Labor Day and Back to School

It's that time to plan for a rewarding and productive school year, Public, private, or homeschool, every family could use tips to help have the best yer possible.

School books, bags and sports equipment.

Set aside on place for organizing lunches, backpacks and other items the kids need to use daily. Whether it is a mud room at the back of the house or the front entryway, it is a place to organize.

Make use of baskets, peg racks, shelves or a deacon's bench, use what enhances your decor. Plan your organization needs and discuss it with the kids.

Put backpacks and other school items out the night before-to avoid chaos in the morning. Have the kids help make their lunches the night before or early morning.

Plan breakfast menus for a week to avoid further confusion.

Try to make the first week as smooth as possible and set the tone for a great year.

Barb

had a mud room at the back door where each child had a peg for his coat, two small, deep shelves under it for boots and the book bag went either on top of the shelf or hung over the coat. There was a parson' bench there where the seat lifted up for them to store mitts and hats or odds and ends like small balls and whatever little things they took to school with them to play with at recess.

You may not have a lot of room but try to set aside one area where all the outdoor clothing and boots etc can be kept then there is no hunting in the morning.

Another bit of info about Labor Day

"Labor Day differs in every essential from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degreeconnected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."
Yes that is what Labor Day stands for. True, things have changed these days with Labor Day being celebrated with the civic events usually associated with national holidays in America. But behind all the usual fun and fiesta of a national holiday the Day has a unique significance.
Traditionally parades, and speeches by labor leaders and political figures, mark Labor Day celebrations. The spirit is to pay a national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the power and prosperity of America

this information is from: http://www.theholidayspot.com/laborday/celebration.htm

Getting ready for Labor Day

The First Labor Day Parade


A Brief History of Labor Day

The History of Labor Day

from the US Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov/OPA/ABOUTDOL/LABORDAY.HTM

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Happy Holidays

Barb