My best last minute back to school tips

Don't the summer holidays go quick? One moment your kids are running out of the school gates, and the next they are whinging about having to go back to school... There are quite a few things to think about before going back to school again, so here are a few last minute back to school tips I have found useful. 

I'll also be reviewing name labels for school uniforms from Petit Fernand, and you can win your own set too (entry form at the end of the post).

1. Check you have all the uniform bits, in right size

Quite self-explanatory really... That said, if your kids still fit in their uniform from last year I'd recommend waiting until the end of September or beginning of October before going uniform shopping. We have found that the uniform shops are crazy busy, and the supermarkets often run out of some key items - or at least sizes can be difficult to find. But, if needs must, do try get to the shops early in the morning, or try online shopping.  

2. Label the uniform

I don't know about your kids, but mine is constantly losing every loose piece of clothing she wears. We go through a ridiculous amount of time every school pick-up hunting for her cardigan. She has also come back with someone else's tights, and would probably lose her head if it wasn't so tightly attached to her body. 

Anyway, to avoid all items being lost, label them. You can just Sharpie the name to clothing tags, but I find this wears off in the wash, so iron-on and stick-on clothing labels really help. Petit-Fernand sent me some school uniform name labels this year - I chose their Nursery Value Pack, which contains a mixture of iron-on and stick-on clothing, shoe and item name labels - altogether 120 labels for £28. 

It was really easy to order, and arrived within four days of ordering, beautifully presented in a handy booklet. You could choose all kinds of icons and colours for the labels and the names as well as a font, so you can really personalise the labels according to what your kid likes (for mine it was a bunny and blue colours). There was also a sheet of stickers for the kids - bonus!

Also, a pro-tip here - get the labels with your kids last name only. This means any younger siblings can wear the same clothes, without needing to re-label them, saving you a bit of time in last-minute preparations in a few years time. Your future self will thank your past self!

3. Schedule your kid for an eye and dental examination

Just because it is easy to remember, new school year means yearly check-ups. And it is pretty important to do both regularly. I for example went through a year in school not being able to see what the teacher was teaching us since no one realised I couldn't actually see, much anything a few meters away... 

4. Plan the start-of-the-year photographs

I know the school year usually starts with the school photographs, but I also like to take a picture of my little one on the first day, in her school uniform. I often incorporate little information in the picture as well, such as what she wants to be as an adult, what she likes, how tall she is, the date etc etc. We have a black board wall where we add this, but I have seen other parents also use small chalkboards, white boards or just a piece of carton you decorate ahead of time. 

That said, if it's all too much, just make sure they have had their hair nicely combed before the school photographs ha ha!

5. Get used to early wake-ups again

If your kids have gotten used to late mornings, now it is time to start getting back to the routine. So, put those alarm clocks on again at a normal school wake-up time, phasing them if needed over a few days for a gentle re-programming. And start getting that breakfast routine back in again, making sure the mornings start to run as smoothly as they have to when school finally starts!

6. Rejoice in the savings you make

And if you have left all the purchases of all those school items till the last minute, at least you can be happy that you are probably able to find decent discounts the later you leave it. You might not have much of a choice but at least you are saving some pennies. So don't feel too bad and own the choice to procrastinate and mask it as frugality if anyone asks ha ha. 

I was unusually organised this year and sorted out the school uniform at the end of term last year, but, other than that am busy prepping everything else. If you have any good tips for the last weeks before school starts I'd love to hear them. 

So, what kind of last minute back to school tips do you have?

You might also like: Feeling anxious about the primary school application

Enter the competition to win £30 towards Petit Fernand School Name Label Value Packs - just enter using the form below. UK entries only.

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