Disclosure: I was invited to attend an event, sponsored by P&G Everyday that shared some great Back to School tips for moms. In the process I received a pedicure, a swag bag of P&G products, parking compensation and the ability to offer one winner a $50 gift card to the P&G e-store. I did not receive any additional compensation for this post, any comments are my own.
I can’t believe it, but for the past 30 years, I’ve celebrated “Back to School.” This includes all of my years in elementary school through my college graduation and the past 15 years I’ve worked as an occupational therapist in various school systems. I don’t remember a time when for the first few weeks of August I haven’t had a pit of nervousness in my stomach in anticipation of the first day of school.
Most people use New Years Day as the start of the year, but for me, the start of the school year, is the beginning of my calendar year. My life revolves around the school calendar year, so it just seems fitting. In general, I have always viewed this time of year as my fresh start with all sorts of new resolutions about getting up early to exercise and eat healthy.
My personal “Back to School” stress starts in June. This year we had so much snow, I swear, there were back to school ads and sales in flyers before we were even out of school. I was able to put it behind me for the bulk of the summer, but a few weeks ago, I had to venture out and stock up on more glue sticks and mechanical pencils for my students while the sales were good and the shelves were stocked with what I wanted. I’ve also seen the lists sent home by teachers and wasn’t surprised when I found out that according to a survey by P&G, “93% of mom’s stated they faced back to school challenges. Half stated that the most challenging includes shopping for and/or the cost of the new school supplies.” *
P&G recently invited a group of local bloggers to a Back-to-School event where we were able to celebrate this exciting but stressful time of year with some time for ourselves. We relaxed at Miniluxe in Boston, MA receiving pedicures. During our pampering, Audrey McClelland from MomGenerations.com engaged us in discussion about preparing for back to school.
Some of the tips we talked about amongst ourselves were also highlighted on PGEveryday in their back to school coverage. Such as:
-Cleaning out closets and toy rooms to make room for outgrown play items and clothes
-Restocking the medicine cabinets prior to the start of cold/flu season
-Packing children’s lunches the night before
-Designing meal plans for the family for the start of the year
-Planning a “last day of summer” family dinner while sharing your favorite summer memory
Here’s the ingenious part of what P&G found, as parents it’s no lie that most of us hardly ever take enough time for ourselves. However, during this time of year, it’s so important to take care of ourselves. It’s crucial to our family units survival that we be physically and emotionally healthy during the busy time of year with school, homework and after school sports and activities.
Here are some great strategies P&G shared specifically for moms:
-Place an e-reader in your purse for those minutes you are stuck waiting in the carpool lanes
-Use your smartphone or a notepad to take notes and maintain your to-do lists
-Sneak away for a manicure or pedicure after dropping your child off at an after-school activity
In honor of Back to School, P&G has offered up 1 reader a $50 gift card to the P&G EStore to purchase their own supplies. Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below.
P&G sponsored a fun morning with friends at the spa with a pedicure. They provided me with some fun back to school swag, arranged my parking and offered a $50 gift card to the P&G E-store to one lucky winner. Any opinions provided are my own.
*Proctor and Gamble recently surveyed 1,000 adults nationally in June 2013.
Would love to win!!
I wish I didn’t have to buy a pencil sharpener!
Love Mr. Clean cleaner!
I love back to school sales and definitely drop too much money at the nearby office supply store….but I’m dreading going back. Just enjoying the lazy days of summer and not looking forward to alarm clocks and packing lunches 🙂
Oops….I wish I didn’t have to buy pens and a three hole punch. All my good
Trying again…..hate to buy pens and three hole punch (for my classroom) and I live crest pro health
Packing the kids lunch at night…I like that one.
first time wwe bought colors and merkers
Markers and crayons
I wish we didn’t have to buy so many binders and folders, it gets so expensive
My favorite P&G brand is Downey fabric softener
My kids always need folders.
I got my son a new backpack for the school year!
new white socks because summer turned ours gray!
vmkids3 at msn dot com
I get pens and paper.
I bought a banner for my classroom!
I wsh I didn’t have to buy tissue and clorox wipes for my classroom
I love puffs plus
One essential back-to-school item that I buy is Safeguard Hand Sanitizer for the car and backpacks!
pens and paper and folders are always on the list
I purchase a lot of notebooks for my children and myself.
lots of notebooks
I wish I didnt have to buy tissues for the classroom
my favorite P&G brand is Olay
I get all the usual stuff, notebooks,pens,rulers etc and always a new backpack
I buy notebooks and pencils.
I wish I didn’t have to buy glue.
My favorite P&G brand is Tide.
This year for the first time, (my little one is only in the 3rd gr.) there was a correction pen on her list. Well when I was in school so long ago a correction pen was the red pen that your teacher marked your paper all up with. I called the school to check on this item and to my surprise they wanted white out pens. Glad I didn’t go get her a pack of red pens. How things have changed over the years
I don’t like having to buy dry erase markers with the eraser and cleaner. No more chalk boards all white boards now
I love all kinds of P&G products but my all time favorite is Tide with Febreeze!!
a new laptop
I purchase hand sanitizer and notebooks.
I wish I didn’t have to pay for textbooks.
My favorite P&G brand is CoverGirl
We love to buy backpacks. By the way, every time I comment on your blog, I get an error message saying your newsletter is inactive. I don’t know where I am selecting that I want to subscribe to your email so maybe you have a plugin issue?
Hi Tamar thanks I know it’s an issue, but for some reason the comments thankfully still get added, I’m trying to work on the problem!
I have to purchase alot of pens, pencils, paper and folders for my children.
I wish I didnt have to buy a ton of hand sanitizer for my kids classroom.
A new back pack and lunch bag.
I like duracell.
I wished we didn’t have to buy all new clothes, it seems like if you don’t, your child will stand out, lol…its like a status thing now.
I love Venus razors.
i always buy a new back pack for my grandson
notebooks pencils erasers folders
dry erase markers fine point sharpies pretty much the items for the teachers who always request the higher end and are very specific about what you should buy as if school supplies weren’t expensive enough we have to buy an additional 20-25 in supplies for the teachers.
I think puffs is my fav brand
We love getting decorative binders.
A label maker to label school supplies and items.
Lots of pencils and folders.
Gilda
We love Tide!