Join me every week for Win-It Wednesday. I’ll be posting 24-hour giveaways at 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET to give you plenty of chances to win!

A couple of weeks ago, my oldest daughter and I had the privilege of taking a trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky to meet the ultra-fabulous, award-winning kindergarten teacher, Patrice McCrary, and to participate in a fun day of crafts sponsored by Kleenex.

We had so much fun with these ladies and their kindergarten children:
- Ellen from Love that Max
- Becky from Nickles -n- Dimes
- Niri from Mommy Niri
- Jamie from Blonde Mom Blog
I can’t tell you what a treat this was for my daughter and me. She’s the middle child, and one-on-one time can be hard to come by, so we were particularly thrilled to spend some quality time together before she starts kindergarten in a few weeks. From being picked up at the airport in a white limo, to breakfast in bed, to learning about germs in a brilliant, fun, hands-on way, this is certainly an event she’s going to remember for years to come.

The theme for the day was learning about germs: what they are, how to prevent the spread of them, and how Kleenex’s new Sneeze Shield technology can help. My favorite activity was when Mrs. McCrary brought out the “germ juice,” which was really just a non-toxic lotion with glitter in it that shows up under a black light. After applying the “germ juice” to the kids’ hands, they were encouraged to touch various objects in the room. Mrs. McCrary then brought out the black light to demonstrate how they’d left traces of their “germs” on all of the items. Brilliant!!!
It was quite apparent why Mrs. McCrary has won numerous awards as a teacher. She’s exactly the kind of teacher that you’d wish for your child to have — warm, patient, caring, and able to keep the kids in line and engaged. I was just amazed watching the interaction!
Patrice offers these Back To School tips:
- Two weeks prior to the beginning of school, start to ease back into a routine.
- Let your child be involved in the back-to-school shopping experience.
- Celebrate the new school year!
Plus you’ll want to check out these fabulous resources from Kleenex:
One lucky Deal Seeking Mom will win a month’s supply of Kleenex!
To enter, tell me what is the hardest part of getting your kids ready to go back to school.
Every reader has four methods available to enter this contest. Choose one each of any combination of method one, two, three, or four for up to a total of 4 entries!!!
If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please CLICK HERE to visit the original blog post to enter. Email entries will not be counted.
Methods of entry:
1. Leave a comment. What’s the hardest part of the back-to-school preparation for you?
2. Join the Kleenex community on Facebook. Come back and leave a separate comment letting me know you’ve done so!
3. Join the Deal Seeking Mom Forums to chat about your great finds, special coupon codes, and chances to win exclusive giveaways. Come back and leave a separate comment letting me know you’ve joined or that you’re already a registered user!
4. Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so. If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’re already subscribed. Lovin’ my subscribers! You guys make this all possible.
Prize:
(1) Month’s supply of Kleenex
This giveaway ends at 2:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 5th and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older. I’ll use Comment Contest to select the winning comment. Winner will be notified by email and listed on my Giveaway Winners page. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize. Good luck!
While you’re in a contest entering mood, don’t forget to check out the Giveaway Gathering for a variety of contests being hosted on Deal Seeking Mom readers’ blogs!


Letessha
Joined kleenex on fb/letesshaw
Lisa R
The hardest part is getting them back in a routine of getting up early.
Lisa R
I am an email subscriber.
Sarah
My kids aren’t in school yet, so nothing too hard for me!
Sarah
I subscribe to your RSS feed.
Danielle
Getting structure and routines back. Strict bedtimes, getting up early, getting ready, etc.
erica serna
the hardest part is that my boys start playing football as soon as they start school so its a struggle to get them to do there homework in time for there practices.
caroline
the hardest thing is a tie between waking up early and trying to budget everything we need.
caroline
i’ve joined the forums
rebecca
Nothing yet as mine is too young/homeschooling. But I love buying school supplies!
Michele
finding school clothes that fit!
Michele
Email subscriber.
rebecca
I am on your forums as Mountain Mama.
Michele
Forum member.
rebecca
I sub to your feed in google reader.
bethanny
It is hard to get her to sleep on a routine!
bethanny
email subscriber!
Steph
Dealing with the inevitable heat- I dont want to leave the house to get everything done!
Steph
I subscribe via RSS reader
Rebecca
Would love to win.
Nancy Ward
I’m an email subscriber.
Nancy Ward
The hardest part of “back to school” was getting into a routine after an unstructured summer.
Amanda
Hardest part is getting back into the routine after being off all summer…getting to bed earlier and up earlier takes some getting used to!
Amanda
Fan Kleenex on FB!
Amanda
email subscriber!
kk
Getting up early after a summer of sleeping in late! Thanks!
Prudence
The hardest part of back to school is getting the kids back into a good bedtime routine.
Angelica
The hardest this year will be preparing myself to actually leave him at school, it is his first year of pre-school sans parents!
Angelica
E-mail subscriber!
Melissa
I have another year before my son starts school and I’m already dredding putting him on the bus the first time!!