Survival Kit
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Survival Kit
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CONTENTS
For Parents
Ten Tips for Smoother Mornings How to win the War on Clutter 1 3
Table of
For Kids
Get Up and Go! Flip Cards Kid Friendly Chore Chart Clock Activity Placemat 6 11 12
For Families
Make a Family Photo Calendar Make a Homework Caddy Kit Space Saver: Create a Notebook Holder 15 17 19
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ARTICLES
ow would you describe the time from when your alarm goes off to when the bus screeches to a halt outside your door? If youre like most parents it boils down to total, utter chaos. Youre not alone. We all tend to leave stuff we have to do to the last minute, says Jamie Novak an organizational expert and author of 1000 Best Quick and Easy Time-Saving Strategies. A list of seemingly small tasks can easily add up, and because theres only so much time in the morning, everything becomes rushed, explains Novak. There are, however, a number of ways you can make mornings go smoothly. Try these tips to give your kids a good, stress-free start to the school day. Make meals easy. Cut down lunch prep time by preparing lunchboxes while xing dinner. Youve already got a lot of food out, notes Novak, And this way, youll only have one post-meal clean up. You can also streamline breakfast by setting the table the night before, and by skipping foods that take lots of time to prepare. Have some mom time. Get up 15 to 30 minutes before your crew so youll have time to browse the paper, feed the dog, or just sit and have a peaceful cup of coffee. If you ease into your morning, youll be less likely to feel stressed and take your anxious feelings out on your kids. Pack backpacks in advance. Sure, youve heard it before, but packing up in advance is an essential step to keeping morning craziness to a minimum. When your child nishes his homework, have him pack up all of the books, permission slips, instruments, gym clothes and everything else he may need for the next day. Adding this to the homework routine prevents you from having to worry about last minute scrambles and forgotten papers.
ARTICLES
Turn time into a game. Use timers to motivate children. Kids love the challenge and game of beating a timer, says Novak. Theyll sprint around the house completing their tasks just to beat the clock. Check the weather the night before. Whats worse than scrambling to nd your childs missing rain boot when you wake up to pouring rain? Get in the habit of checking the weather the night before so youll have umbrellas, jackets, and hats at the ready. Plan transportation. If there is no bus service in your neighborhood, see if you can nd other parents to join you in a carpool. When youre responsible for getting other peoples children to school on time, youll have extra motivation to get out the door. Novak suggests using online calendars to organize the carpool so that everyone will have easy access to the latest version of the schedule. Select outts the night before. If your little fashionista has to try on tons of clothing before settling on the perfect outt, start the process the night before--and narrow down her options. Hang or store clothing you dont want your child wearing to school in a different place from her school clothes, suggests Kathy Peel, author of The Family Manager book series. This way, screaming matches over wearing princess outts in public can be saved for the weekend. Designate a launch pad. Be it an entryway cubby contraption or just your kitchen counter, establish a place where children can store all of the items they need for the next day. It can be helpful for this spot to be right by the door so items can be dropped upon entering the house and picked up when leaving. Make it a team effort. Encourage children to help each other get out the door by turning them into a team with some sort of group reward or privilege, suggest Novak. Kids will think: If we all get out the door on time, something good will happen, so here, let me help you put your backpack on and tie your shoes,-- it gets everybody involved in getting out the door. Think outside of the box. Avoid morning bathroom congestion by storing brushes and hair bands in the kitchen (where you usually end up using them) rather than the bathroom, suggests Novak. Also consider adding a mirror outside of the bathroom or in the kitchen to help alleviate some of the bathroom mirror backup.
ARTICLES
here, oh where, did my tennis shoe go? Has this tune become your kids national anthem? Is living with their belongings strewn under the beds and between the sofa cushions causing you to attack and retreat? If so, the time has come to round up the forces and chart a new course. Surprisingly, winning the war on clutter is not as challenging as you might think. Take it from professional organizer Karen Fritscher-Porter, yelling at the kids to pick up their toys, t-shirts, socks, and school books isnt the answer. Kids are pros at turning a deaf ear when it comes to clean up. Give them a reason to believe theres fun involved and youve got buy-in. With time and patience, you can transform your home from so-so to shipshape. Below are a few tricks of the trade: Set ground rules. Mobilize the troops and lay down the law. Every item must have a home; discard old items to make room for new ones. If stuffed lions and tigers run rampant on your daughters bed, let her choose one or two favorites. The rest go to a non-prot where kids less fortunate appreciate well-loved pets. Color code the kids. Crates, containers, and closet organizers come in a rainbow of colors. Go shopping for storage supplies and let them color code themselves. Red bins for re trucks, puzzles, and color crayons; pink for Barbie dolls, swim ns, and dress-up clothes. Dont forget desk organizers and hangers for their closets. Bring on the fun. Make it easy for the kids to remember what goes where. Let them design their own labels. They can either write or draw a picture identifying contents. Attach labels to containers with clear packaging tape. Laundry bins go under a kid-sized basketball hoop; CDs are stored in holders resembling ladybugs.
ARTICLES
Create a mini-museum. Stacks of paintings, drawings and paperwork stie desks and homework space. Kids love to display their creativity. Frame a few pieces of favorite artwork and hang them up. Add a cork board to display birthday cards, postcards, buttons, and photos. Once is not enough. Putting everything in its place goes a long way toward keeping a tidy household. Designate a Clean Up day once a month and your kids will develop good housekeeping habits that will serve them well - all the way into adulthood.
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WORKSHEETS
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WORKSHEETS
pack Backpack
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WORKSHEETS
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WORKSHEETS
Can you find the words from Placemat. the list below? this Clock They might horizontal, vertical backward. Use a fork for the or hour hand and a spoon for the minutes hand.
10 9 8
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The Look There State The See This State The Show Me State
ANSWER: THE SHOW ME STATE
Color key:
Hawthorn St. Louis Soy Beans Ozarks Lake Wappapello What time do you Algonquian eat lunch? Missouri Waltz QUIZ Mule
N O F R J E S E F T Y C I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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WORKSHEETS
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AFSY NETJ OX ZGIY AQ
Tape or glue first page here.
1
UR
OTMBPH VO
2
SKN AL EL
XUAE YS J X TZ
LEDF
3
LO
The Look There State The See This State The Show Me St ate
ANSW ER: THE SHOW ME S TATE
QUIZ
ANSWER: J EFFERSON CI TY
Hawtho rn St. Lo uis Soy Bean s Ozarks Lake Wappape llo Algo nqui an Miss ou ri Waltz Mu le
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ACTIVITIES
Making
a calendar is a great activity to prepare your family for the coming year! It gives your child an opportunity to reect on the past year, and to make plans for his near future.This particular calendar will feature your childs favorite family photos, making it an ultra-special keepsake for family members! It will also assist your little one in remembering the order of months, the dates of specic holidays, and even when important birthdays fall.
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ACTIVITIES
2. Instruct your child to use the glue stick to glue each printed month to one piece of colored card stock. 3. Have your child put the months in order as they would appear in the calendar. When he is done, December should be on the bottom of the pile with January on the top. 4. Ask your child to use the three-hole punch to punch holes in the top of each sheet including the 13th sheet, which your child did not glue a month to. The 13th sheet of card stock will be used for the front cover. 5. Help your child slide three small metal rings through the holes to attach all the sheets of card stock together. 6. Pull out your family photos for your child to look through. As you are both looking through the photos, you can spend a little time sharing with each other what you remember was happening in the photos. 7. Encourage your child to pick out one photo for each month. Encourage him to pick photos that go along with the theme of the month. For example, he can pick a picture form the previous years Thanksgiving to use for the November page. He can pick out a picture of the family going to see reworks for the July page. 8. Open the calendar so that the back of the front cover and the month of January are visible. 9. Instruct your child to use the glue stick to glue the picture she chose for January to the back of the front cover. 10. Allow your child to use the craft supplies that he picked out to decorate the sheet around the photo. Encourage your child to get as creative and colorful as possible for this part! 11. Continue through the calendar until all the pictures are matched up their appropriate months, and your child has done all of the decorating that he wishes! 12. Have your child pick out his favorite family photo to glue on the front cover, and then decorate the cover with other art materials. 13. Go through each month of the calendar and help your child decide what events he wants included in the calendar. For example, you can write in the birthdays of each family member, all the major holidays, and any other important family dates. Once the new year starts, hang the calendar where the whole family can see it, and allow your child to ip over the page each month! Give your child the spotlight for a moment each month: Have him take a minute and explain why he chose each particular picture and go over any important dates that fall within that month.
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ACTIVITIES
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ACTIVITIES
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ACTIVITIES
For
some kids, its hard to keep track of all the homework that goes home. Even harder, if papers are loose and notebooks are scattered all over the place. Does your child have a hard time keeping track of her notebooks? Heres an easy project that has your child organizing her space by upcycling empty cereal boxes to create a handy, one-of-a-kind notebook holder.
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ACTIVITIES
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