Hello everyone it’s Jennifer. It is Back to School time again and Yasmine invited me to do a blog post about it.
I know a lot of parents out there are so excited and happy that school has started back, and I’m one of them. We just finished our first week of school here and my daughter and I are so happy because we both like the structure to our days that school brings. I’m all about keeping the stress of all the things at the start of school down and keeping us looking forward to the year ahead.
School starting does have its challenges though. If you are middle school or high school parent, like me, then you know all about the frustration of having to wait to get the supplies list from each teacher. I have taken to keeping a lot of regularly used supplies and keeping a back-up set of them each year. If the back-ups don’t get used during that school year then they are put together for the next. These include markers, map pencils, pencils, pens, notebook paper (both wide and college ruled), dividers, highlighters, and a good binder. I recommend all parents doing this, even those with kids in elementary, because it can take the stress of supply shopping down dramatically.
After going over her lists and depleting my back-up supply I make a list of what else she will need and then we pick those up. This keeps our budget for school supplies low because we can buy the back-ups here and there when we find good deals on them. It also leaves us not having to overhaul our budget if there is a class that has something we have to pay for, such as my daughter’s choir wardrobe this year.
School clothes can be another stress trigger at the start of a school year. I buy a good amount over the summer months to keep to the side for when school starts. When my daughter was younger I always bought bigger sizes just in case of surprise growth spurts. In the case of winter clothing, such as coats, I buy those when they go on sale towards spring looking forward to the next year.
I’m going to end this with a little advice for those of you who are having a tough time with your little one starting school for the first time. Let yourself breathe and enjoy a few of the things you like, such as reading, that you might not get to do while your little one is at home.
I hope everyone’s children have a great and productive year of school!
Great advise! I too buy certain things when on sale. Mine just started high school and he had the basics for a beginning. So far, he hasn’t needed anything else bit we can build on clothes and shoes as we go. It’s stressful the first week but by week 3 most of the kinks get worked out. It’s double stress for me as a school bus driver so planning ahead is crucial.
I used to drive a school bus so I know what you mean about the stress of that when starting a new school year. That’s why we’ve been so extra patient with the new drivers on my daughter’s route. I hope you and your kiddo have a great school year. 🙂
Jennifer, this is excellent advice. My mom used to do the same. It really does take the stress down when so much is going on at once. With us is was also dance class a couple times a week, bell choir once a week and coordinating with study/lab partners the rest of the time. The best thing is to find ways to bring the stress levels and worry down like this so you can enjoy time when the kids are home instead of upset all the time. I don’t have kids but working in retail I see it all the time.
When I worked in retail I’d see it all the time too. I think that’s why I worked on finding ways to not be that way. 🙂
You &Kira also hon!