Your Back-to-School checklist

Whether you're a first timer getting prepped for a new school term or you've been doing this for years, there can be a fair few jobs to sort before the kids start. So we thought we'd simplify things by creating this checklist with a whole lot of information to share.

If you've got older kids and you're way past lunchboxes and labelling school uniforms, use this list as a celebration of what you no longer have to do! For those of us still in the throes, it's great to get kids involved with the prep and ticking off the list too - be it in the kitchen, labelling or any other prep you might have.

Lunchbox, fridge and freezer ideas

• Morning and afternoon tea snacks ready and prepped in the fridge and/or freezer.
• Planner for lunchboxes (yours and the kids' - include what's going in them but also who is making them).
• Menu planner for mid-week meals. Use 'My Week' in Cookidoo to plan this. It's so easy at the tap of your finger!
• Check out our Lunchbox Ideas collection at the end of this article for lots of recipe inspiration.

Stationary and book-list

• Have you put your order in? If you selected pick-up, check what day/time you need to be there. If it is to be delivered, is there anything else you need to do?
• Uniforms - doing a clean out and checking their uniforms still fit and are washed and ready to go is a great thing to do in advance. If you need to top up, check when the uniform shop will be open or pop a post on your P&C Facebook page to see if you can grab any bargains or do a swapsies.
• Labelling - oh, labelling! It's time to label (or write their name on) all uniform items (including hats), water bottles, bags and lunchboxes. This can be a fun arts and crafts session too if your kiddies feel like making their own labels.

Before and after-school

• Extra-curricular classes - have their extra classes marked in your diary and a schedule for who's dropping off and picking up and any extra kit which needs to be prepped.
• Playdates can be such a saviour for help with after-school care if you need to be at work or elsewhere. Maybe see if you can pencil some reciprocal playdates into the diary and share the love. It takes a village!
• Booked in for before and after-school care? Is there anything additional you need to sort for that?

In the lead up

• Organise a few play dates with school mates to re-familiarise before school starts is a great way to ease kiddies back into their school social group.
• Start to slowly re-introduce the "routine" and getting out of the habit of later holiday nights etc.
• Clean out and prep rooms: Helping your kids (or get them to do it if they're old enough!) to clean out their rooms, sort their desks and get school ready checking off things for themselves is a great way to get them back in the flow too.

And that's it! We hope this checklist will help make the return to the school year as seamless as it can be.

Need some lunchbox inspo?

Check out our Lunchbox Ideas collection on Cookidoo for beautiful savoury and sweet recipes which are all school-friendly.

Take me there!