Follow-Friday-Back-to-School-Blogger-Roundup-MainPhoto

Follow-Friday-Back-to-School-Blogger-Roundup-MainPhoto

Who did you #FF today? It’s always a tough call, because there are so many wonderful and interesting Tweeps out there. We do appreciate those who follow us, tweet and retweet and comment on our new ventures.

So today is the last vacation Friday for a lot of us. School starts on August 20 in many Southern states, and if you’re as busy as I am, you waited until the last minute to get your back-to-school supplies! I missed tax-free sales week, but after reading our money expert’s post on why tax-free week is not such a great deal, I relaxed.

The rest of the Online Latino Community is also filled with back-to-school and parenting activity which we enjoyed:

  • Our LATISM friends hosted back-to-school Twitter parties which were as heated and packed with information as usual. Their aim: to dispel the myth that Latino parents don’t care about their kids’ education. Their conclusion: Latino parents support their kids in non-traditional ways. Although last night’s party focused on the use of technology in the classroom, we ended up discussing the benefits of being bilingual as well!
  • For those living up north where school isn´t in session until after Labor Day, Jeannette Kaplun´s column on Babble, Mamifesto, gives great tips to shop for supplies without losing your sanity. The most helpful tip to me: “Make an inventory of what you already have and put in a clear bag labeled with your child’s name. Cross off the items from your list.”
  • BabyCenter en Español just unveiled the results of a commissioned study, which states that Latina moms are more likely than their Anglo counterparts to own a smart phone and use it for online purchases. “When talking about how Latina moms use media, it’s important to differentiate use according to their level of acculturation, since the English-speaking Latina mom has a quite distinct use from that of the less-assimilated mom. However, there’s something all Latina moms agree on: The smartphone is their best friend, and they couldn’t imagine life without it,” said Isidra Mencos, editorial director of BabyCenter en Español.
  • We enjoyed the post “An Open Letter to My Friends Without Children, featured on BlogHer. Some of the tips, such as “sleep as much as you can,” “save your money,” and “enjoy going braless while you can,” ring true. Now that my eldest is 11 and the youngest is eight, they know to let mami sleep when I need a break. But oh yes, I remember those sleepless nights of endless but cozy nursing sessions.

Here´s to the last weekend before school for many, and to two more weeks of summer vacation for the rest!