Back to school best buys

As that time approaches where we start to plan for our children to go back to school we start to spend our evenings searching for all the best items to get our little ones to make their days at school as easy, fun and functional as possible. I have done a looooooot of searching and over the past few years have found what I think to be the best items, I’ve done all the work so you don’t have to, read on and let me guide you to the best items I have found. Water Bottles Now, a few years ago I wanted to move away from plastic and leaking bottles after more spills than I can count. I tried a few but by far the best water bottles I have come across are the Ion8 Kids Water Bottles, they come in stainless steel or plastic, my preference is stainless steel, but both types are great. They do a range of sizes and a HUGE range of designs which means there is one to suit every kid's interest. The lids don’t leak when shut thanks to 3 types of lock on them and when kids drink the lid stays where it is without falling into their faces. You can buy replacement lids and straws if that is what you little ones prefers. The price is also really reasonable and I cannot recommend them enough.

Ion8 Stainless Steel Bottle

Lunch Box Since my kids were in Pre School we have loved the Munchkin Bento style lunch box, it is great to put lots of little bits, everything stays fresh and it is dishwasher safe plus it lasts really well.Alternatively if you prefer the stainless steel style, there is a bento type box we love it’s the Smash Stainless Steel Bento Lunch Box and it holds plenty of food with space for a few options and washes up brilliantly.

Munchkin Bento Style Lunch Box

Smash Stainless Steel Bento Style Lunch Box

Swimming Costume I know not all schools require one but if your does and it has to be plain etc, we have found the Speedo Girl’s Eco Endurance Swimsuit to be one of the best, we always get a size up as they tend to be a bit on the small side but Amazon has it at a great price with a great range of sizes.

Speedo Girls Swimsuit

Shoes We have just switched our kids over to barefoot shoes, after I saw my little girls toes looking squished I couldn’t face squeezing her feet into standard shoes anymore, many many many hours of research and looking later and we have made the switch. That means school shoes as well, the brand we have preferred due to quality, price and fit has been BGreater. Our two have been trialling the trainers this summer and have loved them so we have purchased the school shoes, although they sold out super early of the styles we wanted to haven’t got our first choice, but we managed to get a different pair which she is excited about, we will update on the fit and durability after a few months of wear but so far so good.

Trainers If like us, your school requires your child to go in with trainers for playtime and PE then we had another dilemma with the switch over to barefoot styles. We wanted something set up for running, we found a brilliant selection to choose from on Happy Little Soles and have gone for the Xero Prio style which our little one has been testing around the house and has been loving!

Xero Prio Trainers

Labels Whether you prefer sticker, iron on or sew in ones the best labels we have come across are from My Name Tags, stock up at the beginning of term because as the weeks go on even though you don’t think you will need more you will, it’s unbelievable the number of things that end up going in for a day here and there that you need to label up.

Sun Cream Dispenser As far as I know all kids need to take sun cream in with them now at the beginning of term and we love the Solar Buddies dispenser as our daughter can expertly apply her own cream with no tricky squirting or squeezing and we can just refill it when we need to.

Solar Buddies Sun Cream Applicator