How to Save Big on Back-to-School Shopping

It is that time again; September is fast approaching. It is time to review your child’s back-to-school checklist and find all of the necessary items for the upcoming school year. Shopping for school supplies can be time-consuming and quite spendy. We have compiled a few tips on saving big while school shopping:

Search Around the House

Before going school shopping always search your home for items. You may be surprised on how many leftover items your child has from the previous school year. This will help you save money and will prevent you from purchasing unnecessary items.

Stick to the List

When shopping for school supplies it is very important to stick to what is on the list. Often times, especially when shopping with kids, parents will buy extra and unnecessary items. Ask yourself, does my child need the magnetic locker pencil organizer or will a pencil pouch do the job? When it comes to items you buy every year, simpler is always better.

Buy the Most Important Items First

Make sure to always buy the most important supplies first. This will ensure that you are getting the items your child needs while preventing unnecessary spending.

Shop Online

Check sites such as Amazon, Craigslist, and Etsy. They have lots of great deals this time of year on supplies. Often times, these items will come in bulk as well, which means you will be getting more while saving.

Be Thrifty

When buying items such as backpacks and clothing, check out you local thrift stores. Thrift shopping is the best way to find bargains and still get quality items; you never know what treasures await!

Buy Standard, Then Personalize

When school shopping kids always want the coolest folders and notebooks with pictures and sayings on them. But in reality, these are the most expensive folders and notebooks you can buy. A cute and fun idea would be to buy plain colored folders and notebooks and have your child spice them up using different crafts. This also lets your child be creative and is a great opportunity for bonding time for the two of you. Check out this great tutorial for some inspiration!

So when school shopping this year, make sure you follow the tips above. You will save more money and still get the items you need. In the meantime, check out our website to learn about the various fundraising campaign choices we offer. We wish you the best of luck this school year!

Healthy Bodies and Active Minds: Educational Summer Activities for Kids

School’s out, but that doesn't mean learning has to stop with the summertime sunshine. Keep your kids’ brain and body active, entertained and constantly learning with these educational summer activities for kids.

Read, Read, Read

Nothing soars the imagination further than reading. Whether your child is interested in science, nature, fairy tales, or the fantastic, encourage them to read voraciously. Many libraries even provide the option for you to borrow ebooks from their collection so that books can be sent straight to your iPad or Nook. The ability to read is something many take for granted, so encourage your child to explore different worlds of fiction and nonfiction to improve their comprehension and writing skills. Imagination Soup has an excellent list of new and classic books categorized by genre and age for children of all ages.

Write Journals and Stories

Along with reading, writing will help kids explore their creative imaginations. Have your child keep a summer reading journal where they can write about their own experiences. You can also encourage them keep a notebook and create their very own stories. Developing characters and plots will help them develop their comprehension and become better writers, and regularly writing can only help improve their spelling and handwriting.

Traveling Outdoors

Your child doesn’t have to be a Cub Scout or a Girl Scout to learn about the world around them. Take advantage of every sunny and beautiful day there is this summer outdoors with your family. Whether on a family vacation or a nature hike in your local hometown, have your kids take a keener look at nature and encourage their interest in the great outdoors. Become expert bird-watchers, have them learn how to identify animals, plants, and trees, or go geocaching. See if your local museums and nature parks have educational opportunities for kids. Often times, these events and opportunities are led by expert volunteers and cost little, if anything at all.

Homemade Science Projects

Here’s a simple kid formula: messy=fun. Whether in the garden or in the kitchen, experimental science projects can engage your children’s cognitive and motor skills. Try out recipes to teach about chemistry, create sensory bins with materials from around your house, or create a compost garden bin to learn about the cycle of life. Many blogs, such as Modern Parents, Messy Kids offer STEM-related kitchen science experiments that are parent-tested and kid-approved.

Get Active

It’s just as important to exercise your child’s mind as well as their bodies. First Lady Michelle Obama is leading the national Let's Move initiative to encourage a healthy lifestyle. You can help your child be the healthiest version of themselves by having them engage in summer league sports, teaching them about healthy food or healthy bodies, and encouraging plenty of time away from electronics and technology to embrace their own backyards, playgrounds, and parks. Kids learn best by example, so encourage the whole family to get active.

Word Problems, Brain Teasers, and Puzzles, Oh My!

Research has shown that children lose between two to three months of grade level equivalence over the summer, with math skills and theoretical thinking suffering the most. With teachers typically spending the first month and a half re-teaching old material, you can help kid your child on track and ahead of the curve by having them engage in regular word problems, puzzle solving, and challenging brain teasers. Whether your choose to do this with worksheets or real-world scenarios, a little bit of work every week can help keep your kids active and engaged to help keep their math, science, and language skills sharp.

You don’t have to spend buckets of money on expensive summer camps, lessons or video game systems to keep your kids safe and entertained. There are an infinite amount of ideas and activities to entertain and educate kids of all ages, genders, and interests this summer.

Five Ways Your Child Can Give Back During the Holidays

The Holiday season is upon us once again. This year, teach your child the principle of giving to others. Remind them that you do not only give presents and gifts to family members, but you can also give back to the community as well. No matter what age, it is always a good time to teach your children about the importance of giving.

1. Donate gently used clothes
Lets face it, kids grow so fast that sometimes their closet can’t even keep up with them. This winter, think about families who are in need and donate your childs old winter jackets, hats, mittens or snow boots to families with smaller children or local second hand stores. You and your child can go through their closet and find older articles of clothing that may be snug and donate them.

2. Toy Recycle
Not only are winter clothing items a popular item to donate during the Holidays, but toys are as well. Consider having your child weed through their toys they don’t play with any more. If your child has trouble giving up toys, remind them that there are children less fortunate than themselves who would love to play with some of your child’s older toys. Second-hand stores are a great place to begin, or think about donating them to a local daycare.

Flick Creative Commons: Photo by davidd

3. Give Back to a Local Animal Shelter
We enjoy supporting local, so we want to suggest reaching out to an animal shelter in your community. If your child is an animal lover, have them get crafty and create fleece tie blankets for the animal shelter. If you have an animal at home and have leftover bags of unwanted food, make sure you bring those into the shelter as well. If you are looking for more donation ideas, animal shelters usually have a list of needs on their websites.

4. Operation Give
Have kids create their ideal stocking and donate it to the Operation Give Stocking Campaign. This program helps soldiers overseas receive stockings while they are away on duty. According to their web page, typical things that are put into these stockings are toothbrushes, reading books, candy or cookies, sunscreen, etc. Don’t be afraid to think outside their ideas and create some more personal gift items, or have your child write a letter to thank them for their service!

5. Bake for Community Service People
Let your child know that not everyone is able to be home during the Holidays. Firefighters, law enforcement officers and EMTs still serve and protect the community, even on Christmas Day. Have your children bake and decorate cookies for these departments. Wrap them up and have them deliver these tasty treats themselves to see the good work they put forward in action.

Flickr Creative Commons: Photo by Erik (Hash) Hersman

 
Here at Meadow Farms we know that donating and volunteering are two important factors that keep a community strong. Start your family on track to be an active giver in your community this holiday season with one (or more!) of these ideas.

Earth Month 2014

Picture from here.

Every April we rally in support of our grand planet by observing Earth Month. The month culminates with the celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd. This springtime holiday highlights the importance of environmental protection through a number of sustainable practices: recycling, using efficient transportation, and education on environmental topics.

This year, we here at Meadow Farms Fundraising want to promote the fact that being environmentally conscious should not be dedicated to just one month or day of the year; and becoming savvy of environmental concerns can start at any age.  

With that being said, it’s crucial to know how to properly recycle. Some of the big ones:

• Make sure to rinse out plastic and glass containers, while removing caps.
• Flatten out boxes. 
•  Be cognizant of what you can’t recycle: this list includes plastic wrap, Styrofoam, and aerosol cans. 

For more complicated recycling we encourage you call your city when referring to: batteries, computers, paint, hangers, and appliances.

So, with all these little complex pieces in play, a question might surface for parents: how do you teach and encourage youngsters to recycle? Here’s a short list of good strategies:

• Story time – There are several books about recycling particularly geared toward young children. Reading with your kids presents an ideal opportunity to start a conversation on the importance of recycling. 

• Get Involved – Label all of your recycling bins in your home with pictures of what is recyclable. Once they’re recycling, you might even want to create a reward system when goals are met.

• Show Them – Point out the items that can be recycled and the items that cannot. It’s always good to show your children what objects have been made from recycled material.

• Arts & Crafts – Get creative! You can make your recycling bin into something that encourages recycling. One of our favorites? Turning a recycling bin into a basketball hoop. Additionally, you could get your children to turn items that can be recycled into art projects.   

Hopefully these tips help you out not only during Earth Month but all year long! Meadow Farms believes that recycling is extremely important, we are proud to say that our wrapping paper is made in the USA and is a 100% recyclable product.

Good luck and have fun! 

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