Fwd: Simple Times - 8/20/08 - Back to school; crisis meal planning

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Simple Times

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Vol. 10, No. 16 -- August 20th, 2008

http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/

debi

Copyright 2008 Deborah Taylor-Hough

ISSN: 1527-1269

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Celebrating 10+ years of saving your time, money and sanity!

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IN THIS ISSUE:

-- " Dear Readers "

-- Simple Living Quote

-- Putting an End to " Crisis Meal Planning "

-- Back-to-School Preparation for All Ages

-- Letters to the Editor / Reader Tips

-- Assorted Information (archives, etc.)

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Dear Readers,

 

So sorry that this issue is a little late. We had a minor -- but all

consuming -- crisis here at home and I've been struggling to get

things done in a timely fashion (you should see my kitchen sink ...

or maybe you shouldn't). ;-)

 

I hope you'll find the tips in this issue on back-to-school ideas and

simplifying meal planning to be helpful in your home and family. And

as always, be sure to show your support to our faithful sponsors.

Without them, this mailing list wouldn't be possible

 

Simply Yours,

 

Debi

(Deborah Taylor-Hough)

Editor, Simple Times Email Newsletter

--Author of the popular 'Frozen Assets' series; 'A Simple Choice: A

practical guide for saving your time, money & sanity'; and 'Frugal

Living for Dummies®

--Editor, Simple Times, Solo Parents, and Bright-Kids email newsletters

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SIMPLE LIVING QUOTE

 

" It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The

question is: what are we busy about? "

 

--Henry David Thoreau

 

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PUTTING AN END TO " CRISIS MEAL PLANNING "

Copyright Deborah Taylor-Hough

Used with permission. All rights reserved.

http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com

 

 

If your home is anything like mine, you've probably found

that five o'clock each evening is one of the most hectic times

of the day. Mom and dad are just finishing up a long day of

work at home or at the office. The kids are hungry and tired

after a full day of school and afternoon sports. It's time to fix

supper -- or at least we should be getting dinner started if we

want to eat a meal before midnight.

 

But what's for dinner tonight? Well, your guess is probably as

good as mine, and it seems like more often than not, nobody

knows. So the whole family hops into the car and heads through

the local drive-thru for the third time this week.

 

Rather than planning ahead to prevent panic and poor nutritional

choices, many families coast through their day without giving a

thought to dinner, and then discover that they've crashed headlong

into that nightly mealtime crisis once again.

 

Someone I know once called it " crisis meal planning. " Each night's

dinner is the latest in a string of mealtime crisis management

decisions. Everyone's tired. The kids are hungry. The whining has

started in earnest. What's a parent to do?

 

Cooking ahead for the freezer can be the answer to this all-too-

frequent mealtime dilemma. I've discovered as people become

more adept and experienced at cooking for the freezer, they often

switch from doing a full one-day-each-month cooking frenzy to

using a simpler process referred to as " mini-sessions. " A mini-

session consists of choosing one main ingredient, such as

chicken, and then preparing a group of chicken recipes in a

single afternoon or evening. A mini-session usually involves only

an hour or two of cooking rather than the eight to ten hours often

required for a complete month of cooking.

 

By waiting for main ingredients to go on sale at your local market,

you can stock up on large quantities and take advantage of great

prices. For example, if you stock up on lean ground beef at this

week's sale, a relatively short mini-session could easily supply

you with five to ten ground beef meals tucked away in the freezer.

When chicken goes on sale later in the month, you can add another

five to ten meals to your personal stash of Frozen Assets.

 

Simply by purchasing and cooking in bulk as you follow the sale

flyers from the grocery store, you can save a great deal of time

and money without ever investing an entire day in a monthly

cooking session.

 

For more information on cooking ahead for the freezer, go to:

frozenassets.wordpress.com

 

Or consider joining the Frozen Assets Email Discussion Group

to share tips, recipes and encouragement with other cooks

investigating the benefits of preparing meals ahead of time for

the freezer. For details and subscribing information, go to:

frozen-assets

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

--Deborah Taylor-Hough is the author of several books including " Frugal

Living For Dummies® " and " Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and

Eat for a Month. " For more tips and ideas for simplifying daily life,

visit

Debi online at: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com

 

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BACK-TO-SCHOOL PREPARATION FOR ALL AGES

Copyright Laurie Hurley

Used with permission from EzineArticles.com.

http://www.hometutoringbusiness.com

 

 

If you have children, late July, August and early September

represents more than summer ending, cooler weather and fall

foliage. School begins once again for millions of kids across

the country. Getting your child prepared, regardless of whether

they are in Kindergarten or a senior in high school, is a must.

 

Here are some tips to make the transition from several weeks of

summer fun to school days and homework easier.

 

 

KINDERGARTEN - 5th GRADE

 

1) About a week before school starts, have your children go to

bed at the time they will when school begins. Set their alarm or

wake them up early. It's difficult for some kids to adjust to going

to bed and getting up earlier after having an entire summer of

sleeping in or staying up late. Many young children need to be

on a schedule and preparing a week or so earlier will pay off,

especially if you have a night owl or late sleeper.

 

2) If you have a school supply list (many school districts post

them on their website or hand them out the last day of school),

buy the supplies early. For the child who is not organized, this

is a good way to begin the school year off on the right foot. Label

everything and get the backpacks ready the night before school

starts. Buy some extra supplies to keep at home if your child is

one to lose or forget their pencils or markers at school. They will

probably need some basic supplies for homework time. Nothing

is more frustrating than sitting down to do homework and

discovering the basics are missing.

 

3) If you have a Kindergartener, walk to school two or three days

before school begins (or drive if they take a bus or you will be

driving them). This helps acquaint them with what they will actually

be doing that first day and can work wonders for alleviating the first

day jitters. If your child is especially anxious, ask if you can let

them visit their new classroom for five or ten minutes the day before

school starts. Many principals will let the Kindergarteners come to

the campus prior to school starting.

 

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL

 

1) Many sixth graders will be attending a new school for their middle

school years. Oftentimes, the campus is much bigger and can be

intimidating. Of course pre-teens may not admit they are nervous,

but most parents are. Suggest a bike ride over to the school some-

time during August just to look around. Many middle schools conduct

orientation anyway a couple of days before school actually begins,

but an extra trip without all of their peers might be worthwhile.

 

2) Just as in elementary school, it is important, if not more so in

middle school, to have all the school supplies ready, especially an

organizer. Some schools make it mandatory for the students to

purchase an organizer directly from the school. Get in the habit

from day one of checking it and being sure homework assignments

are recorded. Visit the school website and see if homework and

grades will be posted on the site. This is an excellent way to stay

involved with your child’s progress throughout the year.

 

3) If your student struggles with the basics -- math or language

arts -- consider hiring a tutor for some review sessions before and

during the first semester. Also, it is quite common in middle school

for students who are excelling to be moved to Honors classes

sometime during the year. Being in an accelerated class is a good

way to prepare a student for Advanced Placement (AP) classes in

high school, which count as college credit.

 

 

HIGH SCHOOL

 

1) Find out when the PSAT and SAT exams will take place. If your

student is not a good test taker, consider enrolling them in a test

prep class. As colleges become more and more competitive, test

scores make a difference. One can take the exam more than once

if they are not happy with the score, so plan ahead and register

early.

 

2) Stay tuned in to your student's school and social schedule. There

is a tremendous amount of freedom in high school and even the most

academically gifted students can be distracted by all of the things

that are associated with the teenage years. Establish a curfew for

school nights and limit the amount of time that is spent at a part-time

job or involved in sports, especially if time management and study

skills are not your child’s forte.

 

3) If your son or daughter is college-bound, start doing your research

and be sure to attend the college nights that many high schools

sponsor. Know what is expected on college applications. It is no

longer a simple process like it was for the baby boomer generation.

Test scores, a formal essay, volunteer hours, and class selection in

high school are all important factors in getting into college. Take

advantage of the many companies that exist today solely for the

purpose of assisting you and your student select the right college

for them.

 

 

Regardless of the age and grade of your children, stay involved.

Volunteering on any level -- whether it be reading stories to your

elementary aged child's second grade class, helping in the computer

lab in middle school, or being on a committee for peer counseling in

high school -- it is important to know what is happening at the place

your children spend a large part of their week. With so many parents

working, many Parent Teacher Associations have their meetings in

the evening, so more parents can attend. There are activities that

need volunteers that do not involve daytime hours such as calling

parents in the evening for a fundraiser or helping with a weekend

car wash at high school.

 

These tips can help your children get back to school the right way

and prepare them for a year of learning and fun.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

--Laurie Hurley is an educational consultant and mentor to small

business owners. Hurley was recently featured in Woman's World

and Entrepreneur Magazine as well as Family Circle and others.

She can be reached at http://www.hometutoringbusiness.com or

1.888.847.0033. Article is free to be reprinted as long as author's

bio remains intact.

 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laurie_Hurley

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Feel free to forward this newsletter to your family and friends. :-)

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / READER TIPS

We'd love to hear YOUR tips and ideas for simplifying daily life.

Send your simple living comments/tips to: DSimple

 

 

No tips this time ... looking forward to hearing from YOU! :-)

 

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SIMPLE TIMES RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Book list for frugality and simple living

Go to: http://snurl.com/simplebooks

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As always, a special " Thank you! " goes out to Gary Foreman

and the friendly folks at the Dollar Stretcher for making this

mailing list possible!

 

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Feel free to forward this newsletter to your family and friends. :-)

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EDITOR'S BOOKS AND AUDIO RESOURCES:

Books and resources by Deborah Taylor-Hough

Editor, Simple Times Email Newsletter

http://snurl.com/debisbooks

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DEBI'S ON-LINE RESOURCES:

Personal Blog: http://dsimple.wordpress.com/

Frugality/Simplicity: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com

Cooking Ahead: http://frozenassets.wordpress.com/

Bright-Kids: http://brightkids.wordpress.com

Tupperware®: http://snurl.com/DebiTupperware

Kids' Books: http://snurl.com/books4kids

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