Real Mom Media’s
Guide
From the
editor
Our first back to school!
Not only is this Real Mom Media’s first Back to School guide, but this my very first back to school season. My oldest will be heading off to the world of Kindergarten in a few weeks. We are busy preparing him and ourselves for the big day. During our preparation, we have come across some amazing products that should be on your back to school list. To make your job a little easier, we have compiled them all in our Back to School Guide! Here’s to a great school year!
Stephanie Glover www.realmommedia.com agrandelife.net @thestephglover
Hottest
items! Skylander School Supplies Looking for the hottest back to school items? This year, kids are going to flip for the Skylanders backpacks, pencil cases, and lunch boxes. The must-have gear from the biggest kid’s franchise will be available at major retailers including Walmart, Toys R Us and Amazon ranging from $4 to $15. Kids will surely get fired up for school knowing they can take along some of their favorite characters including Tree Rex, Cynder and more! Additionally, the must have game and toy this fall, Skylanders SWAP Force, will be hitting the shelves on October 13th!
Pack the Best Lunch Box Just glance at Pinterest and you will see that moms (and dads) everywhere are gearing up for packing the ever fun school lunch. Depending on the type of eater you have on your hands, school lunches could be boring. Katie, the mom behind Mom’s Kitchen Handbook, and her new book Best Lunch Box Ever is here to help! Her cookbook is a useful and adorable guide to lunch packing, loaded with tips and recipes that will make the year easier and yummier for you and your wee ones.
Ever! Now that you have some awesome lunches ready for school, you need a great lunchbox to pack them in. The Neat Oh! Picnic Lunch Box Placemat™ is far from your boring brown bag that mom used to give you for lunch every day. With comic artwork on the exterior, unzip the lunch box to find not only your lunch, but a small placemat ready and waiting. Lays flat and wipes clean with a damp cloth for spills and crumbs. Finally, a clean place to eat and an even easier lunch box to keep clean! Don’t worry, you don’t have to have a child heading off to school to enjoy these great lunches. From after school projects to snack time to experimenting with all of the latest fun arts, crafts and DIY projects, Luv That Tray™ Is the perfect little helper for your little one. This colorful multipurpose tray was designed to keep crumbs, food and crafts where you want them - off the floor and counter spaces. WOW! Arts and Crafts with no cleanup!
Healthy Treats
for dorm life!
Sending your child off to college has to be one of the hardest things a parent has to do. Will they succeed? Will they eat? Will they eat right? With the help of Harry and David, you can make sure they have healthy snacks in the dorm room with a fun care package. The Fresh Fruit Gift Basket is filled with bright and sunny fruits to brighten anyone’s day. Send this fresh fruit gift basket to someone who will benefit from an uplifting assortment of awesome tasty fruit, like your child who is off on their own for the first time. A good breakfast is an important way to start your day. Send the Sunrise Breakfast Tower to make sure your college student is starting their day off right!! The basket includes Original, Cinnamon Raisin, and Sourdough English Muffins, Classic Crumpets, Classic Currant Scone, White Chocolate Raspberry Scone, Apple Butter, and Tiffin Coffee!
Put a Label
on it!
When getting all of the supplies and new clothes ready for the first day of school, there is one thing you must do. Put a label on it! Let’s face it. Kids leave things behind and lose almost anything. By labeling all of your child’s things, you may be able to cut down on those lost items. The LabelWorks Iron-on Kit from Epson is a fun and easy way to create greatlooking iron-on labels. This full –featured kit includes a LabelWorks LW-300 Printer, 2 iron-on tape cartridges, and an application guide—everything you need to create personalized iron-on labels for school items, uniforms, sports jerseys, and more! Customize your label using a wide variety of fonts, symbols, and frames. Then easily print and cut your perfectly-sized label. The durable, machine-washable, iron-on labels can be applied to almost any fabric in just a few seconds. Take ordinary to extraordinary with the Epson LabelWorks Iron-on kit!
Achieve Success, With a child entering Kindergarten, I have a ton of questions. What are sight words? When is the best time to teach your child how to read? At what age do you introduce the multiplication tables? In a sea of information, it’s often hard to know exactly what your child should be learning. Flash Kids introduce key skills for each age and stage--and offer the guidance us parents need to help our children achieve success every step of the way. Flash kids was developed by educators with flashcards and workbooks that cover essential skills in a way that makes learning quick, easy, and, most importantly, fun! Flash Kids offers serious learning tools with a lively, lighthearted feel. Clear directions, charming art, and comprehensive answer keys allow children to work independently and with confidence. From the basics of colors and shapes to the complexities of long division, Flash Kids workbooks and flashcards introduce the skills your child must learn at every level.
Every Step of the Way! Another great hands-on learning resource is Wikki Stix. Virtually mistake-proof, Wikki Stix hands-on are a perfect teaching tool for the classroom or homeschooling. Ideal for tactile, hands-on learning from Pre-K through Middle school. Soft and pliable, Wikki Stix are easy for young fingers to use so they are an excellent preschool educational tool. The Early Learning Trio Set contain colorful individual cards for learning letter formations, basic shapes and numbers. There are great to reinforce basic skills and can be done anywhere!!
A lot of learning these days happens on tablets and handheld devices. The newest interactive title offered by LeapFrog, The Magic School Bus: Dinosaurs, encourages dinosaur fans ages 5-9 to think like scientists as they learn about prehistoric creatures.
After School
Fun!
Why should the kids have all the fun at school? Have some fun after school activities on hand so you can get in on the fun with them. Craft-a-Doodle: Wanting to unleash your inner artist? Using a simple doodle as a starting point, 18 artists take you on an inspirational, crafty journey! Filled with 75 inventive prompts designed to fuel the imagination! Flip Dolls and Other Toys: Why make an ordinary stuffed toy when you can sew irresistible creations that flip, zip, snap, stack, and move? Filled with wit, humor, and inventiveness, these delightful interactive playthings sometimes literally turn your expectations inside out. Wikki Stix After School Kit: Perfect for anyone looking to enhance their children’s educational growth while having fun!
Help Kids Stay
Germ-Free!
Get back to school with The Honest Company! Whether its dorm life essentials to keep that shared space clean or middle school musthaves that are non-toxic, Honest has the basics that any new student heading back to school needs. Hand Sanitizer Spray – Easy to store in a backpack, this all natural, no-rinse disinfecting spray for long-lasting antibacterial protectionis perfect anywhere, anytime! Bar soap – Scrub up and impress your new friends! Our 84% organic bar soap is made with luxurious coconut, olive argan oils that naturally moisturize condition & soothe skin. Nourishing, rich lather is available in 3 delightful scents. Multi-surface Cleaner - No college freshmen wants to be stuck cleaning after a night out! So enjoy the ease convenience of one product that tackles tons of surfaces! It cleans beyond compare leaves nothing behind but the fresh smell of grapefruit. Laundry Pods - Laundry piles up in college, but bottles of detergent don’t have to! These space saving pods are naturally cleaning, brightening, softening, & stainfighting with the power of plants and minerals in these handy pod. That means: No pouring. No spills. No worries. Just toss and wash! Wipes Travel Pack- Our unbeatable plant-based, all-purpose wipes in convenient 10-packs for all of your on-the-go needs! Perfect for life's unexpected messes.
Get Organized Back to School, as you know, is one of the most stressful and overwhelming times for parents as they prepare their families for the new school year. Springpad, the free personal assistant app that helps you remember what’s important and get things done, is the perfect app to get you prepared and stay on track all school year.
Real parents use Springpad everyday on the web and their smartphones and tablets to manage the details of family and school life, from outlining a week’s worth of school lunches to collaborating on projects with other students and parents. Check out more ways you can organize with Springpad at backtoschoolmonth.com.
for Back to School! One of the things I struggle with is staying organized. This school year, I decided to get the house in order before all the papers and books start coming in. Having a clean slate and things in their place will help make the start of the school year run smoothly. The Boon Stash is perfect for storing all those odd and ends that you can’t find a place for. From eating utensils to school supplies, the Stash will give you a place to put things! If your kids are anything like mine, you have a ton of stuffed animals laying around. Ask them to part with them? No way! You already know the answer to that one. The Boon Animal Bag is the perfect solution. Stash the stuffed animals in the bag and you have instant bean bag for their rooms! When you are done clearing all of the stuffed animals from their rooms, add a little fun with the Boon Glo! This multi-colored, interactive nightlight has removable, illuminated Glo balls that turn a night time game of catch into something extraordinary. The Glo is also a great way to ease kids to sleep so they get plenty of rest for school!
Get Excited for School We are big readers in our house. I am capitalizing on our love for books to get my oldest ready for school and, most importantly, Kindergarten. There are a ton of titles out there to get any kid in the mood for back to school! IMuddypaws Goes to School: It’s the first day of school, and Ben is all set to go. So is his lovable dog, Muddypaws! This beautifully illustrated and heartwarming tale of a boy and his sidekick is a great story for children in their own early school days; Ideal for ages 3-8. The Night Before Kindergarten: It's the first day of school! Join the kids as they prepare for kindergarten, packing school supplies, posing for pictures, and the hardest part of all—saying goodbye to Mom and Dad. But maybe it won't be so hard once they discover just how much fun kindergarten really is! Ideal for ages 4-8. Bunny Loves to Read: Children can learn to read along with Bunny and friends in this charming picture book ideal for beginning readers.
by Reading! Back to School Mallory: Summer is over and that can only mean one thing for eight-yearold Mallory McDonald—she has to go back to school. But not just any school, a new school with all new kids in it. Ideal for ages 7 and up. First Day Jitters: Everyone knows that sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach just before diving into a new situation. Sarah Jane Hartwell is scared and doesn't want to start over at a new school. She doesn't know anybody, and nobody knows her. It will be awful. She just knows it. Ideal for ages 5 and up. How Not to Start Third Grade: Will should be excited to start third grade. But his little brother, Steve, is starting kindergarten. School will never be the same! Ideal for ages 7-9. Animals Everywhere: From the depths of the ocean to the heart of the jungle, take an enthralling, close-up look at more than 100 animals as they swim, slink, fly, run, and roam! Ages: 4 and up.
About the
founder
Joey Fortman, founder and 15+ year radio/TV veteran created Real Mom Media to highlight life as a real mom. The good, the bad, and the dirty. She’s been seen on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Dr. Phil, The Talk, and more!
Real Mom Radio can be heard Sunday mornings at 7 am on 95.7 BEN FM where we highlight moms in and around Philadelphia.
www.realmommedia.com @joeyfortman