The Brunette Lucy

Even Lazy Summer Days Offer Learning Opportunities

Lucy waxes poetic about the summer months for all parents; homeschooler or not.

Matt and I have homeschooled our children for years. So when summer comes around, I don’t know who’s more excited – us or them. After the last test is graded, we throw on Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out for Summer” and then dance around like a bunch of drunken sailors. We’ve got a whole lot of nothing to do for a few months. I want to clarify; we don’t homeschool because we think teachers aren’t doing a good job. On the contrary, we think teachers have the hardest job out there these days. When I was younger, if your teacher looked at you cross-eyed, you were nervous; bullies were thrown out on their bullying rear ends. These days, teachers are asked to be teacher, friend, parent, babysitter, nurse, mentor, role model, and a host of other …

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Your Photos: First Day of School

Share your images of the first day of school.

  Summer has finally come to an end and students from around the Council Rock School District are returning to the classrooms Tuesday and Wednesday. If you grabbed some snaps of your kids before they headed off to class, share them with Patch. To add to the photo gallery, simply log into your Patch account or click here to create one. Click on "Upload Photos and Videos" just below this gallery to add your own images. Click here to visit our back to school section.

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Get Untangled: Back-to-School Hair Cuts at Tangles Salon

It's back-to-school season! Have you set up your kids' hair appointments?

A new school year means new pens, pencils, notebooks and backpacks. Back-to-school clothes shopping is a must. But in all the hustle and bustle of the back-to-school season, don’t forget to stop in your local hair salon for a fresh cut. Tangles Salon offers $15 hair cuts for kids under age nine. The salon, located in Richboro Plaza Shopping Center, is open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They accept walk-ins and appointments.

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Start Thinking About School Lunches

Check out these tips for packing healthy, inexpensive school lunches for your kids.

Thinking about back-to-school? Don’t forget about school lunches. The average cost of school lunch is anywhere from $1.50 to $3.50 a day. Comparatively, if you pack your child’s lunch, the average cost is about $2 a day. School lunches usually consist of two or three different main-course options, with sides of grains, fruit and veggies and a beverage. If you choose to pack your child’s lunch, you naturally have more control over what your child is eating, and you can pack his or her favorites. You can also be sure your child’s lunch meets any special dietary needs (like food allergies) by packing it yourself. Try to mix it up. If you pack your child the same boring sandwich and snacks every day, chances are good he or she will toss it or …

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Vote for Your Favorite Vacation Photo

Cast your vote for your favorite photo in the comments section of this article!

**Voting has Closed From the Jersey Shore to Alcatraz, you squeezed every last bit of vacation time out of summer. We asked you to share your favorite photo with our readers in a back-to-school classic: What I did on my Summer Vacation. We received some great photos, and we chose our favorites to move into the voting round. Now it's your turn. Vote in the comments for your favorite photo, by giving its number (the photo's number can be found in the caption and at the top right corner of each picture). Voting is open until 5 p.m., Sept. 2. The winner will be announced on Labor Day. If you are one of the finalists, post some more information about your picture. The winner will receive a $50 gift card and a Back-to-School prize package that …

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How Much Will You Spend on Back-to-School Supplies?

The average family is expected to spend $688 this year on school supplies, more if they buy online, according to the National Retail Federation.

The amount families will spend on back-to-school supplies will be 12.3 percent more than last year, or about $688, according to the National Retail Federation's annual back-to-school spending survey. Those who shop online will spend even more, $874 the survey says.  Do you think $688 is a reasonable amount of money to spend for back-to-school shopping? Leave a comment. The survey found the average person with children in grades K-12 will spend $246.10 on clothes, $217.88 on electronics, $129.20 on shoes, and $95.44 on school supplies—such as notebooks, pencils and backpacks.  In addition, about six in 10 people said they would invest in some sort of electronic device, according to the survey. This is up from 51.9 percent who planned to buy…

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Impact Thrift to Host Back-to-School Fashion Show

Feasterville's Impact Thrift Store will host a back-to-school fashion show Saturday, Aug. 18.

Impact Thrift Stores want to help you send your kids back to school in style for less. On Saturday, Aug. 18, Impact's style guru Heather Hamilton will be hosting a back-to-school fashion show at the Feasterville location to show off hip, fall styles for kids that can be found in their stores for less. She will also be showcasing fun and fashionable ideas to help expand a fall wardrobe with rich fall colors. Hamilton is hoping to use this fashion show to help make your existing fall wardrobe more versatile and trendy by getting designer looks while shopping on a budget. Where do you do your back to school shopping? Tell us in the comments.

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What School Supplies Does a Middle Schooler Need?

Holland Middle School released a list of supplies each student should have on the frist day of class.

Notebooks, pens, folders and more are all supplies that a middle school student should have on the first day of school, according to Holland Middle School's website. To make sure that your child is prepared on the first day of class, Holland Middle School has provided a list of necessary supplies. Teachers ask that the following items are gathered by the first day of school. The school's math department requires students to have calculators. According to a letter sent out to parents in May, students should have a TI-30XII for Academic Math 7, Honors Math 7 and Academic Math 8. For Honors algebra, students must have a graphing calculator. The department recommends the TI-83 or TI-84 by Texas Instruments. At the high school level, a graphing…

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