The school year FLEW by and my twins are officially be FIRST GRADERS. What?! Where did time go? I am not gonna lie: this summer is going to be a rough one...but I'm ready!  Library here we come!

One Month Into Kindergarten! {Plus: Our Simple Homework Station}

Well, we've made it through the first month of kindergarten with the twins!  The girls are enjoying their experience so far and our routine is pretty established.  Are they exhausted after a full day of school? YES!  Do they wake up like beams of sunshine every day? NO!  But all in all, we're doing pretty well.

One of my biggest concerns was the twins being in the same class.  I was afraid they would cling to each other and not branch out.  I was SO wrong!  They (somehow) barely spend time together!  Maddie has a new best friend that she talks about non-stop.  When we walk up to the school, I hear kids calling "Maddie! Olivia!".  It makes me feel so much better that they are liked...isn't that every parent's fear?  Olivia has quite a few friends she talks about and quite a few BOYS she seems to like.  She had to wear her Ninja Turtle shirt to soccer last Sunday to show a certain boy.  Uh-oh....

It is shocking how much they are learning already.  They are already reading many popcorn words (common sight words) and they are spelling like crazy. I'm sure by Christmas time they will be asking for many books to read! Part of their homework is to read for 20 minutes a day.  I like to have them look at their take-home books for about 10 minutes and the rest of the time is when I read out loud to them at night.  

One thing I HIGHLY recommend is setting up a homework station basket to stay organized.  At first, we tried composition notebooks to practice numbers, letters and words, but I found some great dry erase boards at Walmart for 75 cents.  They are working out MUCH better!  While you can buy number and letter flash cards, I just made my own with index cards to quiz the girls.  Since they are in school until almost 4, I really don't want them to spend the rest of their day doing homework and sitting down, so we just quickly go through their take-home folders after snack time to see what needs to be worked on.  

To wind down at night, I've introduced chapter books.  I'm so excited to start sharing some of my childhood favorites with the girls!  Gabby does get a bit restless, so I usually start off with a picture book. We started off with Junie B. Jones, which the girls seem to love. After two books, I've grown a bit tired of Junie, so we've moved on to others.  One new find we're loving (thanks to an Instagram recommendation!) are the Magic Tree House books.  We're halfway through Dinosaurs Before Dark and they are a perfect introduction to adventure books for kindergarten age and up. Final series we've jumped into are the Ramona books, I'm hoping to show them the movie when we're done! I love getting the e-books from the library so we can read them on the iPad/Kindle on the go! 

Number one thing I've learned so far about full day kindergarten is that rest is important.  Your child is going through a LOT at once and they will need extra snuggles and rest to cope.  Our bedtime is between 7:15-7:30 and the twins crash!  On weekends, as hard as it is, I try to keep the errand running to a minimum.  I let them play to their hearts desire all weekend and even attempt to squeeze in naps, if possible.  

Another lesson learned: keep lunches simple.  At our school, they have 20 minutes to eat...which really isn't much for little ones.  Maddie is a super slow eater, so I've had to play around with the perfect amount of food to send so she'll actually eat. Hot lunch is something we only do occasionally, especially since Maddie seems to not enjoy it.  

How's school going for you so far? Any books you can recommend?

Let's Talk Lunch + #RockTheLunchBox Giveaway!

This post was created in partnership with Stonyfield. All opinions are my own.

We've almost made it through our first week of kindergarten for the twins!  Woohoo!  The biggest challenge so far for the girls has been listening.  Go figure!  Also, I need to learn how to pack the perfect amount of food in their lunches so they have time to eat it all.  Since they're there from 8:55-3:55, I want to make sure their bellies are full!

I asked the girls to draw their ideal lunch on Monday before school started and it was interesting what they came up with.  I thought for sure there would be a cookie added to their list.

Maddie had an emphasis on fruit, since she is going through a "I don't like chicken" phase.  I wouldn't be shocked at all if she became an vegetarian when she gets older.  They are loving the Honest Kids juice boxes we found at Target. I just freeze them overnight and they are like a little ice pack in their lunchboxes!  Another item that is great to freeze: YoKids yogurt pouches.  One major plus is they are easy for the kids to open by themselves in the lunchroom.

Olivia had basically the same ideas with fruit, but she also wanted a BIG turkey sandwich.  She even said that she can eat Maddie's sandwich at lunch if she doesn't want it.  One request: Annie's Bunnies--any flavor. 

Every year, Stonyfield and other companies we love join together for #RockTheLunchbox.  They offer amazing lunchbox ideas and great coupons!  I don't know if I have time to be creative everyday, but I love the inspiration to think outside of the box while providing the twins with healthy lunch options!

I have a fun giveaway so YOU can also join in on the fun!  You can win a prize pack from Stonyfield, which includes FREE product coupons, a Bento box and other goodies to make your lunchboxes ROCK!  Just enter below!


Rock the Lunchbox