Our Kindergarten Must Haves: 5 Essentials

I think most of us can agree that going to Kindergarten looks a lot different for our kids than it did for us 20+ years ago. Heck, it looks different than it did just five years ago. I still can hardly believe my husband and I have an elementary schooler now, but disbelief aside, I’m so excited my baby is starting Kindergarten next week!

I’ve been preparing for her first year of school all summer and I wanted to share some of the items that made our essentials list. These are kindergarten must haves items we purchased to make her first year exciting, safe, and easy to manage for the whole family.

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1 | A comfy backpack featuring her favorite characters

Like most little girls, my daughter is a Disney princess enthusiast. I figured her backpack is the one thing she’ll have to wear every day that will contain all things pertaining to school, so she needs to love it, but it also needs to be functional. I like that this backpack showcases her love for Disney, is lightweight, roomy, and comes with a water bottle and headphones (two things on her school supply list).

2 | FUNtainer Food Container and Water Bottle

My child’s favorite thing to do outside of playing is eating, so it only made sense that most of our kindergarten must haves are related to food. Both the FUNtainer food container and water bottle are insulated and leakproof. The water bottle keeps drinks cold for up to twelve hours while the thermos keeps food warm for up to five.

3 | Leakproof Bentgo lunch box

The Bentgo bento lunchboxes are also leakproof, keeping food from spilling out of the lunchbox and out of one compartment into another food’s compartment. It also has a rubber coating that prevents the container from breaking if it gets dropped.

4 | OLLY Kids Immunity Elderberry Gummies

If you’ve had kids in school or daycare, you know that these places are cesspools of germs and sickness. I’m trying to give my daughter’s immune system a fighting chance this year with these Elderberry gummies. Each gummy contains Elderberry, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc.

5 | TickTalk 4 Kid’s Smart Watch

I know I said earlier that I’m excited for my girl to start school, but I am also slightly terrified. I don’t know if it’s all of the school shootings this country has become all-too-familiar with or the fact that I spent most of my life watching true crime shows, but safety has been a major concern for me. Just the thought of my daughter being at a much bigger school and potentially having to catch the bus to her after school program – we haven’t made a final decision on after school yet – is scary to say the least. So my husband and I have decided to track her every move.

No doubt, this smartwatch is the most important of the Kindergarten must haves for us. It allows us to track her location in real time. We can also call her and video chat with her at anytime. She doesn’t know our phone numbers yet, which isn’t a problem because the watch lets us pre-program our phone numbers so she can call us at just the press of a button. It also has a parental control function called “school mode” that allows us to restrict her use during instruction time (so sis isn’t calling us when she’s supposed to be paying attention in class). My husband and I also love that it has no access to the internet, games, or social media so we don’t have to worry about her being exposed to any non-vetted content. I’m excited to put this to use this year and see how we like it!

Back to school can be stressful, but I’m praying the year gets off to a smooth start for us all (and stays that way). I hope you got some inspiration from my list on products that can make this school year fun, healthy, and safe for your little scholar as well!