Back to School

It’s one of my favorites times of the year, Back to School! Even before the kids were in school I would get excited about this because we would pick out new supplies for our playroom and restock certain things such as paintbrushes, paper, crayons and all those fun things for the next year. This year is a little different because Kensi is going into kindergarten and Finn is starting preschool. Both of them are so excited to get back in to a routine of school and I am too!

Last year was our first official go around for school and we went through all the fun shenanigans of getting our backpack and lunch box and all the accessories to go with them. We ended up using this bento style lunch box from Pottery Barn Kids for Kensi last year and it worked pretty well. The one problem we came across was we couldn’t put anything with a liquid in any container because it would leak into the next section both underneath and on top since the sections weren’t completely sealed off from each other and the lid wasn’t necessarily tight against the top. This year we’re trying this Bentgo Box. It’s inexpensive and plastic rather than metal, but the reviews are good and several customers have said it doesn’t leak, so fingers crossed this will fit in the current lunch boxes we have and we don’t have to replace them, if we do we’ll have a couple extras on hand! I really love Bento style boxes for the simple fact it keeps everything organized and it’s much more appealing and the kids are excited to eat. Long gone are the days of stuffing a sandwich inside a plastic baggie and filling the rest of the space with other baggies of carrot sticks and Little Debbie Bars. Bento Boxes make it easy to portion food correctly and to choose healthier options in my opinion. There’s a space for everything and instead of feeling like their lunch is packed full of snacks or carbs, which sometime during the year it eventually will happen, but it’s easier to see what’s going inside because it’s so organized and it eliminates oodles amounts of trash.

As for the rest of back to school shopping, we did most of ours a few weeks ago and Kensi and Finn picked out a few fun items to keep in their backpacks since their supplies get distributed into their classrooms throughout the year. Kensi picked out this unicorn pencil pouch and Finn chose this cute shark pouch which he’ll probably keep legos and few extra snacks hidden! We also picked out these cute and fun cold packs for their lunch boxes. Most of our shopping  really revolves around finding shoes and clothes to last them through a good part of the year. Here are a few of our favorites!

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A few extra tips...

Shoes: Shoes are always kept simple. Each of the kids have a pair of sandals, rain boots, dressier closed toe shoe and athletic shoe for play. 

Tops: Choose 5-7 different tops that can be interchangeable with pants, shorts and/or skirts (for the girls)

Bottoms: Choose 5-7 different bottoms that include a mix of shorts and pants. This also include comfy bottoms like a pair of sweats. 

Dresses: Our girls love dresses and rompers and typically wear these often. Choose 4 dresses that can be mixed and matched with an array of tights and leggings. 

I love finding several neutral pieces and a few fun pieces that can constantly be mixed and matched. Having several neutral pieces that can be worn throughout the year really helps staying on a budget and avoids feeling like a new wardrobe needs to be purchased every season change. This allows us to pick a few fun items for each new season and holiday without breaking the bank!