Welp, it’s finally here. It’s been a long time coming, but even over the past year I still don’t think I imagined we’d be preparing for back to school this fall. I’m actually a bit out of practice, honestly it’s been 18 months or so at home and working in our make shift homeschool spaces. I actually started to quite enjoy the homeschooling because I always knew exactly what my son was working on in school, so I could easily grill him with match questions. Anyways, now it’s time to move on and start the 2021 school year.

My son attends a school that supports sustainability  so we will never have a full school list like most schools. All the extra paper and supplies aren’t needed, because the mission is to conserve our planet and it’s resources. Each kid wears a  t’shirt/sweatshirt with the school’s name on the front and any bottoms that you like. I’ve learned a lot from this school and have adopted many of the school’s ideals personally and try to buy only things that are necessary for the school year.

When I think about sustainability, I don’t usually think about buying a pair of designer jeans, but I have to say Levi’s is such a durable brand that it makes me feel good about buying it for the kids because a pair lasts until they grow out of it and usually can get handed down from one kid to the next. Levi’s are also stylish and comfortable so I never get any complaints, so they remain at the top of my back to school lists for the boys. The slim fit is very on trend and the skinny 510’s are my son’s favorite. I purchased the toddler pair from JCPenny.com and the boys’s size 8 from Macy’s for only $24.00 each on sale.

For my son, Seth who is entering Pre-K3, we really have kept his back to school list simple, I just purchased his pillow, blanket, and fitted sheet set for naps which are super important for the Pre K year. I got the one featured below from Amazon for less than $20.

The other essential item that we bought Seth (3) was  a pottery barn kids backpack with matching thermos and lunch bag. He’s very excited because this set glows in the dark with the Star Wars, The Mandalorian theme. He also got his initials on the bag and his name on the thermos. I’ve heard it’s not safe to put the kids’ names on the backpack because strangers will know your kids name (stranger danger). The backpack comes in 3 different sizes to fit your growing child. We decided on the size small which is large enough to carry his lunch bag, two small notebooks, two books and a water bottle. The lunch bag can fit a bento box, utensil case and extra water bottle if needed and it comes with a nice strap and cold pack.

I’ll admit these items were on the pricy side, but I expect they will last until second grade at least and he really loved it. 

Back pack with initials – $61.00
Lunch bag with initials – $46.00
Water Bottle/thermos w/Name – $26.00

Keeping it simple this year and looking forward to a blessed year. How are you preparing for back to school?

Be sure to check out our summer camp post for some end of summer ideas.