Back to School Essentials

My daughter starts school in just a few weeks time *sob*. I can’t believe that my baby, my four year old, and possibly one of the smallest reception children ever known to man will be commencing her journey towards full time education!

The school bag is ready, the pencil case is packed, and here is my round up of Back to School Essentials to help get you ready for that first big day! 🙂

Your Starting School Card (1)

As if I wasn’t already feeling emotional enough, Hallmark have just made me sob into my cornflakes. These Starting School cards featuring familiar characters are perfect to mark the occasion, and have lovely verses inside as a special card from parent to child. I love how these cards make the first day exciting, and will make a lovely keepsake to look back on in years to come! I am looking forward to writing a special message inside for my daughter when the big day comes.

The Bag Key Lights (2)

One thing you may not have considered is how your child is going to recognise their bag and coat in the mass of everyone elses when lets face it – they all look very similar! A big fan of the new Lego Batman Movie, Erin LOVES these lego torch keylights – perfect for making your child’s bag stand out from the crowd, and the torch hidden in her foot might prove useful when those darker nights set in!

Sleepzzz Until Big School (3)

Children can struggle with the concept of time. Ask Erin about something that happened in the past and she will say ‘Yesterday”, something in the future? You guessed it, tomorrow. The Sleepzzz Until Bears are a fantastic way of helping children count down the days to a special event using . Sleepzzz Until recently launched their Sleepz Until Big School Bear, with a sticker a day to be earned for the 2 weeks before their start date. The bear is adorable and has on her very own pinafore dress (a boy version is also available!). I love the fact you can link the rewards to something related to school such as “Help Mummy with naming clothes”, “Practice writing your name” and that it encourages excitement about the start of school as opposed to any anxiety or worry.

Name Labels (4)

One factor about a new school term starting is that will make most parents want to hibernate, or roll back under the duvet, is the prospect of labelling or naming possessions. Everything from uniforms to bottles, bags and shoes. Not only is the process as dull as dishwater but takes an eternity – but it doesn’t have to! As anyone who knows me will say, I am far from a domestic goddess and not one to get out my sewing needles! These fab iron on and stick on clothing labels from Neatly Named are super easy to use and no needle and thread required! They are available in value packs, and even have special school shoe label covers to prevent them rubbing off!

Stationery

As a stationery addict, one of the most exciting elements of Erin starting school is that we get to go shopping for the contents of her bag and pencil case. Yes I know that makes me a bit of a loser, but some of my fondest memories involve being treated to a new pencil case before the start of a new term!

Erin makes no secret of her love for the Disney Princesses – and Sambro (5) have just the ticket – they have a huge range of stationery essentials including their fab Disney Princess range, with backpacks, pencil cases and stationery! We love this Princess Bag with a hologram in the centre!

I am also yet to meet a child who hasn’t fallen in love with Smiggle (6). Having been in with Erin a few months ago, I now have to attempt to hide my eyes from the window display when I walk past my local store in Touchwood. The back to school range is fantastic – bright colours and fun designs, including their amazing scented pencils – who wouldn’t want to write their homework to the smell of pink lemonade! Yes please!

Notepad

A personalised notepad is a great little treat for someone starting school. We were recently sent this Erin notepad from Giftpup (7) – a beautiful hardback book with lined paper inside, perfect for her to practice her handwriting in! There are lots of different designs available, but I love this particular Animal’s Autumn Forest design, I am going to pop this in Erin’s school bag as a little surprise, I know she will LOVE it! 🙂

Lunchbox

Whilst I love the themed lunchbox designs, Erin surprised me by saying she wanted a big girl lunchbox just like mummys – the ones from Sistema (8) are great – bright colours to still appeal to a younger child, whilst having separate compartments for all their different foods, and even a little pot for keeping raisins, yoghurt or dressings in. With a fussy eater on the cards, having little compartments like this to stop things from getting “contaminated(!) is always a bonus!

Reading and Writing  

We were recently sent the LeapStart Interactive Learning System (9) – This fun interactive system has a number of replayable activity books available for children from preschool age (2-7 years), and helps encourage reading, writing, and knowledge of key life skills for the next stage in their learning journey. The activities are so much fun that children will actually want to play without realising it is an educational tool – and far more productive than her sitting watching toy unboxing videos on the iPad!

The Shoes

Buying school shoes can be a NIGHTMARE, and there are some fab ranges online, however if like me you haven’t had your child’s feet measured for an eternity, the thought of facing the masses in your local shoe shop can be enough to push you over the edge, particularly if your child (like mine!) has a bit of an aversion to a stranger touching their feet! You can now buy these Measuring Gauges so that you can check the sizing in the comfort of your own home. Simply use the gauge to measure width and length fittings, before ordering online, all from the comfort of your own living room!

What are your back to school essentials?

*Disclosure – we received some press samples for some of the products featured in this round up. This post contains affiliate links – these have no impact on you, however I will receive a small commission if you purchase as a result of my link*