BACK TO REALITY
In a week’s time, my kids will go back to school. While they’re oh so excited, I have mixed feelings. The reality is, no more extended hours in bed–and by extended I mean instead of waking up at 5:30, I get to sleep in until 6:30– and five days of the rest of the year for me and all driving mommas/poppas would mean devoting our time to bring and pick up our kids to and from school. Hello traffic, hello school.
I remember back when I was a kid, one of the things I look forward to is having a new set of school things. It’s one of the things that make starting a new school year more exciting. My firstborn strongly feels the same way.
GEARS FOR SCHOOL
A level up means more books for my lil’ Ms. JG. Since last year she’s been excited to use a trolley bag for school. I honestly thought all school bags are the same, until we discovered Granite Gear.
THE ONLY SCHOOL BAG YOU’LL NEED
No back to school gear is complete without the most important gear of them all–school bag. Everyone meet Granite Gear.
Granite Gear backpack retails for Php 4,490 and is available at The Travel Club, Bratpack, SM Department Stores (Makati, MOA, North EDSA, Megamall), Metro Gaisano Department Stores and Landmark Trinoma Department Stores.
I canvassed and went around different stores to check out other bags for school and to my surprise, most of them are in the same price range. When I checked, they all have one thing in common–durability. Bags such as Granite Gear would last your child for years but what makes it stand out from the other bags?
Each Granite Gear bag features BARRIER Water-Repellence zippers, uses durable Repelaweave fabrics, and abrasion and extreme water resistant Tarpaulite fabric to protect your things from the elements. Granite Gear bags also offer Gear-Tec technology protection to keep laptops, tablets, and electronics safe and secure.
And because it’s design is sleek, it’s something that your child can wear up until he or she’s in middle school or junior high. Lil’ Ms. JG particularly like how slim it is compared to other backpack trolleys she has seen from her schoolmates. I told her we won’t be buying any school bag in the coming years since she can use this until she needs to–she couldn’t care less ‘coz she’s so delighted with her Granite Gear bag. And she’s very excited to take it for a spin once school starts.
Dimensions: 20″x 13.5″ x 9″. Weight: 5.6 lbs Volume: 2400 Cubic Inches/ 39.5 Liters
It has 2 side bottle/umbrella pockets and 5 compartments. what I like about it is how slim it is despite being a backpack trolley. It also has a Gear Tec pocket to keep tablet or laptop safe–something that will be useful for lil’ Ms. JG when she is on a higher level.
BACK TO BASICS
While there are some things that don’t need to be new every school year, there are just some that must be new in order to make school comeback more hygienic.
Repetto shoes available at Repetto store Powerplant mall or Shangri-La mall, unbranded (or I forgot the brand) socks available at SM Department stores, Li’l Barbizon Girl apparel available at Landmark Stores, SM Hypermarket & Robinsons Department Stores nationwide.
Socks, inner cami & underwear are usually some of the things I buy yearly for lil’ Ms. JG. Shoes would depend if it no longer fits her or has been used and abused in the past year. In lil’ Ms. JG’s case, it’s both.
Recently discovered Lil’ Barbizon Girl. These inner cami tops & underwears are made of soft cotton which is ideal for school. I also got her a few sets of plain mid-length socks which she requested for since she doesn’t like those with embroideries or designs.
SCHOOL APPROPRIATE ACCESSORIES
A few other things my daughter needs for school includes:
Hair accessories, book & bag tags, mosquito repellant patch & Biogenic alcohol.
Scüni hair accessoires available at Beauty Bar, Bag and book tags from Booths Republic, mosquito repellant patch available at Watsons PH, Biogenic Alcohol available at leading supermarkets and drugstores nationwide.
Thankfully, my daughter’s school doesn’t require a particular hair accessory. I think as long as it doesn’t distract her classmates, it’s all good. Though these aren’t necessities, they’ve become non-negotiable for my school girl. She dislikes it whenever her hair’s a mess so there’s always a hair clip or a hair band in her bag or on her. While books and bag tags have become a must for us. When it comes health & safety, prevention is always better than cure. My kids never leave the house without a mosquito repellant patch and I use a mosquito repellant cologne for them as well. Also, my lil’ Ms. JG carries a pocket Biogenic alcohol for her to use whenever she needs to. Viruses and bacteria are everywhere and the best thing I can teach my kids is to protect themselves by regularly washing their hands and applying Biogenic alcohol every chance they get.
My kids are excited to go back to school. I guess it’s because I prepare them to look forward to it so as it won’t be a chore or burden for them.
Here are some things I do to make going back to school more exciting.
TAKE THEM SHOPPING
Ask them if they want to go with you during enrollment or when you need to go shopping for school supplies. Don’t make it sound as if shopping for school things is a task or a chore. Instead encourage them to be in charge of choosing what items they need for school. Take this opportunity to bond with them and make them feel excited for the upcoming school year.
PREPARE THEIR THINGS
Help them prepare their school things. You can label & cover books and notebooks together. You can also make a check list on the things they need for school and let your child tick off things on her list. Not only will this be another form of bonding between you and your child, this will also gives her a sense of responsibility when it comes to her things.
MOCK SCHOOL DAYS
Usually, we prepare our kids for back to school two weeks before school starts. They sleep early and wake up early so as to get them used to the time & daily flow. This will make it easier for them to let go of late mornings and get their body clock right.
COUNTDOWN THE DAYS
Another fun way to make kids anticipate school with excitement is to create a countdown. Usually, my kids & I would print out a month-long calendar so they can cross out the days as they pass by.
REASONS TO LOVE SCHOOL
To supplement our countdown, I ask them questions that would make them even more eager to go back to school. Each day, I would ask them questions like:
What is the first thing you’ll do when you go back to school?
What’s the one thing you look forward in going back to school?
What do you think is the name of your teacher?
What snack do you want to bring to school?
What do you want to wear on your first day of school? (applicable to my lil’ Mr. JG who wears casual clothes to school)
What hairstyle do you want to wear?
Asking questions related to school have helped my kids more excited to go back to school. Building up the anticipation can help them look forward to it especially if they’ve missed their friends during the summer break.
Got any other back-to-school tips? Pa-share please! 
One more week to go before school starts for our family. I’m nervously excited! 
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