How To Guarantee a Positive Back To School Experience

It’s hard to believe that summer is coming to an end already!  Boy, how time flies!  One day you’re lounging by the pool and the next, it’s back to school time.  Within the past two weeks, our high-schooler began Band Camp and Fall Soccer.  Our eldest has been moved back to college.  Every year these events sneak up on us, and we forget that August really isn’t for summer fun anymore.

Back To School Prep

Clothes and shoe shopping is one of our largest annual expenses.  I feel like we bleed money!  Over the course of the last decade, we have attempted to find ways to cut our expenses.

One thing I have learned over the years is not to take the kids out shopping for a new wardrobe in the summer, because for one thing, they grow like bad weeds, and for another, you can get better deals when you wait.  For example, we were able to get t-shirts and shorts in July at a hefty discount, as retailers had those items on clearance to prepare for their fall seasonal line of clothing.  My teenagers/young adults will likely wear shorts until October.  Then, I can purchase jeans that fit them and will hopefully last until spring.  This is much easier on my budget and my nerves.

We also pick up back to school supplies throughout the year.  Pens, pencils, notebooks, binders, etc. go on sale too.  The only issue with doing this: I sometimes forget I purchased these items and buy them again.  I dedicated a shelf on our bookcase for notebooks and things so we can take inventory prior to shopping, which again saves time and money.

Preparing Your Child For College

Sending your child off to college is not only an emotional experience but a costly one too.  It takes a lot of planning and organization to pull it off without breaking the bank or your spirit!  Assessing everything your child requires for college can be difficult.

Most colleges send home a list of things your Freshman will need for dorm life along with words of caution about bringing too much.   We took way too much on the initial move-in day and spent the following two months bringing it back home at each break.  At the end of the year, our son came home with unopened packages of things we sent with him.   I think we were so concerned he would be without something, that our emotions took over and got the best of us. In reality, we could have purchased any missed items when we saw him again on Labor Day Weekend, which was a mere two weeks away.  Lesson learned!

Fast forward to year two:   Sophomore is moving to an efficiency apartment.  We have spent a bazillion dollars and again, packed too much stuff.  This time, we stayed to unpack and set up the apartment, ran to the store for groceries, and immediately loaded extra items back into the truck to lug back home.

The funny thing is that we parents think these young people live the way we do.  You know, like stripping the bed and putting clean sheets on while the dirty ones go into the laundry for washing.  Who are we kidding?  They most certainly do not live like us.  If they wash the sheets at all it will be a miracle.  Kids, at least not boys, do not get excited about the things that we do.

Did I need to send this teenager with two sets of sheets and towels?  Nope.  When he started back this year, he wanted new towels to go in his new bathroom.  I laughed out loud.  Seriously,  the “old” ones look just fine to me.  We had just purchased a ridiculous amount of supplies for this place and were happy to do it, but at some point, a line has to be drawn.

In addition to shopping at yard sales and Goodwill to purchase cookware and kitchen items, we cleaned out our cabinets and drawers of “doubles” such as wooden spoons and cooking utensils.  We also happily accepted donations from family members.  In the end, we were able to supply this young man with everything he needs to live well in his own contemporary place for a “reasonable” amount of money.

Fall Activities

Between back to school, the Marching Band events, the soccer schedule, and College Football, autumn is always a busy time.  Add in some camping, festivals, and working full-time jobs, it becomes almost impossible to manage!  The best thing to do is to try to enjoy every minute of it while we can. Is it a lot of time and work? Yep.  But pretty soon, we will look back and wonder where this time went with our kids.  How did it go by so fast?  So for now, I’ll be the Band Mom cheering in the stands for my saxophone player on the field and running around like a crazy person five days a week for practices, performances, and games.  I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Simplifying the entire back to school experience is a guaranteed way to get through this time with a positive outcome.  Hope you all not only survive the trials and tribulations this busy time of year brings but also get the utmost enjoyment out of it as well.

Until Next Time,

April

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