back to school: outfits, planners, tips & tricks and more!

if you guys follow me on IG then you’ve seen my 500 posts about Shiloh starting kindergarten yesterday haha! she absolutely LOVED it and is so excited to go back today! i’m so thankful for such a sweet school, teacher, and friends!

going back to school can be a little jarring whether your kid is starting kinder, mother’s day out, or older kiddos. new schedule, activities, routines etc! so today i wanted to round up ALL things back to school for you guys to maybe make this transition a little easier – from kids outfits to organization tips, mom carpool outfits and more!

we got shiloh this adorable outfit + backpack for her first day of school! the backpack is such a good size and she loves the bright colors!

5 tips for staying organized during back to school season

find your calendar system – whether it’s a paper planner, google calendar, or something like the hearth, finding a calendar system that works for you is key. michael and i love our hearth display in our pantry because we can see our calendar everyday with our shared activities, Shiloh’s plans, to-do lists and more. it also connects with your phone so you have all of the information there as well. this has been a LIFE saver for us! if you want to order one y’all can use code LAURENSIMS50 for $50 off!
sunday prep – in addition to our hearth, i love having some type of paper planner that lets me just brain dump everything i need to do, priorities, reminders etc. every sunday i love to do something called ‘sunday prep’ where i look at the week ahead, write out all of our events / activities (ie: dance at 4pm, dinner on wednesday at 6pm, etc) as well as work deadlines – so i know exactly what’s coming in the week ahead. when i need to get a babysitter, what nights i’ll be cooking dinner, when i need to shoot for brand collaborations etc. this helps you go into the week feeling PROACTIVE vs reactive! it also helps you look at your week ahead and think ‘okay, what can go? is my week too full?’
communicate with your spouse – since shiloh just started kindergarten yesterday, we haven’t really found our rhythm yet. but something that’s super helpful in staying organized (and sane) is communicating with your spouse and divying up responsibilities where you can. so for michael and i – he knows i’m doing the mornings. i get both the girls up, make shiloh’s lunch, feed them breakfast, take shiloh to school etc etc and he sleeps in and then goes to a workout class. then he takes over around 930am. having a plan + knowing who does what helps you plan out your week and also find times to still do things you enjoy like go to a workout class or meet up with a friend. it might take a few weeks to settle into your ‘back to school’ rhythm, but you’ll find what works for you!
be willing to be flexible. we’re going into this school year with a very open mind – right now shiloh is in school 5 days a week and then has several after school activities like gymnastics, soccer, dance. we’ve never done kinder before so honestly…this might be too much for her! she might be exhausted OR we might feel like we’re not seeing her enough or we don’t have the capacity for that many activities. be willing to zoom out, take a look at your schedule + routine and ask yourself “how is this really working for my kid? for my family? for my own mental health?” otherwise, you can very easily find yourself burnt out and exhausted….even though you don’t need to be!
nightly tidy up – this is such a small & simple tip but something that’s really helped me! i give the girls a bath pretty much every night, and after i’ve bathed them, i spend 15 minutes cleaning up shiloh’s room, lyla’s room, and their closets. putting clothes away, etc. while i do that, michael spends 15mins cleaning up downstairs – usually the kitchen and living room. some days, 15mins doesn’t make a dent in how messy everything is lol but you’ll be surprised how much you can get done in 15mins! back to school time is crazy and there are so many activities and having a messy house on top of that just adds to the chaos. so we love finding small pockets of time to tidy up when we can! makes a big difference!

Kids' Sunshine Cotton Graphic T-Shirt & Joggers Set

8 Inch Girls Bow

Amazon

Kids' Daisy Quilted Backpack

OMG Accessories

school drop off outfit ideas

we are fortunate enough to be able to walk shiloh to school which i LOVE! i don’t necessarily want to wear pajamas for drop-off haha but also don’t want to get super dressed up. so i put together some cute school drop-off / carpool outfits that can take you from drop-off to running errands while looking cute & feeling your best!

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