Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts

Thursday, February 6, 2014

diy: rainbow loom school valentine with *free* printables




it's february......and valentine's day is next week?! the days and weeks and months are just flying by and here we are with valentine's day around the corner! (eek!) if you are a mama too, you know the pressure that this darn holiday can put on us. the store bought valentines are not cutting it anymore and every year it gets harder and harder to come up with good ideas.

the obsession this year with girls (and boys) everywhere are rainbow loom bracelets. kids are making them so fast that they are spilling out of homes and onto the wrists of kids everywhere. this year, if you have a kiddo that is into bracelet making have them join in the fun of making the valentines for their class! simply get them to work making a bracelet for every kiddo in the class. all you have to do is print out one of the cute printables below onto the colored card stock of your choice, cut two vertical slits to slide the bracelet through, attach a bracelet, have your child sign their name and you're done! another idea is to print out onto white card stock and then have your child color their own creation (as pictured in the hand valentine). the possibilities are truly endless and will take you as far as your imagination can. we hope this helps make the valentine process even a little easier on you. we've got your back, mamas. xoxo- heather & genelle

ps- huge shout out to the fabulous & talented miss giuliana (7 years old) who made us the awesome bracelet featured in the valentines. we adore you! xo


Thursday, September 19, 2013

school lunch: tips and tricks for packing the perfect lunch box


it's back to school time and for parents everywhere that means the return of the dreaded school lunch. packing school lunches, although a seemingly easy task, can become overwhelming whether you have one kiddo or five when you are in the mad school morning rush. 

both nellie and myself have found that organization is the key as well as involving the kids in packing their own lunch.

in the pantry, we both keep items for lunches organized and accessible in bins.



yogurt tubes are a stable in both of our houses. nellie keeps them in the fridge while i choose to keep them frozen to use as an ice pack to keep lunches cool until ready to eat. what works best for you?



if you have all of the items for lunches already prepared and ready to go, then all that has to be made is a sandwich or perhaps to pack up leftovers in a small container.

nellie also keeps the school lunch calendar visible on a clipboard so, the night before school her kids can choose if they will be buying a lunch or packing one. 


if you have a place for lunch boxes to go, it makes life so much easier. the kids know that, when they get home from school, they need to clean out their lunch box and return it to the bin, ready to be re-packed that evening for the following day.


i love to use these awesome labels from mabel's labels to clearly label lunch boxes and water bottles. you can order them online, or i found mine at my local target store.



you can also make homemade granola bars from our recipe here: 

while looking at some of my favorite blogs and pinterest, i found some other great ideas to help make school lunches fun and interesting. 

i just love this organization from delightful order. if i had an extra fridge in the garage i would be all over this! 


katie at simple bites has some great solutions for picky eaters including awesome smoothie recipes and homemade fruit roll-ups!

love from the oven has some super cute, simple ways to add a little fun into the lunch box.

these stickers from just bento are amazing! 

how does she has some wonderful ideas from cute clips to jokes and other creative goodness.

"donut" sandwiches from super healthy kids 

banana magic trick for perfectly hidden sliced bananas from zakka life--so fun!

apple puzzle from at home with real food

diy lunchbox icepacks from my kitchen escapades

what are *your* favorite lunchbox tips and tricks? please share and help a fellow mama out! 





Tuesday, February 12, 2013

valentine's boxes

i had no plans to post anything tonight but as i looked over what i needed to accomplish for the next couple of days, i decided this might help some mommy, somewhere.

my boys love valentine's day. they love the candy, the cards, the fun little gifts. they love it all. what they don't love is a bunch of pink hearts and flowers. 

each year i get tasked with decorating shoe boxes to hold the kids' valentines. (*tip*: find some place in your garage to store empty shoe boxes. you will need them at some point and as soon as you throw them away, you'll get your next "shoe box" assignment.) this year my boys were staring at the boxes and wondering what in the world we could do to make them look cool.

here's what we finally decided upon:


the boys thought these were perfect...and definitely *boyish* enough to satisfy them on valentine's day. i'm happy to say they are made by kids and look that way. it took a little bit of time to help them out but they are so excited to take their creations into class.




the only part that created a bit of a problem were the eyes. we just used wooden kabob sticks broken in half and taped them to the back of the eyes. problem solved!


what about you? any cool, creative ideas for your children's valentine's boxes?

Friday, May 18, 2012

friday fun finds: diy end of the year teacher gifts

school is almost out for summer and that means it is time to come up with a fun, creative way to say "thank you" to the teacher in your child's life. we searched and searched and found some super cute and easy diy ideas to use at gifts. aren't teachers the best?!  which one is your favorite?














side note: i am personally a firm believer that every teacher deserves some type of gift card as a thank you. (i am sure that every teacher has received their fair share of smelly lotions, coffee mugs, and classroom supplies). take the time to add a gift card (no matter how small) to your gift and i *know* your teacher will appreciate it. some ideas include: starbucks, target, costco, a local bookstore, department store, mall or teacher supply store).