Eight O'Clock Back to School Giveaway

School has been in for just 3 weeks, and already my mommy brain is showing signs of cracking. I've already forgotten to pick up the kids at the right dismissal time. This weekend I took 3Po to a class party at his classmate's home -- only to discover that the party was set for next weekend. Yesterday I showed up for library duty two hours early because I thought it was The Pea's library day, not Jammy's.

When my sanity -- or worse, my family's schedule -- is threatened, I could sure use all the help I can get. For parents who need a little help in getting back into the swing of things, Eight O'Clock Coffee has prepared some survival tips to ease your Back To School Routine:

TIP 1: Become Your Own Brewista – Save time, money and gas this back-to-school season by brewing your morning coffee at home. You can even set your coffee maker’s timer the night before to wake up to great-smelling Eight O’Clock Coffee.

TIP 2: Preplan Lunch – A few days before school starts, sit down with your kids and create a grocery list of healthy snacks and lunches they would like for school. Rotate each of their selections throughout the week. Make Tuesday “Turkey Tuesday” or Wednesday “Wrap Wednesday” – adding variety to keep lunch exciting. When possible, pack their lunch the night before to reduce stress in the morning.

TIP 3: Assemble Weekly Wardrobes – Every Sunday check the upcoming weekly weather forecast with your kids. Then, have them pick out five outfits for the upcoming school week. Hang them in daily order in their closet to avoid the inevitable, “Mom, I can’t find my favorite blue shirt!”

TIP 4: Be Prepared for School Projects – Avoid late night rushing around to complete school projects by having art supplies on hand. Create an arts and craft bin that includes more than just crayons and colored paper. Collect items like pipe cleaners, stickers, figurines, beads – even coffee beans – and other creative finds, and put the fun back in school projects.


Stick with it, and I'm sure you'll be breezing through your school day mornings in no time! Let's hope I do as well....


Win an Eight O'Clock Back to School Survival Pack

One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a Back-to-School Parent Survival Pack! Courtesy of Eight O'Clock Coffee, this pack includes a drawstring bag, travel mug and 2 bags of Eight O’Clock Coffee to help start your mornings off right.




Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post and share a tip for making your family's school mornings less hectic. This entry must be completed before any extra entries will count.

Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1) Blog about this giveaway, making sure you include a link to the giveaway in your blog post (1 entry).

2) Write this on the Bonggamom Finds Facebook page (1 entry):
I entered the Eight O'Clock giveaway! http://ow.ly/6tBt9

3) Add the Bonggamom Finds blog button to your sidebar (1 entry).

4) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger/Google Friend Connect (1 entry).

5) Follow @bonggafinds on Twitter and tweet this, up to once per day (1 entry per day):
Enter to win a Back to School Survival Pack from Eight O'Clock coffee and @bonggafinds! Enter at http://ow.ly/6tBt9 #giveaways

6) Join any of the open giveaways on Bonggamom Finds (1 entry for each giveaway you've joined)




The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on September 25, 2011; I will draw a winner at random on September 26 and post the winner's name after he/she confirms acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a Back to School Survival Kit from Eight O'Clock as a thank-you for posting the tips and running the giveaway. Back to School tips were provided by Eight O'Clock and is indicated in italics. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.