It’s a  wonderful back-to-school idea to start the new academic year off on a positive note while also reminding kids to be kind, generous, and thoughtful, especially towards those who invest time and energy into their wellbeing and futures! 

Grab your choice of cleaning supplies, print out and attach this gift tag I have for you below and there you have it! Feel free to print as many tags as you like depending on how many teachers are lucky enough to get a cleaning supply gift! 

More Back To School Inspiration

• 20 Pretty Back To School Supplies
• My Favorite Back to School Lunch Supplies
• 30 Non Sandwich Lunchbox Ideas

Back to School Cleaning Supply Teacher Gift with Free Printable

1. Print out the gift tag on cardstock. You can download the free printable with this link.
2. Cut out the tag around the outer border.
3. Punch a hole in the corner of the tag.
4. Attach the tag to the top of the cleaning supplies with the ribbon.

TIPS FOR MAKING CLEANING SUPPLY TEACHER GIFT

• Decorative ribbon, string or even an elastic band can be used to secure the gift tag on your cleaning supplies.
• If you don’t have ribbon or string on hand, you could also make use of double-sided tape to secure the tag on the cleaning supplies.
• While store-bought cleaning supplies are a convenient option, if you already make your own cleaning solutions at home or have a recipe you want to try, go right ahead and gift your homemade cleaning solution instead! It’ll add a personal touch while also appealing to those who are environmentally minded. 

Print

Back to School Cleaning Supply Teacher Gift with Free Printable

Grab your choice of cleaning supplies, print out and attach this gift tag I have for you below and there you have it! A great teacher gift!

Ingredients

• Printable gift tag
• Ribbon or twine
• Cleaning supplies

Instructions

• Print out the gift tag on cardstock.
• Cut out the tag around the outer border.
• Punch a hole in the corner of the tag.
• Attach the tag to the top of the cleaning supplies with the ribbon.

The post Cleaning Supply Teacher Gift Free Printable appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

5 Ways to Get Kids to Help with Spring Cleaning

Give Choices

Don’t assign spring cleaning chores to your kids, ask them which chores they want to do. Create a spring cleaning chore list that is kid-friendly. Place this list somewhere where your kids can pick a specific number of spring cleaning chores to do during your family spring cleaning event.

Offer Rewards

Some parents opt to offer incentives or some form of reward system to help get kids to help with spring cleaning. Since these chores may be up and beyond the kids regularly scheduled chores, you may want to offer some sort of reward system or incentive to get them moving and helping.

Age-Appropriate

When it comes to getting kids to help with spring cleaning, it’s important that you assign age-appropriate chores. If the chore is too tedious or extreme for a kids’ age then they’ll get more discouraged and frustrated which could make them give up completely.

Have a Blast

There’s something about the words “spring cleaning” that don’t sound like much fun, but this can be a fun event. Whether you set timers to challenge the family to get things done quicker or you make a game out of spring cleaning or play music and dance around, there are ways you can make this FUN.

Be Creative

Dusting can be done with a pair of socks. Cleaning windows can be done with a fun, kid-styled spray bottle. There are many creative adjustments you can make so that the kids have fun with their spring cleaning chores, such as using socks to dust.

If you’re going to be venturing into spring cleaning season with kids in tow, it’s important that you use my tips to help get those kids involved without any drama. The key to getting kids to help with spring cleaning is to require their assistance, allow them to have choices and make it fun for them. When you use my tips you’ll find that the kids are happy to assist in spring cleaning this year.

The post 5 Ways to Get Kids to Help with Spring Cleaning appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

Fearlessness originates from a feeling of skill. A shy youngster needs a positive and sensible impression of his or her capacities. This emerges out of accomplishments, both extraordinary and little. Your empowering words can help build up this confidence, particularly when you encourage your youngster’s particular endeavors or capacities. Here are the things, which you can do for the development of confidence in your kids.

How to build confidence in your shy child:

Love, it may seem obvious but it is the most important thing one can give to a child. A child needs to feel accepted and adored, start with the family and stretching out to different gatherings. Warm, lively and loving associations with your child will fill them with a feeling of being esteemed and acknowledged. This is a must for building up the internal identity and confidence required for collaborating with others.

Praising your child when it is due will fill them with a sense of achievement. This in turn will build enough confidence in them to try new things. There should always be realism in the praise. If your child is doing wrong then the effort should be praised but not the results. Teach them to accept imperfections. Telling your child that everything requires practice and effort would let them see the bigger picture but remember to not only tell but get involved as well. This might be all that is needed to help your shy child break free.

Setting Realistic Goals is important in the long-run. You should help your child set up goals that are doable and within the working boundaries of his capabilities. Help your child and encourage them to set reachable shorter goals. This will help a lot in boosting the confidence of your child after each successful completion of a shorter goal.    

Positive self-talk and self-love is an important factor in boosting one’s confidence. This behavior can be modeled into children by a few simple techniques such as playing positive affirmations in the background or simply getting into a routine of saying three positive things about themselves before they go to bed. Another way is by celebrating your success with your children talk about the hard work, skills, and endeavors that were required to accomplish those achievements. In a similar discussion, you can help your youngster to remember the skills the person has and how they can be created and utilized.

Sports and physical activities are a great self-esteem boost and a perfect way to make friends. They discover that they can rehearse, improve and accomplish objectives. They figure out how to perceive their qualities, acknowledge or fortify their shortcomings, handle rout, extend their friend network and learn cooperation. Another certainty boosting reward is that they remain fit and figure out how to regard their bodies.

The pursuit of one’s passion is must if a person wants to succeed by doing something which he loves. Everybody exceeds expectations at something, and it’s extraordinary when a child finds that special something. As a parent, regard and support your kid’s advantages, regardless of whether they intrigue you or not. When your child achieves something they are passionate about, be there number one fan.

That said, it is important to distinguish between an introvert child and a shy one as they are often confused. Remember that different children come with different personalities and all we can do as parents are to love and accept them.

We love to hear from you: Let us know a pro-tip you have for dealing with a shy child!

The post How to build confidence in your shy child appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

Sometimes in the teen years, it seems as if your children don’t have time for you anymore. They’re busy making their own way, learning what type of adults they are going to become, and school also adds a lot of pressure at this age. Work gets harder, there is pressure to spend time with friends, and after school activities. All of these things may have you, the parent, feeling like you’re not as connected to your teenager as you used to be when she was younger.

How to reconnect with your teen. 

• Take the time to listen. When we say listen, we mean really listen. Don’t try to put your own opinions into everything. Just remain open to what they have to say.
• Do something new together. Go rock climbing, try a new sport, or visit a new place together. Doing something new together as a pair can be a great way to bond.
• Don’t take it personally. If your teen pushes you away, didn’t share important info with you, or even yells and says she hates you, it’s not you. You can’t take it personally and you have to let it go. This means the teen is struggling with her tangled up emotions and she doesn’t know how to properly express them.
• Don’t pressure your teen to talk. No matter how great you think you are at listening, this can cause your teen to hold back, in order to preserve some of their own independence. Be available and ready to listen when he’s ready but give him space that he needs.
• Take time to do things your teen likes. Step out of your comfort zone if needed and spend some time doing things your teen likes to do.
• Turn off distractions. It sounds obvious but when you are with your teen, avoid distractions like TV, radio, or cell phones. Allow yourselves to have the time together and free of distractions and your teen might open up in new ways.
• Take time to repair past hurts. If you need to reconnect because something has severed the relationship between you and your teen, then stop and take some time to repair this damage before you try to be “friends” again. You can’t just pretend as if things never happened. You need to take time to work it out.

Now that you know these ways to reconnect with your teenager, you’re ready to get started today. They’re not getting any younger!

The post How to Reconnect with Your Teen appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

As parents, we have a natural tendency to make sure our kids are choosing the “right crowd” to hang out with. Sometimes, this tendency means we end up stepping over the line and choosing friends for them! Setting up playdates with specific kids might be a good strategy now, but it hinders your kid’s ability to make their own judgement when it comes to new friendships.

Teaching your kids about healthy friendships will teach your kids to choose their friends wisely, even if it means they will have to make a few mistakes along the way. I know it can be hard to let them do this on their own, but it will do wonders in the long run. Here is how you can teach your kids to choose their friends wisely, to help them develop healthy friendships.

Teach them values

Everyone has their own set of values and personal beliefs, some of which are developed as children. Your kids will likely learn many of these values from you, the parent, and from the people they interact with. Talk with your children about family values, and things you value, to help them understand and be able to see that same value in others. This will help them when choosing friends as it will allow them to know whether or not a potential friend has the same beliefs and values.

Share experiences with your children

Children lead by example, which means opening up to your children about experiences with your friends can help teach them valuable lessons. This can avoid some of the headaches of choosing bad friends down the road, and also help them learn without making the same mistake.

Allow your children to interact with a variety of children

Allowing your child to interact with a variety of potential friends will help them learn who they enjoy hanging out with. This will help them learn the meaning of being a good or bad friend, and be able to identify characteristics of both. It will also teach them that they can be friends with someone who is different from them, and the opposite as well.

Encourage healthy friendships

When your child develops healthy friendships, it’s important to express your approval. This means encouraging play dates or even driving them to the friend’s house from time to time. Your child will look to you often to try and figure out what you think of their friends, so it’s important to let them know when they’ve found a positive friendship.

It’s never too early to start teaching your kids how to choose friends wisely. As your child grows up, they’ll know the difference between a toxic and a healthy friendship with other children. Not only will this teach your children how to pick positive friendships, but it will also teach them what it means to be a good friend as well.

The post How to teach your kids to choose friends wisely appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

5 Common Feeding mistakes Parents Make and How to Fix Them

Feeding kids isn’t easy. You may be feeding a picky eater, a kid with special dietary restrictions, or maybe you are just feeling a lot of pressure to raise healthy kids. You may be guilty of making these feeding mistakes, but it’s not because you are a flawed parent. Up until now, you probably just didn’t have all the things you needed! It’s time to finally turn those terrible feeding habits into something positive! Here’s how to do it.

Mistake 1: Bothering your kids while they’re eating

Did you know that 80% of parents control their child’s food intake at mealtime? When parents try to get their kids to eat more or less, they are teaching their kids not to listen to their natural instincts and teaching them bad eating habits. This can encourage eating when they aren’t hungry, and even sneaking food.

How can you fix this?

As a parent, your job is to decide what, when, and where your children will eat, but leave the how much and whether or not to eat up to your kids. This teaches your kids to learn the signs of when they are full and when they are still hungry.

Mistake 2: No meal structure

When there is no rhyme or reason to when kids get to eat, they are learning to eat out of habit and not out of hunger. This is keeping your kids from learning what hunger means, and can sometimes impact how much your child eats at mealtimes.

How can you fix this?

Structure meals and snacks at designated places and times such as the kitchen or dining room and at set times. When children want to leave after not eating much, remind them that they will have to wait until the next meal time and when it is.

Mistake 3: Alternative meals

We’ve all been there. It’s dinnertime and everyone is happily eating, except for one who refuses to eat. As a worried mom, we tend to whip up something for that child in case they don’t like the mealtime choice tonight. Children will learn to eat food with variety over time. When alternative choices are available, that is teaching your child to eat only a very small window of foods because they know another option will be waiting.

How to fix this?

Ask for input from the family when making meals, and stick with just one meal at dinner time. Allow variety with plated dinners and buffet style meals where your kids are able to serve themselves from time to time as well.

Mistake 4: Forcing vegetables on your kids

Every parent is worried that their kids aren’t eating enough fruits and veggies. Some even go to great lengths to get their children to eat their vegetables. 70% of young children are sensitive to some of the compounds that make up vegetables, and this will decrease over time. When we push vegetables on our kids, they learn to hate it and will be less likely to like them over time.

How to fix this?

Offer a variety of vegetables frequently and in a variety of different ways such as smoothies, salads, dips, etc without the pressure to eat them.

Mistake 5: Fixing behaviors that aren’t broken

Parents have a tendency to jump the gun when it comes to food-related behavior. Picky eating and wanting to eat what friends are eating are all part of normal food-related behaviors that children adopt as they get older. These “errors” shouldn’t be fixed during early childhood.

How to fix this?

Be prepared for each food stage in your child’s life and be flexible, and don’t take it personally. Be a good role model, and learn to work with your children.

Parents can become fearless feeders with the right tools! With these helpful tips, you’ll avoid making these food mistakes and teach your children to be healthy eaters as they grow.

The post 5 common feeding mistakes parents make and how to fix them appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

5 ways to make your child feel loved

Parenting is the toughest gig out there! I’m by no means the picture of perfection when it comes to parenting. Sometimes I don’t spend enough time with my kids, or stick them in front of the TV so I can get things done. It happens to all of us! Despite all the difficulty that comes with parenting, there is only one thing you need to worry about. Does your child feel loved? If the answer is yes, then you’re not doing so bad right? It’s easy to get caught up in disciplining, teaching, and caring for them that we forget to provide them with love and nurturing. Whether you have a toddler or an adult, it’s important to make sure your kids feel loved. I’m sharing with you 5 ways to make your kids feel loved no matter what their age is!

Spend one on one time together

One of the best ways to make your child feel loved is by spending quality one on one time with them. This is especially important if you have more than one child! If that’s the case, your kids probably don’t get to spend a lot of time with just you or your spouse. Take your child on a mommy or daddy date for the day just the two of you. This is a fun way to spend time together, and your children will love it!

Write them a note

If you don’t have a lot of extra time on your hands, or you just want to make a small gesture, writing your children little notes are a great way to show them how much you care! It’s even better if they’re not suspecting it! Leave them a little handwritten note in their backpack or lunch before school, or on the mirror in the bathroom. It’s easy to do and only takes a few minutes.

Sit down and talk with them
When your kids get home from school, set out time to just sit and talk with them about their day. Questions such as “how was your day?” probably aren’t going to get you very far. You’ll be lucky if you get anything more than good or it was okay. Ask them specific questions such as “who did you play with at recess?” or “who did you eat lunch with?” After a long day at school, they might not remember every little detail which makes this perfect! Your children will feel like you really want to hear about their day, and will be excited to share the juicy details!

Let your kids pick
Whether it’s the music in the car or what to have for dinner, letting your kids decide things for a change can be a big gesture. Sometimes their voices are the last to get heard, which can make them feel like their opinions don’t matter. When planning your meals for the week ask them for any special requests, or ask them to give input on family vacations.

Allow occasional special days
Special days don’t have to be anything fancy. It can just mean an extra hour to play before bedtime, or no chores that day. Whatever you choose for the special day, it will make your kids excited, guaranteed! Our kids look forward to Saturdays because we let them stay up one hour later!

You don’t have to spend tons of time or money in order to make your children feel loved and special. Just spend a little time listening to what they have to say, and look for ways to make them feel important.

The post 5 Ways to Make Your Child Feel Loved appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

Back to school season is here! Which means it’s also time to take our kids shopping for back to school. I love going shopping with my girls and picking out adorable folders and binders. Get your girls ready for back to school with these 20 pretty back to school supplies that every girl needs for a successful school year.

20 Pretty Back to School Supplies

1. Get it Together Backpack
2. 17 Month Classic Agenda
3. Kate Spade Gold Pen Set
4. Flamingo Pencil Case
5. Doodlebox
6. Lilly Pulitzer Sticky Note Set
7. Wire Tape Dispenser
8. Patterned Wirebound Notebooks
9. Glass Bottle Office Supply Set
10. Thermal Lunch Box
11. To Do List Notepad
12. Women’s Compliment Pencil Set
13. Palm Leaf Coffee Mug
14. Sharpie Writing Set
15. Gold Foil Adhesive Tabs
16. Panda Stapler
17. Lilly Pulitzer Agenda Bonus Pack
18. Pink Scientific Calculator
19. Fashion Three Ring Binders
20. Butterfly Back to School Set

NEVER MISS A ROCKSTAR MOMMY POST! SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AND RECEIVED

THE 10 TRAITS OF A ROCKSTAR MOMMY FOR FREE!

The post 20 Pretty Back to School Supplies appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

What to Do When Your Kid Hates Math

Does your child whine or complain when it’s time to do math homework? Is he getting lower grades in math than in other subjects at school? Math has a bad reputation among children, but there are a number of things you can do to help your child enjoy it a little more. Here are some tips on what to do when your kid hates math.

Help a Struggling Child

If your child is frustrated with math because she has a hard time understanding what she’s being taught, it may be ideal to consider ways to help her understand. You may need to spend more time helping her during homework hours. Helping her understand what she’s learning can make her dread the subject a little less. You may even want to see if her teacher can provide extra homework sheets to help her learn. Another option is to hire a tutor.

Make Math More Interesting

Many children hate math because they find it to be a boring subject. Think of new ways you can make math more interesting. Use fun examples to illustrate the lessons your child is learning. Using an actual pie or a pizza pie can help your child have more fun while doing fractions, for example. Computer games can also make the subject more fun.

Use Math in Real Life Settings

When you use math in real life settings, it can make it more fun for your child. It can also stress the importance of math. Think of ways to encourage your child to use math in the real world. If your child is learning about money in math class, why not take him to the store and have him count money to pay for the item? You can help your child learn more about measurements by cooking or baking together.

Set Realistic Expectations

Some children may feel like they are under a lot of pressure to do well in math. Unfortunately, no matter how hard your child tries, it may be a subject in which she will never earn straight A’s. If she does her homework and makes an effort to study but still does poorly on tests, it’s important to be understand that math simply isn’t her strongest subject. Be sure to praise and reward her for any positive improvements she makes to her grades.

While there’s no way to force your child to love math, there are steps you can take to help him not dread it quite as much. It may not ever be your child’s favorite subject in school, but making the subject more interesting and helping a struggling child understand math better may make the subject less dreaded.

Never miss a post of a Rockstar Mommy Tip!

The post How to Help When Your Kid Hates Math appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.

Rain is lovely, but for kids not so much because a lot of the times it means that they can’t go out and play. They have to stay inside all day and it to them it feels like they have nothing to do. Well, have no fear because I have some great activities for kids on rainy days, things that will make their day a lot better, the fun doesn’t have to end just because it is raining.

Activities for Kids on Rainy Days

Baking

Kids absolutely love to help out in the kitchen and a rainy day is a perfect time to let them. Sit down with them and let them pick out something they would like to bake be it cookies or brownies (something fairly easy so they can help out quite a bit). If they end up picking something like a cake or sugar cookies, something that can be decorated that is even better because it gives them something else to do. I don’t know a kid who doesn’t love to decorate cookies. You don’t have to be limited just to deserts, though, you could make a homemade pizza or anything really, there is no limit.

Fashion Show

Let them throw their own fashion show! They can put together their own looks with dress up clothes they have or their own clothes. If you want to get really creative though you could let them design their own clothes out of materials like newspaper, trash bags, coffee filters, etc. There is no doubt they would have a blast with this one.

Paint

Since it is summer you could have them paint some flower pots that they can plant something in on a sunny day. You could also have them paint rocks that they can use to decorate the garden when it isn’t raining. If you wanted to you could also go and buy some pre-made birdhouses for them to paint and decorate or you could cut up some vegetables like potatoes and let them go crazy on some sheets of construction paper making prints. Trust me when I say kids could paint all day long.

Games

Yea you could play some board games you have in the game closet or instead you could let your kids come up with their own. All they will really need is a large piece of construction paper, drawing/coloring utensils, and their imagination. This will keep them occupied for a few hours especially if you let them have complete creative control. Then once they are done you can all sit down and play.

Go Outside

Who says you have to be stuck inside on a rainy day! Sometimes it is nice to go for a little walk and enjoy the cool rain, especially after a hot summer day. You could take your little one on a walk and splash in some puddles, get them a pair of rain boots, a nice raincoat, and their very own umbrella for walks in the rain.

There are so many activities for kids on rainy days, these are just a few of the abundant amount but these are definitely some of the best. Either way, keeping your kids busy on a rainy day doesn’t have to be hard and they can have just as much fun as they would if it were a sunny day. So now you are prepared come the next time there is a rainy day. Have you done any of these activities with your kids on a rainy day before? Do you have any that aren’t on this list? Let me know in the comments!

The post Activities for Kids on Rainy Days appeared first on The Rockstar Mommy.