Most everyone takes photos of their children’s first ever day of school and often succeeding firsts.  What do you do with the photos and memorabilia afterwards?
These are ideal items for scrapbooks, shadow boxes, family memory pages, journals, fabric art, collages and other crafty projects.   You also can think back on your own school days and  create projects surrounding them.  For instance, I’m starting a blog on my One-Room School Heritage for my family.
Since this is Back-to-School Theme Week  at my Blisstree Parenting Posts, I thought discussion of some ways to save Back-to-School memories would be fun, too.  You also can involve …read more

For most students, it’s back to school, whether they’re attending classrooms or being home schooled.  At our household, our granddaughter has entered college in another state and grandson entered high school.  Big changes in their lives and ours.
In your home, there must be excited youngsters who are embarking upon new adventures in a new year at school.  Or you may be planning learning activities at home.
This was an exciting time when I was a youngster, too.  New clothing, new shoes, a new bookbag and possibly a new lunch box.  Mother didn’t have a great deal of money to spend, but …read more

First day of school, first day of high school or college…or simply school days memories are fun to incorporate into scrapbooks and journals.  This year is an eventful one in our multigenerational household.  Granddaughter leaves for freshman year of college away from home and grandson enters high school.
We took pictures of their first day ever of school, and subsequent years.  Now it’s time to record these memorable events and changes in all our lives.
Do you have back-to-school memories of your own?  Of your children and grandchildren?
My photos were taken in the days before we did scrapbooking, but they’re enclosed in …read more

Green Cricket carries a load of green products and makes sure that each and every one lives up to the proper green standards – such as materials used, shipping distance, manufacturing process and more. They also have some awesome lust worthy green school products in stock right now; perfect for greening the back-to-school experience.
They have basics like sustainable wood pencils, recycled paper, and non-toxic markers and each carries an eco-rating based on it’s eco-friendly qualities. I like this because it makes shopping green a bit easier for parents. They also carry an array of extra special back-to-school green gear such …read more

I hear so many stories from people who have children spending $30 or more a week on their school lunches because the parents think packing is too hard and too time consuming. Besides, aren’t school lunches cheaper? Actually, packing isn’t that hard when you are organized and, if you don’t qualify for reduced rates on school lunches, it is much cheaper.
The first thing you need is some empty storage space. I have a big drawer, two small drawers and a cupboard all dedicated to school lunches. Beside them is a hanging fruit rack.
The big drawer holds reusable storage containers, water …read more

For some, school begins in early August.  However, other youngsters don’t return to school until just before Labor Day or immediately afterwards.  So there are still many days to occupy.
Why not try some crafts?  I’ll suggest some in a round-up from my Arts and Crafts posts at Blisstree.
Creating Family Reunion Crafts
10 Artistic Opportunities at the Beach
Travel Memory Crafts
“Trash” Quilts
Clipboard Altered Art & Wall Hangings
I hope you find these craft suggetions helpful for the youngsters in your life.  Some of the activities are compatable with the Theme Weeks I’ve been emphasizing in my Parenting posts here at Blisstree.
Let me know what …read more

Waste-Free Lunches estimates that the average child with a take-to-school lunch creates a whopping 67 pounds of waste per school year (that’s about 19,000 lbs of waste per each average elementary school). School lunches are full of waste. Some typical culprits…

Paper or plastic lunch bags and containers.
Snack packs of cookies, crackers, pudding cups, fruit cups, jello cups, and raisins.
Juice boxes, juice bottles, bottled water, or worse hard to recycle squeeze novelty drinks.
Plastic baggies, foil, and plastic wrap for all sorts of foods.
Lunchables or other building lunch kits.
Paper napkins and plastic silverware.

This year green it up …read more

With fall right around the corner young adults and older adults everywhere are getting ready for college. College can be a good experience, but it can also be a wasteful one. Here are 10 tips for greening your college experience this fall.

Green your college: It’s a little late, but if you haven’t chosen a school yet, learn how to find your perfect green college with listings of the most sustainable colleges in the U.S. and Canada or see how your college choice stacks up. Also see Kaplan’s list of 25 green colleges, or Sierra Club’s list of 10 climate change …read more

Can you believe that the stores are already setting up for back to school? We used to go back after Labor Day, but this year, it looks like the kids are all going back beforehand. I guess that is why all the school supplies are on sale already, huh? Anyway, I think this guy heard the news and was in shock:
Seriously, what do you think about the way we get rushed through summer and right into fall by all of these stores pushing sales when the holiday is only halfway over? I really liked the way Labor Day wrapped up …read more

Schools seem to be starting earlier and earlier as time goes on and it’s almost never too soon to get shopping for back-to-school supplies. This year, why not green up the school routine with these eco-friendly school supply picks.

1. This handy Ecogear Panda backpack will work great both for everyday school use and for weekend slumber parties. Made with organic cotton, non-toxic dyes, and sustainable wood components this bag will keep your kid happy and green. Plus each bag has adjustable shoulder straps and comes in four cool colors; flamingo, grass, azure, and natural. For older kids check out the …read more