Is Lowering The Bar on School Expectations Such a Good Thing?

Patch blogger Dr. Sherri Singer shares her thoughts.

How Do You Find Age-Appropriate Clothes for Girls?

Fashions for the elementary school set are becoming more and more adult. Do you have trouble finding clothes for your little girls?

Does it make you cringe when you see 13- or 14-year-olds wearing booty shorts and T-shirts that say things like “future trophy wife”? How about the fact that the same attire is now marketed toward girls half their age? It’s becoming harder for parents of young girls, not to mention teenagers, to dress them in what was long considered age-appropriate clothing. The Chicago Tribune reported last week that sociologists and retail experts confirm that clothes for girls are becoming more sexualized and are designed to look more like their moms'. And the recession has only spurred the trend, the article says, since parents are more willing to spend money on their children’s clothes than their own, and retailers have caught on. A blog on Baby …

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How Do You Make Lunches Safe for Kids With Allergies?

With an increase in kids with allergies, schools are adapting by having special rules such as peanut-free cafeterias. If your child has allergies or goes to a school with special rules, packing a lunch can be difficult.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 4-6 percent of children in the U.S. under 18 have food allergies, and that number is rising. School can be a particularly dangerous place for these kids. The CDC says that 16-18 percent of them have had an allergic reaction at school due to accidentally ingesting a food allergen. Odds are that if your child isn’t one of those with a serious allergy, he or she goes to school with someone who is. Because schools are required by federal law to make adjustments for any student with a life-threatening allergy, this may mean nut-free tables in the lunchroom, or even an entirely nut-free school. If you’re in either of those categories, how do you pack a healthy, allergen-free lunch for…

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David Greenberg

12:58 pm on Thursday, September 6, 2012

"Special education is meant for kids who for whatever reason cannot learn in the regular education setting, and require special classes to allow them an appropriate education. Food allergies do not cause learning problems. What you are proposing is that kids be separated from their peers all day because of what they can't eat. That sounds like discrimination." Sully, I'd never discriminate …   more ›

New Trier Parents and Students Struggle with Cost of Books

New Trier High School offers options such as e-books and used books to keep costs reasonable.

Jason Schwartz has just started his sophomore year at New Trier High School and on the first day of school he was expecting to spend about $200. Instead the cash register soared to $500 and Schwartz described himself as "shocked." “I’m a little exasperated as we are just in high school,” Schwartz said. While school officials say there's no way to define the average cost of books for New Trier students, most students will likely spend hudreds of dollars on books, on top of other school related fees. Schwartz kept book costs low for his family buy purchasing new books which he plans to share with his twin brother. Want to follow similar articles in Winnetka, Glencoe and Northfield? Sign up for Winnetka-Glencoe Patch's newsletter or "like us…

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Books Can Ease Back-to-School Jitters

Is your child worried about heading back to school? Try these books!

Shopping for school supplies is entering the final stretch, and some kids are starting to get a little apprehensive about starting school. Here are a few books to help ease those jitters! In Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M. George (Albert Whitman, 2010), a tortoise sets off to school with his backpack and  his dapper red cap. Along the way, he starts to worry: “What if he tripped while getting lunch, and all the kids were mean to him?” Just as he’s persuaded himself not to go in, he gets to wondering, “What if…he made lots of new friends?” His gloomy attitude turns around, and in a delightful twist, “Mr. Tortoise” is greeted by his students. Robert Quackenbush’s First Grade Jitters (Harper, 2010) depicts a little boy who is so worried …

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How Do You Talk to Your Kids About School Bus Safety?

More than 20 million children ride the bus to and from school. What do you stress to yours about how to stay safe?

OK, parents, a pop quiz: What’s the largest public transportation system in the U.S.? The answer: school buses. About 22.5 million kids ride them, resulting in more than 94.2 billion student-passenger miles each year. The good news is that according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, “school buses are the safest mode of transportation for getting children back and forth to school.” Still, accidents can happen. According to the National Safety Council, loading and unloading are the most dangerous parts of the bus ride for students. Many organizations provide safety rules for riding the school bus, including this pamphlet from the National Safety Council and this primer written for kids from Kids Health. They …

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7 Ways to Ways to Make Your Kids' School Lunches Less Boring

Inject a little fun and creativity into your kids' school lunch ideas so the lunch box comes home empty.

7 Ways to Make Your Kids' School Lunches Less Boring

Inject a little fun and creativity into your kids' school lunch ideas so the lunch box comes home empty

For many of you, sending the kids back to school means packing a lunch box every day. The thought of having to pack 5 lunches a week for 9 months straight can be daunting. In the past, I know I would quickly run out of school lunch ideas. I would get bored packing the kids' lunches so, I could understand why my kids would bring home a lunch box full of wasted food.  But, I figured out that getting my child to eat his or her lunch just takes a little fun and creativity, especially if you pickly eater that limits your food variety. Here are 7 ideas to make school lunches the highlight of your kids’ day. 1. Shake it up. Prepare the same old food in a new way. Instead of a regular peanut butter and jelly on white bread (ho hum), make Pinwheel …

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Jennifer Fisher

10:58 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012

Hahaha that's exactly the way I felt when I found out! This is by no means an endorsement of this company's products but I have drooled over several extremely delicious looking varieties on this website: http://ilovepeanutbutter.com/   more ›

Summer’s Last Hurrah Winner: Amanda Eck

Eck has won a total of $250 in gift certificates to Winnetka stores Marian Michael, Gap/Gap Kids and Staples.

Congratulations to Amanda Eck on winning our Summer’s Last Hurrah Contest! Eck posted this amazing photo of her husband spinning at the Full Moon Fire Jam on Foster Beach in Chicago.  “This was his first time spinning for a crowd and he rocked it!” Eck wrote.  Eck wins the following gift cards to help her with her back-to-school shopping: * $100 gift card to Marian Michael * $100 gift certificate to the Gap/Gap Kids * $50 gift certificate to Staples Saulie from Evanston won the grand prize out of all participating Patch sites ((The sites are: Evanston, Wilmette-Kenilworth, Winnetka-Glencoe, Highland Park, Deerfield, Northbrook and Glenview.)   Saulie shared a photo of two kids on the beach with this caption: “Endless waves, endless summer …

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How to Ease Your Kids' Fears When Starting a New School

Whether your kids are starting kindergarten, middle school, high school or a brand new school, these tips will help reduce back-to-school jitters