CT in Style, a Connecticut-based lifestyle blog – Fun Back to School Supplies!
It’s back to school time and we’re in full hunter – gatherer mode for new clothes and school supplies. August 16th, 2015 (yesterday) was the first day of the “tax-free” week where Connecticut residents can enjoy tax free shopping on clothing and shoes that are under $100 dollars individually (this doesn’t include items like handbags, watches, and jewelry). Many parents like to take advantage of the savings, but don’t wait too long, the last day is Saturday, August 22nd. I’m going to include a few posts this week about getting ready to go back to school, starting with school supplies. During the week I’ll show you my favorite backpack and tips for keeping it organized and I’ll also share how and what I pack for healthy school snacks and lunches.
School Supplies – In Connecticut, our school district partners with Innisbrook to purchase back-to-school packs from Kindergarten to 8th grade as part of a fundraiser. I signed up for this after learning that shopping for school supplies the day before school begins is not recommended (yes, I really did this as a newbie Mom for my kindergartener and the shelves were bare except for a few crushed boxes of crayons). Nothing could be more simple than ordering the supplies online and having them delivered directly to your child’s school. We did this for years and it is a great program, however, the only drawback is that everything in the pre-packaged box is generic and you don’t have any options in style or color.
So this year, I floated the idea of picking out the school supplies to my son, and he was all over it. In order to get the best selection, we knew we couldn’t hesitate, so the moment we got the list of supplies my husband took our son to Staples to go shopping. You can tell his favorite colors are red, white and black and I know they had fun making the selections. I like the fact that choosing his own supplies gave him a sense of involvement and more ownership and it was a nice way to get him excited about starting school. They came back with everything they needed. And then some.
Meet zipit, a pencil case that appears harmless and innocent until you unzip it. This is what happens when the boyz go shopping. Don’t worry, I won’t keep you in suspense. You can be just as horrified as I was when you scroll down.
A pencil case with a grill. Loverly.
Look how ill mannered zipit is. He eats with his mouth open.
They think it is hilarious. Me, not so much. Anyway, I will not be outdone by my husband, we’re horribly competitive. I found an image of one of the hero characters from one of my son’s video games, added some funny text and printed it out on 8×11 photo paper for the front of his math binder. Jackson is entering 6th grade and he definitely has a swagger in his step now that he’s entering middle school. This was a gentle reminder from his Mom not to let it get to his head – and I wanted to make sure that he gets some smiles from me too.
