Schools and Education

Reducing waste and promoting environmental resposibility in their children is a priority with many parents. One way to help with this is to use a product like Fabkins, cool reusable cloth napkins for kids that are perfect for a child's lunchbox and at-home use, too. Fabkins were created and designed by Marin mompreneurs Joyce Raffo and Paige Rodgers. (We interviewed Joyce and Paige in 2008 about their product and business; you can read that article here.)

Useful as both napkins and placemats, Fabkins encourage good table manners, and help reduce waste by eliminating the need to use paper napkins both with school lunches and meals at home. They are made of 100% certified organic cotton, and embroidered with fun designs in themes ranging from Prima Ballerina and African Safari to Xtreme Sports and Beach Bound. Fabkins retails for $10.95 for a starter set of two organic napkins, or $19.95 for a set of four, and can be purchased at numerous retail locations throughout the Bay Area or online at www.fabkins.com. Marin Mommies readers who order online can take 20% off their Fabkins purchase with the coupon code MM20 through August 31.

Get ready for back-to-school at any of Marin's Whole Foods Market locations. As part of Whole Foods' Project Healthy Lunch, you can stop by one of the stores and make a free healthy school lunch for your child.

Also check the Whole Foods Market website for some tasty-sounding and healthy back-to-school and kid-friendly recipes, like creamy cherry dip (pictured).

For more information on Project Healthy Lunch, contact each store directly: San Rafael (415) 451-6333, ; Mill Valley, (415) 381-3900; Novato, (415) 878-0455.

Here are the Project Healthy Lunch schedule and details:

Our back-to-school Yubo lunchbox kit giveaway is over! Congratulations to Melissa D. of San Rafael, who chose the blue lunchbox with the cool shark faceplates (those are the ones that my son likes, too).

We’re giving away a free Yubo Deluxe Kit lunchbox of your choice (choose color and faceplates—not personalized) to a lucky Marin Mommies reader! Send an e-mail with "Yubo lunchbox" in the subject line to contests@marinmommies.com by midnight (Pacific time) this Sunday, August 15, 2010.

One winner will be selected at random, and we'll announce the winner on Monday, August 16. Good luck!

Read our review of the Yubo lunchbox here.

We just got our hands on one of this season's coolest back-to-school accessories—the Yubo lunchbox. Some would argue that a good lunchbox is a necessity for the well-equipped student, and the Yubo should make any kid or parent happy.

What makes it different from your garden variety lunchbox? Several things, actually. Yubo can be personalized with interchangeable faceplates in a wide variety of designs. Cute dinosaurs, flowers, and fairy princesses will make younger children happy, while older grade-school kids will like the cool shark, surfer girl, and skater designs. To make your Yubo truly unique, you can add your child's name to selected designs, and even upload a photo or your child's artwork to make a custom faceplate.

Yubo lunchboxes are made of BPA-free, anti-microbial, and recyclable plastic. The whole thing is dishwasher safe, so if your Yubo gets grubby the way kids' lunchboxes do, just pop off the faceplates, snap off the rubber handle, take off the lids, and put the whole thing in the dishwasher. Yubo is truly a well thought-out and designed product.

Send your kids back to school with eco-friendly, non-toxic lunch kits from Kids Konserve! Through August 31, 2010, Kids Konserve is offering our readers 15% off their orders using the coupon code school.

Kids Konserve offers some great products to help make school lunches greener, cleaner, and waste-free:

Congratulations to Karen R., winner of our 2010 back-to-school BusyBodyBook giveaway!

School's about to start and getting organized both for yourself and the kids is a must. Our favorite way to get organized is with the BusyBodyBook! The BusyBodyBook is a stylish and easy-to-use family organizer designed specifically for families. It allows you to keep track of the entire family's schedules at a glance, and it's something I can't live without. BusyBodyBooks are available for both 2010–2011 school year (August 2010–August 2011) and traditional January–December, 2010 calendar year versions. This year, they have some really new cool designs.

To help you get organized, we're giving away a free BusyBodyBook to a lucky Marin Mommies reader! Send an e-mail with BUSYBODYBOOK in the subject line to contests@marinmommies.com by midnight (Pacific time) this Friday, August 6, 2010 One winner will be selected at random, and we'll announce the winner on Saturday, August 7. Good luck!

We asked Marin Kids & Maternity Consignment's Melissa Hereford to tell us a little about the back-to-school bargains that can be found at their retail store on West Francisco Boulevard in San Rafael. They try to live up their motto, "Saving the planet, one outfit at a time" by offering a great selection of gently used (or "new-to-you") children's apparel and more, much of it perfect for back-to-school! Marin Kids & Maternity Consignment is also a great place to sell your old children's clothing and maternity wear. They're located at 814 Francisco Boulevard West and open Wednesday–Sunday, 10 am–6 pm. Visit them online at www.marinkidsconsignment.com.

Ever get confused by all the different kinds of preschool programs out there? Jenifer Wana, mom and author of How to Choose the Best Preschool for Your Child: The Ultimate Guide to Finding, Getting Into, and Preparing for Nursery School explains the differences in this guest article.

When researching preschools, many parents think about location, schedule, and tuition when deciding where to enroll. Yet there are also major educational philosphical differences that should be considered.

The school’s program philosophy has a lot of to do with the kinds of learning goals the school emphasizes, how the teacher interacts with the students, and what kind of toys and materials are available in the classroom. Finding the right fit for your child’s personality and your family’s values will help make his preschool years a positive experience.

Play-Based

This preschool philosophy, also known as “developmental,” is the most common in the United States. These schools believe that children learn best through play. This builds confidence, creativity, and a love for school while kids learn about a wide variety of things in an age-appropriate way.

Different stations are set up around the classroom—a reading corner, a dramatic play area, a puzzle table, etc. Teachers and facilitate learning while the children play and explore. For example, if children start exploring the sand table, the teacher may take that opportunity to talk about pouring and measuring. Kids generally move freely from one activity to another, though the group comes together for circle time, story time, etc.

There is a strong emphasis on social skills and getting along with others by sharing, taking turns, and resolving conflicts with words instead of crying or hitting. Teachers facilitate these skills by helping kids negotiate who gets to play with a toy or which role each gets to assume in make believe play.