Category Archives: Everyday joy

Encourage kids at school with fun, free lunchbox printables

Looking for free lunchbox printables to encourage your child during school?

I’m happy to share my first free lunchbox printable designs with you here!

Free lunchbox printablesEach new school year I start off with good intentions to tuck sweet notes in my kids’ lunch boxes.  Somewhere along the way I find myself forgetting about it or running out of time in the morning rush to get out the door.

Last year near the end of the school year my daughter looked at me with a sad face and asked why I never put notes in her lunch anymore.  It’s definitely a first world problem, but I don’t want to let her down!

This year I’m trying to keep up with lunchbox notes all year long.  It’s a nice personal touch at lunchtime to encourage kids for the rest of the school day.

I’ve found the best way to make sure the lunchbox notes happen is to have them prepared ahead of time.  When I work ahead, it also helps make them more interesting than just scribbling “have a good day” on a note at the last minute in the morning!

My boys have aged out of the lunchbox note stage so I just have to have them ready for one child now.  I should be able to handle that!

I recently designed my first batch of lunchbox printables and tested them out on my daughter.  She liked them, so now I’m sharing them here with you.  I’ll admit, they’re a little corny, but it’s the thought that counts, right?!

These free lunchbox printables are designed for the upper elementary age group.  The PDF prints nine little lunch box designs with a little room on each one for a personal note if you want.  It is very handy to cut them all out and have them ready!

Free lunchbox printables

Download free lunchbox printables {PDF file}.

I hope you and your child enjoy these free lunchbox printables!

Want more designs?  I have nine more free lunchbox printables available.

Looking for more parenting ideas?  Check out my Mom Sense board on Pinterest and pin along with me!

Follow Lisa {A Merry Mom}’s board Mom Sense on Pinterest.

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Happy Earth Day!

Spring offers so many reasons to get outside and enjoy our beautiful planet!  It’s my favorite season with warmer weather and the earth in bloom again after the long, cold winter.

This particular week of spring is extra special, with the confluence of National Park Week, Earth Day today, and Arbor Day on Friday.  I think these events are all great reminders for us to be good stewards of God’s creation.

Happy Earth Day | AMerryMom.com

As a citizen of the world, I’m trying to do my part for the planet by reducing waste, reusing what I can, and recycling as much as possible.

As a parent, I’m trying to impart those values to my kids as well.  I think it’s important to involve them and help develop a mindset that they have a responsibility to be good stewards of our planet and natural resources.

Personally, I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t trying to live “reasonably green.”  That’s because of the influence of my dad throughout my childhood.  He always made sure we were turning off lights and the TV, recycling, and reusing what we could – he liked to remind us that the back of paper is just as good as the front.  We didn’t go to extremes with it, but our small steps became habit.

I have fond memories of going with my dad to the recycling center and climbing the mountain of recycled newspaper.  Recycling center trips aren’t quite as much fun for my kids since you can’t go running around there.  Maybe we weren’t supposed to do it back then either, but my dad let us. My brother and I loved going with him so we could race up the pile of recycled paper.

Now it’s important to me that I carry on earth-friendly traditions with my kids.  We make it part of everyday life as much we can, but it’s great to have special events to remind us of the need to care for our planet and preserve natural resources for future generations.

So happy Earth Day today!  It’s a great day to reduce, reuse, and recycle.  And I hope you have a chance to enjoy the great outdoors!

Wise Words Wednesday 4

Michelangelo said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”Michelangelo quote - AMerryMom.com

Throughout our lives, it can be difficult to determine the best goals for ourselves.  As my children get older, I also find it hard both to know how to advise them for the future and to know when to stay out of the way as they determine their own paths.

With kids who are now ages 14, 12, and 9, my husband and I have regular chats with them about short-term and long-term goals.  Sometimes we have to challenge them to aim higher, and sometimes we have to help them be more realistic about their high expectations.

We always want to encourage our children to do well and achieve everything they can, without being too pushy or demanding about it.  At the same time, we don’t want to see them set unreasonable goals that are not attainable and will do nothing but cause disappointment or failure.

Michelangelo’s words are helpful to me as a parent.  It’s definitely better for my kids to set their goals high than to settle for something less.  I’ll always be the pragmatic mom who reminds them to build in a safety net and not take too many risks.  But I’ll always want them to aim high to achieve as much as they can.

As another wonderful quote by Eleanor Roosevelt says, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”