Tag Archives: back-to-school

The First Day Back to School

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Yes, it came last week. Again.

L to R: The Cowboy, K5; Speedracer, K4; the Ladybug, 3rd grade.

The dreaded first day back to school…that they’ve been looking forward to for weeks. Truly, they have. They were so excited to start back.  Orientation on the 17th just fueled their little fires.

They’ve been tired (very tired) but happy.

I dropped them off the first day. This was our first time doing a drop-off line and not getting to walk them in.

They did fine, waved good-bye, holler “I love you!” and headed inside.

I waved good-bye, hollered “I love you!” drove 1500 feet to the 7-11 and burst into tears.

It’s hard letting them go.

It’s hard picking them up and knowing that the best part of their energy was spend somewhere else and I’ll be hard put to create something good out of the exhausted few hours we have left in the day.

It’s hard to choose joy.

“When God calls us to follow Him, He seems to be very concerned about our faith and fairly unconcerned with our comfort and convenience.”  – Zan Tyler, 7 Tools for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential.

I wish I could say that every year gets a little easier, but it doesn’t. I think maybe each year gets a little harder.

Each time I send them off, I realize deep down inside that I’m getting closer and closer to sending them off for good.

Each time I let them go, I’m one hug down on the finite number of hugs I’ll get in this lifetime.

Oh Lord, give me the strength and endurance to make the most of each day, each moment, each breath–to Your good purpose.

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:26-29)

 

5 Days of Organizing Back to School…Fresh Routines and Learning Lifestyles

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Well, this first week of back to school has just been exhausting–but joyful too. The Ladybug brought home her first math paper and it was…PERFECT! I don’t think we had one of those in math all year last year. No one was sent to the principal’s office, and Speedracer ate at least one thing on his plate at lunch all week. Only one, but at least he’s not starving! {grin}

All week I’ve joined with 21 other bloggers in a 5 Days of Organizing and Cleaning series, and today I’m wrapping up by talking about routines and learning lifestyles. If you missed any of the other posts, be sure to hop on back and read them!

Monday: It Starts at Home

Tuesday: Supplies and Gear

Wednesday: Food and Meal Planning

Thursday: Simple Wardrobes

Friday: Fresh Routines and Learning Lifestyles.

And this is the LAST DAY to enter all of the GIVEAWAYS throughout the week–so be sure to enter the $50 cash giveaway at the end of this post. And check out the other 10 GIVEAWAYS over at 5 Days of Organizing and Cleaning.

ROUTINES

The start of the school year changes our whole household routine. I love routine, so it’s probably harder on me than anyone else around here! But the start of school sets a perfect deadline for refreshing our family routines. (We use routines rather than schedules.)

We refresh routines for several reasons.

1. The kids get older, their skills improve, and they’re ready to tackle new skills.

2. Things around the farmyard change, so the scope of certain jobs changes.

3. Things around the house change (like going to a new school this year!), so our morning and evening timeframes change.

4. The kids get bored.

5. We find a better way to do something.

This year we’re trying something new for meal chores.  I’ve created specific jobs–Food Helper, Table Helper, and Kitchen Helper–and we’ve got a little chart that I can use to set daily assignments. Each Helper is just that–the person assigned to help me complete the jobs listed–we don’t really see these as independent chores. But it will also be a great way for me to focus on the kiddos one at a time to get some good teaching done.

Meal Chore Chart

I’m incorporating these new assignments into our new regular morning and evening routines. {Here’s a printable copy of the Meal Chores Chart for ya!}

I mentioned the other day that we make the kids do their chores before they eat breakfast or get snacks–it helps them be diligent about finishing up. I had to work walking the dog in somewhere too this year. We also successfully started “quiet book time” in the evening after dinner at the end of last year. This is the Ladybug’s homework time, but we also have the boys sit down at the table and work on workbooks, read with their TAG reader or a magazine, or do coloring or count by numbers.

Here’s what our new Fall routine looks like…

{You’re welcome to view a full-sized, printable copy here.}

You’ll notice that I have cleaning the mudroom bathroom on the list every morning. The kiddos use that bathroom for washing up in the morning, but it’s also our “guest” bathroom, so I try to keep it decent for drop in company.

You’ll also notice our “15 minute blessing.” That’s based on what Mr. Fix-It sees when he walks in the door in the evening. I try to tidy up the hot spots of clutter and especially right  by the mudroom where he walks in at night.

 

Wondering how I figured all that out? Well, I started by reading the FlyLady book (I like the book much better than the website.) It was a huge help!

Here’s how you can start…

1. First break your day into key components/steps/jobs. We have the AM slot before we leave for work, the PM slot right when we get home, the bedtime routines, and special weekend routines to get our housecleaning done. We happen to have way more work than time, so I avoid complete discouragement by not assigning time frames to anything. {smile} Just progressive order.

2. Note everyone required to or capable of doing a particular job.  I started on paper and marked initials next to each job. Then I started color coding with a highlighter because it just made it easier to see the big picture. Note what can be done independently and what requires supervision. (And what only you can do!)

3. Assign Jobs.We try to make it fair based on how much time and effort it takes–not based on the number of jobs. Watering the dog takes Speedracer just as long as water all the livestock takes the Cowboy.

4. Note tasks that can be done concurrently. Everyone gets dressed at the same time. Everyone does chores at the same time and for basically the same amount of time. Mr. Fix-It and I split up the evening routine so that someone is helping with homework/quiet time and kitchen clean up (since that’s all in the same room) and the other is rotating kiddos through the shower.

4. Start ordering things based on what you know works (or doesn’t work!) right now.  Try it for a while and then adjust. The key is to give things time to work–don’t rush out and change it or give up on something in the first week or two. Try it for at least two weeks and see if it works. The other important thing is to re-evaluate regularly–not frequently, but regularly. The start of summer and then back to school are perfect for this. Things in your household change constantly, you need to reassess what’s going on so you’re routine reflects your current priorities.

LEARNING LIFESTYLE

Part of organizing for the school year and refreshing our daily routines is reviewing any and all ways we create full-time learning environment in our home. I’ve posted before about creating a constant atmosphere of learning and encouraging your children to see learning and discovery as a fun part of life, not just something that happens at school. A learning culture, if you will.

Here’s some of the strategies we use that I’ve been purging, updating, and refreshing while we’re in back to school mode…

  • Reading baskets. We have coffee table and bathroom reading baskets in our house to corral some of the magazine and book clutter. The week before school I went through and purged and restocked them. We keep our National Geographic Kids, several farming periodicals, our membership newsletters to the zoo and Living Museum, and our current read-aloud books in there. We keep the same stuff in a pocket of the car!

 

  • Coffee table books. What’s on your coffee table? You’re kids will value whatever you put out there because it’s important enough to be left out when other things are put away. We have a jar of feathers and bones collected from our nature study this year, a Nature Study book, two bible studies (Who is God, and Food in the Time of the Bible), and a couple homesteading magazines.
  
  • Wall space. What do you have on your walls–especially your kids walls? Did you pick it just because it’s pretty? Or does it also add to the learning culture of your home? We’re still developing this element ourselves. But so far we’ve got specimen shadow boxes from our nature study this year, a world map, and a cross stitch sampler for our walls upstairs.
  • Movies and Media. We’re in process with this one too. But what is most of your movie and TV cabinet filled with? Are they films and shows that add to the education and morality of your family, or are they mostly entertainment. I love some Captain America (or Veggie Tales) as much as the next person, but our kids are also used to watching hours of documentaries–particularly nature-based ones right now. The Cowboy’s favorite “movie” right now is Life (Note: this one includes some Evolutionary commentary).
  • Notebooks/Journals. Nothing will bring your kids’ minds into focus like giving them a notebook and pen and telling them to write about what they see, or hear, or think. It’s a great way to teach them observation skills, and to cultivate a grateful spirit by encouraging the disciple of counting their blessings.

And you know that old saying, “more is caught than taught”? Well, if you want a culture of learning, a love of learning and discovering and exploring in your home…then you’re going to have to lead by example.

What are you reading? What are you watching?  And what are you putting out for them to read and watch?

On Monday I’ll be sharing more about our first week at school, which is also our first week of soccer (and my first week of soccer-momhood) and the chicken mutiny that has broken out at The Lowe Farm recently.

In the mean time, be sure to stop by and visit some of the other inspiring posts in the series–I’ve been pinning my little heart out this week so I can go back later and catch up!

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5 Days of Organizing Back to School…Simple Wardrobes {with Printable Checklists}

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This week is our first week back to school, and I’m joining 21 other bloggers in a 5 Days of Organizing and Cleaning series.

Monday: It Starts at Home

Tuesday: Supplies and Gear

Wednesday: Food and Meal Planning

Thursday: Simple Wardrobes

Friday: Fresh Routines and Learning Lifestyles.

There will also be some sweet GIVEAWAYS throughout the week–so be sure to check out the links at the end of my posts each day! (Hint, Hint…there’s cash!)

I’ve posted on and off all summer here and over on the Walking in High Cotton Facebook page about my frustrations with finding appropriate clothes for the Ladybug. Modest clothes. Clothes that let her express herself without exposing herself. It’s harder than I would have imagined! I’ve also posted before about the horrible, no good, really bad laundry monster in this house–and the concept of less clothing means less laundry. So simple, so true!

Here in Virginia, we have 4 seasons. But on the farm, we tend to wear long pants and sometimes even long-sleeve shirts almost year round, so our summer wardrobes are very small. August is the perfect time for us to sort and purge clothes–before heading out to buy anything new!

Anyone else deal with leaning towers of laundry? This was both boys before I just purged 3 bags of stuff.

WHAT WE KEEP

We use weekly, hanging, closet organizers for the kiddos’ school clothes. These are wonderful! Worth every penny–although I think you could come up with a less expensive way to separate out 5 days of clothes. The point is that you fill them on Sunday evening and you don’t have to think about clothes again until Saturday morning when you’re doing laundry. The kids can reach it themselves to “load” clothes for the week and get their entire outfit out to get dressed without help (and no missing socks!) every morning.

Basically each child has this:

  • 5 days of school clothes
  • 2 days of weekend/work clothes
  • 2 sets of church clothes
  • 1 pair of boots, 1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of church shoes (Plus or minus the Ladybug’s 2700 pairs of cheap summer flip-flops that just seem to appear sometime in June.)

The Ladybug has a bit more because, well, she’s a girl. And because she has to have dresses and skirts for school, but also needs play and work clothes at home. And because we have to do some layering to make modern clothes meet our standards.

{Just LIKE Walking in High Cotton on Facebook and click on the FREE PRINTABLES tab to get a link to a printable boys and girls simple wardrobe checklist!}

I wish we could go with a little less, but this is what works for us right now going to school outside the home. And yes, I absolutely do purge down to these numbers even if there’s nothing wrong with the clothes. Sometimes it’s hard to let go because you just never know when they might need 27 monster truck tee-shirts or those 4 pairs of adorable flannel pj (even though they hate to wear them) but pitch it in the donate pile! You’ll love it later. Trust me.

{BTW, Sherri over at From Our Front Porch is doing an entire 5 Day series on Organizing Kid Clothes. Stop by, pin it, it’s good stuff!}

Normally only church shoes are up here (sneakers and boots go in the shoe basket in the mudroom), but this pictures was as we were getting set for the first week of school and we had school shoes upstairs for that first morning.

WHERE WE KEEP IT

The boys have one plastic, 3-drawer dresser in their closet for hand-me-downs. The drawers are sorted by size and I only keep up to 3 sizes bigger than where we are right now. Each bedroom also has one under-the-bed box to keep summer clothes or some winter clothes between seasons. The Ladybug has her own dresser and the boys share a dresser, with the drawers split with these niffy dividers. (Love them!!) Most of their clothes are usually in their closet hangers or in the hamper.

WHAT TO BUY

Uniforms–we wore uniforms for several years and I love them. LOVE them. I think all schools should go to them–for lots of reasons, but really mostly because they are SO DARN EASY!

Here’s some tips for uniforms with pre-school and elementary kids:

  • Go with dark colors if you can. The khaki never holds up as well as the navy. (Um…never buy white polos for boys. Period.)
  • The “double knee” pants barely made it an extra 3 months with our boys. I wouldn’t consider it worth the extra $4-$8/pair.
  • Same with the extra for the adjustable waist. The length is only going to fit them for a year anyway. A straight elastic waist will be fine and you can hand-sew a tuck in the side easily if it’s too big (and take it out easily with a seam ripper if the next one down the line needs more room).
  • Buy unisex polos so you can hand them down. They will last that long–we have some from French Toast going on their 4th year and still look like new!
  • Buy used! Talk to your school or other local private schools–there’s always someone having a uniform swap and sale. And since everyone’s wearing the same thing, none of the kids will know or care if they’re used as long as they’re in good condition.
  • Buy short-sleeves and just get some long-sleeve undershirts for the winter. You can get a 5 pack of long-sleeve tees for the same price as ONE long sleeve polo–and then they can take it off if the heat in the building is wacky.
  • Buy a sweater–again, more versatile with short sleeves than investing in long-sleeved tops.

We use over the door hangers for out-of-season clothes since the kids can’t reach them. Since they have to keep their backpacks downstairs, they also usually have 1-2 old play ones (you know, for playing spies) that get hung up here too.

Non-Uniforms–we aren’t wearing uniforms this year, but we do have a strict dress code. The Ladybug must wear skirts or dresses, knee-length when sitting. The boys can wear jeans, as long as they are clean, neat, and solid colored. Didn’t seem to difficult–at first–then I was introduced to “grunge washed” denim. {Sigh}

Here’s a few tips for keeping simple wardrobes for young children:

  • Purge what doesn’t fit before buying anything!
  • Check your hand-me-downs before buying anything! (Ahem, lesson learned here…this step will be so much easier if you pack them by size to begin with!)
  • While you’re at it, purge what won’t fit next summer before you pack summer clothes away! Size 4 shorts fit Speedracer now, but I know they won’t next summer (and I know we have plenty of size 5s too). We’re tossing them in the donate pile now.
  • Focus mostly on short-sleeves. It’s easy to add a long-sleeve tee underneath of just about anything for chilly weather but the kids are inside the majority of the day and have a jacket or coat for outside time. Short sleeves are cheaper and more versatile.
  • Don’t buy too early. I focus on our state’s Tax Free shopping days as my clothes deadline. Kids grow fast and they grow in spurts. I like to wait until we’re as close to the start of school as possible before committing our funds to a specific size because I am not buying new pants in April for two more months of school!
  • Especially shoes–wait until the end of the summer!!
  • Look for underwear, socks, and undershirts at club stores like BJs and Costco.
  • Denim will last, buy the adjustable waist!
  • Speaking of denim, by classic cuts and colors. Even girls. Maybe especially girls. Save yourself the headache–classic jeans go with everything. Sparkly skinny jeans with hello kitty on them do not.
  • If you have a girl, think about making some of her clothes–we are, and it doesn’t have to be hard. You can get a custom fit (size 6 waist, size 10 length, we can do that!) not to mention its great momma-daughter time!
  • Keep a running list of what you’re looking for and share it with family. Our family loves to buy the kids cute clothes–tell them what you need!

Here’s a new skirt I just made the Ladybug on Sunday afternoon. (Wow, pleats are SO much easier than ruffles!)

Tomorrow I’ll be wrapping up our 5 Day series by talking about refreshing our daily routines at the beginning of the school year and some of the easy ways we are incorporating a learning lifestyle across our entire house to encourage our little scholars to enjoy their new skills. This goes hand in hand with the idea of whole-hearted learning, living books, and nature study that we’ve been using all summer long.

And be sure to enter the GIVEAWAY posted below–tomorrow is the last day!! And stop by and visit some of the other inspiring posts for tips and tricks on cleaning and organizing everything from your time to your bathroom…

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5 Days of Organizing Back to School…Food and Meal Planning

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This week is our first week back to school and I’m joining 21 other bloggers in a 5 Days of Organizing and Cleaning series, so for the next couple days I’ll be talking about organizing for the school year.

Monday: It Starts at Home

Tuesday: Supplies and Gear

Wednesday: Food and Meal Planning

Thursday: Simple Wardrobes

Friday: Fresh Routines and Learning Lifestyles.

There will also be some sweet GIVEAWAYS throughout the week–so be sure to check out the links at the end of my posts each day! (Hint, Hint…there’s cash!)

This post is focused on easy, quick, simple food since we both work outside the home and the kiddos go to school outside the home. I also have a lot of tips for how to help your kids help you in the kitchen! Be sure to check out some of the other bloggers doing the 5 Day series for more detailed kitchen organizing posts and some great giveaways!

To talk about food, let’s start at the beginning…no, not breakfast–meal planning.

I LOVE meal planning. (I’ve posted about it here and here.) This is the ONE THING that’s made the biggest change in our household, stress and budget-wise! Try it, I know you’ll see what I mean. {Here’s a free Blank Weekly Meal Planner, or a fridge magnet Weekly Menu pad.} Save the menus you make and rotate them every couple of months. In 10 weeks you’ve got enough to get you thru a year if you’re feeling particularly uninspired.

We keep fruit right on the island counter all the time, where it can be grabbed by little hands for snacks or packing lunches.

BREAKFAST TIPS AND IDEAS

Here’s our biggest breakfast rule–people eat last. We make the kids get dressed (all the way to shoes!) and do all their chores (which is mostly feeding and watering animals) before they eat breakfast. It keeps them motivated. We use a simple breakfast rotation most of the time. I buy whatever fruit is on sale every week and we use it all week. No one is really picky in the mornings. A normal week looks like this:

Monday: Frozen waffles with fruit. (I make large batches of waffles with our handy-dandy waffle iron from our wedding that we just started using about two years ago and we freeze our own. Or Eggos sometimes, I’m not picky. )

Tuesday: Toast/bagel/English muffin with fruit. (Lisa over at CreativLEI has a great English muffin recipe!)

Wednesday: Leftover bacon/sausage and biscuits from Sunday morning. (I cook extras on purpose.)

Thursday: Cereal (Thursday is always cereal because Wed is a late night with church)

Friday: Oatmeal or muffins with yogurt and fruit. Or Fridays is a “special” day like a make-ahead casserole, breakfast wraps (green apples and sausage simmered in a dash of maple syrup and rolled in a tortilla–yum!), or parfait with fruit, yogurt, and granola (or Special K cereal).

We use an antique enamel bucket on a low shelf for kitchen towels. That’s easier for little hands to help put away or grab out to help clean up a mess. Drawers can get over full or require very careful folding.

Here’s some other quick tips…

  • Switch to real maple syrup. It’s a bit more expensive, but a little goes a long way and it’s actually good for you!
  • Cook breakfast for dinner one night and cook extras to reheat later in the week (we cook extras on Sunday mornings too).
  • Use smoothies to sneak in extra fruit and veggies. One blender makes enough for all 5 of us to have some in the morning if that’s not our whole meal.
  • Breakfast is one of the easiest meal for kids to learn to serve themselves. Put fruit in lower fridge drawers (wash it right away from the grocery store!), put cereal on lower pantry shelves, and stack plastic plates/bowls together in the cabinet. Divide milk into two smaller containers in the fridge for easy pouring and voila! You’re off breakfast duty by the time they’re 5. Seriously.
  • Let older kids use a single-cup coffee maker to heat water for oatmeal–you can make it right in a coffee cup! Bag the oatmeal (and add-ins!) in single serve packages ahead of time and store in an airtight container. (We look for something mouse-proof to discourage “visitors”, with flat tops for stacking–like these Storage Cubes.)
  • Always clear the table–even if the dishes just go to the sink right now. I’d rather walk in to the house with a clean table and dirty dishes in the sink than walk in to an entire meal littering the table before I have to serve dinner. I know mornings are rushed, but train everyone to clear up right away.
  • Invest in a good, solid step stool. (We love this one from Ikea and have one on each floor!

We keep all the kid cups and lunch bottles on the lower shelf. It’s easiest to reach, but it also means that they could accidentally knock things out and nothing would break. They have to ask first, but our kids have been getting cups and fixing their own water from the fridge dispenser since they were 3 yo.

LUNCH

We’re still developing our lunch “program,” so honestly, I’m still trying and testing out tips myself.

But our kids can all pack their own lunches, with supervision. They start making their own sandwiches at 4 yo. A whole piece of fruit and a yogurt cup are easy to grab and they can choose what they want. We have one compartment in our silverware drawer that is just for plastic kid utensils and they are allowed to grab what they need for lunches from that section only–no taking my good stuff when it might not come back!

DINNER

Dinner used to be the worst part of my day–and any time my meal planning habits slip, it still is! We all get home late (and hungry!) and we have animal chores to do, as well as homework, dinner, baths, and bedtime. And for some reason our kids just ALWAYS walk through the door at home and inevitably start either arguing or galloping around the house whooping like Indians and whacking each other with light sabres.

This is what my evenings look like! It’s the witching hour!

Meal planning is a life saver! When you plan, you get to look ahead and match your menu to your schedule. Here’s what we’re looking at right now…

Monday: Soup and sandwich night–because we’re at soccer practice until 7:30. It’s light, it’s quick and easy, it’s healthy and can include all your food groups. Last year soup night was Tuesdays because of piano lessons. We use canned soup, homemade frozen soup, or crock pot soups.

Tuesday: Full meal. This is our night for dinners that take more than 20 minutes.

Wednesdays: Pizza. We have church on Wednesdays (or I have a night meeting) so this works for us right now.

Thursday: Crockpot meal or pasta. This is also a soccer night, but not as late, so I have time to add bread and salad, etc. and we have time to digest a heavier meal before bedtime. Pasta works well if you use a jar sauce or make a large batch of your own sauce and freeze it in small portions. (You can also cook extra and throw sauce and noodles together with some cheese into a “baked spaghetti” or “pizza casserole” to freeze for later in just 5 extra minutes.)

Friday: Family Movie Night. We cook, but it’s usually taco night (which is actually a great way to get veggies in your kids!), chicken fingers (sometimes healthy and homemade, sometimes frozen from Tysons), or breakfast for dinner–something no one complains about–and we eat in the living room together.

Saturday and Sunday I try to plan full meals as well–so we have leftovers for lunches (mostly for me!) and that’s the perfect time to just double recipes for freezing since I’m already in the kitchen.

Think outside the box for your organization! This is our bread “box.” It’s easy for the kiddos to get in and out of, looks nice on the counter, and provides no temptation for “little visitors” of the furry, four-footed, cheese-eating variety.

Here’s some quick tips for busy weeknights:

  • Do snacks! It won’t ruin their dinner, I promise! Between the commute and chores, we tend to eat late. I tell my kiddos they can have a snack as soon as they unpack from school and get their chores done (sound familiar?)–as long as they finish before I start dinner. They can have a piece of fruit, cereal/granola bar (we’re going to try making our own!!), or a cheese stick (lately we just pre-cut our own from block cheese!).  We all know that tired and hungry = cranky.
  • Freeze browned hamburger! Yep, I brown up a large package on Fridays and then freeze most of it in single-meal bags for up to 30 days. It’s easy to dump in spaghetti sauce, use for tacos, or throw in a casserole.
  • Cook extra rice and freeze it for later.
  • Cook extra pasta and make up a casserole to freeze for later. (Then you also have something on hand for those give-food moments like sickness, new babies, or funerals.)
  • Cut up fruits and veggies ahead of time so it’s easy to throw together salads, stir-fry, or crock-pot meals.
  • Use tablecloths to eat on! Sound crazy? Well, there’s nothing meal-related that spray n’ wash can’t take out and if you have unexpected company, just whip the tablecloth off and you’ve got a clean tabletop!  Plus it helps soak up spills before they splash on the floor. I’d rather throw a tablecloth in the washer than mop the floor!

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing about how we’re simplifying the kids’ wardrobes and getting the laundry monster under control!

In the mean time, be sure to enter the GIVEAWAY posted below!

And stop by and visit some of the other bloggers in the series. There’s some really good stuff out there!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 Days of Organizing Back to School…Supplies and Gear

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This week is actually back to school week for us (yesterday was our first day of school–my eyes are still red and swollen!) and I’m joining 21 other bloggers in a 5 Days of Organizing and Cleaning series, so for the next couple days I’ll be talking about organizing for the school year.

Monday: It Starts at Home

Tuesday: Supplies and Gear

Wednesday: Food and Meal Planning

Thursday: Simple Wardrobes

Friday: Fresh Routines and Learning Lifestyles.

There will also be some sweet GIVEAWAYS throughout the week–so be sure to check out the links at the end of my posts each day! (Hint, Hint…there’s cash!)

Today I’m talking about school supplies and gear–you know, just the essentials. Like 2,600 boxes of crayons and 50,000 glue sticks…I kid, I kid…

I wish.

Does anyone else find school supply lists outrageous these days? Truly! I’m not really talking about our schools the last couple years–we pay either way since it’s private. I’m talking about public schools. I’m talking about my tax dollars buying every high school student an iPad, while elementary school teachers are telling parents they can’t afford a couple boxes of tissues.

But I digress…

WHAT TO BUY

Here’s some tips for buying school supplies:

  • Shop on your state’s Tax Free days. You can buy a lot of extra supplies for $5, $10, or $15 dollars!
  • Buy extras. Buy as many supplies as you can budget for. The prices will never be better and I’d rather have 8 extra comp books for $2 than have to run out in the middle of the school year and buy 1 for $4.99 at Rite Aid.
  • Don’t just think school! Glue, stickers, crayons, construction paper–these are just everyday craft supplies, stock up now for the whole year! Nature notebooks, anyone? They also make great last minute gifts! I can go to our craft closet and throw together a pack of construction paper, some glue and scissors, a pack of colored pencils or markers, and watercolors as a gift for less than $5 and no trip in to Town at the last minute. Oh yeah, and office supplies for your home office.

Our “craft closet” is just our hall closet. I used old shoe boxes and a label maker to create a “system” for storing glue sticks, pencils, rulers, scissors, etc. This way I control the supplies and no one goes through 12 glue sticks on one project. I just move things into their pencil boxes as they run out.

  • Buy those household supplies like handi-wipes, ziploc bags, tissues, and hand sanitizer at club stores like BJs or Costco–not back to school sales. And use coupons–there’s usually lots of coupons for these items out as we head into fall (also know as almost cold season!).  Split a case of tissues with a friend if you need to–you’ll save tons.
  • Don’t be married to the supply list from school! Seriously. Buy what’s on sale and they’ll make do. 2 large boxes of tissues? Um, I got a case of the small ones for half the price–we’re sending small boxes. Box of 12 pencils? Um, the boxes of 10 are $0.20 and the 12s are $1. You’re getting 10–or 20 if you’d rather!

We’re usually stocked about 1 year ahead with basic supplies–and they don’t really take up that much room.

WHERE TO PUT IT
So you bought 30 packs of loose leaf paper and 50 pocket folders and 100 ball point pens…now where do you put it?
  • Look high! I use the top of the hall closet with labeled shoe boxes. This way little hands can’t get into things and I can control the supply disbursement.
  • Look low! I use two under-the-bed boxes in the master bedroom for additional craft, school, and party supplies. This works really well for the bigger stuff like binders, paper, and notebooks. Again, they’re in our bedroom to control usage. School supplies are not a free-for-all around here!
That’s really enough space for me to store an entire year of basic school and craft supplies for 3 kiddos.
STUFF WE LOVE (OR…UM…DON’T)
Did you think the “gear” was over once you put the diaper bag and stroller away? Think again. Google “lunchboxes” and you’ll see what I mean. The choices for everything are overwhelming!

Nap mats never even crossed my mind until we were introduced to the pre-school/extended care hybrid of all day school. But these things are awesome–better than sleeping bags!

Here’s a few of our favorite essentials…with commentary, of course! {grin}
  • Backpacks. Mimi introduced us to Pottery Barn’s kid gear and I have to admit, I’m sold on their backpacks. Unlike their overpriced coffee table driftwood, I think their backpacks are priced fairly to the rest of the market and the Ladybug just retired her first one after 3 years of every day use–with at least another year left in it. And we throw them in the washing machine several times a year.
  • Lunchboxes. We use the Pottery Barn ones–I’m not crazy about them. If you put the drink in, you don’t have much space left for bento box dividers or anything. I’m looking for something else, but they’re holding up ok, and we wash these even more often. (Air dry, don’t use the dryer!!)
  • Water bottles. Um, the Klean Kanteen ones that Pottery Barn sells–they leak. The fine print says “may leak.” Well, if you put them in a lunchbox and the lunch box is not kept completely upright, they will leak. I promise. They’re great for water, not great for lunch boxes. (Notice in the catalog that they’re always carried in the backpack pocket?) We like the $4 Embark ones from Target.
  • Nap Mats. I never even thought about these until the Cowboy went into preschool and our whole schedule shifted to the kids being at school and then extended care for a full day. I shopped around and found these nap mats by Wildkin at eBags {Note: Goodness, the price has gone up, use coupons! And if you order from ebags, order one at a time–they’ll send you a 20% off your next purchase coupon if you write a review after you buy something.} These little babies are cushioned, the blanket and pillow are 100% connected, and they roll up with a carry handle. We’ve washed them 100 times over the last three years and they’re still going strong.

The kids don’t mind hauling them around for themselves.

Tomorrow I’ll be talking about food and meal planning–which will be very different for us this year since we’re back to only packing one lunch a day. The boys’ hot lunch is included as part of their tuition.

In the mean time, be sure to enter the GIVEAWAY posted below and stop by and visit some of the other inspiring posts for tips and tricks on cleaning and organizing everything from your time to your bathroom…

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