Green Moms Carnival :: Back To School

This month’s carnival is coming on September 8th. My fellow green mom’s and I are sharing our views on Back To School Mama Bird at Surely You Nest is our lovely host.

What could I contribute to this broad topic?

As a seasoned mom with my son in college and my daughter in her last year of HS, back to school has a feeling of memory lane. It never changes how stressful back to school time is. In the beginning no one personally prepared me for huge outlay of cash, the emotional transition or the politics of the school environment. As early even as pre-school I found myself completely overwhelmed and wondered – do all mom’s feel like this ?

These themes prevailed.

Refined White Sugar - I am stunned at how in the classroom sugar, mostly in the form of candy, is used for incentives, rewards and as a snack. I was the mom banging her head on the could we bring vegetables or fruit for the kids instead brick wall. I decided to lead by example and when it was our turn to bring a snack we brought fresh popped popcorn and apple cider. Or I’d bring in apples and peanut butter. Yes I also brought in vegetables.

We didn’t do class treats at birthday time we painted faces instead ( always disrupting the class ( giggle ) and always creating a great opportunity for a group picture memento )

I have a great friend who instead of wincing when hot dogs were served she’d glide along to each child’s plate and tuck in a chewable vitamin C, that way the C could offset the nitrates in the hot dogs and not destroy the kids GI Track!

The say no to sugar campaign is very important, the attitude of what’s the big deal prevails and the lack of knowledge about hidden sugars in foods is huge. If it’s important to you, share how you feel.

Moderation prevails. Choice offers options. I like to wonder what if we just didn’t eat any sugar at all ?

In our world we are not perfect in this arena however compared to most we are often told how weird we are!

Consumerism – our first year of school I was oblivious to the mad dash for all things new in relationship to back to school. I didn’t budget for it. Didn’t get it. When I was handed the list and saw how prepared the other kids all were, how spiffed up everyone was, I thought goodness I better get with the Joneses.

New back pack, shoes, haircut, school clothes, school supplies, fresh under ware and socks while we are at it. NEW everything. Don’t forget the teacher gifts, the stash of snacks on hand so you’re completely ready when it’s your turn. Etc. My then husband about flipped his lid. Yet at this time of the year this is what everyone did. They buy, buy, buy! While I can relate to him flipping out over the expense of it all, I felt like it was a time of year when these expenses and purchasing occurred. Quit complaining about it and next time be prepared.

Over the years there are a few things I did differently. I would buy new shoelaces instead of new shoes, I’d get the haircut before school started vs right when school started. I’d buy school supplies throughout the year – buy 2 when they were on sale and create a stash. I’d get a few new t-shirts, vs a whole new wardrobe. If I could buy resale I would and a bunch of us moms did a a clothing trade one year and shared our hand me downs

I’d wash the back pack. Buying a quality back pack from a company like LL Bean has been a godsend. If a zipper breaks they replace it. I basically have bought one good back pack per child over all these years thanks to LLBeans 100% guarantee.

If the jeans had reached a point of no return then I’d replace one pair. I’d buy cider in the fall at it’s best price and have that on hand throughout the year. I saved, the envelope method, for back to school fees through out the year. That way I wasn’t scrambling and pulling from my grocery money.

I know that green efforts are in fashion right now and the search is on for the most perfect green pencil, notebook or binder. I am not sold. We currently buy pencils that write well and last, I am not going to buy or search for the perfect 100% recycled notebook only to find they come in one subject vs three, when the needs of my daughter are for a 3 subject notebook. If you pay more for a high quality binder with a front insert, you can reuse it and deck it out with a binder collage, we switch ours out every year! I am most certainly not going to shop from one store to the next for the best price for a pearl eraser. It’s a waste of gas and a waste of my time. I sincerely hope however that this type of purchasing evolves. I’d prefer to spend my money with companies trying to make a difference

The point for me and most importantly is what do we really need, what can we reuse, and what can we say no to. The saying no part is the hardest, yet I can assure you it’s pretty powerful when you do

Involvement - Back in the early 90’s I was the say no to sugar, save the earth, this school is really toxic mom. In my neighborhood and at that time I was barking up the wrong tree. In the beginning I alienated everyone around me with my different notions about things and zeal. Alot of good opening my mouth did me then. What I found again was that I could lead by example. I’d host events and serve water and use glasses vs paper products. I’d print on both sides of the paper when sharing a report. I’d walk to meetings. I built my reputation as a volunteer by being reliable, credible and creative. I soon earned a different reputation. I have 14 years of involvement that I am very proud of. While this project eventually fizzled I did implement a pilot program in the grade schools of our entire district implementing a non-toxic germicide to clean in the classroom. The results of that project showed a dramatic decrease in absences simply by keeping the classroom clean. How cool is that. Over the years I realized that certain crowds of people had influence in school decisions. While I didn’t appreciate that, I found if I wanted to be part of influence and decision making I had to not alienate the crowd. My patience for this did eventually wane. Politics, school politics especially, often left a sour taste in my mouth. I am careful what I involve myself in simply because I don’t want to be the punching bag for some one else’s agenda. Sad to say, but true.

Keeping Organized – In the beginning my kitchen counter had stacks and stacks of notes from school, calendars and who knows what else. It was a nightmare. I got savvy at managing this. Each child got a mega magnetic clip on my fridge and I’d arrange important papers with things to remember by date/per child. When the date went by that paper would go in our paper drawer for drawing, pr
ojects or grocery lists. If it was printed on two sides it was recycled.  I use this system to this very day and it works really well. Each child also got their own bulletin board. Things of merit, beauty or seasonal items were hung on this board and it was an always evolving project. This saved the clutter on my fridge as well as the decor of my home – only what fit on the bulletin board got hung and thumbtacks were reusable. Finally those large paintings on newsprint, make really awesome wrapping paper.

Taking Care of Me – How many of you know a mom who puts her children before herself more than necessary and ends up becoming a complete train wreck? We all try and keep an even keel, keep it cool as we posture ourselves on the school playground. One particular transition year I was beyond train wreck, I was a deplorable mess. Panicked, desperate, struggling fiscally and emotionally. A remarkable woman approached me, gave me a hug and said hey do you need help? It’s OK for you to ask. My pride wanted to somehow find my own way but that year I could not do it alone. The school, the mom’s reached out to my family and I and it was incredible.

Asking for help takes courage. With the limited resources I had I additionally did two things for me. I exercised and I ate clean. Vegetables, Fruits, whole grains etc These rebuilding habits eventually brought me my emotional and physical strength back. Fostering that example for my kids had them see what it actually takes to come out on top. I was supermom!!

remember marbles? flickr image credit

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition, Weight Loss, and Green Clean

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10 Comments

Diane MacEachern

Posted September 2, 2008 at 6:37 pm | Permalink

Thanks for such a comprehensive post! I especially like your reminder to take care of yourself through healthy eating and exercise. That’s part of my mantra, too. And we’re in total sync on the buy less/buy smarter mantra. To get my kids off my back, I give them some of the budget to spend themselves, so they need to figure out how to buy what makes sense given the money they have. They’re smarter — and greener — when they’re spending their own money!
Karen Hanrahan

Posted September 2, 2008 at 8:13 pm | Permalink

Diane, it’s wonderful to have you here and to find others that are like-minded.
Beth Terry

Posted September 2, 2008 at 9:19 pm | Permalink

Hi Karen. This is my first visit to your blog. I really enjoyed this post, and while I don’t have kids and am not freaking out about “back to school” right now (hurray!) I can definitely relate to feeling overwhelmed, having too much to do, and needing to give ourselves a break. Thanks for your practical wisdom.Beth
Karen Hanrahan

Posted September 2, 2008 at 10:32 pm | Permalink

Beth, welcome and thank you ever so much for your comment. I am delighted that I could provide you with some insight to the mommy sector and why so many of us look so bleary this time of year. I guess you don’t have to have kids to feel a sense of overwhelmedness!
MamaBird/SurelyYouNest

Posted September 5, 2008 at 1:51 am | Permalink

OK, I totally love the vitamin C-in-the-hotdog trick. Totally going to be using that one. Also agree 100% on buying what you really need of good quality — regardless of the time of year. I’m so glad that you were able to accept help and that you had such a supportive community. You’re right that we moms don’t often care for ourselves as much as we should. Thanks for all of your sage advice!
Karen Hanrahan

Posted September 5, 2008 at 5:25 am | Permalink

Mama Bird,
You’re very welcome.
We need to remind each other I think that if mom is well – her family is too!
If I can be a source for those chewable C’s please let me know.
Back in the late 80’s ( you know the dark ages ) we really didn’t have the nitrate free choices we do today. Not that all folks choose nitrate free! I agree that the Vitamin C trick is a good one to have on hand
Michelle

Posted September 8, 2008 at 12:35 pm | Permalink

I enjoyed reading this. I’m considering home schooling! Had been already anyway My friend said her children are felt out of the loop when everyone else has on a sponge bob or hannah montana t-shirt and they don’t even watch tv.
MC Milker

Posted September 8, 2008 at 12:53 pm | Permalink

Excellent tips! I can imagine the challenges you faced. It’s a little easier these days but I’m still caught of guard by the consumerism. We also bought a well made, no commercial characters backpack, but…was I supposed to get his haircut? Oh.
Karen Hanrahan

Posted September 8, 2008 at 2:19 pm | Permalink

Thank you. I know many who home school and envy the mom’s who have that level of commitment. Me? I would have not managed it so well. My kids ” uniqueness” was best fostered in a public school environment. I did move to a school district that was top notch and with 2 kids college bound I can’t begin to say how impressive the entire experience was for them.
Karen Hanrahan

Posted September 8, 2008 at 2:22 pm | Permalink

Oh you are too funny! Yes, the fresh haircut is part of the back to school churn!! We definitely thought that in the beginning anyway . One must “look” all put together. Being caught off gaurd by the consumerism is a perfect way to describe it

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