Links and Love: Back to School Edition

I know, I know you hate me.  I said the dreaded "S" word - school that is.  While I hate that summer

is closing in, I thought I would share a few of our favorite school items with you all.

Here are our essentials for school:

I love Lands' End Backpack and lunch boxes.  The quality is incredible; they are indestructible. Nolan is going on year three for his and it is still in perfect condition.  I clean it, so it still looks new.  There is not a frayed seam or edge on the whole bag even with how rough boys are. Both the kids have these and I hope they are able to use them for many years to come.  The backpacks run in price from $40 to $50, however Lands' End is always running a 40% off coupon and every once a in a while they will do a 50% off backpacks which makes the price extremely reasonable for such a high quality product.  The lunch bags run about $25. While up front it may be a bit more then other bags, your kids are going to be able to use them for quite a few years.  Plus, Lands Ends' has cute prints for their bags!

Lands End Backpack 

Lands End Lunchbags

My kids take cold lunch about 95 % of the time, so I have liked finding nice lunch containers for them.  So far our favorite have been Yumboxes. They are a hard shell plastic container with dividers on the inside.  I like these the best because I can pack wet food like yogurt or applesauce next to dry food and the dividers are so tight that nothing leaks through. They come in multiple sizes and even have a snack size. It also comes in so many fun color and graphics on the inside.   Yumboxes fit perfectly in Lands' End lunch bags.

Another lunch container that my kids really like are kids' size thermos.  While the kids school does have a microwave, they like the thermos for days that they want soup, or even leftover spaghetti.  I usually just heat up the food in the morning and then pour it in to the thermos.  The kids say that the food is a perfect temperature by lunch.

The kids also like to bring a water bottle with them for lunch. We have found that the Contigo ones work great for school.  They keep the water cold and they are easy to clean. They also don't leak any water.

Since the kids take cold lunch and usually there is something in it that needs to stay cold, I found these fun thin ice packs.  I put 2 in their lunch bag and they are generally still cool by the time they get home in the afternoon.

I included links on Amazon for the kid thermos, the water bottle, and the ice packs, but I have seen all these things are either at  Meijer or Target. So that is all the general school supplies that I love. Here are the hair supplies that I think are needed for school:

My number one is always Fairy Tales Lice Repel.  My kids go from their summer line to the lice line once school starts.  It is a must for kids in elementary school or even day care.  Here is a link from my post all about lice prevention.

Next, I would say that a wet brush is a must for little girls.  Help fight those morning tangles with the Wet Brush and now the Wet Brush for Thick Hair.  These I think are must also. They go through the hair so much nicer then a regular brush.

A good idea for the beginning of the year is to restock your hair ties.  These always seem to disappear somehow, so I like to buy fresh at the beginning of the school year!

I hope you all enjoy your last few weeks before school starts and that back to school shopping goes well!!