Set Your Kids Up For Their Best School Year Yet

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Set Your Kids Up For Their Best School Year Yet

It’s that time of year, parents! As much as Bobby and I love all the family trips, movie nights and beach days with our kids, starting a new school year is its own special time. Is there any mom out there who doesn’t get a little excited at the prospect of buying new backpacks and pencils? When I was a kid, back-to-school shopping was so much fun! I was always so excited for the new school year to begin! And now, I love making it just as fun for my kids! To kids, the new school year is like New Year’s Eve: the chance to start fresh! That’s why this year, we partnered with Amazon to celebrate a Happy School Year!

We’re even creating School Year’s Resolutions with the kids: goals to help them have the most positive and productive experience this year. They came up with some amazing ideas that you might want to try with your own little scholars!

The average family spends $700 in school supplies every year, adding up to $80 billion in annual sales!

Roman’s School Year’s Resolution: Learn to Speak Italian

Italian? Sì, grazie! As an Italian, it’s important to me that my kids know their heritage. This includes learning some of the language. I leaned Italian in school, back in New York, and I’ve sent Roman to Italian school, but I hope that they’ll all learn. Maybe one day they’ll teach it to their kids! One of Roman’s resolutions was to learn more Italian words and phrases—I’m such a proud mama! Amazon sent us a few things to help out: “Cool Kids Speak Italian” for the older kids and “Let’s Learn Italian Picture Dictionary” for Baby Brody! It’s a great starting point for my littlest and all the colorful pictures are sure to keep his attention while he’s learning!

Studies show that there are multiple benefits of learning a new language. These include higher scores on standardized exams in math, reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Jackson’s School Year’s Resolution: Become a Better Reader by Reading Literary Classics

Walt Disney once said, “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” In my house, we’re big readers, but I love when my kids push themselves to try more complex literature. This year, Jackson’s resolution was to improve his reading skills by reading some literary classics, and Amazon sent over some great ones! “Charlotte’s Web,” “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” “James and the Giant Peach” and “A Wrinkle in Time” were all added to his must-read list this year. These are some of the most beautiful children’s books ever written. I love sharing what was once such a huge part of my childhood with my kids.

In the book “The Wonderful Wizard of OZ,” Dorothy is given “silver shoes with pointed toes.” The color was changed for the 1939 movie because the filmmakers thought that ruby red looked better in Technicolor.

Family School Year’s Resolution: Improve Time Management Skills!

My oldest boys (okay, and me) wanted to focus on learning to manage their time. This is especially important for my older children. As they start having their own schedules and activities, they’ll begin to understand the importance of time management. With easy-to-use student planners (thanks, Amazon!) that are fun and colorful, they’ll want to write in them daily. This way they’ll never forget a math test, a lacrosse practice or even a sleepover with their friends. Here’s hoping this school year is their most organized ever!

Didaskaleinophobia is the acute fear of going to school, which affects about 2.4 percent of all children.

Amazon’s Happy School Year Store

What makes all of this quick and easy is finding everything we need–from the basics like pens, pencils, sneakers and backpacks, to the quirky things that kids are looking for, like unicorn notebooks or t-shirts with unicorns on them–all at Amazon’s Happy School Year store. Amazon even sent us an adorable Panda backpack and Adidas sneakers for Brody, plus BIC mechanical pencils and assorted pencil cases for the boys. Like most moms, I’m too busy trying to make the most of these last days of summer with my family to waste entire days on pencil shopping. No, thanks! I want to enjoy more time with my kids! And this month, we’ll be wasting away the last days of summer on the beach knowing the kids are already prepped and excited for a Happy School Year!

What School Year’s Resolutions will your kids be making this year? Let me know in the comments below!

The average backpack weighs 20 percent of the student’s body weight! It’s recommended to keep that percentage below 10 percent.