"Back to School Contracts" by Stefani Mullen (Guest Post)

Guest Post by Stefanie Mullen of "Ooph"

With just two weeks left until school starts, I will begin the mad dash of getting the paperwork filled out, school supplies and clothes purchased, wrangling my kids back into a decent bedtime and MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, the Back to School Contract. Hear angels singing?  You will soon.

If you don’t have a BTS Contract or as I like to refer to it, a Zip It Contract in your house, you are in for a treat. The sole purpose of the contract is to say ZIP IT to your sanity sucking kids when they start to get feisty.

For example, one of my children might say, “I can’t believe we have to go to bed, it’s only 9:30.”

I will point to the contract hanging on our family board and with a June Cleaver smile say, “Remember sweetie, you signed the contract.”  In other words, “Zip it.”

If we DIDN’T have the contract, the conversation would have gone like this.  “I can’t believe we have to go to bed, it’s only 9:30.”

I would begin with, “It is a school night, you need to get in bed.” 

He would say, “But why, all my friends stay up until 10:30?”

I then something so awful so disgustingly my mother would come flying out of my mouth, “IF ALL YOUR FRIENDS JUMPED OFF A BRIDGE”...you get the point.  Gross.

Thirty minutes later we would still be arguing and the whole thing would end with an eye roll, some comment about what an uncool mom I am and him slamming his bedroom door in my face.  Good times.

After dealing with that all summer, I am looking for some good old fashioned Zip It during the school year.

Below is a copy of our Back to School Contract: 

Bedtime:

Bedtime will be 9:30 p.m. for Noah every night.  You may read until 10:00 p.m., then lights out.  Bedtime will be 10:00 p.m. for Keenan every night.  You may read until 10:30 p.m., then lights out. This time is not to be spent on school reading, only extracurricular reading as your school reading will be done during homework time.

Chores:

Noah is to take the trash out as needed.  He is also to empty one drawer of the dishwasher per day. Your bed must be made and teeth brushed before we leave for school. Keenan is to mow the lawn as needed.  He is to empty one drawer of the dishwasher per day.  Your bed must be made and teeth brushed before we leave for school.

Television: 

We will flip The Switch on downstairs for the television after dinner and only after all homework has been checked and all chores completed.  No television before dinner.  Any extra time before dinner is to be spent outside practicing sports.

Xbox:

No xbox during the week. PERIOD.  On the weekends, you may play two hours per day. 

Computer:

You may use the computer instead of watching television. See “Television” for rules. If you are in compliance with the above rules, WITHOUT ARGUMENT all week, you may spend time over the weekend chillin’ with your friends.  If you are NOT in compliance, you may spend time chillin’ with your mom.

We all sign the agreement and while it doesn’t alleviate every argument, it gets rid of most and shortens the others. A quick reminder that my smiling face is all they will see the whole weekend and let’s just say they empty that dishwasher with an enthusiasm that rivals a Kindergarten Room Mom.

For more tips on making the back to school transition smoother, click here.

Stefanie Mullen is the mother of three boys -- a teen, a tween and a toddler. She writes about living life in a locker room at www.ooph.com. Stefanie is a writer for The Examiner and is the coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Girlfriend’s Soul.

Ebeanstalk and Plan Toys review...

Recently I was introduced to Ebeanstalk.com. This is a wonderful site that will help you find the right product for your child and their age group. What makes their site so unique is they combine toy experts and moms opinions to find the top educational toys. Ebeanstalk selected me along with several other bloggers to review one of their selected toys. I gave them the age of my two children and was sent the Acticity Bus from Plan Toys who makes not only safe, but green toys as well.

The Review:
I was immediately impressed when I opened up up the box and pulled the bus out. The make was fantastic and I loved the bright colors. Both my children love the Activity bus. Right away my son began playing school with the people and the tiny desk and books that were included. This toy has been great for both of my children's creativity. It is also nice to see them learn to play together. Because of the quality, I know this toy will be around for a long time.


Ebeanstalk is set up so that you can find the perfect toy for your baby or toddler easily. Off on the sidebar you will find everything categorized by age, brand and more. Ebeanstalk also offers a selection of baby gear and accessories for all of you moms to be. You will also want to visit this site when planning your child's birthday as it will help you with favors and lists. They even have a calendar where you can schedule all the important birthday dates you need to purchase gifts for. Ebeanstalk then will aware you days in advance of this date, giving you time to search and purchase the perfect gift for the child.

Visit Ebeanstalk and sign up for their newsletter. This way you can get advice from their experts and hear of their promotional offerings. If you like the Activity Bus from Plan Toys, you may want to become a fan of theirs on facebook.

Hain Celestial Group Giveaway! (CLOSED)

The Hain Celestial Group is offering a giveaway filled with healthy snacks and free coupons to help spread the word about the “Take a Healthy Bite out of Reading” back to school promotion. Hain Celestial has teamed up with Barnes & Noble to help inspire reading through healthy eating. The “Take a Healthy Bite” promotion is a receipt redemption program, where you can send your receipts for any products from Garden of Eatin’, MaraNatha, West Soy, Earth’s Best and Health Valley in exchange for gift cards from Barnes & Noble - $5.00 card for $15 worth of product and $10 for $25 worth of product. There is also a sweepstakes element and one lucky parent will win $500 worth of free books from Barnes & Noble for their local school library.

Visit www.takeahealthybite.com for healthy snack tips and kid friendly recipes from Keri Glassman, R.D. and sign up for the “Healthy Way of Life” newsletter to receive valuable coupons.

If you would like to be entered to win the $500 book sweepstakes sponsored at takeahealthybite.com you can be entered automatically through coupon redemption or through their sweepstakes entry page at http://www.takeahealthybite.com/sweepstakes/index.html/entry/enter (Please tell your readers about this link, too)

Giveaway:
All "Catch the Drift with Mama Snow" readers have a chance to win an assortment of natural and organic products from Hain Celestial Group, including Garden of Eatin’ blue corn chips, Health Valley granola bars, Earth’s Best Tots juice boxes and coupons for free jar of MaraNatha nut butter, free 32 ounce West Soymilk and free Earth’s Best Sesame Street frozen pizza. (Total Value $25)

To Enter:
Tell me one way you encourage reading in your home

Extra Entries:
-What is your family's favorite healthy snacks
-Grab my button
-Subscribe to "Catch the Drift..."
-Follow me on Twitter
-Blog about this post or Tweet it! (Be sure to leave the link)

Rules:
Be sure to leave a comment telling me what the entry is for. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Also be sure to leave an email address for me to contact you. A winner will be selected randomly using Random.org. They will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen. US only

Giveaway Ends: Tuesday Aug. 11, 2009

Educator.com Giveaway!!!

With school starting soon stress may be on the rise. For me, my stress level would go up as soon as I collected all my books for each class. They need to start making larger backpacks for all the books they throw on you. Besides all the books I had to carry, I had an even bigger challenge. I tend to only use my right side of the brain. Sometimes I even wonder if I have another half. I am all about the arts and easily fly through these courses no problem. That is why I chose Computer Animation as my major in college. No matter what the degree though, I still had my general courses which included Math and Science. I was always having to turn for help on these courses. Sometimes finding someone who had the ability to teach me and not just understand the information for themselves was nearly impossible. This is why I am excited to share with you a new option.

Educator.com has brought together the best teachers in the country and their lectures to help you succeed in your schooling. All of Educator.com educators are current college professors with great ratings. Both high school and university topics in mathematics, science and computer programming are available. To save you time from watching a whole lecture when you are only looking for a specific part, you can simply search for the topic and jump straight to the part in the video which contains the information you are needing. To help those who are more visual like myself, Educator.com also shows you graphical explanations and provides detailed notes that highlight important points you must know. With several moms and dads going back to school these days, this can be a wonderful resource to help get you through. If you aren't going back to school anytime soon, but have a student who is approaching the subjects that you know nothing about, Educator.com could be the help your looking for.

Now for the best news, Educator.com is only $20 a month for unlimited access to 9 subjects. Try finding a tutor that cheap and one who also contains top knowledge on so many subjects.

The Giveaway:
Three of you will win 3 month subscriptions!

To Enter:
Visit Educator.com then come back and tell me how Educator.com can benefit you or your child.

*Extra Entries*
-Tell me your worse subject in school (whether past or present) that you wish/wished you had a tutor or Educator.com for.
-Grab my button
-Subscribe to "Catch the Drift..."
-Follow me on Twitter
-Blog about this post or Tweet it! (Be sure to leave the link)

Rules:
Be sure to leave a comment telling me what the entry is for. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Also be sure to leave an email address for me to contact you. A winner will be selected randomly using Random.org. They will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway Ends: Aug 18, 2009

Smooshie Review...

Once again One2One Network has hooked me up with another fun review. I would like to start by introducing you to "Smooshie", a lovable toy made to help develop your child's creativity. Smooshie's arms, legs, facial features and other fun accessories have a Velcro attachment which allows the child to remove and mix up to create unique characters.



Review:
I have to be honest, when I first opened up the package I was a little disappointed. For some reason I expected more features to be included. I thought for sure my children would get bored with what the Smooshie offered. To my surprise, I was wrong. Although Smooshie is meant for ages 3 and up, my almost 2 year old was freaking out to have a turn. Since, I have to put time limits on this toy to give them each the chance to play with Smooshie. They love this toy and have so much fun switching the body parts around in odd places. Some examples of this are putting the arms on the head and leaving only one eye on the Smooshie's face.

I was almost scared to even look at how much it would cost to purchase new parts and accessories for their smooshie, but once again I was pleasantly surprised. All of Smooshies accessories are only $1.99. I find this a great price to add to add to my children's imagination. I can even purchase another Smooshie body for $5.99. This is very tempting and could save me from refereeing any more fights.

I am now a fan of smooshie and am even excited about adding to our collection of Smooshie accessories.

Purchase:
You can purchase Smooshie at select JoAnn and Michaels stores nationwide. Smooshies are also now available for purchase online at Joann.com.
At Creativity Inc. you cane look through a full selection of Smoothies and parts.

"I See Me" The World According To..." Review and Giveaway!!! (CLOSED)

I hope you haven't forgotten about "I See Me" personalized childrens books. If you remember last month my son and I took the time to create one of these wonderful books. He recieved a kit in the mail for "The World According to..." book. My son had a great time answering all the questions and drawing the pictures for his book. All the questions brought out my sons fun personality. One of the fill in the blanks included the statement, "I would like to help the world by....". My son said, "taking them to the doctors". I thought it was pretty cute and best part is, I now have this answer and many others saved in this published book.

The published book finally arrived last week and my son was ecstatic. It was so fun going through all the pages and seeing his pictures he worked so hard to create. My plan is to have each of my children create one of these personalized books. It is not only made very well, but will last so that my children can share it with their children. This makes a great gift for any child or parent and an even better keepsake. You can take a virtual tour of "The World According to ..." and other "I See Me" books at their site.



"I See M"e offers a variety of personalized items for your child. You can choose from several books and art pieces. Also, Recently "The World according To..." book was awarded the 2009 iParenting Award.

The Giveaway:
One winner will receive the kit and complete book with postage for "The World According to..." book.

To Enter: You MUST visit "I See Me" and look through their store. Come back here and leave a comment telling me another item that interests you.

*Extra Entries*
(The 7 people who left comments on my first review on I See Me books. I have emailed you and as long as you also include the mandatory entry you receive 2 bonus entries. Yes, I said 2. I am feeling very generous today.)

-Follow "I See Me" on Facebook.
-Grab my button
-Subscribe to "Catch the Drift..."
-Follow me on Twitter
-Blog about this post or Tweet it! (Be sure to leave the link)

Rules: Be sure to leave a comment telling me what the entry is for. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Also be sure to leave an email address for me to contact you. A winner will be selected randomly using Random.org. They will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen. US only!

Giveaway Ends: July 23

"JumpStart" 3D virtual world review and giveaway!!! CLOSED

One of my first post on "Catch the Drift..." was on educational children sites. I wrote this post in hope to find a site that would not only give my son educational games, but a site that would also better his skills on the computer. At the time he had never used a mouse or a keyboard and I wasn't sure what would motivate him to do so. In today's world, computers are used in almost everything. Even as soon as they start elementary school they immediately begin to teach our children the basics of computers in kindergarten. Knowing this I wanted my son to be prepared and to learn early on the many ways computers can develop his knowledge.

Although I did learn of several sites, nothing seemed to keep my son's interest or intrigue him in learning how to use a computer himself. This was before "JumpStart"! This site is by far the best children's educational site I have found. It brings the child into a 3-D virtual world of discovery and allows the child to be in the game, not to just play it. My son started with knowing nothing on how to use a computer. He is now using arrow keys very well and is more familiar with using the mouse. He loves how JumpStart gave him the chance to create his own character and give them their own name. He switches the clothes on his character often. I am so happy with Jump Start and how much my son it has taught my son.



JumpStart goes above and beyond when it comes to exploring. There are so many games and several different places your child can visit while playing in the 3-D virtual world JumpStart created. Some of these places to explore are the Arcade, Theater, Story Land, Adventure Land and so much more. Each place visited will help develop your childs skills in their motors, creativity, math and reading. JumpStart has also won several awards from 2007 to now.




Before I forget, JumpStart also has a blog for the parents to enjoy. Their blog has posted something on almost every topic that will interest a parent. I especially love their post regarding family activities. These post on activities also include ideas on how you can teach your child and fun ways to interact with them. You must check out the JumpStart blog.

Giveaway: One winner will win a 3 month membership account to The JumpStart 3-D virtual world.

To Enter:
Visit JumpStart and look under the "About JumpStart" tab. Look through the Characters Bios or the map and tell me who your child would like to meet or where they would like to visit on the map. (Do both in a separate comment to receive 2 entries)

*Extra Entries*
-Grab my button
-Subscribe to "Catch the Drift..."
-Follow me on Twitter
-Blog about this post or Tweet it! (Be sure to leave the link)
-Create a JumpStart free account and try it out with your child. Then come back to this link and tell me what you and your child thought of it.
-Go to the JumpStart Blog search around their archives. Then leave a comment telling me about a post you enjoyed and when it was posted.

Rules:
Be sure to leave a comment telling me what the entry is for. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Also be sure to leave an email address for me to contact you. A winner will be selected randomly using Random.org. They will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen. Worldwide.

Giveaway Ends: July 14, 2009

Flashcard Zoo review and giveaway!!!

Flashcards are some of my favorite tools to use when teaching my children. I have to be honest with you though, "I have gone through several packs of flashcards". Even the Baby Einstein packs that say "childproof", they were destroyed and bent within a matter of months. I recently found flashcards that not only are TRULY childproof, but they are meant for the growing child. Not only will Flashcard Zoo's cards teach your younger children new letter's and words to associate them with, they will help your child understand sounds and practice writing.

My youngest who is barely learning to speak enjoys looking at the pictures and trying to say what they are. I don't have to worry about her holding them or getting drool all over. These cards are not only sturdy form their laminate protection, but waterproof.

My oldest child is just starting to learn to write. He always hated when I told him we were going to practice writing. Now He loves it. For some reason he thinks it is much more fun to pull out his washable markers and practice on the back of each card. The back of each card includes the letter and has guiding arrows and numbers to help the child know where the starting and ending point of each letter is. Below is a blank line where the child can practice what they learned with no help. I even found this useful for me. I find that when I teach my son, I like to take short cuts that will most likely only help my son build bad habits in writing. Now I know the correct way to help him.



Flashcard Zoo is a the ONLY flashcards as of now that I recommend. Honestly. Shannah Pace, the creator, has really taken the time to make these cards last a lifetime. She understands how destructive children can be and the importance of teaching them visually and using the hands on approach. As for the back of the card and when writing, it is recommended that you use washable markers or crayons. To wipe them off you can use a slightly wet paper towel or sponge. If they are going to continue to practice on the same card have s dry paper towel near them so they can dry the card after cleaning. This will prevent the marker form getting any water on it.

Flashcard Zoo number cards have been used as party favors. As of now Flashcard Zoo is offering $2 off each set of number cards if you purchase More then 5 sets. These are party favors moms won't throw away. To get an even bigger discount, if you order a pack of the alphabet cards for the birthday bot or girl with your party favors, 5you get a 20% discount. Just email Shannah through Etsy to discuss the birthday order and she will create a custom listing.

Other then birthdays these cards are GREAT for the bathtub with bathtub crayons, for backseat entertainment on road trips and fantastic to take to restaurants and church to keep them occupied and quiet. They are also good at keeping train tracks level on the carpet, and for otherwise keeping them occupied long enough that you might get to use the bathroom by yourself and MAYBE even Tweet a few times.

When you order your Flashcard Zoo cards you will have a great selection to choose from and even the option to customize. All orders will also include a drawstring bag to hold your cards.

Giveaway: Flashcard Zoo will be giving away a prepacked set of the winners choice (Faves, Mostly Animals, Boy set or Girl set).

To enter: Go visit Flashcard Zoo and look around. Come back and tell me what set you would choose and who you would give it to.

*Bonus Entries*
-Add my button
-Subscribe to my feed
-Post this giveaway on your blog, twitter or facebook!

Please leave a separate comment for each one and what it is for!

Rules: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to me with their name and address. If this information is not received within 48 hours new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is opened to US and Canada residents.

Giveaway Ends: May 6

"Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten/First Grade" review and giveaway! CLOSED!

I have been reviewing an amazing book used to prepare children for kindergarten and first grade. Every parent wants their child to excel in their education. When your child gets ready to enter kindergarten you want them to be ready. I have this same hope for my own little ones and I want to make sure I do what I can as a mother to prepare them.
While pregnant with my first I worked as a Teachers Aide in kindergarten. I noticed that no matter how wonderful the teacher was, if the parents didn't do their part to teach their child at home then the child would begin to fall behind the other students. I didn't want that to happen with my own children. Now that my oldest is four I have been trying to find the appropriate approach in helping my son. This has has been a harder task then I thought.
"Let's Get Ready For Kindergarten" and "Let's Get Ready For First Grade" has really helped direct me to the best teaching method. One of our struggles has been spelling his name correctly. He knows which letters to use, but didn't seem the know the difference between upper and lower case. He also has struggled getting the letters in the right order. Some of the first pages included a list of all upper and lower case letters. This has really helped my son differentiate between the two. The next page
had all the letters mixed up. This gave my son the chance to search for the letters he needed. He is a lot more familiar with the upper and lower case letters. He can even spell his name in order out load without mixing up the letters. I give much credit to "Let's Get Ready For Kindergarten". My son is recognizing numbers and now working on days of the week. He loves his book and the activities. "Let's Get Ready For Kindergarten" is great for all types of learners and each page is made so that you can use dry-erase markers on them. Allowing your child to use a more hands on approach for learning. "Let's Get Ready For Kindergarten" and "Let's Get Ready For First Grade" is also available in an english and spanish version.
Stacey Kannenberg is the author of these wonderful books. I highly recommend this wonderful book. You can find "Let's Get Ready For Kindergarten/First Grade" at www.cedarvalleypublishing.com or at Amazon (and other select booksellers nationwide).

The Giveaway: One lucky person will win their own copy of "Let's Get Ready For Kindergarten" in English or Spanish/English. They will also recieve the First Grade book in English.

To Enter: Go to Cedar Valley Publishing and tell me something you learned about Stacey Kannenberg, the author.

*Bonus Entries*
-Add my button
-Subscribe to my feed
-Post this giveaway on your blog, twitter or facebook!

Please leave a separate comment for each one and what it is for!

Rules: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to me with their name and address. If this information is not received within 48 hours new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is opened to US only.

Giveaway Ends:March 22

Kid Friendly and Educational Websites!

So today I wanted to introduce you to some of my sons, Tate's, favorite websites. What really make these great is that they are educational and fun. So for those of you with children age 2-Grade school check these out. Obviously you will probably have to help some of the younger ones out but seriously they will love it.


FIrst is Ziggity Zoom. I heard of this today and Tate and I went to check it out. There are games, coloring pages, virtual stories, crafts and more. Tate loved the "Feed the Monster" game. He thought it was so funny how the monster was constantly hungry. I thought the "Hide n Seek" game was great. It had many hiding spots with numbers on them and the point was to find the cat. When you click on the number, it opens that hiding spot to show you if you found the cat. It was really beneficial with helping Tate recognize and learn his numbers. Tate is working on numbers right now in pre-school.


The second is called "Teach the Children Well". This is one you will just have to explore on your own. There are so many games and activities. I wouldn't even know where to start. This site will give you a list of games from several other websites. These games involve everything from numbers, abc's, rhyming and much more!


Last there is PBS Kids. These are games with all the well known characters your children see on TV.

Now if anyone else has a kid friendly website that they and their children love please share.