Any other moms startled by the onus of back to school? We have several visit days coming up, plus the process of getting all of mini’s medical records to the school has required way too many steps — we had to find a new pediatrician, get medical records transferred (surprisingly tricky, and we had to pay for their release!), go to the wellness check, pay for the new pediatrician to fill out the required DC school forms (?! is this a thing?! do other moms pay for these forms to be filled out or is this an irritating idiosyncrasy of ours? I didn’t have to do this in NYC!) only to have them tell us it will take 7-10 days to complete, find a pediatric dentist and take a separate set of forms there (oral assessment was not required in NYC!). Wow! But — the fun part: cute new fall gear to shop for! I have my sights set on this first-day-of-school dress for mini with Mary Janes and knee socks. So timeless! My runner up outfits for mini are either this gingham jumper set (sibling match with this) or one of TBBC’s tartan pieces — this jumper with a collared blouse or this dress, though mini had that exact dress in a different plaid last year for her first day, so maybe that’s redundant. Micro won’t start school until January because of his age, but I love the idea of these as a sibling match, paired with a navy crewneck like this or this.
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FLAG // PENGUIN ICE PACKS // LA COQUETA DRESS // OLIVE BARN COAT // APPLE EMBROIDERED HAIR BOW // RED T-BARS // PERSONALIZED STICKERS // OVERALLS // YETI WATER BOTTLE // PROPER PEONY JON JON // BENTO BOX // GUMDROP LUNCH BOX // PLAID JUMPER // YUMBOX
More Back-to-School Toddler Outfits.
FOR SOMETHING A BIT MORE FANCIFUL — OH MY GOODNESS, THIS PROPER PEONY FOR HER AND THIS FOR HIM
MINI OWNED THIS MONOGRAM STYLE A FEW YEARS AGO — ADORABLE WITH RED MARY JANES AND A BIG OL RED BOW…SIBLING MATCH WITH THIS!
ALSO LIKE THIS BLUE STYLE FROM THE SAME BRAND — I WOULD SIZE DOWN IF IN QUESTION; THIS BRAND RUNS BOXY/BIG
CAN’T GO WRONG WITH CLASSIC NAVY CORDUROY OVERALLS
MARY JANES IN GUNMENTAL OR NAVY BLUE PATENT — OR RED T-BARS!
CUTE SHORTALLS FOR WARMER WEATHER BOYS
MINI ALSO OWNED THIS DRESS WITH DIFFERENT EMBROIDERY ON THE COLLAR…LOVE SO MUCH EYEING FOR HER AGAIN THIS FALL
IF YOU WANT TO STEER AWAY FROM THE RED/NAVY/WHITE VIBE, THIS PASTEL PLAID IS AMAZING
CLASSIC PREP’S MADDIE DRESS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SILHOUETTES FOR LITTLE LADIES — THIS PLAID ALSO COMES IN SHORTS FOR GIRLS AND BOTH SHORTS AND SHORTALLS FOR BOYS
CLOSET STAPLE: CARDIGANS IN SOLID COLORS (SIZE UP IN THIS — RUNS SUPER SMALL)
SWEET JON JON (SIBLING MATCH!)
ADORABLE DUNGAREES (LOVE THE CRISP RED PIPING)
SUPER LOVE THE RIBBED TIGHTS FROM JACADI — GREAT COLORS AND INCREDIBLE QUALITY
SOME RIDICULOUS DEALS ON FOOTMATES SHOES AT ZULILY — THESE NAVY MARY JANES ARE HALF OFF, AND SADDLE SHOES ARE A FOREVER CLASSIC!
ALWAYS LOVE A FRESH PAIR OF SUPERGAS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR
TINY NAVY BLAZER (ON SUPER SALE)
A-DORE THIS LIGHTWEIGHT NAVY COAT FOR A LITTLE LADY
RL FLAG SWEATER NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE
WARMER WEATHER LADIES: THIS NAVY RIC RAC DRESS
LOVE THESE STRAIGHT-LEG CORDUROY TROUSERS FOR A LITTLE MAN
THESE LINED BOOT/SNEAKERS WERE SUCH A GOOD BUY FOR MICRO LAST YEAR — WORKED IN COLD/WET AND LOOKED DRESSIER THAN SNEAKERS
QUILTED PEPLUM VEST (MEEEEP!)
COLLARLESS PEA COAT IN CAMEL (!! — UNDER $50)
Toddler Backpacks.
THE PERSONALIZED OH MINT ONES ARE ALWAYS A CLASSIC
LOVE THIS LIBERTY-ESQUE STYLE FROM J. CREW
STATE BAGS HAS SOME FUN STYLES
Back to School Banners.
CHEREE BERRY PAPER SELLS A DARLING BUNDLE OR YOU CAN BUY THE PENNANTS SEPARATELY
I USE THIS FIRST DAY / LAST DAY FROM THE RITZY ROSE — WORKS YEAR AFTER YEAR FOR BOTH KIDS; I WENT WITH GOLD LETTERING AND A NAVY RIBBON BUT YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE!
LOVE THE FONT ON THESE FIRST DAY / LAST DAY ONES TOO!
Back to School Gear.
SO LOVE THESE BEAUTIFUL BENTO BOX LUNCH SOLUTIONS
LOVE THE YUMBOXES FOR MORE OF A SNACK/GRAZING APPROACH TO LUNCH
MOST DAYS, THOUGH, THESE INEXPENSIVE COMPARTMENTALIZED SETS WERE PERFECT (SANDWICH/ENTREE IN BIG COMPARTMENT, FRUIT/VEGGIE IN ANOTHER, AND SOMETHING CRUNCHY IN THE THIRD) AND FIT RIGHT INSIDE THE OH MINT GUMDROP LUNCHBOX
P.S. More recent children’s finds and the cutest stationery for little ones!
P.P.S. Toys that will not be a flash in the pan.
P.P.P.S. Quiet thoughts on parenting.
Wow, that’s a lot of bureaucracy, and imagine being a parent without health insurance or extra cash for school forms. That must be incredibly daunting. Shouldn’t they make it at least sort of easy to enroll in school?!
My daughter is starting a new school and we had to provide proof of health examination (can be 1 year + 30 days old, so last year’s 3-year exam form works still), which was provided free of charge by our pediatrician but did take a couple of days.
I’m so excited to back to school shop – she’ll be in pre-K and in a couple of years she’ll be required to wear a uniform so I’m really going all out on school clothes for a year or two. The right fit is armor! Thanks for the ideas!
Yes to the bureaucracy note, and also I keep thinking of parents who have less flexible jobs than I do…there must be more parent-friendly ways to get all of this together.
I’m also excited for fall shopping!!
xx
Love your recommendations! I truly think the yeti water bottle is the best on the market. Ours are a year and a half old and I plan to get a second for my older two and will get my one year old one for Christmas!!! Truly kid proof. Yumboxes have also lasted the entire time my nearly 6 year old was in pre school and still great! Gumdrop lunch boxes are wonderful. I like the ll bean lunch box + backpack for my kindergartners set up (it’s slimmer and allows room for a folder).
For a toddler backpack I’ve always purchased the gumdrops but recently ordered off Etsy after ours was stolen. I use this mainly as my one year olds downsized diaper bag and the divider inside and outside pockets thrilled me! Would be great for pre school! Search for seersucker backpacks on Etsy and look for the style with an exterior bottle pocket!
Thanks for the tips! I’d forgotten about LL Bean but I think this is the one MOST moms recommend for this age. It has everything.
xx
Welcome back to DC. Hope you’re settled in and enjoying your new home! Paying for the DC health and dental forms is pretty standard. Some
offices will email completed forms but others make you trek back to pick them up. Very tedious. Also heads up, turnaround times get realllllly delayed closer to the start of the school year.
Hi! This is helpful — I was wondering if I was being taken. What a racket! I’m glad I went as soon as we got into town, as we just got the forms back and they are due to the school soon! Note to self: book wellness check for early summer again next year…
xx