2
Guest Post by Lori Pace of A Day in Motherhood
Back to School conjures up images of new clothes, school supplies and the endless hunt for the perfect backpack. With everything that kids need these days to succeed in school, the budget can be busted quickly. And so can mom’s (and dad’s) patience as they hunt down that perfect pair of jeans!
Since my kids are still little, I am trying to get a routine for the season and modify it only slightly for the years to come. But there are some things that I already know work for me and I thought I would share them with you!
Start Early – One of my biggest frustrations last year was getting my kids to bed at a decent time and waking them at a reasonable time. I did not try to modify their sleep schedule ahead of the first day and I paid for it dearly for weeks to come. So this year, with only 3 weeks left until the first day jitters, I am already setting a sleep schedule. And even though two of the three only go to preschool part time, I am still including them in the process! I know that having them in bed at a decent time and up when they are supposed to be, I will eliminate a lot of busy, school morning, stress!
Get Them Used to the Daily Schedule Now – Most people who have had kids in school know, generally, what their children’s school day schedule is like. We have a timeline in our heads of what and where our children are at any given time of day. With that in mind, I am trying to get my kids accustomed to that schedule at home now. I believe that part of being successful is being prepared. So serving lunch when they would normally eat, doing craft and reading time around the same time and even letting them play outside at the time they normally do can help them be prepared for their days. From young children to teenagers, any type of routine can make adjusting to school easier!
Get The School Year Schedules Now – Head to your school’s website and get the school year calendars now. This can help you plan for days off, special events and other events that can break the routine and leave you floundering for child care and/ or activities through out the year. Last year I waited to be told through the bring home folder when happenings were held and the last minute scrambling left my head spinning!
Organize your kids clothes ahead of time – My kids are at that age where they want to dress themselves. Unfortunately, if it is in their drawer, they want to wear it. So before I use the valuable back to school coupons that I find in the paper, at check out and get in the mail or online from my favorite retailers, I will be cleaning out the old. Not only does this help me from overbuying as I know exactly what my kids have, but I will know that the only thing in my kids drawers are the school appriate outfits. No mom wants to fight with her daughter on a school morning about the hot pink pants that are two sizes too small paired with the zebra print shirt that should have seen a trash can the year before!
Plan Ahead - there is nothing worse than getting to the store, hunting for that back to school supplies list on the display, finding out that the sheets are gone and then throwing everything in your cart thinking you’ll take what you don’t need back later. Because you won’t. And you’ll overspend. And you will miss something.
I plan ahead by preodering the entire school supplies stack from my school’s website. I have priced what I spend on the pack – about $50 – versus the cost of loading up three children and heading to the store and digging through deals to get the best price and it turns out about the same. So, if you have this option, try to use it. The supplies are placed on your child’s desk the day school starts!
If you do not have this option, head your school’s website and print out the supply list before you head to the store! Highlight what you need and write next to it what you expect to pay. By the time you get to the store, you’ll have a reliable list and a realistic expectation of what to spend!
Be Realistic – In all honesty, no matter how well you plan or prepare, there are going to be things that come up to add stress to the craziness of back to school. Knowing that around any corner can be something to send you into a tailspin can help you put on the breaks and deal with it realistically. From lost lunch pails on the first day to the melt down that your child might have when they find out their BFF is not in their class, being realistic about your expectations is important. Flexibility, humor and deep breaths are all back to school items that should be in your backpack!
omg i loved picking out folders! all the designs to choose from and binders i loved also. lisa frank was my favorite designer for them! do yall know who she is? shes got bright beautiful fun girly exciting designs cute too. i still love her stuff but dont see much of it anymore. she makes all sorts stuff. posters cards stickers school supplies ect
It's amazing how much of a difference just laying out things the night before makes--I need to start getting into that habit again!!
Favorite back to school supplies was the Big Tablet and crayons.
I loved those markers that had different smells (Like Watermelon, grape, etc.) There is nothing better than newly sharpened pencils and those black and white composition books. Remind me of elementary school!
Great advice! I stock up on extras of everything like crayons and glue while prices are so low in August!
To this day I still have an 'office supply' addiction. The funny thing about it is finding out how many of my friends do too. I attribute this to the fun of back to school shopping as a kid, and the bags and bags of new stuff you would get all at once. For myself, I think my favorite school supply was always my 'main folder' or binder, aka as a Trapper Keeper. You still see these but they are more of a fun luxury now, with supplies so heavily policed by teachers and administrators. We didn't have this type of policing when I was a kid. We just basically got what we knew we would need: pens, pencils, erasers, paper, scissors, glue and either markers, colored pencils or crayons (depending on your grade), and supply boxes. The Trapper Keeper was like 'central command', and the one thing, besides your clothes, that allowed you to 'wear your personality on your sleeve', so to speak. These days, that is discouraged in favor of uniform supplies and clothes. The favorite supply/addiction that has stayed with me all these years is my love of Sharpies. I like to have every color, size and tip style that I can find.
I remember the denim type of notebook binders and we would get the stickers to put on them to help us through the year. We also would draw and write on them too. For a short while they had the color filler papers, which I indulged in just to get organized and perk up my taking classes.
I loved getting all the school supplies, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, notebooks, binders, etc. To this day I am like a kid in a candy store at the office supply place, I love organizing, making binders with tabs and color coding. Its a bit geeky, but what can I say I love that stuff.
I loved nice new sharp pencils and especially pencils that had colorful pencil erasers that you can put on top so you could erase alot more! If I happened to get a round pencil, that would be even better! If I got a pencil that had some type of design on it, well, I just felt downright popular then!
I loved getting that Box of Crayons and new tablets. I liked the way the crayons were sharp and new but hated to use them. I'd always sharpen them with a pencil sharpener, LOL.
My favorite back to school supply is Crayola Crayons!
My favorite back to school supplies were any form of pencils & sharpener. There is something about sharpening the pencils the night before the 1st day of school. The happiness on my face would be so apparent and this task made me forget the days ahead of getting up early and getting ready for school.
Binders were my fav school supply when I was younger
New clothes and shoes.
My favorite school supplies when I was younger was almost always the colored pencils (I have always loved the color combinations and shading effects) and a wide array of pens in different types and different colored inks as well. I still admit I have a pretty intense pen fetish to this day. :)
I always loved getting new "fancy to me" pens, and different color highlighters.
We start in waves this year since kids are going to different schools. I usually organize the two bottom levels of pantry for packable snacks for the kids, we get in the habit of them packing lunches b/f bed the night before. Bitter sweet time of year for me for sure.
I'm doing back to school for the first time in years! I had to roll my Little Guy's bed time back to 7:30 and we are laying out clothes the night before. Morning are a beast around here but to be honest I love it! I am getting second chance to relive the past and it is a HUGE blessing! Thanks for all the tips n tricks!
Leslie
Leslie Loves Veggies
Great tips! This is my first year having a child in all day school. My daughter just started Kindergarten this week and I already miss her. I'm having to adjust to lots of boy-themed play with my 2-year-old son, but we are having lots of fun.
Love all the tips! My favorite is always the new clothes we got for the start of school!
I'm getting my boys back into their sleep schedule this week. Today we finish shopping for supplies and it's open house at both schools. Yesterday we stopped by the elementary to look at the class list and my youngest is excited about who will be in his class! Can't believe school starts on Monday. Where did summer vacation go?
I loved getting new pointed Crayons. I remember hating when they got rounded and hard to color with.
I always loved getting a new pencil box and trapper keeper. My kids can't use trapper keepers or pencil boxes. They have to use pencil bags and binders!
My first day of school outfit.
I would have to say folders! Who ever you liked, celebs , characters or whatever was always on them :)
Crayons! Still love the colors.
Lisa Frank binder, pencils. :)
Oh I would always have my (trapper-keeper) on top of my list! I think I went through the whole school year and plus with the same one, they were pretty tough and back then they were very popular for their make and style.
I always looked forward to picking out my pencil box and my lunch box, they weren't always the "coolest" but I got to pick them out and that made it even better :)
Pencils, pens, notebooks, and a binders.
My favorite Back To School item was my lunch box. I wanted the cutest one of course.
my favorite back to school supply item was a new lunch box- the metal ones of course....like Scoobie Doo, wonder woman, flintstones!
My very favorite new school supply was a new box of Crayola Crayons. They were all in a nice new box, they all had sharp points and if you got the big box, there were so many colors. The smell was wonderful also.
My favorite back to school item was a lunch box.
I loved the Pearl eraser. All shiny and new. Halfway during the year, I'd start outlining the "Pearl" with my pencil. Eventually, that rectangle became two circles as I would always seem to break it in half.
What great tips! I loved getting new clothes and notebooks.
I love getting a new backpack growing up
well my favorite thing was always new clothes and crayons!!
I never did have a lunchbox when I was a kid, my mom used the brown paper bags! But I loved opening up a new box of crayons for the first time!
My favorite was the clothes, & crayons! :D
My favorite back to school item was defiantly my backpack 2nd would have to be lunchbox.
My favorite supply was my pencil box in elementary school but as I got to middle school ,it was my notebook.These were the only things I could design my way.
My favorite was always new crayons as a small child... The Artist in my loves the many colors of crayons to see the imagination light up every year... I would be so excited for the new school year....
I love reading how much everyone loves back to school! From lunch boxes to crayons, this time of year is just fun! Thank you all for reading!! ;)
I loved lunchboxes too! I had at least one new one every year!
My favorite back to school item was always my lunchbox... the metal type, of course!
I would love to be able to order the school supplies directly from our school, that would save so much time and stress!
I used to love back to school season.. and now I can't wait for my little one to be older enough for school :)
We homeschool - but there is still a good bit of back-to-school preparation that needs to take place here. I still love the back-to-school aisles in the stores - they are so tempting!
loved getting a new back to school lunchbox