DIY Life

Notebooks are a necessity for school, but your kids may not get excited about the plain white paper and solid-colored cover. Sure, they are likely to plaster the front of their notebooks with the likes of "I [heart] David Archuleta 4-eva'," but why not suggest a venture slightly more creative than that?

There are some fun ways kids can decorate their notebooks for back-to-school, and make them uniquely theirs. For instance, using spare scrapbooking supplies, your kids can make their notebooks fit their favorite theme, whether that be cupcakes or super heroes.

Or, get some stencils, gel and glitter pens, and construction paper to embellish those notebooks and unleash those kids into a decorating frenzy.

A project like this one could go in so many directions; only time and creativity are the factors. So let your kids use the backs of their notebooks for their love graffiti, and proudly show off their artwork on the front covers.

Step aside, Hannah Montana! There's a way cooler backpack in town...

As a parent, it's hard buying "branded" merchandise, isn't it? I don't want my son walking around advertising the latest Spiderman movie, and I sure wouldn't want Hannah Montana's face plastered all over my hypothetical daughter's backpack.

In the interest of promoting individuality and all things unique, why not send your child to school with a duct tape backpack... handmade by you, with some kid help, of course!

You know it will be strong -- it's duct tape, after all -- and you can customize the outside colors by using any colored duct tape you can find.

You'll need cardboard, gray and colored duct tape, and some string, shoelace-style. Before you know it, your child will be starting his or her own new trend... you may need a lot of duct tape very soon!

The box air-conditioning unit is a necessary evil for many apartment dwellers. (Those of you about to head off to college, take note!) These things come with a few big cons: they are noisy, they are unsightly, they block the view out of your window, and they are a pain in the neck to install and uninstall.

At least the unsightliness factor is something you can fix! Here are a few suggestions for hiding your air conditioning unit from New York Magazine:

• Decorate it with something pretty like wallpaper scraps.
• Build a decorative cabinet around it, but be careful not to block air flow.
• Disguise it from view with a sheer curtain.
• Hide it with a screen.
• Cover it with artwork and frame it.

[via Apartment Therapy]

It's that time. My little guy will be starting preschool in September, and two mornings a week have gradually become a daily worry. While he is excited to go, we've never been apart, and making the separation easy for him is one of my top priorities.

Mommy Mall has put together a very comprehensive checklist for parents, to help make the transition to school as smooth as possible for families with children entering preschool, primary school, middle school, and high school.

You'll find tips for one month before school starts, one week before the transition, and the night before the big day, even the morning of, with lists for each school level.

It's a universal law of freshman year: Whatever can go wrong the first few weeks at college, will. Your calculus book will fall in a puddle, your cell phone will get knocked off the desk and break, you'll sleep through your first class of the day at least once, and you'll lose a button off your favorite shirt the day before Pledge Week starts.

Don't worry, DIY Life is here to help. Use book covers, a cell phone case, and a good alarm clock.

Now, about that shirt. When you were getting ready to move into the dorm, did you remember to pack a little sewing kit? Great! From replacing buttons to fixing a hem, there are a bunch of ways that little kit can save your bacon. Oh, and if you have any leftover thread, I'll also tell you how to kill time with your roommate on a Friday night before your dates get there.

The school bell is about to ring in a new year, but there is a group of adults who need just as much attention for Back-To-School preparation as the students: the teachers. Most people don't realize, but a summer break for a teacher is not a break at all, but an opportunity to lesson plan for the upcoming year, get those state required classes completed, fight in line at the local state board of education for re-licensure, and catch up on the required reading for next year.

Regardless, going back to school is just as exciting and demanding on teachers as it is on students. Unlike students, however, most teachers have the added stress of family and household demands. So, here's a survival guide for the teacher on easing back into the school year without fainting from exhaustion.

By the time August rolls around I am usually so frazzled from June and July that shopping for school supplies seems like a welcome, bright light at the end of a very long tunnel. As we load up the basket with binders and mechanical pencils, I envision mornings of dropping off the kids and returning home to a silent house where I will sit in blissful peace and drink a cup of coffee without the stomping sounds of my children's feet ringing through the air. As a result of my end of summer stupor, I often ignore the prices and willingly pay almost anything for supplies.

This need not be the case. If you have a straight head on your shoulders as you shop for markers and pens, the tab needn't be a bank breaker. A few ideas to keep in mind as your roll your basket through the aisles will help:

• Shop around. Just because one store offers great deals on some items, they will often have higher on other items you need as well. With a bit of planning and research you can see if other stores offer other needed stuff at better prices.
• Recycle! The chances are pretty good that when you son cleaned out his desk at the end of last year, there were odds and ends that can be reused. Not only does this help your pocketbook, but it sends a great message of recycling to your kids.
• Coupons. Sometimes a coupon can be combined with an in store special and the result is a low price and a pleased parent.

With all the money you save shopping for school supplies, you can either treat yourself to something special or just enjoy the silence after the school bus has rolled away from the curb. Happy shopping!

Backpacks are often like suitcases; everybody has one and they all look just the same. This can be an issue at any time during the school year, but even more so at the beginning of the year when many kids have new packs. So how exactly can you prevent your child's backpack from getting mixed up with the many others? You could always try tying a scarf or ribbon on to your child's pack, but you run the risk of another parent thinking the same thing. A better idea is to give your kid's pack some identity, as in an ID tag. Rachel Mostellar of our sister blog ParentDish has happened upon a super cute idea that produces a fun, easy tag that you and your children can do together. You will need a few simple items such as:

Is it August already? If you have school-aged children, you are probably starting to think about getting ready to head back to school.

This means a more structured routine, purchasing school supplies and acting as a cheerleader.

What? C'mon, you know what I mean. Your kids aren't exactly psyched to get up and out the door early every weekday morning, only to do work for six hours straight. Did I mention the hours of homework that would be coming too?

Part of your job as parent is to help remind your kids about the fun parts of school: the amazing books they'll read, the new mathematical concepts they can use to wow their grandparents and of course the useless facts or knowledge they will need for Trivial Pursuit games. And recess.