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Laminator Update

MeckMom — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:55:55 +0000

So it appears that Wal Mart no longer carries the cool little laminator that I mentioned in my last post. Sorry to have led you guys astray. Although I can’t seem to find that particular laminator on any other site, I did a little research last night and found a few good alternatives. Both of them are under $50 and received good consumer reviews. I’ll post the links for you below. If you’re in the market for laminating supplies, you may want to check out the pouch prices at laminator.com. They’re 3 for the price of 2 deal on laminating pouches is a steal. Much better than the price I’d been getting at Wal Mart and Sams. Just thought I’d pass it on.

Laminator.com
LM910 Pouch Laminator – 9 inch Pouch Laminator
$49.00

Factory-Express.com
Fellowes Mars ML-95 Pouch Laminator
$39.95

Cheap, Reliable Home Laminator

MeckMom — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:35:27 +0000

Sorry for the long delay in posting. There’s nothing like cramming a birthday party, back to school, and a baptism all into one week to make you fall behind in your posts.

Last week I received a great little email from Arian regarding my home laminator. For years I thought a home laminator was out of my range. After countless trips to the teacher supply store to laminate my stuff, I finally decided it might be worth the investment. Thankfully, before I forked out the $150 I was planning to spend, I came across this little wonder.

Made by Duck brand, this inexpensive heat laminator is perfect for home use. It’s small, lightweight, and folds up on itself for easy storage. I found it at Wal Mart for under $30. I bought mine a few years ago, but last time I checked, they still had them in stock. The laminator’s instructions recommend using their laminating sheets (available in packs of 25 at Wal Mart for around $7). However, I’ve tried it with several different types of film and it seems to work well with all of them.

I’ve used my laminator for tons of different projects around the house. It’s kind of addictive, actually. Trust me, once you make a simple sheet of paper toddler-proof, it’s tough to stop. So far, my little laminator has held up fabulously; well worth the $30. Just thought I’d pass it on. Thanks for the great question, Arian.

If you’ve got a question you’d like to throw my way, please feel free to email me. I’m no expert, but I seem to stumble through most organizing dilemmas sorta-successfully. You can find the link on my About Me page.

Back to School Planner for Kids

MeckMom — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 05:56:54 +0000

Keeping track of your kids activities and school schedules can be an overwhelming challenge. My solution? Take the pressure off yourself by helping your kids do it on their own. In our house my kids use their fridge planners to keep track of all their weekly to-dos. When I posted this idea early on in my blog only my oldest daughter was in school. Now that all three of my kids have schedules to manage I reworked the original idea and created a smaller, more versatile version. I added lots of new icons to accommodate their changing activities and moved the velcro strips to the back so I could fit all three on the front of the fridge easily. I’ll list the original post description as well as the new downloads below.

During the morning rush to get the kids off to school, I found myself checking multiple papers to find out what was happening that day. Did we need to pack library books or p.e. shoes? Is it a hot lunch day or do I need to pack a lunch? Does she need to bring her girl scout vest or ballet shoes? Some things were on the calendar and some were tacked up on the fridge. I felt like I was wasting time that I couldn’t spare, so I created this weekly planner to help my first grader manage her own schedule.

It’s a very simple velcro system. On it I list the days of the week Monday through Saturday. I created icons in MS Word (you should be able to adapt them easily) for each of my daughter’s usual activities and color coded the titles for easy sorting. Under each day on the chart, I’ve added a strip of velcro that can hold three icons. The first icon shows what’s happening at school that day (art, library, pe, music, computer). The second icon shows what type of lunch she’s having (cold or hot). The third icon shows reminders and afterschool activities (test, homework, gymnastics, etc.).

Usually, on Sunday night at family council we’ll gather all the various calendars and reminders and my daughter will arrange the icons on her chart. She’ll also use this chart to help her know what clothes to put in her under-bed clothes organizer. For example, if she sees that she’s got PE on Tuesday, she knows that she needs to pack an outfit that will work tennis shoes.

We post this “planner” on the fridge so she can see it each morning when she’s getting dressed and packing her backpack. It has made a huge difference in our morning routine. I’ll also use it throughout the week when her teacher sends home reminders and other info. I think this one will stick with us for several years. Just thought I’d pass it on.

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