This is it!
The big countdown is on. As I’ve written before, I have a lot of mixed emotions. But those emotions aside, I don’t actually feel stressed about the start of the school year so much as about the fact that I won’t be enjoying long summer days with my girls.
Some schools have already started their school year today, but we have one more week and the final preparations are underway.

Back to school checklist
Clothes
I like to buy a few fun pieces for back to school in retail stores, but others are bought at second-hand stores like Value Village. When I drop in to look around through out the year, I always look in my daughters’ age range, then one year higher. For $3, I would happily hold on to a brand new, shirt, or skirt until my daughter grows into it.
This eases the burden of dropping a paycheck at the beginning of the school year to get a wardrobe of the newest clothes.
For shoes, I shop online. I have always had a thing about foot health and I like to buy brand name shoes that are known for their comfort and support, but picking them up in the store can be costly. Many stores offer free shipping over a certain amount (you can always add your child’s winter boots onto your order and get that out of the way too). And there are a lot of sizing charts that are easy to follow. You also have a larger option of shoes when you look around online.
Supplies
We purchase our school supplies at the end of the year through our school. This isn’t the cheapest option, but it works for us for these reasons:
- no shopping around, the list is already loaded and you just select your school/grade and you purchase what they’ve chosen. It took me five minutes to complete the order.
- proceeds from the purchase go to the school
- the items are waiting at the school for your child on the first day back
You can also buy the majority of your supplies online and have them sent to you. We chose to buy our daughters’ backpacks online and they got to pick out their favourite one and there is a good chance that there won’t be another in their school. Again, the shipping was free and they will be arriving here just before school starts.
Routines
Back to school means schedules that everyone in the family needs to get used to. Slowly move bedtimes back, and get up earlier. Get dressed early so everyone can get used to getting dressed for school.
If you have some time, try to schedule a date to meet up with other kids at the school to play on the grounds. This is also a great idea for kids to reconnect with their friends before school starts.
Organizing rooms
Back to school is a great time to organize kid’s bedrooms. Cleaning up toys and clutter makes bedrooms a little more calming. Go through your child’s books and keep the ones that are either favourites, or are at your child’s reading level.
Go through their closets and pull out any clothes that no longer fit, then move all of their summer clothes to one side of the closet. Once back to school comes, we need to face the fact that the colder weather will be close behind. Those clothes will soon be cleaned and packed away (or donated, etc).
The OxiClean™ Stain remover laundry detergents are perfect for cleaning old clothes before storing or donating. They remove tough, dried on stains including grass, soil, clay, fruit, chocolate, grease, oil, blood & more. This detergent is powered by three high-performance colour safe enzymes, to fight a wide variety of complex stains and provide brilliant whites and bright colours which is perfect for your winter wardrobe and jackets, mitts, snow pants, etc.
Extra-curricular activities
If you are enrolling your child in any after-school or extra-curricular activities, now is a great time to look into availability as many classes will fill up.
Disclosure: I am a working with Church & Dwight
as an ambassador. Opinions are not influenced.
Sheri publishes, and writes at This Bird’s Day where she shares all of the thoughts in her head without the voices. Sticking mainly with content for Canadians, Sheri shares family stories, product information and anything that fits into her (and her family’s) daily activities.