Three Little Words

Yes, it’s that time of year when those three little words are on the tip of every parents’ tongue:

Back To School.

It seems a little unfair really, to be thinking about the end of the summer holidays already. ‘Back to School!’ we wail. ‘What - already?’ Some of us (ahem) have barely even unpacked the school bags and lunch boxes from the last day of school, let alone started thinking about re-filling them for the first day back. We’ve only just started to fully enjoy those simple ‘summer holiday’ pleasures: not ironing, buying endless amounts of ice lollies and eating breakfast at eleven a.m. And - let’s face it -there hasn’t been an awful lot of ‘summer’ in these so-called summer holidays. But, alas, all too soon we have to stop thinking about emptying stagnant water out of deserted paddling pools and start thinking about jumpers and winter coats and sensible shoes and packed lunches. It’s inevitable and unavoidable.

For some parents, 2012 will be the first time they immerse themselves in the full Back to School experience, as their first child embarks on life at ‘Big School’. These eager parents will probably have had everything organised since the start of June – lunch boxes labelled, miniature shirts and skirts washed, ironed and hanging expectantly in the wardrobe – everything in place for this milestone in family life.

Others may have lost count of the number of times they’ve been through the Back to School process and, as a result, are relaxed, nonchalant and confident in their abilities to leave everything to the very last minute. Some may not participate in this annual event at all and take the entire family off to Spain at the start of September. Tempting.

I fall somewhere inbetween. My eldest goes into First Class this September, and my youngest starts school. As a result, I am balancing precariously between the confidence of an experienced ‘Back to School Mammy’ and the trepidation of being a fledgling once again. On the one hand, I am breezing along with my school books list and dusting off last year’s school bag. On the other, I am ready to shed bucket-loads of tears as I watch ‘my baby’ walk into his new classroom, proudly clutching his new schoolbag (which is actually the same size as him  - possibly even slightly bigger). The last week of August will be an emotional rollercoaster in our house, to say the least.

Half boy, half school bag.

For now, as my vitamin-D-deprived mind struggles to cope with intricate details about 7mm sum copy books, HB pencils, 30cm rulers, safety scissors and plastic document wallets, I'm taking the softly, softly approach to Back to School; sneaking a few bits into the trolley as I do the weekly shop. With Tesco's full Back to School range (think everything from A4 folders to zips on winter coats), I can throw in a packet of coloured pencils here, a Spiderman lunchbox there, the occasional packet of glitter for good measure, and it suddenly all seems a little bit easier. Plus, I can stock up on ice lollies at the same time.

Back to School? Easy peasy. If only it was as easy to organise the weather.  Anyone? Anyone…?

Back to School essentials* from Tesco. For pricing, see below.

This is a sponsored post.


*glitter not essential, but it is very nice.

Pricing: Crayola 12 Coloured Pencils (€2.99), 30cm ruler (70c), plastic document wallet (€1), subject dividers (€1.20), craft scissors (€1.50), Staedtler 10 pack HB pencils, plus eraser and sharpener (€3.90). Glitter star shakers (€2).
Pictured above: Backpack (€10), Crocodile lunchbox with drink bottle (€13.50)

Three Little Words