A new school year is upon us! It was clear by the end of last year that Sophie was ready for a full day of preschool. She absolutely LOVED her time in half day preschool — she had the best time playing with her friends, the mental stimulation of daily educational activities, and all of the active play on the playground! We don’t have any regrets about starting Sophie out with a half-day last year, but there’s no question that she’s ready for a full day of school this year.
Now that we have a year of preschool under our belts, I wanted to share a few things we learned from last year’s experience and what we’re using / doing this year:
GEAR
BACKPACK
I felt a little crazy buying a full-sized backpack for my three year old last year, but it ended up being the right move for both sending things in and receiving artwork, etc.
The faux leather material of the backpack I chose last year worked out just fine, but I wouldn’t say it was necessary so I wouldn’t make an effort to seek that material out again in the future; any coated or washable fabric will suffice. This year we’re using the new minnow coated everyday backpack and I’m excited to see how it holds up over the course of the year.
We used this name tag to label Sophie’s backpack last year and it worked out so well that we’re reusing it again this year! I didn’t want to use anything too permanent (like letter patches) in case we wanted to pass the backpack on in the future so this durable hang tag was the perfect solution for us.
…
LUNCHBOX
Since Sophie is going for the full day this year I got her a larger sized insulated bento box to hold more food to fuel her day. I also want to mix things up a bit for her and pack some warm things (like pasta, mini pizzas or chicken nuggets) so I bought a little food thermos that I could pair with another small snack-sized container to keep room temperature / chilled things (such as crackers or fruit).
These are the toddler utensils we got for Sophie and I love that they have their own little storage box so they’re not knocking around willy-nilly inside the lunchbox and getting food remnants everywhere (if she remembers to put them away after meal time).
Lastly, we have loved this easy open/close water bottle (that locks to prevent leaks!) so much that we bought a second one to use whenever we leave the house.
…
SPARE SET OF CLOTHES
Accidents and spills happen so having an extra set of clothes on hand at school is really helpful (just in case!). We learned the hard way last year that extra shoes and socks should also be included. We used this zipper pouch to keep her full change of clothes in and they lived in Sophie’s school cubby. I also highly suggest including a wet bag for teachers to put any soiled items in.
NAP MAT
Having a rest / nap time is probably the biggest change going from half day to full time preschool. If you’re responsible for providing the sleep gear for your little one, I found these adorable (and affordable!) nap mats and nap cot bedding that I just had to share.
…
CLOTHING
I felt a little crazy doing this, but I started buying the “essentials” a few months before school started because things (like white leather Velcro toddler shoes) sell out quickly… another lesson that I learned the hard way last year. I don’t like putting that kind of purchasing pressure on anyone, but it’s a real mad dash right before school starts and many things are sold out even before then so plan (and budget) for your purchases accordingly!
OUTFITS
In my research last year the advice I saw so many parents recommending was to dress your littles in clothes that are potty-friendly (read: no jumpsuits / overalls, button flys, etc.) and are easy to pull down and get re-dressed on their own. I can confirm that this advice was absolutely correct and it was a big contributor to Sophie’s independence last year.
My favorite place to shop for our girls’ clothing staples: Children’s Place — they also have great options for those littles going to schools that require uniforms! Additionally, I’ve been surprised to see school uniform style clothing at Target and Gap / Old Navy?! Sophie’s school doesn’t require uniforms, but when I was growing up we had to go to uniform-specific stores to get what we needed to wear to school so I couldn’t help but notice these options when shopping for her. It’s so much easier nowadays!
I also recently shared a more detailed post about where we shop for Sophie’s clothes if you’re looking for some back-to-school inspiration!
NAME LABELS
As I’m certain you’re aware, kiddos are super prone to misplacing things, especially items that aren’t worn all day (such as hats, gloves, jackets, etc.) so I highly recommend labeling EVERYTHING with washable name stickers. They’ve been super durable and I’ve used them to label Sophie’s outerwear, backpack, lunchbox, thermos, snack box, utensil box, and both parts of her water bottle (lid + cup) in case they get separated somehow.
SHOES
Shoes with Velcro make it possible for kiddos (and teachers!) to get them on / off easily. If your little one has a tough time determining which shoe goes on which foot, I’ve known these clever insole shoe stickers to be helpful.
OUTERWEAR
Since kiddos are going out to the playground to play at least once during the day, it’s worth making sure you have appropriate outerwear for your climate in your kiddo’s current size.
I’ve also learned that it’s super helpful for your little one to know how to put jacket / coat on alone so that the teacher doesn’t have to help ~15 small children get dressed to go outside.
…
MEALTIME
Practice opening / closing / using all mealtime gear independently (water bottle, lunchbox, etc) if those items are new to your kiddo.
LUNCHBOX IDEAS
Sophie is a fairly selective eater so I was planning to pack a LOT of traditional peanut butter sandwiches in her lunchbox before discovering that her school has a no nut policy. I totally understand why (and feel terrible for anyone with a nut [or any!] allergy in their household — my heart goes out to you), but that meant I needed to fully revamp my lunch packing plans. Thankfully, there are a lot of online resources that offer nut-free toddler meal ideas and I’m so grateful for them! You mamas are the real MVPs!
If you have a selective eater as well, try incorporating these foods into their rotation ahead of school starting so that they’ve at least had some exposure and aren’t totally blindsided by new food items when they open up their lunchbox.
I’ve linked a few of my favorite “shortcut” foods to include in Sophie’s lunchbox in the widget below!
*Fun fact: did you know that the pine nuts in pesto are actually seeds, so it’s safe to use at school as long as no other nuts are added? The Clasico brand is the only store-bought one I could find without walnuts, cashews, etc added in!
…
TIPS & TRICKS
I gathered some useful resources for handling the start of preschool with Sophie and thought I should share them with you:
You’ll definitely want to attend the school’s Open House to meet teachers, show your kiddo where their classroom is, where they’ll store their things, etc. — it will help you both start school with confidence.
Read back-to-school books ahead of time and talk about [generally] what to expect from the experience.
Make / assemble gift for teacher(s) together.
One sweet way to handle being apart is to utilize mommy & me bracelets which you can gift to them on their first day to make it feel extra special (and help you both with the separation 🥺).
—
I found great insights for handling drop off as well as some tips for managing “restraint collapse” after pickup.
I appreciated these weeknight dinner ideas to help simplify meal planning, some additional start-of-school tips here, with even more advice from experts here, here and here!
…
ILLNESS
Schools are such Petri dishes so the spread of germs is largely unavoidable. I encourage you to prepare your medicine cabinet for inevitable illnesses, for the whole family.
Additionally, encouraging regular (proper!) hand washing, and sneezing / coughing into elbows will do wonders to minimize the spread of germs. Having sick kiddos is so stressful… we try to avoid it at all costs!
…
CELEBRATORY FIRST DAY FUN
Send them off on their first day with a fun breakfast celebration! I gathered a lot of inspiration from this post by emelbe design and this post by The Mama Notes.
Sophie isn’t a big breakfast eater so I kept it simple and served her some milk, “special” Cheerios, and berries.
I adored this additional idea by Somewhat Simple to have a fun surprise to greet them when they return home after their first day of school. If you suspect that your munchkin will be fussy at pickup, maybe bring the party to them and pack a fun snack box for them to enjoy on the drive home.
— By no means do I think you should feel pressure to set up both before and after school celebrations (or any at all!), but I wanted to share both options because not everyone has their sh!t together in the mornings (myself included!), so a fun afternoon greeting may work better for some families. —
This list of simple and fun back-to-school traditions is full of great ideas, which may feel more organic for your family.
I’ve always enjoyed the pictures of littles with their First Day Sign or holding a First Day Pennant / Banner so I knew I wanted to start that tradition every year for our girls. It will be so sweet to see how they grow up — both over the course of each school year, but also over the years! *Even though Chloe is years away from starting school, I already ordered her matching custom first / last day board from the same seller (just in case they change their designs or stop selling altogether!).
…
FIRST DAY TEACHER GIFTS
A teacher gift is such a kind gesture to start the year off on the right foot. This is neither needed nor expected, but always a very nice thing to do. I think that @occasionsbyshakira always does an amazing job coming up with gift ideas — I always feel so inspired by them!
I linked a few of my favorite printable card holders below in case you’re looking for some gifting inspiration!
I look forward to making the First Day Celebration a tradition for both of our girls. It’s fun to start the school year off on a positive note and get kids excited for the year ahead!
I’m still in disbelief that our first baby is already in her second year of preschool. I hope that everyone else has a great start to their school year and that things are going smoothly for all other caregivers also navigating this milestone for the first time — solidarity!
Sending big hugs —
xx, Natalie
Leave a comment...