My kids have been back to school for nearly a month now and I still find myself struggling to get a handle on this routine. Abby's in 7th grade this year so that means she has ballgames and dances and social activities she didn't have last year and those always seem to hit me right upside the head and have me running around screaming like that kid in Home Alone. Plus Sam is in 5th grade this year - the first year of two really hard years at the kids' school. I have developed a theory that 5th and 6th grade are like boot camp for the Marines - they break them down, beat the tar out of them and teach them way more than they can process so that by 7th grade they are less likely to be sold to the gypsies by their exhausted parents who are tired of the tears (their and their child's).
All that being said, it's no wonder I feel like I could use some motherly advice. Oh, not from my mother (though hers is always helpful) but I mean for me as a mother. Mom Central came to the rescue and introduced us mom-bloggers to the MSN Homeroom website. The blog tour was set for two weeks, but with losing my Nana last week I didn't get to spend as much time as I would've liked prior to writing the review, however I have pored over the site as much as I could and bookmarked it so I can go back time and time again. You know, so I can avoid selling my kids to the gypsies as the school year continues.
I think what I liked most about the site was the brevity in all the videos and articles. We're MOMS - we don't have time to sit and read four page long articles and 30 minute videos sometimes what with all the taxi driving and homework checking we have to do! I was able to watch several little videos with great ideas and tips and because they're so short and to the point I could watch more in the limited times I had throughout the day. The moms on the site are professionals, too - an MD, a homeschooling stay-at-home mom, a child psychiatrist and a former Teacher of the Year. These gals knows their mom-ing!
There are forums for moms to bounce ideas off each other and while there seemed to be a lot of comments removed due to folks spamming or trying to advertise, the site managed to get them off kindly and quickly. I didn't participate in very many discussions, but read quite a few, gleaned a few great ideas including "ice cream and cake" for breakfast. I can't wait to try this one instead of our usual toaster pastries!
There are several topics on the site, including writing, attentiveness, giving back, and memory. All of them are relative to what moms and kids (and dads!) deal with on a daily basis. How nice to have a community to participate in discussions, gather ideas and then use the ideas to keep us from selling our kids to the gypsies - I mean, to make our children better citizens, better students and better people in general! Thanks Mom Central and MSN Mom's Homeroom!
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
