It’s that time of the year again, you finally get settled into a workable summertime routine with the kids and everything changes again. It’s back to school time and that means back to morning chaos, homework disorganization, and dealing with massive amounts of information between school and home. I’ve got some interesting tips that highlight some lesser-known ways for keeping kids organized for school, and I thought you might be able to use in a story you’re planning.

It’s normal for kids to generate chaos and disorganization (it comes with the territory), but being organized is a learned skill that is developed over time. With guidance and practice, kids can develop an effective approach to becoming organized. Amy Morris, single Mom of two teenagers and founder of GotFamilyGetOrganized.com, offers these unique tips to help your kids start the school year with a check plus.

5 Ways To Keep Kids Organized

Hub Of The House – Create a central location to hang a bulletin board that will hold important school and family information. Teach kids to update the calendar upon receiving new information and get in the habit of checking it the night before for the following day’s activities so that they can prepare in advance.

GotFamilyGetOrganized.com – An organized parent sets a good example. This website stores in a unique, simplified, and easy to use format, important family information: school schedules and extracurricular activities, social and sport information, and medical, just to name a few, and it is all available in a central location that can be accessed anytime and anywhere – from any computer, iPad, or smart phone.

Organize Backpacks – A backpack is your child’s personal assistant. Teach them how to keep it neatly organized by only filling them with necessary school day items and keeping out unnecessary loose papers, non-school items and liquids.

Make Lists – Teaching kids to make and prioritize lists will provide them with a greater sense of accomplishment – as they complete items and their lists become smaller, they will feel more productive and they have a greater sense of satisfaction in themselves.  Kids will take ownership for their tasks, shape their own time, and gain greater independence.

Student File Storage – If your kids are starting child care education, you may teach your kids as early as these years to sort and effectively file school papers in an organized manner.  It will be crucial to them at exam time – especially if midterm and end of year final exams are inclusive of all the material covered to date.

Organization is an awesome opportunity for kids to gain self-confidence and independence and not lose their sanity or you lose yours.

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Wordlock® presents the first combination bike lock and padlock that unlocks with a word instead of forgettable numerical codes. Offering 10,000 word and letter combinations with easy to set dials the all-in-one lock is easy to read, easy to set, and hard to forget your personal word combination. Wordlock® is the next generation of friendly, easy to use security devices for everyday use. Wordlock bike locks have four letter dials and cable made from curled, heavy-duty braided steel that extends to reach around the bike rack at the store, school, park or downtown. Wordlock padlocks provide maximum security against theft with a 2 5/8 inch hardened steel shackle and body.
Wordlock has teamed up with Woman’s World Magazine to save you money on any of Wordlock’s various products. Now until September 30, 2010 you can save 15% on any Wordlock product, visit WordLock’s Amazon.com page by clicking on the link, choose the lock you like, and then enter the special discount code 10WWORLD when you check out.

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Mom’s Homeroom on MSN, sponsored by Mini-Wheats is an online resource packed with tips and tools to help your child succeed in school. You can enjoy videos from their panel of moms, explore the library of articles and printables as well as connect with other moms on the message board.
My favorite part of the website is the widget on the left side of the page. You can choose a topic like reading, writing, attentiveness and more and see videos, tips and articles pertaining to that subject. This makes it easy to navigate to the information you need. Visit Mom’s Homeroom for all of your school related questions.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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The awesome people at allchildrensfurniture.com are giving one of my readers a Little Tikes Americana Table and Chairs Activity set! All Children’s Furniture sells everything from kids furniture to bedding and even toys. Here is some information on the set:

Seamless, one-piece top is perfect for eating, playing, crafts and other projects. Fully assembled set includes two child-sized chairs. Soft colors complement the bedroom, playroom or living room. Durable, easy clean surface.

Features:

• Ideal for ages 2 – 6 years
• Table and two child-sized chairs
• Soft colors
• Durable, easy clean surface
• Dimensions: 22.5″H x 19.5″W x 22.9″D

The Little Tikes Americana Table and Chairs Activity set sells for $42.87 on their site but you might just win it for free!

Mandatory 1st Enty go to allchildrensfurniture.com and look around. Then come back here and leave me a comment with the name AND item number of your favorite item on their website.

Bonus Entries to be completed after the mandatory 1st entry. Leave seperate comments for each one.

• 3 bonus entries for having my Back2School Bash button on your blogs front page. Make sure you leave me a link to your blog.
• 3 bonus entries for blogging about this giveaway. Your post must include this sentence “All Children’s Furniture sells everything from kids furniture to bedding and even toys.” and you must link the words “kids furniture” to http://allchildrensfurniture.com. AND link to this post. Leave me a link to your post in your comments.
• 1 bonus entry for subscribing to my blog via the RSS feed (click on the orange heart). Current subscribers let me know who you are!
• 1 bonus entry for following on Google Friend Connect. Current subscribers…you know what to do.
• 1 bonus entry for checking out This Sheet Works. Leave me a comment letting me know you did it. This link is trackable and I will verify.

This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada and will end at 8:00pm on August 20, 2009.

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Packaged in a squeezable pouch and equipped with a re-sealable lid, GoGo squeeZ is perfect for kids on-the-go. Originally designed for NASA astronauts, each all-natural pouch contains a full serving of fruit – just simple, clean ingredients. GoGo squeeZ is the perfect snack for kids of any age.

“Children are interested in flavor and a fun design – but we know parents are looking for a snack of more substance they can be sure their kids will eat when on-the-go,” said David Istier, Materne’s North American VP of Marketing. “GoGo squeeZ comes in a fun package, is simple for kids to use independently, and actually tastes good. Parents can enjoy the benefits of providing their children with a no-mess, no-fight, healthy snack option.”

Currently available in “appleapple”,  “applestrawberry”,  “applecinnamon,” “applepeach” and “applebanana” flavors combine the health benefits of all-natural fruit with a great taste. All GoGo squeeZ products contain no artificial flavors or preservatives and are gluten-free, dairy-free and kosher-certified.

GoGo squeeZ might seem too healthy for children to find it appealing; but its French counterpart Pom’Potes has proven otherwise. Since the brand’s inception in 1998, Pom’Potes has grown into the favorite snack brand in France (with more than 50 percent market share of the applesauce pouch category last year), selling more than one billion pouches across Europe and gaining a regular spot in McDonald’s Happy Meals. Since the product’s US launch in June 2008, GoGo squeeZ’s distribution has grown to 1,900 supermarkets and children’s retailers across the US.

GoGo squeeZ 4-packs are available for MSRP $2.99. GoGo squeeZ single pouches are available for MSRP 99 cents. Consumers can purchase GoGo squeeZ through Whole Foods, the natural section of supermarkets like Stop&Shop, Shaws and Jewel-Osco in select Toys ‘R Us/ Babies’ R US, and other retailers across the US.

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Organizing at home for school success: Clutter makes it difficult to study.

• Whether your child’s homework area is a desk or a study table like the Malaysia’s best ergonomic tables, it needs to be cleaned off regularly and have the supplies organized and accessible.
• Keep pencils in a pencil cup for easy access.
• Use an expanding file for organizing projects.
• Use the tools you have to their full potential. If your desk has a file drawer organize color coded files by subject to keep papers organized etc.
• Teach middle and high school students how to use a planner to organize their time and activities.

Organizing your child:Organization relieves stress and increases confidence.

• Teach your child HOW to organize and pack their backpack. The big section for books and binder, middle section for lunch and smaller section for accessories.
• Teach your child HOW to organize their binder. Shoving papers into a binder does not equal being organized
• Have a place for the child to empty their backpack daily
• Purge the binder at least once a week
• Set out their clothes the night before
• Elementary and middle school students need their parents to oversee and guide their organizational habits. Parents must take an active role in making sure papers and books are traveling to and from school as needed.

Establishing clear organizational routines and following through the routine will help your child feel more confident about school. Also, get your child involved from the beginning-make a list and go shopping together, work out the routines together to help him take ownership of the tools and the process.

Organizing your homeschool: This will vary by family and homeschooling style.

The teacher on the panel said to clearly differentiate between living space and school space in your home. We tried that…we have a small house, it didn’t work for us-it may work for you. Here are some of my homeschool organizational tips.

• Color code by child-Each child gets their color for the year. This helps them know what is theirs as well as helping mom know who left their supplies laying around.
• If the child works in multiple places around the house use a plastic bin to store all of their school supplies. They can take their bin to wherever they are working today be it the kitchen table, living room couch, back porch or grandma’s house.
• Daily file papers into the proper binders. Paperwork can easily overtake the homeschooling household, file daily to avoid the clutter.
• Before buying everything new for the new year, see what you can re-use or re-purpose from the previous year.

While you are doing your back-to-school shopping, make sure you check out OfficeMax’s kid-centric school supplies line, Schoolio-Von-Hoolio.

I don’t know about you but I dream of owning Peter Walsh’s In Place System for organizing all of my homeschool and home office filing.

Disclosure-Office Max sent me a sampler of their Schoolio-von-Hoolio products as a thank-you for being part of this webcast.

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Thanks to Litzky PR, The Mom Maven has something for your preschooler..PLAY-DOH! I have always been a PLAY-DOH lover. The smell of PLAY-DOH actually takes me back to memories of Sunday School, where they had huge canisters of PLAY-DOH we could play with before class started.

The PLAY-DOH BURGER BUILDER set is back and better than ever! Interchangeable molds offer everything kids need to create the perfect PLAY-DOH hamburger including tomatoes, lettuce, buns, and more. In addition, kids can crank out pretend potato or pickle chips with the exciting TWIST-A-CHIP Super Tool. Set includes five 2-ounce cans of colorful PLAY-DOH compound. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

We had a blast playing with The PLAY-DOH BURGER BUILDER set. My son and I played for over an hour creating hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and french fries.

LitzkyPR is giving one of The Mom Maven’s readers their own PLAY-DOH BURGER BUILDER set!

Mandatory 1st Entry Leave me a comment sharing one of your favorite PLAY-DOH memories.
Bonus Entries

• 3 entries for posting my Back2School bash badge on your blog’s front page. Leave 3 comments with the link to your 1st page in it.
• Subscribe to my blog (click on the orange heart in the side bar) leave me a comment letting me know you are a new or current subscriber
• Follow @MomMaven on Twitter AND tweet this “I just entered to win PLAY-DOH for your preschooler from @MomMaven you can too! http://bit.ly/h3XOs” leave a comment with the tweet URL in it **You can do this 1x a day

This give away is open to US residents only. This giveaway ends on 8/17/09 at 8:00pm. I reserve the right to  remove comments that do not follow the above entry rules.

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Join Lands’ End for the Ultimate Back-to-School Twitter Party!

Lands’ End hosts will be available to answer back-to-school shopping questions and the party will feature more than 20 product giveaways from co-hosts, 5minutesformom.com .

Date: Thursday, August 20th
Time: 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST
Location: #landsend

Save the date and log-on to Twitter for an evening of shopping tips, socializing and great giveaways!

You don’t have to wait until the 20th to shop Lands’ End. Right now they are having their back-to-school sale with up to 30% off children’s clothes, school uniforms, backpacks and lunchboxes. You can also have fun playing in Packland on the Lands’ End website. I created this savvy pirate fantasy backpack.

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GoPicnic meals are ready-to-eat meals featuring natural ingredients, no artificial flavors or colors, no trans fat, HFCS or MSG. GoPicnic meals are shelf stable and require no refrigeration nor do they need to be heated. GoPicnic meals are great for school, work, field trips, car trips, picnics or any other time you want to eat!

Our Monday schedule this fall is going to be crazy. We leave the house at 8:45am and head across town to the chiropractor for a 9:15 appt. Then the Homeschool Bowling League bowls from 10:00-11:30. Aaron has English class at the community college from 12:00-1:00pm before we head back home for the rest of our school day. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do for lunch. I didn’t want to spend $9.00 per person on burger meals at the bowling alley, they are expensive and not healthy. We will be eating GoPicnic meals instead.

GoPicnic has a full line of 20+ ready-to-eat meals which fall into 3 brands.
GoPicnic BreakMeals contain protein, whole grains, dairy, fruit and a sweet indulgence for dessert and retail for $6.99. We tried the AnywhereBreak meal which contains 16g of protein and is gluten-free, and has no fish & shellfish ingredients. The AnywhereBreak meal includes Jack Link’s beef steak nuggets, Corazonas Squeeze of Lime tortilla chips, Ortega mild salsa, Copper Cowbell white cheddar cheese slice, Mrs. May’s cashew crunch, Mariani dried cranberries, and Swiss Delicato dark chocolate. This was my family’s favorite meal.

GoPicnic GoMeals contain five to six choice food items plus any necessary utensils and moist towelette in each meal. We tried the GTrek Meal. It contains 18g of protein and fewer than 340 calories. It is gluten-free and contains no fish or shellfish ingredients. This meal ncludes Jack Link’s beef steak nuggets, Copper Cowbell Swiss cheese slice, Sheffa zesty snack mix, Mariani cranberries & pineapple blend, and Swiss Delicato milk chocolate. This meal was good but the pineapple was tasteless/ The GoMeals retail for $2.50- $4.99 each.

The third brand is the MightyMunch Kids Meals. Each kids meal is balanced to limit overall fat, saturated fat and sugar content, and contains protein, grains & fruit as well as a sweet treat and a fun surprise. Natural ingredients are at the core of MightyMunch kids meals – our food contains no trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial flavors or artificial colors. MightyMunch kids meals also have no peanut or tree nut ingredients. We tried the GalaxyMunch Meal. It has 70% of DV of Vitamin A and 11g of protein, and no fish or shellfish ingredients.The GalaxyMunch Meal includes Old Wisconsin beef salami slices, Copper Cowbell cheddar cheese spread, Late July classic rich organic crackers, Sensible Portions apple-cinnamon multigrain crisps, Mariani Ultimate apricots and Surf Sweets all-natural gummy bears. TheMightyMunch Meals retail for $5.99 The box this meal comes in has games and riddles printed on the inside, making it more kid-friendly. We also enjoyed this meal.

The generous people at GoPicnic are giving 1 TheMomMaven.com reader their choice of any 5 GoPicnic Meals! Thet are also giving my readers a 20% discount on all orders placed during the month of August! Just use code GPMOMS at checkout.

1st Mandatory Entry (please follow instructions, I have had to disqualify several entries lately for people who do not follow the rules) Go to GoPicnic’s website and look around. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me which meal you want to try.

Bonus Entries you may do as many of these as you choose after completing the mandatory entry.

• For 3 entries-Grab my Back2School Bash button from my sidebar and display it on your blog’s front page for the rest of the Bash. Leave me a link o your blog. (Leave 3 separate comments) **If you already have this badge you get 3 entries too!
• Subscribe to my blog (click on the orange heart in the sidebar) and leave me a comment telling me you subscribe. Current subscribers of course you get an entry too!
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet “There is such a thing as a FREE lunch! @MomMaven is giving it away. http://bit.ly/3E07Ka” you may do this 3x a day. Leave a separate comment for with each tweet’s URL

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will close at 7:30pm on 8/15/09. The winner will be chosen by Random.org.

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