It’s that time of year! Your child needs school supplies and clothes. Where do you start? How do you pay for it all?
I love tips, especially easy tips for back to school – Here are some tips for making the grade with your grade school kid this year.
Dressed for Success
Your grade school child may not have the picky tastes of a teenager, but he or she is going to need some new clothes this year. I know, we all hate the dreaded school shopping. I love the season I am in right now. I have a 17 year old who basically does his own shopping and we give him a budget. I don’t have to worry about our 13 year old, and our 4 year old is very easy. By the way, my favorite kid clothing store is Old Navy – purchasing online is my cup of tea!
Before you get started, make sure you go through last year’s clothing and find out what fits and what doesn’t. This includes shoes, socks, and underwear, too. Grade school kids can grow really fast!
Here are some more ideas for clothes shopping with your grade school child.
- Plan your shopping trip for a day when you don’t have to rush, and when you don’t have anything planned the night before. Being rested and ready helps everyone’s mood, and so does being able to take your time. Or better yet, save time and energy by shopping online, especially for basics. Target and Old Navy are perfect for underwear, socks and basic t-shirts.
- Call the school where your child will be attending and make sure there aren’t any changes to the dress code. If your child will be attending this school for the first time, you’ll want to find out what the dress code is.
- Keeping it simple helps a lot. Depending on his (or her) age, he will be better able to dress himself as the year goes on. Having easy-to-fasten clothes can help a lot to facilitate this process. Tough buttons (or lots of buttons), lacings, belts, and small head-holes can make dressing a frustrating experience. Go for clothes with large head-holes, zippers, and easy (and few) buttons.
School Supplies
Moving on to school supplies – like the clothes, it’s a good idea to check with your school list – you can access that list online usually or even find the specific grade list at your local stores. I know that some teachers specify brands, colors, and so forth, so making sure you have the exact teacher/grade list is important.
Here are some other tips for shopping for school supplies with your grade school child.
- Go generic on writing items like pens and pencils. Getting fancy, unique writing implements only leads to competition in the classroom and the possibility that your child’s fancy pens will get stolen. Unless the teacher requires otherwise, go with standard #2 pencils. I love simple!
- Markers should be water-based, and crayons are usually needed in packs of 16. Consider a box to store and carry these small, easily-lost items.
- Erasers are always needed in grade school. A large, pink eraser like you had in school is a good purchase. Some erasers that fit on the ends of pencils are inexpensive additions, too.
- Your child’s school may not supply paper like they did in the old days, (I don’t even remember going and buying many school supplies when I was a kid – maybe I am really dating myself!) Find out from your teacher/school if you need to supply ruled (lined) paper, which will differ from teacher to teacher and grade to grade.
- Notebooks come in many forms. Your grade school child will probably need some spiral-bound ones as well as some binders. Think slim and trim so the notebooks fit in your child’s desk, no matter what type is required.
- You also might want to purchase some dividers or pocket folders to help your child stay organized. In addition, the printable Student Planner, that can be found in the Back 2 School Survival Guide can be placed in your child’s notebook. Having one main place to keep track of daily homework assignments will help your child keep track of due items, but also keep things in one spot ready to turn in.
Let’s get organized for school so you can keep enjoying what’s left of summer!
