacks to reclaim your living space.

Bath Toy Cleanup

Image and Idea via Heather Drive Blog

With a simple tension rod, you can create an organized system for all your kids bath toys. Hang baskets on the tension rod for your kids to dump all their toys in at the end of a bath. This teaches your kids good clean up skills as well.

Laundry Basket Sorter

Idea and Image via Being Brooke Blog

Laundry in a huge pile on your kids’ floor can be immensely overwhelming. That is why blogger Being Brooke took matters into her own hands and created a laundry sorting system from scratch! You can either follow her tutorial or repurpose old furniture to become a laundry basket holder.

Stuffed Animal Swing

Idea and Image via It’s Always Autumn Blog

Does your kid have a pile of stuffed animals in the corner of the room? Try making a stuffed animal swing, like the one from blogger It’s Always Autumn. Not only do the animals get organized, the swing doubles as an excellent way to display the collection!

Garage Organization

Idea and Image via I’m An Organizing Junkie Blog

Pulling into the garage can be a death sentence for toys that get thrown down after a day of playing outside. Create an easy way for kids to keep their garage toys organized with a simple crate system, like the one seen on the I’m An Organizing Junkie blog.

Hot Wheels Display and Storage

Idea and Image via A Lo and Behold Life Blog

When your kid stores all of their Hot Wheels in a bucket, they have to dump the entire bucket to find the one they want. Cars go in all directions, inevitably ending up under your foot and causing tears to spring to your eyes. To decrease the risk of Hot Wheel accidents, create this storage AND display shelving for the toy cars! Find the instructions at A Lo and Behold Life blog.

Learn More About our SesameYou App!

SesameYou is an innovative and secure social networking app made by parents, for parents. Download the app and have other parents in your life download it as well and see how easy it is to communicate and organize your children’s lives! Ditch the color coded fridge calendar and move all your planning into the app. It provides an easy location to plan and store all information and communication about your kids’ upcoming events. The more parents you invite, the easier it is! Get your community involved, use SesameYou!