Yes, you can still be involved

When kids are little, it is so easy to be involved in their lives. I remember many days of volunteering at school.
By High School, there were just not so many opportunities to be involved on a regular basis. I still got involved as I could, and donated time and food!
Now that both of my kids are in college, I did not think much about doing something with the school.
College is a time for young adults to be on their own and grow as a person, and mom needs to back off, right?
Well, that is true somewhat, but I try to be available for my kids.
I can't exactly volunteer, but this year I found an opportunity to be involved.
I got an email looking for parent volunteers to join the Parent Advisory Group. The university actually wants the opinions of parents!
I attended my first meeting with my husband, and it was really interesting.
We got to meet with the President of the University and his wife. The parents got to learn about issues and news, as well as give our suggestions.
They served us a pretty awesome lunch,too!
Anyway just wanted to let parents know that although you have to let your children go out on their own, you can still be a presence in their lives and even have a chance to get involved (from a distance!)

What to Take to the Dorm Part Three

We are getting close, but a couple more posts to go:
Housekeeping:
Air fresheners
Brush: get a good scrubbing one for cleaning grout/tough stains
Bucket: get a sturdy one for use in cleaning/mopping
Dish detergent/dish bin if you have to carry to wash
Febreze: excellent to temporarily rid clothes (and blankets, pillows, etc) from odors
Ironing board/iron
Lysol, especially the sprays and the all-purpose cleaners (though the scent is sometimes too strong)
Mop/broom (if needed)
Oxi-Clean gets rid of stains
Paper towels
Sponge: get one for cleaning dishes, another for cleaning your dorm/bathroom
Spray bottles, clear: for various uses--
Swiffer Duster:
Trash Can/trash bags
Vacuum: any slim, lightweight one will do. It doesn’t need to be an expensive, bulky vacuum to get the job done.
Washcloths or washrags: use old ones for rinsing or drying dishes, and cleaning floors
Wipes; Clorox, Lysol,Windex

Around the room:
Alarm clock: very important! J
Bins or boxes for storing papers/folders
Bulletin board with pins
Calendar: dry-erase calendars are awesome for using each month
Containers: small plastic or mesh containers for small accessories (paperclips/tape/white-out/jewelry/makeup)
Curtains: if your dorm doesn’t provide curtains, a nice set can help bring color and life to your room
Electric lights: like Christmas lights -- small strings of white-light bulbs can be lovely strung around the room
fan
Organizers for drawers/closets
Photos and picture frames
Plants: IF you can take care of them. They’re lovely and it’s nice to have some green in your small dorm room
Posters
Radio/stereo/speakers
Rug!: to add attractiveness to the bare floor of your room-- and keep your feet warm on winter mornings
Safe or lockbox for valuables: jewelry, watches, etc--
under bed storage
Whiteboard with dry-erase markers (lots of people hang these outside their rooms so friends can leave messages)

Kitchen stuff:
Baggies(sandwich and larger for food storage)
Bottle opener
Can opener
Cooking pans and pots
Desk organizers: 
Eating Utensils: disposable OR two to four inexpensive sets of knives, spoons, forks, cups, mugs, plates, bowls
Water bottles

Laundry:
Laundry basket/hamper
Laundry detergent/fabric sofener/tide=to-go/shout wipes and spray for stains
Rolls of coins or your laundry card

What to take to the Dorm Part Two

Here is another part of my list of items to consider taking to the Dorm:
Medicine Cabinet:
Allergy medicine: Claritin or Benadryl or other anti-histamine
Airborne or Cold-eeze
antacid/anti-diarrhea
Anti-Itch cream: for bug bites
Bandages and band-aids: for sprains and cuts
Bug spray (to keep your skin from those awful mosquitoes etc)
Cold and cough medicine: Robitussin/Dimetap ,Dayquil/Nyquil
Cough drops/lozegnes
Eye drops
Hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol
Mouthwash
Multi-vitamins (especially vitamin C)
Muscle Relief: Icy Hot Patches or Thermal Patches for aches
Neosporin 
Pain and fever relief-- Tylenol, Advil, ibuprofen
Vaseline or petroleum jelly.
Vick’s Vapo Rub:
Vitamins
Waterless hand sanitizer 


Bath Items:
Loofah/sponge or wash towel
Shampoo/conditioner/hairspray
Shower caddy/tote: should have a hole or holes in the bottom, for drainage
Shower shoes (flip-flops)
Soap or body wash
Towels (at least two sets each of bath towel, hand towel, face towel etc); turban for hair

Furniture/Appliances:
Bookcase
Chair: a comfortable one; desk chair (optional). Usually provided
Chair cushion: if you don’t want to bring a desk chair, buy a seat cushion for the chair from the college
Coffee machine/coffee
Folding chairs/tail-gaiting chairs/folding lawn chairs-- any easy, folding chair that you can quickly prop open
Lamps; desk lamp. Also clip-on lamps work well in a dorm; Lightbulbs, too
Microwave
Minifridge or Microfridge
Mirror- long and handheld
Nightstand: if you’ve got room
Sofa or armchair: if you can fit at least a small one into your room, go for it!
TV

School Supplies:
Binders
Calculator or graphing calculator
College-rule line paper
Colored markers and colored pencils
Dry-erase markers
Envelopes (white, letter type)
Erasers
Files and expandable filing folders
Folders-- with pockets and three-prongs
glue/gluesticks
Graphing paper
Highlighters/sharpies
Manila envelopes (for papers or reports that you don’t want folded)
Notepads/Notebooks
Paperclips
Pencils/sharpener/desk organizer
Pens: regular blue, black and red; have at least one, nicer ball-point pen as well
Post-its
printer/ Printer Paper (white) /ink
ruler
Scissors
Sharpies or any other permanent marker (thick and thin)
Stapler/staples/staple remover
Tape- masking, duck, and scotch
Three-hole punch adapter
White-out or correctional fluid

Great Graduation gifts REpost for 2013

There are so many graduations coming up, and we are always trying to think of useful, but wanted, gift ideas. Later this month I am going to publish a 'what to take to college" list, but here are some grad gifts that they can also use when they move to college:
Shower Tote filled with body wash (girls and guys!), lotions, shaving items, shampoo and conditioner.
Towel set with washclothes
Laundry Tote with laundry supplies (I LOVE the Purex 3 in 1 sheets for a college student or Tide pods)
Rolls of quarters (if needed)
NetFlix membership
Portable speakers
Noise-canceling Headphones (students LOVE these)
Underbed storage
Locked box or lockable filing cabinet (especially when sharing a room)
Small set of washable dishes
small wastebasket and garbage bags
Fan (the majority of dorms are NOT air conditioned)
small microwave
small fridge (be careful here, as many colleges only allow a certain size)
Tide to go, sewing kit
Money and gift cards are always appreciated, of course. If you know where the student is going to school, check to see what restaurants are in the town, as all kids get tired of the school food options after awhile.

What to take to the Dorm Part One

I have a very extensive list of items that your student may want or need to take to the Dorm when they go off to College this Fall.
I am going to cover it in a few posts, but if you want the entire spreadsheet, please just email me.
Again, you may not need everything on the list, but it will at least give you a good checklist to go over.

Clothing, etc:
Accessories: belts, purses, wallets, wristlet
Clothes: jeans,sweaters, jackets,sweats, pajamas,dress clothes,socks, underwear,bathing suit,shorts,Bathrobe
hangers
Lint-roller
Shoes: slippers, sandals, tennis shoes, heels (black),slip on shoes, extra flip-flops
Winter: gloves, scarves, hats, boots
jewelry
Key Chain
Sunglasses/sunscreen
Umbrella- a good, sturdy one
watch

Bedding:
Blanket: fleece or thermal 
Comforter/Bedspread
Mattress pad/foam
Pillows/pillowcase
Sheets: at least two /and maybe three different sets for your bed, often college beds are extra-long twin size

Personal Care items:
Acne/cleansing wash and acne cream
Comb or hairbrush
Contacts/case/solution
Cotton balls: many uses, including for applying/wiping off make-up, applying antiseptics to cuts and wounds 
Cotton facial pads: for applying or removing foundation and other make-up,
Deodorant
feminine hygiene products
Fragrance: perfume or cologne, or body sprays
Glasses/case/cleaner
Hair dryer/curling iron/straightener
Hairbands/hair pins for ladies
Hairspray/sculpting cream
Kleenex or other facial tissue
Lip balm
Lotions
Make-up
Nail file/clippers
Nail polish remover
Q-Tips
Razor, shaving cream and aftershave for males
Toothbrush/case/toothpaste/dental floss
Tweezers

Scholarship Search

Every student and family can use more scholarships!
Just a quick reminder post of some good websites to use:
www.fastweb.com
www.zinch.com
www.collegeprowler.com

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
www.scholarships.com

Also, look for the local scholarships in your community. Check with the high school guidance office, too!

Another good site where you can earn points and enter scholarship drawings each month:
www.scholarshippoints.com

Happy Hunting!

Superscore?

I was recently surprised to learn about Superscoring on ACT and SAT tests.
My daughter took the ACT twice hoping to raise her scores.
Although she got higher scores in a couple subjects, it was not enough to bump up the average, so her overall score stayed the same. This 1 point difference could really impact some of the scholarships she might be eligible for.
What I did not realize was that some schools will take both test scores, and take the higher scores from each subject area and average those out.
I checked out the schools my daughter was thinking of applying to, and the 3 private schools did Superscore! When I recalculated the scores, my daughter would now get that critical 1 point higher.
Well, needles to say we are very happy. I learned something I did not know (just proving my point that there is so much to know about all this college stuff!).
I would recommend taking a test twice if you think your child can improve even in one subject.
For SAT info: www.collegeboard.org
For ACT info: act.org

Good luck!