Back to School

It's that time of year, back to school. Both my nieces are going to new schools this year, my eldest nice will be in middle school! I can't believe it...

I sent both the girls an email wishing them luck on their first day and reminding them not to be afraid to say "hi" to someone they don't know and try to make new friends.

My sister sent me photos of the girls leaving for their first day - they're so grown up! I spoke with Hannah tonight to find out how her first day of middle school went. She told me all about finding her classes in a much bigger school than she's used to, what her schedule is like and that she's taking Spanish for the first half of the year, then she'll be taking French.

I remember middle school as game changing. Suddenly there were cliques and the desire to fit in - making that adjustment isn't easy. I look back at my own junior high experience and hope that Hannah's is better than mine was. I know its all part of growing up, I just hope she will be strong and confident and that she'll remember: no matter what, remember who you are!

If you're far away from your niece or nephew on their first day, have mom or dad send you a picture as they leave for school in the morning! Send them a care package for back to school! It doesn't have to be packaged in a nice gift basket, just pick up a flat rate box from your local post office and fill it with the school supplies they'll need and a note for your favorite niece/nephew!

Staying in Touch

As you know, I’m always looking for ways to stay connected to my two young nieces who live 400 miles away. I tried the pen-pal thing but it flopped – they’re forgetful when it comes to writing back! I periodically send care packages with games, books and activities. In the springtime I sent a whole box full of things to encourage them to enjoy the great outdoors: jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, water bottles (BPA free of course!) and even a soccer ball! But one of the greatest tools has been the more technologically advanced options: email and Skype.

While hand written letters and postcards are nice, it’s so easy to send my nieces a little electronic note to not only keep in touch with what’s happening in their lives but to share things happening in my life as well.

Skype has been a great way to interact. Because of Skype, I got to see my youngest niece, “Bailey” perform the latest dance she learned. But even Skyping can be difficult to do when we all get caught up in our day-to-day lives. It seems that setting up regular Skype "dates" might be the way to go.

Another fun way to stay in touch is through something like "Kinect" that will allow you to play games together. Unfortunately this isn't an option for me, I have Xbox, they have Wii. I've been searching online for age-appropriate games that we can play together but haven't had any luck so far. If you know of any online games that have this capability, please leave a comment, I'd love to know about it!