My Favorite Back-To-School Supplies

I was that kid who loved a new box of 64 crayons and would organize the box by color. All the greens together, all the reds, those random silver and gold and pewter over in the corner.  I’d gather enough paperbags to cut and fold into crisp book covers for all my textbooks.  Be sure to label everything clearly with my name.

And not much has changed since then.  While my kids are checking off their school supply list of pencils and 3-ring binders and protractors and multi-button graphing calculators, I gather the items I need for back-to-school.  For the things that need to be replaced or added to, this time of year is a great time to pick up my favorite office supplies while they’re on sale for the kids.

4-tab sectioned folder.  There always seems to be some new folders and organized in the aisles at Staples. I found a 4-section folder, perfect for our family, for all my “stuff I need to know about my kids’ activities” folder. Their class schedules (for when I need to make during-school doctor’s appointments), their sports schedules, identification cards for sports associations, class syllabus, list of teachers. Its easy and convenient enough to carry with me to back-to-school night and the rest of the year.

Sharpies. These are fast becoming my favorite writing instrument because they can write on anything (including your children), they come in every color you could ever want (even neon) and you don’t have to scribble on a corner of paper to get the ink flowing. I use them to write notes, label kids’ stuff, label my stuff, sign books.

Coffee mugs. I tend to drink from the same coffee mugs every morning, part of the morning routine.  The monkey mug is a constant, my sorority mug has been added to the cycle. The cheetah mug is being retired, I’m scared the handle is going to break off mid-sip. And then of course, there’s the to-go coffee mug for those busy mornings. One from Starbucks Madrid is the throw in the purse one - it doesn’t leak – really it doesn’t. I don’t know why they don’t have this model state-side. (Starbucks – are you listening!?)  And I have a pretty Lily Pulitzer one someone gave me as a gift for mornings I want to be fancy.

Google calendar.  I still carry a paper planner – because. But to coordinate all the goings on in our family, and to be able to shoot my husband a calendar item, I rely on Google calendar. I color code our activities and can print out the calendar by day, week, month, or some other unique day-count. The best feature – it sends me reminders by text and/or email of where I’m supposed to be. That’s the one thing my paper calendar can’t do.

Note cards. Who doesn’t love getting a real, hand-written note in the real mailbox? One of my goals is to get better at writing more notes to people, especially since I like buying pretty cards.

Bound journals. I like journals for all my notetaking. From the little 3x5 Moleskine style to the cloth-covered, ledger. I am not hardly ever without at least one in my purse. Because I take notes wherever I go – church, meetings, programs, seminars, book talks – and make lists all the time. As a writer, this allows and encourages me to write wherever I am, whenever I have a few free moments. 

And since adult coloring books seem to be the new thing, and I don't have to share my daughter's Princess books any longer, I think I'll pick up a pick of colored pencils for myself, too.

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Getting The Perfect 1st Day of School Picture

If you’ve got kids, you’ve got to post the perfect first day of school picture on Facebook / Twitter/ Instagram/ Periscope.  You’re little sweety waving & smiling as they board the bus. Or blowing you a kiss thru the car window. Hanging up their backpack in the perfectly neat row of cubbies in their new classroom. And then a mom and kid pic – you smiling with your trying to look like you woke up like that make-up on, hair combed and a clean blouse and cute still-summer shorts.

As if the first day of school isn’t stressful enough!

Because this is probably the first day in almost two months that you’ve had to wake up your whole family before 8 am.  And if you are lucky enough to have high schoolers, you’ve had to get up at the break of dawn. Then you had to pack lunches, and realized that since you went to the grocery store last week, the kids ate all the snack bags of chips over the weekend and handed out the juice boxes to their friends at the pool.  And where are all those dang forms, especially the one that proves your kid got his measles shot this summer so they will let him in the school door?

You spent a mortgage payment on back-to-school clothes, but the little one refuses to wear the new outfit you picked out – the identical pink dress or red and blue striped shirt that they wear every year so that it looks so cute in the scrapbook on the “how they are growing” page. Instead, they want to wear their favorite summer movie t-shirts, so your daughter is wearing a Minion t-shirt and overalls with fake black glasses and your son is wearing a Straight Outta Compton t-shirt and jeans and won’t smile.

And they changed what time everyone goes to school this year, pushing it back 15 minutes – just enough to screw up your schedule, but not really enough time to get any sleep that makes a difference – and changed the bus routes, so you actually have to check the bus route schedule this year for the bus your kids have been riding for 6 years to figure out what time its coming.  But what mom worth her coffee puts her kids on the bus on the first day of school, so you’ve got to drive them to the door to prove to everyone that you aren't one of those free-range willy-nilly parents.

But before you load up the kids in the car, you’ve got to fix your hair and swipe on some lipstick and put on a real clothes. You cannot do the in-pajamas drop-off today because you know that other mom in your kid’s class is going to be there in an outfit that matches her kid’s, with a full face of make-up, unchipped manicure and hair fresh from the salon.  She’ll be there with that cute-sy sign she made stealing an idea from Pinterest, a chalkboard with cute-sy lettering announcing the first day of school and the new grade. (She also wrote a funny haiku for her kid’s lunchbox, you’ll hear about that from your little on after school.)

There's just enough time to pour coffee in your car mug, search for the top, get the kids to stand on the front steps and not poke each other.  Try to get a couple good shots of them smiling without making those goofy faces they usually do when you pull out a camera, but they never do when they are taking selfies.  Hurry to school and try to get towards the front of that nightmare of a drop-off circle. And before the teacher on drop-off duty blows her whistle at you, you snap a couple more pictures of the kids in front of the school before they see their friends and you get one last picture of the back of their heads as they run into the school.  Waving from the curb is the PTA President and if you make eye contact for too long, she’s going to ask you to chair the fall festival bake sale or to join the healthy food committee, so you wave, jump back in the car, and knock over your coffee onto your nice clean outfit.

Now to get home, flip through the morning pics, and find that one good picture of your lovely darlings and try to think of something new and catchy to say, but its been too hectic a morning for all that so you’ll just go with “first day of school – when did they get so big – tears” like everyone else.

Whew. Relax. Finish your coffee and clean up breakfast. In six hours, it’ll be time for the “home from the first day of school” picture.

Happy Back-to-School Day!

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Parents' Rules for Back to School Night

Kids off to school? Now, the next ritual of the new school year - Parent's Back to School Night.  We're down from 4 nights at 4 schools, to 3, so there's a little something to be thankful for.

As a teacher, Parent Night used to make me so nervous! It's one thing to talk to classrooms full of kids all day, but for the most part, they were harmless. Maybe someone wouldn't turn in their homework or would fall asleep or not stop talking. I could handle that. But on Back to School Night, the parents were coming and - whew - parents can be a mean bunch with some hard questions.

Now, as a parent, I try not to scare the new teachers who just got their education degree last spring and so proudly are stepping into the classroom with their newly sharpened pencils. Neither do I want to upset the more seasoned teachers who know their way around a busy-body parent.  Because really, who is going to suffer from my bad behavior? My kid. And then we've got to go to the Principal's office and nobody wants that.

I'll have a snack before I go so that I won't be cranky and take my favorite flask coffee cup so that I can pay attention.  And I'm now going over my rules so that I don't get a red card in class.  Interestingly, they are similar to the ones I hope my kids are following.

• I will not take up class time for my personal issues.  This is not the time for private conversations with the teacher about my kid.  I should ask for an appointment to discuss any concerns later.

• I will not be disruptive in class.  Tonight is not the time to debate whether I like the new math curriculum and explain how confused I am about decomposing numbers. But I might ask if the teacher has a cheat sheet for parents.

• I will be on time for class.  As much as it feels like reunion time with my school parent friends, I will be sure to not be late, talking in the hallways.

• I will do my homework.  I am collecting my PTA dues, cafeteria money, and all the other papers I was supposed to send back to school over the past week.

• I will be nice and respectful to my classmates.  I will not roll my eyes at the parent in the first row who explains to the teacher (and us) how her child is so smart and asks what she should do while the other kids are trying to catch up with the lesson.  I will not cough while the parent in the back row explains why her child should be exempt for two weeks of school because she's going on a prestigious recorder concert.  (Note to self - pack my sunglasses, don't worry that it will be 8 o'clock at night.)

• I will not make smaller kids cry.  Do not leave an embarrassing note about how proud I am of my kid with big frilly hearts in my kid's pencil box for them to find in front of all of their friends tomorrow.

Alright. Off to brew some coffee and then I'll be on my way.  Enjoy your back-to-school night!

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