First Day of Third Grade

And just like that, summer is over and another year of school has begun.  My little one is in Third Grade!  I hardly know how this is possible, but here she is all shiny and clean for the first day.

Fall means not only school, but after-school activities, sports and scouts, and our favorite, RE classes!

Classes start up again in our parish in October, but we are already starting to work on our theme for the year...

A sneak peak will be coming soon, but we "noah" you are going to like this year's bulletin board and prayer memorization tools.


"do" and "done" magnet board - back to school

Our next back to school project- a magnet board using an idea from Pinterest.  My daughter participates in competitive cheerleading (yes, there is such a thing) and her coach gives the girls homework each week, usually jumps or exercises to practice at home between team practices.

We typed up each of her typical homework tasks, printed them out, cut them out, mounted them on construction paper, and sent them through our home laminator.  We attached a piece of magnet tape to the back of each piece.

For the board, I purchased a cookie sheet at Dollar Tree.  We used painter's tape to mask the line down the middle, and spray painted the board with some extra spray paint we had leftover from previous projects (pink).  When it was dry, I painted a coat of Modge Podge over the top to prevent scratching.  I then punched holes in the top using a hammer and nail, and added a matching ribbon to hang it up.  On the back of the board, I used more magnets to attach a small plastic pouch with the leftover tasks to switch out as necessary. 

Now, our daughter has a easy visual checklist to help her complete her cheer homework each night.  This could easily be modified for chores, other sports, etc.


Activity Backpack Hooks---Getting Organized for Fall

The picture quality...not so great, but hopefully good enough to make out this weekend's attempt at organization at our home.

Our daughter is involved in several afterschool activities, including cheer, gymnastics and dance.  Last year, after spending too many nights scrambling to find the right outfit, equipment or other needed items for the various activities, we purchased draw string bags for Cheer and Gymnastics and had them embroidered (from ThirtyOne Gifts).  We then worked with our daughter to make sure she put back her clothes and equipment in the correct bag so it would be ready for the next practice.

Our next challenge was then getting our daughter to find her bag, or better yet, not leave them on the floor or in our cars. 

To give them a home, I found some small initial hooks from Michaels on clearance for $2.00 each.  Since they were fancy, possibly too fancy for my daughter to easily recognize the right hook, I used small black letter stickers to spell out the activity below the initial...School, Cheerleading, Gymnastics and Dance.

They are hung in our multi purpose room next to our daughter's desk and workspace, and relatively near our front door.  As of day two they are working, we'll see if this holds up once the school year starts.