Parent Projects

I love the fall season. In my area of the country, the humidity has disappeared and the bitter cold has not yet arrived. The leaves change colors and we are surrounded by beautiful shades of yellow, red, and orange. To top it all off, delicious vegetables are in season and the time to enjoy squash and pumpkin pie is here.

That also means it is time to do one of my favorite things – carve those pumpkins! It’s a messy process but definitely a rite of passage each fall. Whether your pumpkins are scary or silly, these designs are always fun to make. ...read more

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I’m easily reminded that the school year is in full swing when I see all the children in our neighborhood racing to catch the bus or walk to school each morning. With my own son only a few years away from his first day of kindergarten, I’m beginning to pay close attention to ways parents can help keep their children safe when they walk to school each day.

That’s one of the reasons I’m proud that FedEx continues to team up with Safe Kids USA to support the Safe Kids Walk This Way program to educate children, parents and drivers about pedestrian safety – especially in and around school zones. ...read more

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I love getting lost in the fresh, crisp pages of a brand new book. I’ve worked over the last several years to build a nice library of special hardcover books, and wanted them to have special designation showing how I acquired them – whether they came as a gift from a friend or relative, or I found them in a unique bookstore or on a trip somewhere. So, I decided the best way to add that special information was to label the inside cover. I was hesitant to insert my scribbly, scrawling handwriting with a permanent pen and decided instead to make stickers that have my name and left just a simple line where I could write in the date that I either got the book or read it, and a line for another special notation. As a bonus, if I ever loan the books out, the borrower always knows where to return them – perfect for book clubs! ...read more

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I am a worrier by nature. I think it runs in my family, inherited by me from my mother. From the time we are young and in school, we learn how to prepare for emergencies. We practice fire drills, tornado drills in the Midwest, earthquake drills on the West Coast, and countless others. When we get older and start to work, employers have similar procedures in place expanded to include events such as robbery, power outage and chemical spills. In businesses where we shop and eat you can be assured that many have actions mapped out for extreme situations like natural disasters, medical situations, and missing children.

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Have you ever heard about taking an apple for the teacher on the first day of school? And I don’t mean a computer here! Apparently, apples are considered the traditional present for teachers in the United States, Denmark and Sweden. Some say the practice began as a form of payment for lessons, and others believe they were given because of the good health associated with apples. Whatever the reason, it’s a short-lived gift! ...read more

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Did you know September is National Baby Safety Month? This annual educational campaign is sponsored by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) to help increase awareness for consumers about the safe use and selection of toys and other products for babies and kids. I remember when my son was first born that “childproofing” our home to ensure it was safe for a newborn baby was a massive undertaking. In the spirit of National Baby Safety Month – and to help spread awareness – I wanted to share some tips and ideas that can be helpful for a (growing) family! ...read more

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Guest blogger Marelenise Roberts is an educator in Dallas, and the wife of one of our FedEx Office team members. She made some terrific car travel books this summer that we just had to share with our readers!

For this year’s family car trip, we upgraded from the traditional “I Spy” game.

This summer, our family drove from our home in North Texas to Disney World in Florida. It was almost a 20-hour drive with three kids in tow! Needless to say, I was worried about how we’d keep all three kids occupied in the car and avoid boredom. 

I captured their enthusiasm for the trip and for Disney by making them themed activity booklets for the car. I bought simple pocket folders with brads and filled them to the brim with all kinds of fun games. You could also have these coil-bound or secured like book. Then, I laminated the folders and decorated them with each child’s nickname.  ...read more

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Back when I was in elementary and high school (you know, when people walked five miles in the snow, uphill both ways), we basically “rented” our textbooks each year. They were given to us on the first day, our name was added to the list on the inside front cover, and we spent the last week of school assessing the condition of each book and receiving our fines. Bent corners were a quarter each, scratches on the cover were a dime, and marks or tears on the pages inside were a dollar. You couldn’t move to the next grade or go to Field Day until you had paid your book fines!

My classmates and I always covered our textbooks to avoid the damages that had the potential to keep us from Field Day on the last day of school. But when we made them way back when, they we no fun – no fun whatsoever! Covering our books meant taking a brown paper grocery bag apart at the seams and putting the store logo inside (facing the book) so there was a big, blank, brown space to draw on the cover. It sure wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done. ...read more

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Summer is officially here! That’s right, today marks the first day of the season. Bring on the barbeques, swimming pools and baseball games.

 

By now, school has closed for the summer or is just about to, and you’ve likely removed many of the papers and classroom projects that once adorned the refrigerator. Quite often, all those report cards, art projects, certificates and tests you saved throughout the year end up turning yellow or gathering dust in a file folder or box somewhere. Why not collect them in one place and make something that will save room while preserving memories of an A+ book report or fabulous finger painting?

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The summer has arrived in Dallas! Despite our hot temps, it’s one of my favorite seasons and I absolutely love spending time on fun, easy, summer-related projects. 

 

I know many of you are looking for ways to keep your kids occupied while school’s out, so I thought I’d share some of the great activities I’ve come across in my search for new ideas:

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