Back To School: Your Essential Guide

By: Phoebe Ackland, ellaslist

For many parents, these past few weeks have been the slowest of the entire year. Whilst some mums might be sending their little ones to Kindy for the first time, a moment you might’ve dreaded since they were first born, for others, it means less money spent on childcare, less whinging throughout the day and more peace!

This time of year is completely chaotic- back to school haircuts need to be negotiated, crowds must be battled during stationary shopping and uniforms need lots of labelling to avoid ‘lost property’ dramas. To make life a little easier, use this as your back to school guide: our top tips, funny videos and things to remember before the new school year gets underway.

A Sticky Situation

Our top pick for back to school labelling! If you’re anything like us, you like to go a little label crazy to avoid dramas of lost (and darn expensive!) school books, uniforms and other equipment. Stuck on You has a variety of designs and packages available, personalised products including bags, lunch boxes, water bottles, stationary and clothing, and the best part? They wash really well, and have handy instructions on how to best iron them on. Go label crazy this back to school season. More here.

 

Bite-Sized Lunchbox Advice

The lunchbox struggle is real. Time-poor mums know all too well about how creativity and nutrition fly out the window a mere few weeks into the school year. Whilst it might be tempting to throw kids a few dollars for the school canteen, remember that a packed lunch from home is always best. We’ve compiled a few of our most helpful lunchbox tips here. You might also like our 6 favourite healthy lunchbox tips and tips on making lunchbox time hassle-free.

 

Source: Little Linky

School Readiness Programs

School-time is a mixed bag of emotions for the whole family. According to education experts, there are 5 major factors that determine whether your child is ‘school ready’: self-regulation and social-emotional readiness, physical health and motor readiness, language and communication readiness, cognitive readiness, and approaches to learning. If you’re considering, or think your child might need a school readiness program, read our complete guide here.

 

The Great Kindy Debate

More and more parents, given the choice, are delaying their child’s entrance into kindergarten with an extra year of preschool. If your little one is born between January and July, the choice is yours. Want to weigh up the pros and cons? You need to have a read of our article!

 

What Kids Going Back to School Really Looks Like…

Yep…pretty much.

Source: Eh Bee Facebook

Why We Love and Hate Back To School Time

Whilst the noise around your home may drop a few decibels, back to school time isn’t all peace and quiet. Before long, permission slips will start to pile up and uniforms will start to look grimy. Here’s what ellaslist likes and loathes about sending their poppets back off to school.

 

Sydney’s Top Schools

Is your child leaving primary school soon? Considering their options for high school? The results are in, and these are Sydney’s top schools. For another year, selective schools seem to be the way to go in terms of academic results. There are some surprises in there for you to consider, too!