Lets train

It's August.

That means school starts this month.

  3 weeks from today. 

Nooooooo!!!!

I have a love/hate relationship with school starting back up.

I love the easy breezy days of summer, but I do crave routine & schedules, so that will be nice to have a good routine going once school starts back up.

I don't love the packing of lunches/waking up early/grading that comes along with school days.

Sigh.

I am looking forward to the fun traditions we have for Back to School! 

First things first.

Growing up, one of my favorite parts of going Back to School, was going back to school shopping with my mom & sisters for new school supplies and of course New Clothes! I always loved shopping for my 1st Day of School outfit :)

We pay a supply fee for the girls school, so we don't have to buy any school supplies (besides a backpack & lunchbox) All their school supplies are bought by the teacher & kept in the classroom all year long so that each student has the same thing. You bring your supplies from your desk home on the last day of school. It works out great! I love that they do this! 

For Back to School Clothes Shopping, I am changing a few things up this year.

Last week, I had the girls clean out their dressers & closets so that we could figure out what they needed for Back to School & what clothes they had grown out of. 

Each of my girls filled a huge black trash bag of clothes for giveaway.

 I went through each of their giveaway bags.

There were some clothes that still had tags on them! Some clothes they only wore 1 or 2 times. 

I was totally disgusted...they had so many clothes that they never wore and they were giving away things that still fit them, but they just didn't like anymore. Such a waste of money!

So, this year for Back to School shopping, they will have a budget. 

I will buy each of them 1 pair of shoes (they both chose Converse, which is what they wore pretty much everyday last year, so that works out perfectly)

I am also buying them a new hoodie (we live in California & the weather is so mild, you don't need a winter jacket...a hoodie works just fine!)

I am also buying them each a new 6 pack of socks since they have blown out most of their socks! 

Next week we are going to go clothes shopping at Target & Old Navy. I am giving each of them a $50 Visa Gift Card to go shopping. This is the only money they can spend on clothes for Back to School (besides the shoes, socks & hoodie I am getting them) The girls are almost 7 & 8.5 years old, so it is time that I start teaching them about budgeting/money and picking out practical clothes. 

I just can't believe how many clothes we gave away last week that were brand new or barely worn. (And, they still have SO many clothes in their closets!)

 I hope my $50 Gift Card idea works for helping them make good choices for Back to School Clothes.

I am hoping they can get enough basic items to last them through December.

This is also a good experiment for myself!

I will keep you posted.

What do YOU do for Back to School Clothes Shopping? I would love to hear!

Now, back to other fun things about our Back to School Traditions!

Since Kate started Preschool, the first week of school, I started having a "Back to School Feast"

I would pick a "Theme" for the school year & I decorate according to the theme & make a fun dinner that goes along with our Theme for the school year.

During the Back to School Feast, we talk about the theme & also talk about our hopes & goals for the upcoming school year. It is one of my very favorite traditions that we do & the kids LOVE it!

In 2011, our theme was "GROW"
The table set up:
See the rest of that Back to School Feast {HERE}

In 2012, our theme was "LOVE"

See the rest of that Back to School Feast {HERE}
 

In 2013, our theme was "Fruit of the Spirit"

 See the rest of the Back to School Feast {HERE}

Last year, our theme was BE BRAVE:

See the rest of the Back to School Feast {HERE}

I usually do our Back to School Feast the 2nd or 3rd night of School. The first day of school is always crazy busy, so we do it the 2nd or 3rd day of school.

This is my favorite Back to School Tradition, I already have some ideas for our theme swirling around in my head :)

Another Back to School Tradition that we do is the first Friday of school, I send my girls with cookies for their teachers. The first week of school is always CRAZY, so when you make it to Friday, it is a huge relief! I make them cookies & put them in mason jars with this tag that says

"In the cookie of life, Teachers are the Chocolate Chips"

You can get the printable {HERE}

I also give them an envelope with my "These are my favorite things Questionnaire"

This printable is a great way to get to know your teacher & has helped me figure out what gifts to give them throughout the year!

So, there you have it....a few of our Back to School Traditions!

What are some of your favorite back to school traditions? 

Can't wait to read about them!