Tag Archives: Back to School Ideas

Gearing Up for Back to School!

22 Aug

Greetings, Happy Home Earthlings.

Objective – Share some Robot-Themed Back to School Inspirations.

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How cute is this Robot Lunch Box?

It’s kind of on the pricey side, but I couldn’t resist including it in this post because I just love looking at it!!!

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Need a place for all of those school supplies you just purchased?

Sara’s Art House created this amazing Back to School Robot that will make storing pencils out of this world!

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Speaking of school supplies, these Robot Scissors are perfect for snipping and cutting!

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Send your Happy Buddy to school with a Robot Sandwich like this one from Cookie Cutter Lunch.

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Your Happy Buddy will love having a Robot Lunch Sack to show off to all his friends in the cafeteria.

The Kid’s Fun Review gives the simple instructions to make one – all you need is some colored paper, googly eyes and a brown lunch bag!

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Don’t forget to throw in some Robot Lunch Box Love Notes like these FREE Printable ones from Tangarang.

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Creative Mamma also has a FREE Robot Printable!

These Labels can be personalized with your Happy Buddy’s information so that his books never go missing again.

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What a cute after school snack!

Fuzz Food shares her recipe for Nuts and Bolts as well as the link for the FREE Printable Treat Topper.

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Dandelion Design set up a Build Your Own Robot Station for her Happy Buddies that included pretzel sticks and marshmallows.

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The Happy Buddy is way into learning his letters right now.

I know he’d love this amazing FREE Printable Robot Lab File Folder Game of matching capital and lower case letters.

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I thought these Robot Wall Decals would look so cute in your Happy Buddy’s Homework Headquarters!

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And when your Happy Buddies are all schooled out and looking for a brain break, give them some empty boxes, aluminum foil, and a bunch of random craft supplies to create Recycled Robots!

Check out Cooking with my Kid for all the details of their creative robot-building afternoon.

I hope you are feeling Geared Up for school!

Happy Robot-ing! :-)

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Homework Headquarters and Helpful Tips

21 Aug

Sometimes Happy Homes struggle to keep the ‘Happy’ when the dreaded hour of homework rears its ugly head.

Would you believe that often all it takes is just a few magical ideas to change the tune of your Happy Home’s afternoon?

Here are some excellent inspirations!

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First, choose a space in your Happy Home that’s least likely to distract your Happy Buddy.

Keep the homework area neat and clutter free, as this promotes focus!

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I love this Homework Station from Mommy Minded!

She even keeps snacks nearby for hungry workers.

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I am OBSESSED with this Closet-Turned-Homework Station found HERE!

What a creative use of space!

The gal who did this reports that her Happy Buddy now begs to do his homework.

Mission accomplished if you ask me! :-)

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You could put all homework materials in a cute Homework Caddy (transformed from an inexpensive utensil caddy found at Target) like this one from I Heart Organizing.

That way everything your Happy Buddy may need is right there!

No more racing around the house searching for pencils or sharpeners or other supplies.

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Keep a clock nearby to help your Happy Buddy stay on task.

I like this Time Timer because it shows elapsed time in red – a great visual for time management!

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Teach your Happy Buddy to stay on top of assignments (no more midnight runs to Wal-Mart the night before the big Science Fair Project is due!  Wootwoot!) by posting a monthly calendar or Homework Planner like the above FREE Printable from Creative Mamma.

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I love the idea of having ‘In’ and ‘Out’ Boxes (or buckets like these from BHG) for organizing school papers.

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Every Happy Buddy needs a little encouragement, so tack up some of his best graded papers, art work, and inspiring words/notes from you in his Homework Station area.

You could even ask your Happy Buddy’s teacher to jot down a quick word to spark the flame of perseverance during homework time.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Philippians 4:13

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This is a really ingenious idea for those that might not have extra room for a specific homework area.

Raising Tomorrow’s Men used an idea from Family Fun to create a personalized Fold-Up Homework Station out of a display board!

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Y’all know I am a gigundo enormous astronomical huge fan of fairies, :-) so this next idea totally rang my bell!

There will definitely be days when getting your Happy Buddy to do his work will be more challenging than others.

This is when you will need the Homework Fairy.

Apparently the Homework Fairy loves to reward ongoing scholastic endeavors, so flutter over HERE for the whole scoop as well as some FREE Printables. :-)

And, finally, when I was teaching 2nd grade, here are a few ideas I gave my students’ parents to keep homework as exciting as it could possibly be.

*Call or Skype with an out-of-town relative and work on math facts, read out loud, or practice spelling words with them.

*Sometimes having a parent just sit with their Happy Buddy during homework time is helpful.  It’s nice to have a buddy while you’re working.

*Do homework at the same time every day.

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*As much as a consistent homework work space is important, mixing it up every once and awhile can provide fresh enthusiasm to finish a task.  Who wouldn’t love doing their homework in the bath tub or under the dining room table or outside in a tent?

Want more??

Check out this article for more tips on making homework fun (I especially like the stamping idea – or you could simply use a fun hole punch!).

I hope you found some great homework inspiration to keep your Happy Home happy during homework time!

Happy Homework-ing! :-)

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Mommy’s Back to School Survival Kit

18 Aug

You know that the first day of school is often more difficult for us Mommies than for our Happy Buddies!

I saw a cute idea here and decided to recreate it as a gift for the Happy Buddy’s PreK-2 classmates’ mommies.

Mommy’s Back to School Survival Kit!

Simply fill some gift bags with a small package of tissues and a few chocolate Kisses (because when the going gets tough, the tough eat chocolate).

Then print out this gonna-make-you-cry-and-realize-how-important-it-is-to-pray-for-our-Happy-Buddies poem and include it in your gift bag.

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Hand out to the Mommies in your Happy Buddy’s class on the first day of school and see many looks of gratitude as running mascara gets instantly remedied.

And…

In case you were wondering how our Happy Home did on the Happy Buddy’s first day of school…Some attempted shots with i heart naptime’s FREE Printable First Day of School signs.

He was kind of a wiggle worm that morning as he was kind of excited. :-) Can’t believe the Happy Buddy is in school!

~Sniffle~

I better go get my Mommy’s Back to School Survival Kit.

Happy Mommy’s Back to School Survival Kit-ing! :-)

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FREE Printables for Back to School

17 Aug

So far during Happy Home Fairy’s Back to School series we have seen a TON of amazing FREE Printables!

Would you believe that there are even MORE out there in Blog Land?

Here is a round-up of some of my faves.

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Oh, Beth Proudfoot, you never cease to amaze me!

Don’t y’all just LOVE this cute FREE Printable Snack Note for your Happy Buddy’s first day lunch box?!

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Um – is that not give-you-goosebumps-ADORABLE?!

One Charming Party has a FREE Printable Apple Note for you to put in your Happy Buddy’s lunch box with a Cereal Worm. :-)

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Anders Ruff created this adorable FREE Printable Backpack Tag to make sure your Happy Buddy’s backpack doesn’t get confused with someone else’s!

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Love these FREE Printable Book Labels from Catch My Party.

There are Lunch Bag Labels too!

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Sweet Coconut Lime made this lovely Back to School Subway Art to print and frame for our Happy Homes.

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Y’all must pop over to Anything But Perfect and pick up your FREE Printable September Calendar to help your Happy Home’s schedules stay on track.

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You will also love Anything But Perfect’s FREE Printable Notes for the Teacher.

What a helpful way to keep teacher communication organized and efficient!

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Speaking of communication with your Happy Buddy’s teacher…

I think this Get to Know Your Teacher FREE Printable from The Blackberry Vine is BRILLIANT!

It’s the perfect way to find out all of the important tidbits that will inspire gift-giving for the person who works so hard to educate and bless your Happy Buddy’s mind and heart!

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I am kind of a HUGE fan of this FREE Printable Reading Log from Simple as That.

I used to require my 2nd graders to keep a Reading Log each night – this would have been such an upgrade in the cuteness factor from the one I handed out. :-)

I think your Happy Buddy’s will especially love the FREE Printable Bookworm Snack Tags, too.

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Here is a sweet (literally!) FREE Candy Bar Wrapper from The Crafting Chicks for your Happy Buddy to give to his teacher on the first day.

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Oops, I Craft My Pants (I know – hilarious) made some FREE Printable “I hope your new school year goes smoothly” Tags to add to a bottle of lotion.

The Happy Buddy and I actually did something like this for his teacher on his first day of PreK-2 (yesterday!  Sob!). :-)

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Itsy Bitsy Paper created these awesome “You’re the WRITE teacher for me!” tags to put on a package of pencils.

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Did anyone else get a big ole’ grin looking at this clever-ness from eighteen25?

Your Happy Buddy’s teacher is sure to get a kick out of this Calculator First Day Gift!

And don’t forget about The Fairy’s FREE Printables!

Lunch Box Love Notes

School Supply Scavenger Hunt

Back to School Countdown

Back to School Fairy Place Mat/Certificate

Happy Back to School FREE Printable-ing! :-)

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Lunch Box Love Notes – FREE Printables!

15 Aug

One of the best things my mom did for me as a kid was put little notes in my lunch box.

I didn’t care if it was written on a scrap of paper, a napkin, or the bag that my sandwich was packaged in – I cherished every word that she took the time to write.

I thought it would be fun to design some FREE Printable Lunch Box Love Notes for your Happy Buddy’s lunch box.

All you have to do is print and cut out.

Your Happy Buddies (and all of their friends in the cafeteria) will love them!

Especially the corny hilarious jokes.

This is quality material, people. :-)

ENJOY!Click HERE for your FREE Printable Lunch Box Love Notes!

And if you haven’t already, if you download these FREE Printable Lunch Box Love Notes, please ‘LIKE’ the Fairy on Facebook and stay up-to-date on all of the Happy Home Magic!

Happy Lunch Box Love Note-ing! :-)

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Owl Bet It’s Going to Be a Great School Year

13 Aug

The owl is always celebrated as a wise creature and therefore tends to show up in a lot of things related to school.

Plus, they are pretty cute.

When I saw this backpack -

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I was inspired to do a post featuring some neat owl ideas for your Back to School experience.

Owl bet you’re going to love them!!!

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This Lunch Rox baked some adorable Owl Cupcakes for her Happy Buddy to find in his lunch pail.

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Meet the Dubiens had this fun Owl Sandwich and Tree waiting for her Happy Buddies to enjoy after a long day at school.

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I am loving the simplicity of this Owl Snack that Superheroes and Princesses created!

That cashew nose is a hoot!

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Whoooo loves White Trash?

Work In Progress Kits made a bunch of these Owl Treat Bags filled with delicious white chocolate snack mix (for which she also shared the recipe – YUM).

These would make a great hand out for the teachers (and school bus driver, and crossing guard, etc.) in your Happy Buddy’s school!

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Whooo wouldn’t love pulling their sandwich out of one of these Owl Themed Reusable Sandwich Bags?

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The Celebration Shoppe made these unbelievably AMAZING Back to School Owl Lunch Box Love Notes.

And yes, they are FREEfor you to print. :-)

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My Delightful Designs also has a FREE Owl-Themed Printable!

These bookmarks are just the thing to inspire your Happy Buddy to get back into the books this year.

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This little Owl Alarm Clock from Dollar Store Crafts will help get your Happy Buddies up and at ‘em in the morning!

It’s really easy and super cheap to make!!!

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Lisa Storms made this Owl Gift Bag for her Happy Buddy’s Teacher!

So clever.

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And since yesterday was all about pencils, I thought this simple paper and googly eye Owl Pencil Holder from Thoughts and Moments would be a thoughtful ‘happy’ to pass out on the first day.

Some sayings for you to include with all of your Back to School Owl-Themed Ideas…

This Year’s Going to Be a Hoot!

Owl Bet It’s Going to Be a Great Year!

Whooooo’s Excited about (2nd) Grade??

Happy Owl-ing! :-)

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No. 2′s.

12 Aug

Oh, those No. 2′s!!!

Don’t you love a fresh No. 2?

The smell of them?  Mmmm…

No, I am not talking about poo!

I am talking about pencils – get your mind out of the potty. :-)

I shared a really cute Popsicle Stick Pencil Craft on Wednesday and it inspired me so much that I hunted down a few more pencil ideas that I had to share!

So let’s get to the point!

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One Charming Party had the brilliant idea of having a Pencil Exchange Party!!!

Wouldn’t that be so fun?!

Everyone brings a pack of brand-spankin’ new pencils to share with the other guests – that way everyone leaves with a case filled up for the new school year!

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If you have a Pencil Exchange Party – then you better have a Pencil Cake like this one from Family Fun!

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What a sweet place setting for your Happy Buddy to find on the morning of the first day of school!

Those amazing gals at eighteen25 have done it again with these FREE Printable You’re So Sharp tags.

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Not Just a Mommy made this fun recycled Pringle can Pencil Favor!

She filled them with little treats and trinkets to bless her Happy Buddy during the Back to School season.

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Is anyone else totally stunned that pencils could create such a wondrous sight?!

Tatertots and Jello featured this surprisingly simple Starburst Pencil Mirror teacher gift.

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Shindig Parties to Go made a cute Pencil Vase for her Happy Buddy’s teacher.

She even has the tag for you to print for FREE!

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Speaking of free, Paper Glitter made these FREE Printable Pencil Tags for you!

Do they not just make you happy?

I kind of want to carry one around in my pocket all day as a quick way to get cheered up. :-)

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And last but not least, why not bring a little basket of these Pencil Treats for all of your Happy Buddy’s classmates?

With just some scrapbook paper, a pack of Rolos and a Hershey Kiss, Blackberry Vine gives you all the tips.

That last pun was the Happy Hubby’s brilliant contribution as he is reading over my shoulder. :-)

There’s never a dull moment around here!

Happy No. 2-ing! :-)

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Back to School Craft – Popsicle Stick Pencil

10 Aug

There is something about the Back to School season that makes me crave freshly sharpened pencils.

So when I saw this idea here, I thought maybe the Happy Buddy and I could craft one!It’s so easy!

Here is what you will need to make your own Popsicle Stick Pencil.Yellow paint

4 Popsicle Sticks (we used the large ones)

Pink paper

Tan paper

Cute ribbon

Paintbrush

Black marker

Glue (forgot to put that in the picture!)Step 1 – Paint your popsicle sticks yellow.

Or, in the Happy Buddy’s case, get distracted and paint the scrap paper underneath the popsicle sticks yellow.Step 2 – Once the yellow paint has dried, glue the popsicle sticks together.

I originally had 5 sticks for this project, but after gluing 4 I decided that it didn’t need any more.

And yes, I did sprinkle some glitter on our Popsicle Stick Pencil.

There is just no other way to craft, in my opinion. :-)

Step 3 – Cut out a pink square of construction paper and glue to the back of the popsicle sticks.Step 4 – Cut out a triangle from the tan paper and use the black marker to color the tip of the pencil.

Glue the triangle to the back of the popsicle sticks at the opposite end of the pink square.

Step 5 – Glue a piece of ribbon to the back and when it’s all dry, hang it on a doorknob and celebrate how SHARP you are for crafting something so cute.

Then have your Happy Buddy present your Popsicle Stick Pencil to his/her teacher on the first day of school.

Your Happy Buddy’s teacher will think it’s No. 1 -

Not No. 2.

Happy Popsicle Stick Pencil-ing! :-)

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Rise and Shine Routine Chart

9 Aug

Last year when the Back to School season rolled around, my sister-in-love, Christen, shared a prayer request with me about her daughter, Rebekah.

Christen said that she was having a difficult time getting Rebekah motivated in the mornings.

She would tell Rebekah to get dressed and have breakfast, then find her playing with her dolls in her room.

She would tell Rebekah to brush her teeth, then find her doing a puzzle.

Rebekah’s artistic spirit lends itself to being easily distracted – and mornings were becoming a mess of tardy slips and frustrations.

Something had to be done!

So I made Rebekah her very own Rise and Shine Routine Chart.*Sorry for the icky pictures!  I took them last September and didn’t really know all that much about photography – I still don’t really know that much, I just know not to use the flash now!*

It was really easy!

I asked Christen if I could come over one day and take some pictures of Rebekah doing the things that she needed to do in order to get ready for her day.

Like…Brushing her hair…Putting her shoes on…Putting her backpack and lunch box by the door…

etc.

What was neat was that even just the act of me taking the pictures helped Rebekah have a better understanding of her morning responsibilities.

Plus, every little girl likes to be the star of a photo shoot – right?!

Then I printed the photos and glued them onto a big piece of poster board – in the order in which each task needed to be accomplished.The chart had two sides – one for how she should look on school days, and one for how she should look for church on Sundays.

I added some Bible verses, stickers and fun comments to encourage her precious heart each day. :-)

I laminated the chart so that Rebekah could use a dry erase marker to check off each task upon completion.

She really liked that part!Christen said that the Rise and Shine Routine Chart completely changed their Happy Home’s mood in the mornings.

Instead of the frantic, harried pace, Christen was able to just redirect Rebekah to the chart whenever she noticed any off task behavior.

What a positive way to help your Happy Buddies ease back into the school routine!

And if your Happy Buddies are visual learners (or too young to read) this would be a very helpful idea.There she is – Rising and Shining!

I’m so proud of you, Rebekah!

Happy Rise and Shine Routine Chart-ing! :-)

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School Supply Scavenger Hunt – FREE Printable!

8 Aug

If you have even stepped a foot out of your Happy Home, you know that stores are overflowing with Back to School Supplies!

Does anyone else get a thrill out of a brand new box of crayons?? :-)

I just bought 75 boxes for 40 cents each at Wal-Mart.

I am not even kidding about that.

Here is a fun way to treat your Happy Buddies to their school supplies this year – give them a School Supply Scavenger Hunt!

It’s super easy.

Just purchase the basics – crayons, markers, pencils, notebooks, paper, scissors, glue, and a ruler.

Then use my FREE Printable Scavenger Hunt Cards to hide the supplies around your Happy Home!

Your Happy Buddies will just love racing from one rhyming clue to the next, filling their backpacks with the things that they will need for the new school year.

Here’s a peak at what your FREE Printable School Supply Scavenger Hunt Cards look like…

Click HERE for your FREE Printable School Supply Scavenger Hunt!

**GREAT IDEA ALERT!**

Want to use this School Supply Scavenger Hunt AND get your Happy Buddies thinking about others??

Simply put a double of each school supply at each of the Scavenger Hunt locations.

Then hand your Happy Buddy another backpack and tell him that he is going on a hunt not only for his own supplies, but for the supplies of a child less fortunate.

Finally, have your Happy Buddy donate the backpack to a local charity or organization that is having a Back to School Supply Drive – our church is donating backpacks and school supplies right now to 4 Kids of South Florida.

I think some Staples locations are hosting School Supply Drives as well.

AND…

If you like this FREE Printable from Happy Home Fairy, please ‘Like’ the Fairy on Facebook so that you can stay up-to-date on all the Happy Home magic!

Happy School Supply Scavenger Hunt-ing! :-)

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