Miss C, August 2007, first week of kindergarten.
We have a winner! Daleen from Smiling Mama of Two, who commented “We go through all of last years school supplies. just to make sure that I can be more frugal by not “doubling” up on things. My son is going to “Middle School” this year. We are all really excited. Lots of pictures to be taken that 1st day!” is the winner of the $100 Visa Gift Card.
”I find it incredibly hard to believe Miss C starts second grade next month. One day she was a chubby cheeked, wispy headed toddler learning her colors at daycare and the next day she was telling me she wanted a leopard print backpack and lunchbox and pierced ears.
I must admit I get excited about the notion of shopping for school supplies. It takes me back to the days when my mom would take me to Eckles just off the square in my small hometown. This was before WalMart and Target became prevalent and when Grease, not High School Musical, was all the rage. We’d stroll through aisles of neatly stacked workbooks and the whole place smelled of paper and pencil shavings and pristine erasers and held the promise of new beginnings, new friends to make, new things to learn, and new ways to avoid eating cafeteria green beans.
Back to school shopping is just not that simple any more. Last year we hit every super store and office supply chain in two counties to track down the supplies on Miss C’s first grade list. By the time we made it to the checkout line at each store I was bedraggled and cursing the shortage of Fiskars scissors in girl friendly colors and solid-colored pronged folders. We won’t talk about the run on 10 cent glue sticks at WalMart that nearly caused a stampede. Catfights are already a given there, especially in the heat of August.
After getting completely burned out on shopping for school supplies last year, somehow I managed to miss the end-of-the year sign up for pre-packaged school supply packs. Seriously, is there a worse time to send out announcements than May when you’ve already OD’d on field trip forms, permission slips, and other announcements related to end of school year festivities?
Take it from me all you elementary school newbies. Shopping for school supplies is not as romantic as you recall from your own childhood. It’s best to leave that memory unmarred, like a shiny new Trapper Keeper notebook, and fork over the extra bucks so someone else can shop for you.
p.s. I have a tradition of taking Miss C’s picture on the first day of school out on the front walk by our house. It’s a great way to gauge how much she’s changed from year to year and something I hope she’ll enjoy looking back on some day.
Lots of us are gearing up for school – an exciting, fun and sometimes, hectic time. Hallmark has put together this great resource to help you calm the butterflies and build your kids’ confidence. Just for joining the conversation you’ll be entered to win $500. Check it out.
One lucky BlondeMomBlog reader will also win a $100 Visa gift card to help out with their back-to-school shopping! Simply leave a comment on this post by midnight August 8 about your family’s back-to-school tradition or any advice you have for parents sending their child to school for the first time this fall. A random winner will be chosen from all eligible comments.
Disclosure: This post and giveaway sponsored by Hallmark.
I’m kinda bummed that we don’t get to shop for school supplies. My kids school provides everything. We can’t bring any of our own pencils, crayons, etc.
Our back to school tradition is just starting this year as my daughter gets ready to start 4K
However, my mom and I did this tradition every year when I was in school 
My daughter loves to go to MOA (Mall of America), so my mom and I have decided that in order to get all of her “fashion clothes” for school we will make a weekend of it each August before school starts. So we plan on shopping til we drop to get all of the “fashion clothes” for a very fashion concious little girl 
We always have breakfast at McDonald’s. This year my son starts high school. He won’t want to be seen with me much longer.
We don’t have any back to school traditions – yet – but I hope to take Jackson’s pic before his first day of kindergarten and continue that, as you have done with Miss C.
We went ahead and shopped for school supplies, since we’ve had the list since April registration and I saw the display at Walmart and thought “if I don’t do this now, I will regret it”. I have memories of school supply shopping at (no-longer) Hills in Decatur, AL, and always loved it – picking out folders, etc…. For Jackson, everything on the list is specific (only could buy one orange and one blue folder, for instance) and to be shared, so it wasn’t quite as fun. Sigh.
.-= Emily´s last blog ..Tic Tac Toe =-.
Of course since Catie is only 2, we don’t have any family back to school traditions yet. BUT, being a kindergarten teacher, I am met each year with new kiddos and their parents who are just as excited about their supplies as they are about anything else! Picking out school supplies is all the fun!! Even though pre-packaged supplies are convenient for hurried, stressed out parents, kids miss out on the strawberry shortcake and spiderman folders! I can’t wait for Catie to pick out her school supplies…in 3 years! LOL!
I’m sure my mom took our picture on the first day, but what stands out the most in my mind is picking out the oh-so-important first day of school outfit. It always seemed wrong that they had the new fall clothes in the stores but it was still 90 degrees out when we started in August.
.-= EG´s last blog ..Two Weeks =-.
Oh, that very first day of school, hunting around at 7 p.m. (working mom, you) for that damned 1/2 inch (not 1/4, not 1 inch, but 1/2 inch!) binder in purple . Oh joy.. can’t wait!
.-= mysuestories´s last blog ..You Take My Breath Away =-.
I have to agree, shopping for school supplies just isn’t what I remember it to be!
COUNT ME IN
This would be so helpful. I always try to get a picture on the first day of school, but sometimes it is just too stressful. Last year I did a fun thing the week before and had a bunch of friends meet for breakfast at 8 am, to get used to going back to school. Going to try to do that again, but wow time is running short!
.-= Flossip´s last blog ..Business and Professional Women in the Pee Dee =-.
We always took a picture on the first day back. One year we took it on the back deck as hundreds of red-winged blackbirds took flight. One has graduated from college, so now the only one I have left going back to school is a college junior this year. And if you think trying to find pink Fiskars is hard, wait until you’re decorating an apartment and buying $150 beat-up textbooks.
.-= Stephanie Reed´s last blog ..Visit with me at Frugal Femina! =-.
We will have to start our traditions with preschool. I hope to take a picture every year of course (or maybe 100)! I think it is special to get new clothes and a new backpack and lunchbox for the year. I have fond memories of school supply shopping and I hope to have that with my little ones!
we alway go back to school shopping together then go out to eat.
.-= jessica c´s last blog ..Sharing =-.
We really have no traditions other than the kids getting to pick out their new lunch boxes before school starts. My piece of advice is this… safety pin your name, phone number and address somewhere on your child. If you don’t want it out in plain view, pin it inside their pocket. Make sure they know where it is so they can tell someone if (God forbid) they get off the wrong bus stop or get confused or scared.
.-= Stefany´s last blog ..WW: A baby gets what a baby wants =-.
I don’t have any traditions-but I want the gift card!
My son will be in 1st grade this year, so I guess anything we repeat from last year will be a tradition!! Unfortunately, being a teacher at a different school system than my son, I don’t get to be home on the first day of school. My husband isn’t too good at the whole traditions thing, so….
I make muffins for birthday breakfasts. There is a tradition, but it doesn’t have anything to do with school!
.-= Mari Ickes´s last blog ..Tagged =-.
Our tradition is thanks, in part, to a good friend. My daughter has been best buddies with two girls since preschool. Each year, one of their moms (who lives close to the elementary school) hosts a back-to-school breakfast for the girls and a few other close friends and their moms. After fruit smoothies and waffles, the group poses for a picture under the same tree in the front yard—and then we all walk to school together and give a big send off at the school door. It helps with those “first day back at school” jitters and gives the kids a chance to reconnect before hitting the classroom. This year my daughter enters 5th grade. We already have our “breakfast date with friends” on the calendar!
I don’t have a back to schooler yet, just another day at preschool/daycarer (if that makes sense), but my favorite thing about back to school when I was a kid was the new clothes. I loved going through all of my new duds and picking out just the right outfit for the first day of school. I guess uniforms have kind of ruined that for kids now.
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Walking Away, Wordless Wednesday =-.
Been awhile since I’ve visited your blog (or most any blog) – summer is kicking my booty. Never the less, glad I checked back in to read about SCHOOL SUPPLIES. I know it’s not the same shopping for them now as it was when we were a kid and that’s just so sad. I was so much more concered about my supplies than my clothes – and that’s saying a lot for a pre-teen girl, even in the 70’s – ha! I always miss the pre-packaged sign-up too, but the first day the supply list comes out I high-tail it to the store to get it all (usually at 9pm) because I just cannot deal with school supply crowds any time after Aug 1. Can’t believe Miss C is going to be a 2nd grader!
.-= Jill´s last blog ..One * Two * Three * Fore! =-.
I was just telling the hubs how old I felt that our two oldest were going into 3rd/2nd respectively. It was not but a moment ago I was dreaming of the first day of school and how big she was getting and now….now its here. School shopping – on the other hand – ruins all romantic notions I have and I try to shop as early as possible to beat the rush.
Most years I’m so busy getting my classroom ready that I just don’t have the time to take the kids out to shop, etc. I wished I would have been able to start back-to-school traditions like I had growing up. Oh well, life goes on
.-= Magnolia Mom´s last blog ..10 Favorite Places to Eat {10 on Tuesday} =-.
It can be traumatic to send your child to spend time with other unknown adults and children in their new world of school. If the child picks up on your anxiety, he/she will also be apprehensive. So fake it until they are out of sight. Then cry your heart out!
We just found out this week that Hannah gets to start Kindergarten early (she is 4). So we have not started any back to school traditions yet. I will definitely be taking the traditional first day of school photo.
I also do the first day of school photo tradition.
I LOVE back to school shopping BUT my kids’ shopping isn’t super complicated yet. My oldest is just going to preschool and my youngest is starting MDO. To get my school supply fix, I’ve been donating a backpack full of school supplies to the YMCA Operation Backpack for the past 3 years.
.-= Carmen´s last blog ..Its been forever… =-.
I used to love, love, love getting a new Trapper Keeper every year. Ahhhh…memories!
I take a picture of the kids at the front door with their backpacks every year – that’s our only tradition. Well, that and me dragging them out of bed because they aren’t used to getting up so early!
.-= Beth (A Mom’s Life)´s last blog ..Easy way to peel, core and slice onions. =-.
Unless your kids are in DIRE need of clothing, wait until after school starts and scope out sales and clearance racks for great deals on basics.
Be sure your kids know the timeline of the morning routine BEFORE the first day of school. Be sure they know when they need to up by, dressed by, down to breakfast by and out the door by! Practice a few weeks ahead of time makes perfect!
.-= Jenna Z´s last blog ..Monday =-.
I do the same thing!! I even try to have him in a special first-day-of-school outfit, but I lost my say in that on the first day of second grade.
Very cute!!
.-= Nancy {at} ifevolutionworks(.)com´s last blog ..The Most Luxurious Thing =-.
My baby is starting second grade. I am so sad. I love to go back to school shopping for clothes, but I prefer to take one kid at a time or do it without them. It is too hectic taking all 3 at once. And I have only ever had pre-packaged school supplies one year. A local office supply store that has since closed down. It gets frustrating with all teachers wanting all different things. Just wait.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Cupcakes =-.
My kids go to Mother’s Day out two days a week, but after the long summer break it’s always an adjustment. I pick out their school supplies (backpacks, nap mats, lunch boxes, new shoes, etc) in advance and we play school in the weeks leading up to the first day. They get excited about their new stuff, we talk about what they’ll do at school and “play school”. It really helps them get used to the idea and by the time school starts they can’t wait to show off their new Cars backpack or their dumptruck nap mat to their friends and teachers. I also let them pickout their own lunch (from a selection of choices I offer) and then I include a treat (a sticker, a note, a picture, etc.) My oldest gets excited for what surprise he’ll find in his lunch box.
.-= BroccoliCupcake´s last blog ..Tasty Tuesday =-.
We always take height measurements and mark them on the closet wall in my oldest son’s bedroom on the first and last day of school. We also have taken the traditional first day of school picture in front of our house in front of the same tree. It’s fun to see how they have grown each year.
My advice for parents is to lay out your child’s clothes the night before, also have their bookpack ready to go by the door. That way in the morning, those 2 things are already taken care of.
Remember those cardboard pencil boxes that fit in the basket under your desk? Well, I never got one of those fancy, store-bought versions. My Dad worked at a drug store and he would bring home cigar boxes for us to use. I was only slightly embarrassed to drag a Tampa Nuggets box out of my desk at the Church of Christ school. Heaven forbid my classmates think someone in my house smoked! Or that we were too poor to buy real pencil boxes! Oh, the horror.
I must be a “Mom nerd” because I still have difficulty getting to sleep the night before the First Day of School (do you hear the theme music playing when I type those words). The sad part is that my son only started school last year and I’ve been doing this since I graduated from college. I peruse the ads for the best deals and stock up. Now I purchase what the teacher has requested, a supply of craft and writing stock for “homework”, and my own personal stash (kids hands off). I keep composition books, spirals, pens, pencils, notecards….you name it I try to purchase at least one. I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t get a raincheck on Dry Erase Markers at Walgreens for $1.99 last week – even though my son doesn’t need them and I don’t have a dry erase board. I just feel that this is one way my children keep me young. I can make sure my children always have the supplies that I never seemed to have enough of as a child. Now all three of my children (even the baby) have a “thing” about a fresh new pad of paper and pens.
My back-to-school tradition as a kid was to go shopping for school clothes when I stayed with my aunt Lynda for a week in the summer. She lived down in Charleston, and each summer, I’d stay with her for a week near the end of summer and we would go shopping at the nice malls and stores down there for my clothes and shoes. We usually went to Limited Too, Old Navy, JC Penney, Claire’s, all the usual stores that sell kid-friendly clothes and shoes. We’d also go out to Ye Ole Fashioned Ice Cream after shopping as well =). Going shopping with her was different than going shopping with my mom because my aunt Lynda had different tastes and always wanted me to try something new (my mom, on the other hand, wanted to make sure I got the most bang for my buck, buying clothes that would match a lot of other clothes, etc).
When I was approaching my senior year of high school, my aunt Lynda passed away… but I still remember her, especially this time of the year because it was always late July when I stayed with her and we went shopping for clothes & shoes for school.
.-= AmyLauren´s last blog ..4th of July =-.
We take DS’s picture standing in the same spot every year.
1) We take a photo every year of the first day.
2) They go shopping with me, pick out their school lunch boxes and we go for some treat (McDonald’s or ice cream) after shopping. It’s a great time (for them).
3) I write a note and put it in their lunchbox telling them I miss them and I know they are going to be great. If they can’t read, a smilie face, a heart and a sticker lets them know I am thinking of them.
4) I cry when they aren’t looking. This year, especially tough: the last one to enter Kindergarten
What we did growing up was pose for a photo at the front door, with our hand on the doorknob like we were about to leave.
I love this post (sponsored or no![]())
My experience of both childhood supply shopping and nowadays supply shopping match this exactly.
I also take a picture on the first day of school. I wish supply shopping could be part of the fun – me and him – tradition each year, but it ain’t no kinda fun!
.-= Amy2boys´s last blog ..Margarit-Her and Project Night Night =-.
My youngest is starting high school this year (I must be your oldest reader!). They don’t give out supply lists till the first day of school. Fortunately, the teachers aren’t as anal-retentive as the elementary and middle school ones, and don’t require folders of a certain color for each class. Good thing, since the supplies are pretty well picked over by then!
My first day tradition: breakfast with my girlfriends! Oh, wait. Was the tradition supposed to include my kid?
.-= Bluegrass Mama´s last blog ..That Giant Leap =-.
BB is going to be a junior in HS. He refuses to look at school supplies (BUT I STILL DO!) until school actually starts and his teachers tell him what to get. So the first day of school we head to target and get all the leftovers of stuff he needs. thankfully he’s not that picky…..but high school sure is expensive!
.-= Southern jezeBelle´s last blog ..An Extra $100 =-.
ah, the smell of new paper! i’ll have 2 kindergarteners and a 3rd grader this year, the supplies are gonna be spendy! i always make a special breakfast (usually baked french toast) they get to pick what is in their lunch box and i take LOTS of pictures. the ones that really matter are the yearly on the deck, the one of them walking into school, and the one w/the teacher (we do one w/the teacher on the last day too, it’s always so fun to see how much they’ve grown!)
i work at Staples and I suggest looking in the ad every sunday starting at the beginning of July. You can end up getting everything for pennies for your kids if you plan a trip to staples every sunday to buy what’s on sale that week. Might be tedious, but saves you a lot of money!
Amber
Crystalclearbc {at} aol(.)com
My son just started preschool last year; and the week before school started we started practicing our new morning routine so we’d get out the door on time. He loved “pretending” he was going to school and it also eased some of his anxieties about the transition. Plus, when school started, we had our routine down pat!
I remember shopping for an outfit that we would wear the first day of school. And then there was the picture infront of our front door each year. It is great to look back at those pictures!
I homeschool my sons year-round so there is no “back to school” tradition, but I can tell you about traditions I had growing up. I would always get dressed up for the 1st day of school, and often have my picture taken with my bookbag on before I left the house.
mfalcon13 {at} hotmail(.)com
When I was growing up, my mother took our picture on the first day of school—when we first woke up! Bed head and all. Excited during the early years, grumpy as the years went on
She also took the “stand on the porch holding your lunchbox” photo, but my favorites are the bed ones. My sister and I shared a bed when I was in elementary school, so those pictures are the best. 
.-= Amy´s last blog ..The old "I’m shaving my head that night" excuse =-.
I have LOTS of experience (in years) of back to school shopping (won’t mention how many as not to reveal any PERSONAL information:) but I can tell you since I started couponing six months ago this has been my best year ever! Between Staples, CVS, Wags and Target (oh, can’t forget Walmart), I have paid only pennies OOP for ALL my four childrens’ school supplies! Even the $40 backpack which I will be getting $ back for! Thank you, Staples! Each week CVS and Wags have FREE school supplies and I have quite the stock pile and the freebies are still coming! I almost felt guilty leaving CVS with all the free stuff last week (almost….)! Thanks to all the wonderful bloggie saving moms out there who have shown me the way!
.-= Kari Campbell´s last blog ..If you have questions….please ask! =-.
When my daughter went to school for the first time she had to take the school bus.
My husband and I both took off from work and walked her to the bus stop, took pictures of her getting on the bus and while she was on the bus. We then jumped in the car and drove to the school and met her when she got off the bus and walked her to the door for when the bell rang and her first day was to begin.
To be honest with you this was many years ago and when we see the pictures they still make us smile remembering that first day.
We don’t really have any traditions. We just buy the school supplies from the school. The school sends out flyers at the end of each school year with all the information for when, where, how much, etc. to buy a package that has everything the student will need to start the new school year. After you purchase the package, the package is delivered directly to the school and the VIPs, staff and PTA members make sure the packages get to the right student’s classroom, where they are waiting neatly on the student’s desk the first day of school. It really is nice. No shopping or carrying it all to school. So the only thing we have to go shopping for is the backpack and clothes. The first day of school, we take our son to school and go and see his room and meet his teacher.
.-= Danetta´s last blog ..Luna Lullaby The Soothing Blanket giveaway =-.
The first day around here is a minimum day, but they eat lunch at school, so we follow up by getting ice cream. Of course, there’s the obligatory photo with backpacks and lunch boxes that is promptly e-mailed to every relative. We also take a photo with the kids in my husband’s cap, gown, and hood from his M.A. program. Big clothes on little kids = cuteness. Also, the brainwashing is key.
My advice is to start transitioning bedtime earlier about 1-2 weeks before school starts, and if you can, try bringing your child to the campus for little strolls (but don’t barge in on teachers setting up their rooms…they weren’t planning on guests) and attend any back-to-school socials or events. Our school library is open once a week for two hours, so I’m bringing my youngest, the soon-to-be-Kindergartener, just to get her feeling it’s “her” school, too—not just her brother’s.
Like many families, we do the note in the lunchbox. For the older one, the notes are getting sillier to balance the sappy…though he still appreciates the sappy. A silly joke, a Pokemon card, something cute and fun. Also, with my oldest, we make it a point to visit his previous teachers because it’s nice to connect with old “family” members.
My daughter just started preschool last year. We have yet to establish any back-to-school traditions. But I hope to.
(I also hope to win a $100 Visa Gift Card. Just sayin’)
.-= Amanda of Shamelessly Sassy´s last blog ..Redhead Girl =-.
My family’s back to school traditions – This year all 4 of my kids will be going to school
! Not quite sure I can part with my youngest going – I love having him at home with me. We have just started reviewing math, keeping summer writing journals to get in the groove. We will start shopping for clothes, shoes, and supplies in August. We let our kids pick their own clothes, colors, supplies – makes it so fun for them. We always get a few extra fun supplies that they want so much. I always always walk my youngest to their classrooms, attend the morning programs, and take lots and lots of pictures. Blessings
.-= Stefanie Hartman´s last blog ..Summer Fun =-.