Back-to-School Prep

For the very first time, we will have a kiddo starting school this year! Charlie will start his first year of pre-school next week and he is mostly excited and a tad nervous. He'll be going three days a week, which seems like a perfect way to transition him into full-day school.

As summer winds down, we are spending these last few weeks of August preparing- both mentally and literally- for our sweet little guy to start his first school year ever.


Back-to-School Books

We have added a few books about starting school to our normal book rotation and both kids are loving them. A friend recommended this sweet book and we love the "Llama Llama" series so it was an instant hit with the kids. It does a great job of normalizing their feelings of nervousness and reassures them of the fun to be had at school. Sister even loves this one, too. Now we just need to explain to her that she has to wait one more year to start school.....

Such a cute book- this entire series is adorable

Shopping

Charlie will wear a uniform this year so back-to-school shopping was super easy in that regard. The pre-schoolers at his school wear the gym uniform and sneakers every day so he will be super cozy in shorts and a tee (and sweats once it gets cold). I did order him a new lunch tote and he already has a cool dinosaur backpack so he is ready-to-go in terms of "stuff". 

Haircuts

I have been putting this off but our big kid definitely needs a fresh cut for his first day. He loves our local SuperCuts and somehow always leaves there looking like a mini teenager. Why do haircuts age little boys so much!?!

Haircut = instant growth spurt into handsome teen heartthrob

Practice Worksheets

So....truth be told, our kiddos really love printable worksheets and coloring pages. They love sitting up at the table together with the crayon bin between them doing what Charlie refers to as their "homework." For their mama, this is a great way to keep the kids busy sans TV during that crazy dinner-prep time of the evening. This has been great (and fun) practice for the parts of Charlie's school day that will be more academically-focused!

Our absolute favorite place to find printables is Education.com; They have the cutest coloring pages that Maddie LOVES and Charlie has recently been doing more "big kid" worksheets that are awesome for practicing skills like counting. 

Counting is fun! Charlie loves these worksheets so I always make sure we have some printed

They have a huge assortment of printables for a wide range of ages on their site where you can access several awesome (and free!) worksheets each month. Our friends at Education.com offered our readers this adorable bonus worksheet, too. This one is a fan favorite in our house!

Here's hoping for a great school year and a smooth transition for all of our school-aged buddies!

XOXO

Let's dive under the sea to complete this fun maze! Check out Education.com for more engaging worksheets and games for your kiddos!