Last year I blogged about Charlie’s lunchbox essentials when he started public pre-k. Now that we have a whole year of school under our belt, we know what gear we need when he starts kindergarten next week!



1) Gap Junior Canvas Backpack (also available in black) – Charlie had a Skip Hop dog backpack that he received as a gift, but after a year of use it was filthy! So I decided to get him something darker that wouldn’t show stains as much, as well as something a bit larger. This backpack that we got from the Gap is perfect.

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2) PlanetBox lunchbox – I recently blogged about our Planetbox lunchbox, and we have really been loving it. We got the bag (in green) and the ice pack, but we also use these slim ice packs because I often forget to refreeze them.

3) Thermos Funtainer water bottle – Charlie used this for the entire school year and it still looks as good as new! The paint on the design isn’t even chipping. I was so happy with it that I got one for Olive when she starts preschool later this month.

4) Labels – I don’t think there is much difference between the label companies. I’ve used Oliver’s Labels pictured above as well as Inchbug and have been happy with both. I put labels on everything that comes off – rain boots, umbrellas, shoes, backpacks, lunchbags, lunchboxes, thermoses, hats, scarves, sweaters, jackets… The lost and found in the classroom always has a ton of stuff in it. Charlie lost a couple of articles of clothing throughout the school year as well (and they never turned up).

5) Snack box – Charlie will eat lunch later in the day than he’s used to, so we have to pack a nonrefrigerated morning snack. I will most likely pack things like fruit, yogurt, and little sandwiches.

6) Hoodies – Charlie vastly prefers hoodies to regular sweaters because they are easy to get on and off, and they have a hood. I always stock up when H&M has their buy 2 get 1 free sale. They’re cheap and warm!

7) Puffy jacket – We wear puffy jackets 6 months out of the year. I bought two at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale so he can always wear one while one is in the wash.

8) Velcro Sneakers – Shoes with shoelaces, Crocs, and sandals are not allowed because kids play hard and need to be able to put on their own shoes. After a school year, Charlie’s sneakers are absolutely destroyed and I can’t pass them onto Olive. I always buy new shoes at the end of summer because kids’ feet tend to go up a size over the summer.

9) Umbrella – It rains a fair amount in New York and we walk to school so kids need an umbrella. We bought a cheap umbrella last year and it quickly broke, so this year we’re buying a Hatley umbrella which is really sturdy.

10) Rain boots – We wear rain boots a fair amount not only when it rains, but also when it snows. Snow boots are heavy and clunky to wear all day, so if there isn’t too much snow, rain boots do a great job of keeping kids’ feet dry on the walk to school.

11) Pull on jeans – Anything that makes using the bathroom easier is a plus. Last year Charlie wore winter weight cargo pants with lining in them, but after one winter there were holes in the knees. This year we’re going to stick to durable jeans.

As far as school supplies, I’m not going to purchase anything because the teacher buys everything and then parents pay them back. The list of supplies include:

– 1 set of Crayola crayons
– 1 set of Crayola markers
– 1 set of Crayola pencils
– Glue/glue sticks
– 3 Plastic Folders
– Pencils/Writing pens
– Shared reading binders
– Book bins
– Book baggies
– Alphabet strips
– Sentence strips
– Ziplock baggies

What did you buy your little ones for back to school?