Like most parents, I’m excited, anxious, exhausted, and amazed that my first-born child is about to start kindergarten. She already attends a full-day preschool, so I’m confident she’ll do well in a classroom setting. However, I am stressed about what her teacher is like, what supplies she’ll need, whether lunch is provided, if she’ll even eat anything they have, or I pack for her and let’s not even start on the bus.

Many schools and school districts are figuring out how best to provide in-person learning, so I just have to wait and see on many of these questions. But one thing I do have some control over, and something to enjoy, is back-to-school shopping! Or, in this case, starting-school shopping. Of course, shopping of any kind can be stressful, and for little kids especially, it can seem like more of a chore than a treat. Here’s how I plan to approach my first go-round of school shopping for my upcoming kindergartener.

After receiving the specific supply list, I plan on shopping our current craft box for any unused or gently used items that fit the bill. Pencils, crayons, erasers, glue sticks, etc. these don’t have to be brand-new purchases. If your school’s policy is for teachers/classrooms to provide specific items to ensure each child has the same supplies specific to the teacher’s requirements, consider a small donation to help cover these costs. We all know a teacher or two that have purchased classroom materials out of their own pockets.

Let’s be honest, what I’m really looking forward to is school clothes shopping. In years past, for daycare and preschool, I tended to buy things from secondhand kids’ stores, knowing my girls would come home dirty most days from playing in the playground, art projects, and tomato soup stains. However, for kindergarten, I think it’s time to step up our style notch. Luckily, my 5-year-old isn’t very particular about clothes, but she does have colors she favors and leans towards more sporty pieces. So, while she has preferences, she’s also willing to try different things. 

First, I want to review what she already has, see what still fits, what she’s outgrown, and what’s stained beyond the pale from preschool crafts and the outside “dirt kitchen.” From there, I have a general list of what she’ll need this fall:

– Hoodies/Sweatshirts: 2 to 4
– Face masks: 7-10
– Jeans: 3 to 4 pairs
– Long-sleeved tops: 2 to 4
– Pants, shorts, leggings, and skorts/skirts: 3 to 6 pairs
– Short-sleeved tops: 4 to 6
– Sneakers: 1 pair
– Socks and/or leggings/tights: 5 to 7 pairs
– Sweaters: 2 to 4
– Underwear: 7 or more pairs

As the weather starts to chill, she’ll need a jacket, and of course, a heavy coat, snow boots, and several sets of hats and gloves once winter hits. Her current rain jacket and boots still fit, and I won’t be investing in more than one pair of shoes since who knows how she’ll grow over the next several months. Having checked with the school’s dress code, and this being kindergarten, I think she’ll be all set and not require separate gym clothes. Hopefully, they’ll also have smocks for art; if not, we can send along one of my husband’s old dress shirts.  

Besides supplies, clothes, shoes, and dad’s old shirt, we’re also going to pick up a backpack and lunchbox of her choosing and start talking about lunch and snack items she’ll be taking to school. Our preschool provides snacks and lunches, so this will be a new venture for all of us. 

Some additional prep work we have includes resetting nighttime routines from a lax summer with later bedtimes, establishing a new morning routine with two kids now going two different places, in the opposite directions, of course, and stocking up on the kind of hand sanitizer that doesn’t agitate my daughter’s eczema and encouraging her to use it. We’ve been driving by her new school a few times this summer, so she feels it’s familiar checking out the playground and guessing which will be her classroom windows. 

And, of course, talking through all of these and other changes that come with growing up, both the exciting parts and the scary bits. We’ve even planned a few play dates with friends from her preschool class, hoping to maintain some of those friendships. 

Hopefully, with a little prep and a few practice runs, we’ll have a smooth transition from preschooler to kindergartener without too much of a hitch, or melt-down, or lost backpack, or getting lost in general.