Baby Girl has been back to school for 2 weeks now. This is the first time in a while where she isn’t the new girl anymore. Although she has never really showed us any signs of stress, I could tell that this year she was a little bit more relieved than in the past. She’s 10 years old and started CM2 (grade 5) this year. This also means this is her last first day in elementary school. Eeekk – where did time go??? ? I guess that’s how it feels like when you become a mom at a young age. I’m 32, so technically not-too-old (don’t you dare say anything about that. yes you!), but when I look at my ten-year old I kinda do feel old. Harhar.
The Husband and I don’t see eye-to-eye when it comes to La Rentrée or Back-to-School. He doesn’t see what the fuss is all about. Come on, I retort back at him, it’s La Rentrée! Am I only one that thinks that it’s important to have a new bag, new clothes, new shoes, and new school supplies? Anyone? Non?
But I am realistic. Not everyone can afford to buy new things. I mean, you can easily spend between 200 Euros – 500 Euros per child just for La Rentée. In France, families with limited revenues can receive an allowance. This is what they call « Allocation Rentrée Scolaire ». This can range from 367 Euros – 401 Euros depending on the child’s age. Unfortunately, I am not eligible for financial aid, so throughout the year I save up.
First things first – School Supplies.
Thanks to Baby Girl’s school, we receive a list of school supplies and we can order from the website: www.scoleo.fr. I did that last year. This year, I opted not to. Instead, I recycled whatever I could from last year: scissors, compas, ruler, triangle, pencil case, fountain pen, and etc …
Whatever else I needed I got from stores like: Stokomani (for low prices!), Hema (for the agenda), ça c’est moi (for the backpack) and Auchan supermarket (for good deals).
Regarding good deals, I have 2 to share with you.
Always keep your eyes on good deals. This is what happened when I bought Baby Girl’s calculator. The school asked for a special one to get her ready for middle school – a Casio FX92 speciale college. I bought it in the supermarket Auchan, for 16.49 Euros (I saw the same exact one in Cora for 21 Euros!!) and it had an additional discount of 3 Euros. I just had to keep the receipt and follow the instructions found inside the calculator and voila!
Second good deal – the backpack.
We waited until the end of August to buy Baby Girl’s backpack. Thankfully we did because we ended up having a 20% discount! Of course, if you wait that long, it also means that the choices are limited. Nevertheless, Baby Girl absolutely loves her new bag!
Store: ça c’est moi, Commercial Center Muse in Metz, France
Brand: Roxy
Price: 49.99 Euros – 20.18 % discount
Final Price: 39.90 Euros
Clothes and Shoes
Shockingly, summer this year has decided to stay for a little bit. This back -to-school is marked by cool mornings and sunny warm afternoons.
For cool rainy mornings. So far, Baby Girl has only used this once. I am not complaining about the sunny weather because in two weeks it will be officially autumn and definitely colder!
Brand: Catimini
Price: Sorry, I don’t remember
Because the mornings are a bit chilly, I also got her a white sweatshirt from Kiabi. She wears that to go to school in the morning and takes it off in the afternoon.
White « Chill-Out » Sweatshirt
Brand: Kiabi
Price: 8 Euros
I haven’t bought her new shoes because her shoes are still in perfect condition. But I am seriously considering these for October.
How was back-to-school for you and your kids? How did you prepare?