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.
relax before school starts not to be stess out ty.
We do a couple of “run-throughs” the week before school starts. Everyone has to practice getting up as soon as the alarm clock goes off, and get ready for school. It’s not as easy as it sounds for kids who have spent the summer waking up whenever they want to and adhering to no set schedule!
We always “break in” the school supplies first! Which helps in college, you know, getting excited and reading ahead if so inclined
We always put a family picture in the kids’ lunch boxes!
We pack lunches the night before and pick out outfits the night before
Back to school means getting the kids off of their summer schedule. Time to start getting to bed earlier and being prepeared to leave in the morning
My daughter and I always had a girls day the weekend before school started again, Movie, lunch and a little shopping for “fun” things, not school things. We’de talk about everything, calm any fears she had about first day, new school ( middle school) and new friends.
iheartsweeping {at} aol(.)com
Our grandkids are our pasttime
Some helpful tips I’ve learned along the way to help the kids make a smooth transition back to school include: scheduling medical and dental check-ups before school starts so we can deal with any issues ahead of time; making copies of all important health forms in case they’re needed by the school at any time; re-establishing regular meal and sleep times at least two weeks before the first day of school; making it a point to turn of the TV in the mornings and encouraging the kids to read or engage in some creative activity to get their brain ready for a good day of thinking and imagining; and paying a visit to the school with the kids ahead of time to help alleviate the stress.
gkaufmanss {at} yahoo(.)com
We love getting all of the stuff in the bookbags the week before. It helps them get excited for the first day!
I just told the kids this morning we have to start going to bed earlier and waking up earlier starting next week. We gradually get up earlier and earlier each day over a week and a half.
The hardest thing to adjust to is getting back to regular (meaning earlier) bedtimes and getting up early in the morning. It helps to start a couple of weeks ahead to get us all back on schedule – not just the kiddos.
For a first timer it’s important to start an early to sleep schedule ahead of time. jelly15301 {at} gmail(.)com
I had 8 children. I always took their height and wieght measurements the first day of school to see how much they had grown each year, and also compare each child to compare each one with ” when they were in second grade”, etc.
.-= Louise Werre´s last blog ..Just Dance, It
Since my two kids are in college, my advise to mothers with younger children is plan, plan, plan. When my kids were younger we always made a plan of what to buy and what they were going to wear the night before. They liked picking out their items.
Now I just get phone calls when they need something..lol
My kids are older (middle school and high school) so getting ready for back to school really just consists of being prepared (notebooks, pencils, pens, back pack, lunch box…etc).
Check the schools website, sometimes you can find hints and idea’s of what to send your child the first day. Lots of schools with update with what each class teacher requires.
Thanks for the great giveaway!!
JH331942002(at)yahoo.com
take the day off if you can for the first day in kindergarden. you remember it for the rest of your days its such a good feeling. i did it with both my kids.
Our back-to-school tradition includes a dress rehearsal day in which the kids try on their school clothes to determine what our/their needs will be for the upcoming year – or at least the beginning, as fashion trends are apt to change without notice!
We live very close so I am able to send them off in cofidence and they enjoy walking to school. We also buy one outfit each for them before school starts. Thank you
We have a special breakfast and always take pictures on that first morning.
Always let the kids help pick out their new school supplies….it helps build excitement about the new school year!
School shopping can be a challenge. We are enjoying the tax free holiday this weekend and have done most of the shopping already. Much more to do though and this visa card will help a lot
When I was growing up my mother always purchased me a new “outfit” to wear to school for each day of the week for the first week of school, that was 5 new outfits! I used to get so excited about all my new clothes that I actually couldn’t wait for each and everyday to start because I wanted to wear my new clothes to school and show my friends and feel special (confident). I am continuing this tradition with my own children today and I find that if I allow them to choose clothes that they think are “cool” and they pass with my approval, then my kids are going to be much more motivated and excited about getting up in the morning and going to school than if I didn’t give them some incentive at the start of the new school season to get going. I also make sure that they always are equipped with their favorite snacks when they go to school to keep them energized, happy and healthy. These may sound like little “things” but it works for us! Thanks so much for the chance to enter.
when I was young back in Japan, mom would pack octopus balls in our lunch bags
for the 1st day of school…it was for “good learning”
My son is entering 1st grade this year… so we are still pretty new to this. But I do work in a school and have been collecting school supplies for years. My tradition? Get them all summer while they are on SALE! I get the supplies at 80%-100% off by shopping carefully!
.-= CC´s last blog ..POOF! =-.
The night before we make sure their back pack are packed. We walk with our kids to school the first day and make sure they know where there rooms are.
I take a day off work and do something special with my daughter as an end of summer celebraton.
We do a special shopping trip for new clothing and supplies a few weeks before school starts. I get them used to waking up a bit earlier. The night before we get everything ready for the first day which is very exciting for them. Then that morning I make them a special breakfast and, yes, we do a photo in their new clothes. (My parents did that also.)
Our favorite Back to School tradition is shopping for school supplies at Target
My son loves going to Walgreen’s every Sunday when the new ad comes out to pick up the school items that are on sale for the week.
The day before school starts are school has a meet your teacher time so we meet the kids teacher, find out where their room is and bring their school supplies.
A couple weeks before school I get the kids back into a routine.
I always try to teach them a little about the grade they’re going into (including kindergarden!) to make the transition easier!
I really like including the kids in making the purchases for the school supplies so that they start getting excited about it and then when the day comes they’ll be more positive than worried.
We buy most school supplies at target.
If you’re making thier lunch be careful what kind of sandwich you make because it could get soggy and if you freeze juice boxes or pouches they’ll usually thaw out by luinchtime and do double duty keeping the rest of the lunch cool.
My advice for sending the kids back to school is always have a routine in waking them up and getting ready for the school day. Color coding bins is a good way. Have the bins near the door and on the way out have each child pick up their days lunches, school projects, supplies, umbrella or whatever it is they need for that day, label the bins with their names and make them learn their color of bin that is theirs. THis should save you as a mother alot of time and headahe
Always pick up some new clothes and new school supplies. As a child I always got exited about getting new stuff, I think that it does add a little excitement for getting back to school.
Make sure to start on a new sleep/waking up schedule several weeks before school starts.
The big purchase is the fun new backpack and lunchbox! And then at the grocery store we can stock up on fun snack foods for the lunchbox.
We like to celebrate the end of summer & the beginning of school on Labor Day weekend.
We mourn the end of summer and back to school by taking a weekend trip to an amusement park. Kids are almost out of school now, so maybe we can continue the tradition with our future grandkids.
Have you noticed that as soon as the kids go off to school, the weather warms up? Wish the first day back at school was the first day below 55 degrees!
Mine is less of a tradition but more of a favorite memory, and we still talk about it every year on the first day of school. On my sister’s first day of kindergarten, I was in second grade at the school where our mom taught. At the end of the day, my precocious little sister ignored all our questions about her first day and went straight to the chalkboard to write out perfectly: “What is going on here?”
Katie
showbizkp[at]gmail[dot]com
My advice for kids just starting school for the first time is to go to the library and find books about going to school for the first time. It really helped ease my son’s fears by reading how much fun it is to go to school!
Well this year I am hoping that by some miracle I will be able to start a back to school tradition with my daughter.I know that growing up my sister and I would get so excited about going shopping for new clothes, a new backpack and all the supplies that were on our list. Mom would take us and one thing I always will remember is being able to buy new shoes and having to wait to wear them so they would remain brand new for the first day of school. Well I dont know if that will be a possibility this year for my own daughter. She is 5 and this year she will be starting Kindergarten. She is so excited and feels so big but it breaks my heart when she sees all of her friends getting new clothes, shoes , backpacks and supplies then she asks me when will I take her to go shopping so she can get her things as well. I just dont know how to tell my 5 year old daughter that this year , her first year of school that mommy and daddy dont have any money. How do you explain to a 5 year old that daddy got laid off and because of the economy daddy cant find a new job and has had to go back to school full time so that next year we can do all the things that are needed. We have tried to get supplies but I went to 2 different school supply giveaways. The first I waited 2 hours in the heat and when it was my turn I was told me they had run out. The second one I got up at 5:30 am today and waited in line till 8am and when I got to the tent they told me my daughter had to be present, even though I had her social security card and school list. Well this morning she wasnt feeling good so I decided to leave her home with my husband and not make her wait with me. I went home and picked her up and when I got back they had already given everything away. I have always pictured this first year to be a year for all of us to remember especially my daughter but I am afraid the memory will not be a good one.
We try to get back into a school night routine during the last week of summer vacation by starting a normal bedtime
We just try to prepare for back to school time a little in advance so it’s not an abrupt change
The whole family go to bed early so you can get up early, while kids getting dressed, cook a full breakfast. Shop early for school supplies (get a list of what your child need from the school). Happy first day of school to all the kiddies.
make sure to start it with a great breakfast!!