Back to School

As a child I loved back-to-school shopping. The promise of newly sharpened Laurentiens, fresh pads of paper, and a rockin’ new outfit made the first day of school even more exciting. Every year the momentous occasion was marked with a photo, usually standing in the garden.
My husband and I try to convey that same sense of importance with our kids, without getting sucked into the consumer vortex of what has become, after all, the second biggest retail season after Christmas.
Instead of celebrating back to school with a whopping credit card bill, here are some inexpensive ways to make the time memorable:

• Create special lunch menus for the first week of school with your child (check out the lunch recipes in our latest issue)
• Have an end-of-summer slumber party
• Instead of buying new jeans, buy patches or find some cool fabric to make a one-of-a-kind statement
• Customize this year’s notebooks with photos from the summer

On newsstands now
Here at ParentsCanada, our Back-to-School issue focuses squarely on education rather than school supplies. Whether your child is just starting school or you’re a seasoned parent volunteer, you’ll find plenty of useful info in this issue. We’ve also got fun denim crafts, pizza that’s actually good for you and inspiring ways to get active with your kids.

Published in August 2010.