Back to School Guide

Back to School Guide Kindergarten and Pre-SchoolWhether your little ones are heading off to school or they find their classroom at home, we have some great picks to get them ready for learning!

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Look Sharp, Think Sharp

Hip Fall Children’s Collections: I am falling head over heals for the stylish children’s clothing at coco bonbons. This one year old clothing line for babies, boys, and girls has brought out a sweeter than chocolate selection of fall clothing with patchwork appliques, asymetrical hems, and tasty details. Check out this au-currant modish Owl Dress for girls.

And Tea Collection is a perennial favorite. This chic children’s clothing line always has stylish options for children. The Fall ‘08 Collection, inspired by Japan, launched August 1.

 Girls\' Owl Dress
Stay Warm: Chittypulga has a variety of hip jacket and sweater styles for kids, including this funky Knuckleheads Ranger Jacket (on sale for $48), this fun Zutano Striped Hoodie (on sale for $24.50), and this gorgeous Capelet from Tea Collection ($35).On the sweeter side, I’m in love with this this precious Lion Jacket from coco bonbons. We’ll have more jacket picks as the weather cools. Knuckleheads Ranger Jacket
Lion Boys Coat
School is Cool: We love the style and reasonable pricing on the hip graphic snapsuits and t-shirts for babies and children at Sandbox Threads (designed by a Work at Home Dad). This PRESCHOOL t-shirt is a hilarious play on the COLLEGE shirt from Animal House.Support your pre-reader with this AC/DC inspired shirt: AB/CD: for those who are about to read, we salute you from Trendy Tadpole (on sale for $11 for a limited time).

VeriMeri works with schools and programs on fundraisers with child-designed t-shirts. Sales also benefit Free Arts for Abused Children. Because these are kid-designed, you know these t-shirts speak to children. I love the positive message of this “Be Buddies, Not Bullies” t-shirt.

 T-ShirtAC/DC AB/CD Children’s T-Shirt
Shoes: No outfit is complete without a stylish pair of kicks. Remember that young feet are still growing and your pre-schooler is best off with a quality pair of flexible-soled shoes in natural materials. Livie & Luca ($37.50 at Skimbaco) has a unique, whimsical look with boys’ styles that rival the girls’ for cuteness–just check out the Elephants style for your explorer.We’re also huge fans of Vincent Shoes’ whimsically sophisticated European styling (up to about 8 yrs), and See Kai Run’s sweet chic look (up to size 9). Check out our guide to flexible soled toddler shoes for more options. Toddler Shoes

Deals on Hip Threads for School:

Stay Organized

Back Packs for Pre-Schoolers: BlaBla Kids Backpack for preschoolers ($43 at Oompa Toys) is a cute and lightweight way for your tot to tote stuff. Also absolutely adorable, colorful, and half the price is this Rainbow Smile Backpack by Agatha Ruiz de La Prada ($20 at Little Jet Set). BlaBla Backpack
Rock and Roll Your Backpack: This cute Monkey Backpack ($29.99) will roll along if your child needs a little help.  Plus, you can use it as an overnight bag, too.
 Monkey Backpack
Backpacks for School Kids: When your kid has a little more to pack, check out the Four Peas Backpack ($34-$52 at Skimbaco). I love that many of their designs work well for boys, too! They also make a smaller toddler size and a messenger bag and you can even have this hip backpack personalized.Budding environmentalists will love the Peace, Love and Recycling Eco-Friendly Backpacks from Dante Beatrix ($50 at Little Jet Set). These bags are made from PET (approximately seven 16-ounce 100% recycled plastic bottles in each bag) with canvas trim, a naturally biodegradable fabric.

See the entire selection of Children’s Backpacks at Little Jet Set for more options.

 Four Peas Personalized Children\'s Backpack
Clothing, Cup, and Shoe Labels: If you are hoping your child actually returns home with her supplies, you need to check out the popular Mabel’s Labels. As word spreads, these dishwasher and washing machine safe labels are fast becoming a must have for parents sending kids to camp, daycare, or school. Stick-On Labels
Supply Organizers: My daughter is absolutely in love with the Doodlebugz Crayon Keepers, DoodleBags, Crayon Aprons and Toolbelts, and Crayon Purses and Duffle Bags. These licensed Crayola products, available at Princess Linens, help keep your little artist organized and ready to create!At home, keep crayons organized with the telescoping crayon tower organizer. Check out all the Back to School supplies from Crayola.
 Doodlebags Crayon and Chalk Keeper
I’ll Pencil You In: Like it or not, our kids activities are more scheduled these days. We recommend lots of free, unstructured play time, but as your kids get older, they may want to participate in different activities. Keep yourself organized and sane by tracking your schedule in our top pick: the BusyBodyBook ($17.95). Read our full review of the BusyBodyBook. BusyBodyBook family schedule

Deals on these Organizational Gotta Haves:

Brain Food

Reusable Lunchbags: More eco-chic than brown bagging it, reusable lunchbags are the perfect back to school accessory, keeping food fresher, and saving money in the long run.  Cool Tote Lunch Sacks ($17) are a fashionable way to lunch. My daughter’s tot-chic kitty lunch sack has both a strap and handle, an inside net pocket, and an included 8 oz. Freezer Pack. The Cool Tote Lunch sack is lead free and made in the USA. Cool Tote offers a variety of sizes and fabric choices for pre-schoolers through adults.

We also like the whimsical look of the Mimi the Sardine Eco-Friendly Lunchbug ($20 at Oompa Toys and Amazon). The bags are made in the US from environmentally-friendly materials with a child-safe coating, designed in Sweden and produced in Estonia–how’s that for international? For a wider selection of Lunch Bags and Boxes check out Little Jet Set.

 Reusable Lunch Bag
Reusable Bottles: SIGG Water Bottles are at the top of our list for their hip style and earth-friendly ethos.  They range in size from tiny tot sippy cups to big athletic water bottles.  Everyone in my family has their own SIGG. SIGG is temporarily shutting down its online shop while production catches up with demand, so I recommend getting a SIGG now.Some other great mini metal canteen options for kids can be found at Our Green House and The Nature’s Child. Sigg Kids Bottle

Deals on these Lunchtime Treats:

  • Oompa Toys is offering a promotional discount of $5 off on orders over $40 with coupon code “BTS2008” (ends August 31st)

Get Smart

Teach Financial Responsibility: Most academic programs teach the three Rs plus music, art, and more, but leave finances until high school.  Give your child a head start with Money Savvy Generation. Money Savvy Generation is a program of story books, piggy banks and financial organizers that introduce the concepts of saving, investing, spending and donating in age appropriate ways.
Go on a Brain Quest: Brain Quest from Workman Publishing makes a series of flashcard games for children as young as 2. We checked out the Brain Quest for Threes and had a lot of fun playing these pre-literacy and early skills games together. The games are designed mainly as a jumping off point for parental and child interaction, so whether your child is ahead of the curve verbally or is taking her time, these cards will work at the kid’s level. You can have even more fun with features like Stump the Genius at www.BrainQuest.com. Brain Quest Pre-School Flashcards
Practice Makes Perfect: With Workbooks and Games from SchoolZone, your kids will have fun practicing their new reading and math skills. Math War Multiplication and Math War Addition and Subtraction are exciting card games which help kids memorize their numbers in a way that’s fun for parents too. Math War is available for $1.63 at Amazon.The Scholar Series Workbooks reinforce reading, social studies and language arts skills with colorful pictures and puzzles. First Grade Scholar (Scholar Series Workbooks), which is the one I tested, is available for $2.34 at Amazon. (Products also available at www.schoolzone.com.) Math Wars and Scholar Series

Deals on These Educational Picks:

Guides From Some of Our Favorite Stores:

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