5 Ways to Prepare for Back to School

We use Bento boxes for school lunches and especially at the start of the school year, I like having easy things on hand to make quick lunches. I will be packing for 2 kids this year and often pack for my husband who is a teacher as well. I'm not talking about individual bags of cookies or anything but more like healthy quick foods like string cheese, cherry tomatoes, whole-grain crackers, grapes, etc. Foods that can easily be packed into my kid's Bento boxes that nourish them through the day.

If you're a parent, you know that back to school means a bunch of germs and sicknesses. I am already dreading all of the colds and stomach bugs coming our way. We just had Lily's 3 year old well checkup and made sure she was 100% up to date on her vaccines. Vaccines are the best way to ensure your child is protected from preventable illnesses. Talk to your pediatrician to make sure your child is up to date on vaccines. We already scheduled our flu shots as well for the end of September! I don't want to forget as life gets busy.

I Vaccinate is a wonderful resource for providing helpful information based on medical science and research to help Michigan residents protect their families from vaccine-preventable diseases. Learn more about which vaccines to get and when, the safety of vaccines and more.

These kids grow so fast which means lots of shopping for mom! Towards the end of the summer, I do a huge overhaul of the kid's clothes from last year and write down what we need. I don't buy it all at once unless I find a good deal. Target is great for kid's clothes and shoes sales and I am also a big clearance shopper. Also, I love mom to mom sales in the fall for super inexpensive gently used clothes.

If you know me, you know I never pay full price for anything. I love a good deal! Look at different stores sale ads and you will find lots of sales on school supplies- many under $1! Target has been especially great this year for super inexpensive school supplies. Don't forget to get some supplies for home too since kids will need to do some schoolwork at home as well.

Once the fall hits, our schedule fills up so quick! School field trips, back to school night, homework, projects, fall sports, etc. My tip is to put everything into my Google calendar on my phone so I always have our schedule at my fingertips. My kids have lots of spirit days where they have to do things like wear pajamas and my biggest tip is just to add it to your phone and have the notification pop up in the morning for example to make it easiest on mom.

Have an awesome back to school season! It always feels like a lot in the beginning but we all get used to it quickly. These tips should help make back to school a little easier on you.