‘Tis the season to start budgeting for the holidays. This year, I’ll have the added expense of having a child in school. If you already have school-aged kid, you’ll probably relate to these some of these extras:

Last week, a notice came home asking for a donation for the school’s Christmas Fair: $10, plus the purchase of a baby item for a raffle basket.

Soon, the class mom will inform all of the parents about collecting for a holiday gift for the teacher and teacher’s assistant: $20 is usually the standard.

The kindergarten is putting on a holiday performance, and everyone is asked to wear a plain red turtleneck and black jeans… which we, of course, don’t already own. Continue reading…

Kindergarten is here for the Papandrea family — and there’s so much going on this month already! Meetings, pictures, daily homework, school events — I can hardly wait until next summer (did I just say that?). Actually, it’s just that I’m still in summer mode, something that my school mom friends say will never happen again. That’s because, Summer ‘09 was our last school break without summer homework assignments. As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, there is a lot more expected of grade schoolers these days, and apparently, that goes for summer vacation homework, too!

My friends with older kids are still recovering from the back-to-school procrastination-induced rush to help their kids finish those summer reading lists, projects, journals, and reports. In fact, they admit, it’s not just the children who put off their summer work — it was them, too! After all, they felt after a tough school year, they needed a break from homework patrol. And who could blame them?

I’m not saying kids should do nothing all summer. But I’m totally for being a little less regimented. The New York Times featured an interesting debate on this topic recently called “The Crush of Summer Homework,”

The pile of books and other vacation assignments appears to grow every year. Is all this homework beneficial or should children be given a break?

The piece goes on to feature opinions straight from top educators. Quite an interesting range of comments to say the least, from they need time to relax, to put them in school year-round. I fall somewhere in the middle.

For starters, I think summer reading is a great time to explore new books, but I don’t necessarily think those books should be assigned. The whole idea is to get children excited about reading, not to force them to read something they are not interested in. As a former English major, I do think certain books should be read by everyone, but exploring literature should be done with some guidance and accompanied by the type of discussion that could only take place during the school year.

I also think it’s unreasonable to expect the same volume of work to be completed over the summer as during the academic year. I don’t like to go on vacation and bring work with me, so why should my kids have to? But some schools assign in such a way that if you don’t work consistently all summer, you’ll fall behind and have to play catch-up in late August.

I can also remember being stressed out to get my book reports done, only to walk into school and have the teacher not even ask about or collect the summer assignments. How annoying is that? I was duped! Perhaps that’s when my anti-summer work sentiments first surfaced… Hmm…

On that note, I think it’s time to say goodbye to summer mode, and focus on helping my son make this kindergarten year a success.That is, as soon as I hear what you think about this topic!

Parents, please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy September!

-Dawn Papandrea

I can remember walking back and forth to school with the world’s heaviest backpack everyday. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you that it was uphill in the snow. But nevertheless, starting in about the second grade, I carried textbooks, workbooks, notebooks, a Trapperkeeper (remember those?), and other supplies on my little hunched over back. Our generation wasn’t concerned with “backpack safety” or “ergonomic” bookbags, and this is why the massage therapy industry is thriving today, thanks to our bad backs.

For our kids, though, backpack safety is all the rage, which is why every back-to-school season has news agencies reporting smart bookbag shopping tips and proper backpack carrying techniques. If you aren’t familiar with them, no worries — I did the homework for you and scoured for some of the best tips (ones that go beyond the obvious). Here goes…

First, the scary stat: In 2006, there were more than 7,300 backpack-related injuries in emergency rooms in the U.S., according to The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Pretty heavy stuff!

Now the tips:

I, for one, remember feeling very uncool if I wore my backpack on both shoulders, so I’d sling it over just one. Bad move!  Always have your child wear both straps, and select a bag that has extra padding for the shoulders. For what it’s worth, my right backpack-carrying shoulder plagues me to this day when I’m tense… coincidence?

Does your child walk home from school? If so, choose a backpack with reflectors on it so they are more visible to buses and cars.

Load the heaviest items closest to the student’s back to help distribute weight evenly. Good physics-related tip that makes sense, plus the more delicate items like their must-have Mott’s juice boxes won’t get crushed.

Now here’s some math for you: The 15% rule. A backpack should weigh less than 15 percent of a child’s body weight. So if your child is 50 pounds, the backpack should weigh no more than 7 pounds. Natually, you won’t be pulling out the scale every morning, but if your child has to carry an unreasonable amount of books everyday, speak with the teacher about a possible solution. Perhaps there are books that can stay in school or remain at home.

Look for extra compartments and side and front pockets to stow away pointy objects (rulers and compasses, for starters). But let your child know now to leave anything valuable in a pouch that can be opened behind their backs. When I was in grad school (and should have known better), someone stole my digital voice recorder by simply unzipping my bag while I looked the other way.

And, of course, my number one tip: Let your child choose a backpack that’s affordable for you, but also cool for them. After all, they’ll be hauling it all year, and it may feel less heavy with Spiderman or Hannah Montana on it.

So, moms, what is your child’s backpack of choice this year?

Things sure have changed since I was in grade school. Our kids are way smarter than we were, the opportunities are boundless, and don’t even get me started on the leaps and bounds of technology! As my oldest son J.J. gets ready to begin kindergarten, I’m so excited to relive those dear old golden school days through him. I hope you’ll come along with me to discuss school and education issues here at Motts’ More to the Core blog!

So who am I? I’m a mom of two boys (J.J., and my 4-month-old Dante, who already loves his applesauce!) and a blogger for ParentSociety.com. I’m also a freelance magazine writer who’s written for Parenting, Fit Pregnancy, Pregnancy, and American Baby, and more. In short, I learn something new about being a mom everyday! I’m also the managing editor of The CollegeBound Network, where I get to write about education. Here, I’ll get to write about kids and school, my two favorite things.