When it comes to getting my kids ready for back to school I tend to go all out.  I love to find great new outfits for them to wear, and get everything on their school supply list way ahead of time.  Of course my son is only going into Kindergarten so I probably have way more fun with this than he does!

We’ve actually been preparing for heading back to school shortly after summer break began.  I wanted my son to be prepared to have to work on projects at home and not get upset about having to do “homework,” so I made sure that each week we spent a little time doing some homework of our own.  We’ve been practicing writing his letters and learning the sounds certain letters make when combined together.  To be honest, I haven’t been as consistent with this as I would have liked to have been because summer is just a hectic time for us, but I’m sure as the school year comes it won’t be any less hectic.  I’ll just have to get us on a schedule and stick to it!  One thing that may help is utilizing a calendar that is just for him.  I recently obtained a homework caddy that hangs on the wall and comes with a dry-erase calendar.  It also has pockets where he can store his papers from school, and any projects we are in the middle of working on.  I am hopeful that this helps us stay more organized, and keeps us on track to developing good homework habits!

Of course my son has everything he needs for back to school, but did you know there are millions of kids who don’t have all the supplies or tools they need to be ready for school?  Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) and Disney have partnered to launch the Tools for Back to School initiative.  This initiative features a pop-quiz style game, where supplies are donated to BGCA for correct answers.  I played the game a few times already and it is really easy!  All you have to do is answer some multiple choice questions (they make it really easy for you), and for every five correct answers, school supplies for one kid will be donated to BGCA!  Go here to play:  Back To School

BGCA has also partnered with jcpenney – and in August you can join jcp cares and round up your purchase at the register to benefit BGCA.  I have done this several times myself, and it is really easy to round up your purchase to the nearest dollar knowing that the money is going to a good cause!  Learn more about how this program works, and who benefits by visiting the jcpenney here:  Round Up

BGCA also offers different educational content and tip sheets for parents to download and utilize such as; establishing family routines, setting goals, and breaking big jobs into little jobs.   The tip sheets are broken down into the following categories:

You can find these tips sheets on the left hand side of the BGCA site under the ‘Get Ready’ header.

 

Written by Jesica.

Disclosure:  I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Boys and Girls Club. I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.