School Supply Shopping

Last year we had 2 kids in school so I got an idea then of how quickly costs for clothes, supplies, back packs, lunch boxes, school trips, snacks, parties, ect would be. There are a lot of costs that you don't think of going into it but I'll give you a heads up now, be prepared for the extras throughout the term. I imagine having kids in extra curricular stuff will add even more costs to things. The girls are cheerleading this year and it cost $165 per girl to put them in it. My parents and us ended up sponsoring 6 kids total for cheer and football. It broke my heart to think of how many kids couldn't participate because of the costs and I wish we could of helped more of them. We also were going to sponsor some kids school supplies but there are several programs that cover the supplies for those kids so we will be finding more ways to help. Last year we covered snacks several times on days that weren't our snack day just to help the teachers out when other kids didn't bring snacks. We also paid the girls classes field trip fees once and periodically sent money to the lunch lady to cover meals for kids who couldn't afford them. We adopt a few children at Christmas time to buy gifts for. We've done that since before we had our own children. We can't afford to spend a ton of money to help but we really do try the best that we can. 

 This year to save me from having to go into Walmart with a newborn I ordered everything online. I bought that stuff about a week before we left for vacation and finally went through it yesterday to make sure I didn't miss anything. Of course, my mom brain forgot to order a kinder mat but thankfully my mom is going to pick one up for me. Everything was purchased at Walmart (aside from the girls pencil boxes, they are from Justice) and was only $150 for all three kids.  For any mothers out there who have multiple children, young babies, or simply want to avoid the chaos of shopping for supplies I highly recommend doing it all online. I didn't have to leave my house for any of these items or for the kids school clothes (which I'll share a detailed post on as soon as I have the time to write it all up.) The kids first day of school outfits I ordered in early June due to the Etsy shops long turn around and the back backs were ordered around 4 weeks ago. I will link both shop names below. When purchasing from Etsy be sure to contact the seller and ask for an up to date turn around. On the listing it usually says how long it is but sometimes those aren't current time frames so you always want to check on that if you need an item by a certain day. I also mention that I'll be purchasing more than one item just to see if there's discounts for buying more than one. Normally I'm not given a discount but it does happen I occasionally so it's always worth asking about. 

This is the kids school supplies minus Hudson's kinder mat and the girls lunch boxes. I realized after I took the picture and put everything away that the lunch boxes weren't included. I got Hudson's shark one for $6 at Walmart. The girls floral lunch boxes I got at The Children's Place for $8 each. 

Kozy Kidz Boutique is where I bought the kids back packs. They are cute and very well made. For the back packs and shipping I paid $103. 

My mom also bought the kids each an adorable back pack. The girls are from Justice (I actually love these way more than any of the ones I saw on Etsy) and Hudson's is a Spider-Man back pack that she got him at Disney World. It's at her house so I didn't get a picture of it but I'll update this post when I do. 

 
Sew Cute Creations is where I purchased their first day of school shirts. It was $83 total. The girls first day of school dresses last year were also ordered from this lady. I love her stuff and as long as she's still taking orders I plan to use her every year for the kids first day outfits. 

 This is the girls in their Sew Cute dresses and with the chalkboard sign I bought last year. The sign was $25 on Etsy and worth the money to me because it can be used every year for all 4 of my kids. 

 

I hope these tips help some of you and I hope that your littles have a wonderful time learning new things and meeting new friends at school.