Tag Archives: Back to school

Apr18

Lunchbox and Schedules

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Lunchbox and Schedules

I always like to make sure that my kids eat healthy and have a variety of foods so to avoid getting bored of the same packed lunches. When you have a busy schedule like our households planning comes a long way.

The first thing is to figure out a system and lists is the way to go!!! Yest at times life kinda gets in the way and your find yourself limited because you haven’t had time to go to the grocery store. That’s when you may resort to making unhealthy choices because lets face it “It’s Easy!” To avoid that I kinda have some sort of “Go To” choice that may not be completely healthy but its not junky.

My “Go To”, now remember 2 kids mean 2 different taste buds, so my quick fix that i make sure I never run out of in the house is…….. Turkey sandwich (bread for J and lettuce wrap for Zee) pickles on the side, no one likes a soggy sandwich! Cheese cubes, cucumber and apple slices. What’s your “Go To”?? Share in the comment section!

Maybe one day I’ll be fancy enough to make one of those fast videos of me prepping a lunch box  after all its also pushing my boundaries and  Making Life Memorable along the way!!

 

Aug29

Back to School Photo Shoot

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Back to School Photo Shoot

The hardest thing about the first day of school is trying to get back into the routine of waking up early, making sure everyone is also up on time, dressed, groomed, have breakfast and make a mad dash to the door in a reasonable amount of time without going insane in order to take those perfect outdoor “Back to School” pictures that you oh so want to turn out perfect….or hey wait a minute don’t tell me its just me….is it??

Well in my world everyone does it. Some take the random picture and some have a whole scene set. Well I believe I’m somewhere in between ” I’m just doing it because I saw my neighbor take a picture” and that other neighbor that has the perfect chalk looking back drop with apples and crayons cutouts *sigh*.

I tend to make sure that every year I have some sort of sign that my kids hold up as I take the picture. Information may vary from year to year but the important ones are always there.

They are:

  1. The school Year
  2. The grade
  3. What they want to  be when they grow up

There are years when I added their favorite food or color and 1 year I put their age. But  the three above basics are what really matter in the long run.

I must say I do love pinterest because it gives me so many ideas and may be overwhelming at times….yes I do have over 7K pins but who’s counting!??!? It’s amazing for research because chances are what you’re looking for someone else has done too!!

1stGrade

 

Well luckily I found the perfect printables (FREE because that’s the way I roll) at Barn owl primitives.

The best thing was that there were choices of either PINK or AQUA. You don’t even have to download, you can just go ahead and print the page/grade you want. So easy…I love easy and no fuss.

Now as much as I loved them and had to use them my issue was they weren’t personalized.

GOD forbid should I do something that’s not child specific!!!

 

So I took those printables a step further…. I found the perfect frames that the girls could hold as I take the picture from IKEA. ( confession, I had those frames already I just never got around to putting the girls’ certificates in them)

Back to jazzing it up I did a simple PowerPoint bordered text box with what the girls wanted to be when they grew up….did a vertical rainbow text with their name….cut those out….stuck it next to the pintable and VIOLA!!! Easy peasy lemon squeezy as Zee woud say!!

Check out the final product……DAY1 SIGNNow the trick is don’t put the glass back on the frame because trying to take a picture without a glass glare is really frustrating! Relieve yourself in advance and just “un-glass” your frame

After you make that mad dash out of your door and before you get into the car be sure to take a few snaps of your kids…..yeah that was the point and not a secret desire to make signs!

Now we did more than just one….the one with each child alone, the one together and a few just because without the signs. But I’ll spare you from going through a gallery of pictures (you can do it on my instagram account samoorstuff later)

JZEE

We were lucky enough to actually have some time when we got to school and snap a few pics with the girls’ teachers for the year.

DBLPIC

If you notice Mr. Palingo is holding our Teacher’s survival kit that we’ve created for him…. check out how to make one on last year’s post “Teacher’s Survival Kit”

Remember make it your own….. because it’s all about Making Life Memorable.

 

Aug28

Back to School Fun

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Back to School Fun

I have many joys of being a mom but one I particularly enjoy is having an occasion to become crafty. Back to school is one of the many excuses that I use to go all out with my crafting senses. From school pictures, personalized labels, teacher survival kits, classroom favors and even gifts for those that aren’t always recognized like the librarian, music teacher and principle.

This week as my girls start their first week back into the school routine with the privilege of the whole week being FREE DRESS I’ll be sharing some of the things that we’ve done and hope you’ll find it inspiring to create your own…..

Here’s to Making Life Memorable one school year at a time!!

HAPPY 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR!!

JZEEday1

Sep16

Flashcards

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Flashcards

In an effort to help Jennah learn her vocabulary I resorted to an old and ancient technique despite all the “modern” methods I have read about online (eg. My previous post Spelling & Vocabulary).
Index-Vocab

 
The first thing I did was go to our area stationary store…. Fun Fun Fun!!! and I bought “special” Vocabulary requirements.

They include different colored index cards, markers and highlighters. It was hard to control myself and not buy anything else.

I just had to keep reminding myself to stay focused on why I was there!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

index-vocab WORDS
I had written all the vocabulary words on one side of the index card, made it fun by using different colors.

We then spoke and demonstrated each word to each other using different actions and memory triggers. That way she had a visual of me every time she read one of her words. It was almost like a weird game of charades.
I had written all the vocabulary words on one side of the index card, made it fun by using different colors.
 
Ind-VocaWrite
 

After practicing and talking about each of her vocabulary words for a little while I had Jennah write the corresponding meaning of each word on the reverse side of the Index.

The prepping of the index cards ended and we then went to traditional Flash card technique.
 

I would show her the word while the reverse side was facing me. She just had to tell me the answer and I could easily check it since it was facing me.

I’m proud to say that this technique is 100% effective because she did really well on her vocabulary test.

One test down and many more to go!!!

With a little more effort I managed to transform studying into Making Life Memorable by studying creatively.

Sep11

Spelling and Vocabulary

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Spelling and Vocabulary

Ok it’s official Jennah is in Grade 3 and I’m starting to have heart palpitations… We are no longer coloring and working on chapter books. This is some serious stuff here!!!

Our first week and we’ve got spelling and vocabulary test to study for, and when I say we I really mean WE!!

I’ve been doing a ton of research on how to teach vocabulary words….between spelling city, teaching websites and other spelling apps on the ipad I have come to a few realizations and conclusions that I would like to share.

Please bare in mind I am not an educator or a scholar. I am just a regular mom wanting to make the learning experience for my child as pleasant and painless as possible (For the both of us!).

What I am about to write is my opinion and my take on learning/teaching. It may help you find new methods, re-enforce what you already know or just be irrelevant to you.

In my little world I’ve found it helpful and hope that you do too!

wordstudyRR_mastheadA very interesting article I came across was about “Word Study”

This article talks about how to teach children to identify which letters are in a word using certain rules.

The technique is basically moving away from just memorizing how a word is spelled but rather developing the skill and knowledge of figuring out how its spelled.

I was actually intrigued by the whole concept and made a note on doing more research about “Word Study”

This website also has an online newsletter that you can subscribe too which I was oh so eager to sign up for!

Of course there is more to this website and definitely worth the browse.
 
 
 
K5logoThe next website is K5 Learning This site covers learning from kindergarden to Grade 5, so it has everything you need for the elementary level.

It covers areas of both Math, language (reading/Spelling…etc) & study skills. A more comprehensive site that’s interactive with videos of what tools they provide.

I was even more impressed after watching their “Parent Video” explaining what K5 Learning and the tools they provide.

My favorite is that your child is actually assessed by the website to know what level they’re at and selects the best program for them.

This however is a paid website and if you’re like me I only like FREEEEEE stuff. It’s still worth the money though and has a 14 day trail with no obligation to subscribe.

These were the most prominent 2 research sites for the day. There is so much more out there that I had to stop myself before getting more overwhelmed than I already am.

So with everything you do for your child in Making Life Memorable put a little more effort in making studying memorable for them too!!

Sep5

One week down!!!

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One week down!!!

OOOHHHHHHOOOOOO!!!

We survived the first week of school chaos. Between the traffic, figuring out classes, getting the new uniforms and settling into routine I think we did pretty good.

I’m jumping for joy as to how convenient this year is going to be with both girls having the same schedule and I don’t need to spend 4 hours a day on the road from one location to another.

Off course with that I had to have some sort of celebration at the end of their first week.

The girls decided that they wanted to go out for ice cream after school and that’s exactly what we did.

Dessert

The funny thing is they insisted on having a big dessert.

We therefore went to Chilis (one of our favorite restaurant choices) Conveniently there’s one located at Al-Mohalab Mall next to their school.

They ordered the Chocolate Molten cake with ice cream while I was having the BBQ Chicken Salad. After about 4 bites of their dessert they looked at me and said “Can we share your salad”. I am truly blessed that my children eat healthy and would actually turn their dessert away and devour a salad.

I must have done something right!!

We then walked around the mall, went into makeup stores and put lip gloss on. Went into The body shop and tried almost everything that had a “TRY ME” sticker on it. And just giggled all the time.

Then it was time to head out before the security had enough of us!

Next choice was the infamous “Color Me Mine”

We are addicted to that place and soon will run out of choices of what to paint because we pretty much painted almost every mug, plate, bowl that they have.

The trick about what I do at color Me mine to make my money worth while is that the girls MUST choose something useful.

We used to do the figurines but then I just have a shelf full of “STUFF” and at the rate we go I’m going to run out of space. So it must be something we can use. Therefore we have plates of different sizes, bowls and mugs!

CMM-2

Let me tell you we can spend so much time there it’s crazy.

Now that the girls are older they really take their time and it’s not just about painting with colors over each other.

Trust me we have a bunch of Icky brown bowls from mixing colors. Now the girls chose colors wisely and start to make designs on their ceramics.
CMM-Zee2
 

I was especially impressed with Zeenah on how she was handling her cup and taking her time in making it pretty.

By the end of this day we had a calm ride home, talking about what a wonderful day we had.

I am so privileged to have girls that appreciate me and here’s to “Making Life Memorable” as a family!

Sep4

Class Gifts

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Class Gifts

Like many things that I do to myself I’ve always given teachers “first Day” gifts and something little for the class.

Last year I made the Popcorn Treats for the girls’ classmates and a Teacher’s Survival kit for the Teachers. (Click on link to see last year’s gifts)

This year I stuck with the cookie theme for both the teacher’s gifts (which I posted about yesterday) and the kids gifts.

The girls and I decided that we were going to bake chocolate chip cookies that Jennah said her friends were going to think it was “Choowy Goowy” because they were so tasty.

While the cookies were cooling it was time to make labels…. We went with a basic Polka dot label that I had found for free online on www.teacherspayteachers.com a site that I intend to post about soon!

CookieTags

I downloaded the set, I was so excited to see the selection of colors and sizes this pack had. All for Free!! I love FREEEEEEE!!!

I plugged the best size for our labels into powerpoint and just added the text.

Jennah chose to go with a sophisticated font called Pristina while Zeenah went with a more playful font called Crayon. Both of which I downloaded off of the internet for FREEEEE…

Each Tag had “You’re going to be one smart cookie!! Good Luck in KG1” (or Grade 3 in Jennah’s case) and their name.

The girls insisted on printing the labels on yellow paper. It would have been much easier to print them out on Sticker labels but then that’s just what I get for getting them involved!!

What’s another 20 minutes spent on cutting the labels and putting double sided tape on each and every label 42 to be exact!!
cookieGirls2
 
 
 
By this time the cookies had cooled down and we started to bag them individually.

This was really fun to do because usually I spend most of my time doing it and the girls are now old enough to do it themselves…. So much fun giggling with them. It really brings out the child in me (not that I’ve grown up!)

 
 
 
 

As much as I wanted them to continue helping me I had to stop them because the labels had to be stuck on perfectly and I knew it would be double the work if they participated. That’s when I pulled go play in the playroom because it’s almost dinner card.

cookieJ

So having the girls help me with these just makes the experience even more meaningful.

Here’s for sharing the experience and teaching children ways of Making Life Memorable.

Sep3

Teacher’s Gift

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Teacher’s Gift

I love gifting and this love drove me to going into business of making gifts. I own The original basket boutique which is part of a Canadian franchise. My physical store can be found in Kipco Tower- Kuwait City. We basically specialize in making gift baskets but are not limited to that. We have a huge range of gift items, baby, themed items and gourmet selection.

I almost always have a theme going on every month and with everyone going Back to School it’s only appropriate that September at the store would represent exactly that!

With my own girls going back to school I had them come into work with me and choose what they wanted to give to their teachers.
cup3
 

Jennah chose a Travel Cup and a cookie while Zeenah chose one of the many Teacher’s mugs we have at the store and the same cookie Jennah chose.

I think they really enjoyed walking around and trying to decide what to buy. It’s probably one of the first time they got to do something like that without being guided and controlled by me.

We then wrapped it up in a simple School themed bow and I added a label on it that read “I’m going to be one smart cookie with you as my Teacher”

 
 
 
 
 

Here’s to lasting impressions and Making Life Memorable.

Sep2

First Day of School

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First Day of School

Are your kids already in School??

Well I’m so lucky to announce that today is officially the first day of school for my girls.

Jennah is going to Grade 3 and Zeenah to KG1.

What a milestone in my household to finally have both girls go to the same school where drop off and pick up is at the same place & same time!!!

There are many traditions that we have, most of which happen yearly. (Thank God or else I imagine I would run out of ideas)

One of those traditions is the first day of school picture. It started off very simple. My child with their back pack, smile, click & done…. Somehow along the way it started to get a little bit more than just that.

I started to make print outs with their Grade and what they want to be…. Well I think this year I probably went a little overboard. Probably because I’m so excited that both of them are in the same school.

I not only put a lot more details on what I called “photo sign” I actually went to our local photocopying office and printed them out on A3 paper….

Jennah

Zee

It’s becoming very clear to me that I’m setting the Barr a little high for my girls that these things become expected rather than being “special”.

But to tell you the truth that really doesn’t matter because I truly enjoy what I do for them.

They know the value of what I do and that’s all I care about. In their eyes I do see the excitement and appreciation. For that I am thankful.

ZEE Sign

JENNAH SIGN

So here’s to a great New School Year for all children around the world!

It’s al about Making Life Memorable.

Sep1

Uniform Deals

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Uniform Deals

Everyone has been frantically shopping all over Kuwait for all the requirements of their kids starting school again.

I find it so funny that no matter how well you try to be prepared the final few days before they start is inevitably crazy & hectic.

I have been extremely good about planning and making sure I manage every aspect of the girls back to school routine and needs. From supplies, back packs, labels I’ve even stocked up on items like meatballs, chicken fingers, potato balls and spinach balls in my freezer. Those are staples I have for lunchbox items.

Yet there was one thing that I had to keep lingering not because I didn’t get around to it but because I’ve been waiting to hear what the school policy was on their new uniform.

As may other parents were also heading to every shopping location available in Kuwait to find their last minute pieces here’s a little list of finds, deals and good to know.
deben
The best deal you can find on School uniforms (navy pants/skirts/shorts, white shirts/polos, Navy sweaters & cardigans) is at Debenhams. They have a set of two skirts for KD5 & KD6, Buy 2 get one free. They also had the same deal for shirts & socks. They have 3 main locations Souq Sharq, Avenues and the Gate Mall. They also have the Airport branch but they don’t have the uniforms there)

You can also find the same items at Marks & Spencer, my personal favorite is the new one in Salmiya next to Symphony mall. They also have the gray variety of uniforms if you need them. As for the girls’ school they currently changed their polo color to Light blue which luckily I found at M&S, a Pack of 2 polos for KD 5.500.

You can also find a selection of school uniforms at Baroue. Luckily they also have light blue polos in case anyone’s looking… The quality is not comparable to those of M&S but sometimes we do need those in quantity so our heart doesn’t sink everytime they come back with pen marks that are embedded for life. Each polo was KD1.990.

If you’re looking for just regular white polos and navy pants/shorts I also found a great selection at Centerpoint. Also at extremely reasonable prices.

My last recommendation is a store called Okaidi. It’s at the avenues beside That al Salasil bookstore. I found lovely navy skirts there that fit the girls wonderfully but I found them to be a little pricier than all of my other purchases. Each skirt was around KD8.900. (yes I’m a frugal mom and admit it….probably one of the very few that will be vocal about it in Kuwait!)

So here’s hoping you’re all squared away with your children’s school uniform and I’ve made the journey a little easier for you.

Now I have time for Making Life Memorable. instead of shopping!