Back to School

Tomorrow it’ll be a year to the day since Little Miss started Primary School. Today we walked hand in hand back to school for her to start Year 1. Summer went two fast, for both of us. We love being together, just the two of us and every day we grow even closer than I ever thought possible. Even though you’re no longer the youngest year at school, you still looked so small as you stood in line with all your peers. Maybe it’s the uniform that I deliberately bought to last the year, or maybe it’s the genetics on my mum’s side that means you’ll always be on the smaller end of the scale. Either way, another full year of that 9am – 3:20pm feels daunting.

Watching you grow at school last year was wonderful, you’re such a good reader, your writing is beautiful and you’re so creative in every single sense of the word. Seeing you in your first school play, going away on school trips and winning a race in your first ever sports day made me swell with pride. Hearing about the friends you’ve made and the games you play together makes my heart happy (as I spend my life in fear you’ll end up a complete loaner like mummy was). You’re a breath of fresh air. School has been good for you, even though I miss you terribly. I feel selfish wanting to keep you for myself when I know you have so much to give.

But here we are. That dreaded day that feels so far away when school holidays start in July. Back to school is finally here and I’m counting down the hours until 3:20.

Last night as I labelled, packed and laid out everything I felt a swell of pride looking at all the new bits I was able to buy. Being a single mother is hard when it comes to buying school uniforms, finding that extra money when you want to do all the fun days out during the summer is frustrating but this year I felt like I worked hard to give her the best. I definitely learnt my lesson on what was worth investing in after last year and what to reuse because it still fits. So here are my thoughts on what we got;

The bulk of her school uniform is from Asda. Last year I had a mix of Asda and Tesco but I found the Tesco stuff didn’t wash as well. Along with her two pinafores from last year that still fit I bought her a new skirt (age 3-4 awww) from Asda for £3, two new polo shirts as we still had two in a good condition for £2.50, new socks at £4 for 5 pairs (ouch) and tights £5 for 3 pairs (double ouch). Her two cardigans are from a local store as they needed to have the school patch on them. Her old ones still fit but are really bobbled so I’ve kept them incase of an emergency.. especially since they cost £15 a piece! The worst part? They’re not even better quality than the stuff from a supermarket!

For her PE kit I replaced her t-shirts as they were getting a bit short, a pack of two from Asda was £2. I didn’t need to replace her shorts as they still fit and the age 4-5 will be massive in the waist. I did replace her plimsoles only to find the next size is too big so she’ll be sticking with last years pair for the time being.

I didn’t buy her a new PE bag, because it just felt like a waste of money so she’s reusing her Rainbow Dash one we got in Asda last year for a few quid. I did however buy her a new lunch box in the Disney Store sale. She’s a huge Elena fan and I thought she was a really inspiring Princess to have on her lunch box. It was in the sale for £7 at the start of July. I sadly missed out on the matching water bottle though so I had to get this season’s design which cost me £6.99. Last year she had a small backpack which was a nightmare to bring A4 sheets home in, so this year I’ve gone for a book bag. But being the “extra” mum that I am, I had to get her a personalised book bag from Miss Boos Boutique*. As her uniform is blue I went for a Wendy Darling inspired one.

Without a doubt I invest the most money in school footwear. As I don’t have a car we walk to and from school no matter what the weather is as a bus doesn’t go in that direction. So school shoes and boots are vital.

Last year LM begged me for a pair of Lelli Kelly shoes but I just couldn’t afford them so she had a pair of Clarks leather uppers, this year however we were lucky enough to receive a pair of Lelli Kelly Heart Bar School Shoes* to review at the end of last year. As her school shoes lasted we kept these for the start of Year 1. I swear her face of pure happiness as she slipped them on must have mirrored that of Cinderella when she popped on those glass slippers. No wonder she danced into class!

A couple of weeks back we also received a pair of The Original Muck Boot Company boots that are going to come in handy during the winter. Although they feel similar to wellies on the outside these wellies from the Muck Boot Company* look so much smarter and will be perfect we wear to school on wet days. Keep an eye out for a full review coming soon.

She’s still using her waterproof coat I bought last Spring as it’s like new and I will be investing in a winter coat when the weather starts to turn.

And here she is, all ready for the off this morning!