Thanks to Classroom Matters for sponsoring our Back to School Guide for East Bay Parents. Some affiliate links follow.
Classroom Matters offers academic support for K-5 and this for 6-12. They emphasize study and organizational skills to help children thrive at school. Programs include tutoring, supervised study, and after-school enrichment in Spanish and Math.
Before school starts
Where to shop to gear up for school
School supplies. Our BUSD schools provide basic school supplies at school with each teacher issuing a wishlist. This curtails the old school supply stock-up and redirects our energy toward clothes, shoes, bags. OUSD schools have grade-specific lists. You can check the PTA or school website for a list before hitting the school supply aisles at your favorite store.
Pro tip: I bought this mega pencil sharpener 3 years ago and continue to love it.
Backpacks (various) I hope you get lucky at REI or Sports Basement, but if the zippers are failing your quality standards, here is my comprehensive backpack advice. Sports Basement gives a percentage back to many local schools, maybe yours is one of them. Then again, REI gives cash back yearly right to you. McCaulou’s in Montclair also has a little bit of everything for good prices.
Sports Basement: 2727 Milvia St, South Berkeley.
REI: 1338 San Pablo Ave, North Berkeley
McCaulou’s: 2020 Mountain Blvd., Oakland
Lunch-packing supplies (various) Fun lunch boxes, bags, and accessories makes lunch packing — and hopefully lunch eating — more enjoyable! Wendy tells us where to get bento box supplies locally.
Shoes (various) My local go-to places for kid shoes are also Sports Basement and REI. Carol swears by Montclair’s McCaulou’s. Depending on how fast your kid’s feet are growing, I might even purchase Target kicks. Because taking a gaggle of kids shoe shopping is the WORST, Whitney loves ordering on Zappos.com and returning what doesn’t fit. For durability, you can’t beat Adidas Samba.
Clothes (various) – Save yourself some aggravation by defining an easy school uniform that your kids will agree to. Old Navy has casual basics and uniform gear for cheap (less than $5 cheap!). We love Primary.com for solid colored gear and I’m fond of the Amazon house brand, scout+ro, for adorable affordable basics.
What do you need to buy? Beyond the basics, Whitney also suggests three things you didn’t know you needed for kindergarten >
Get into the right mind set
Classroom Matters academic prep (Berkeley) Our guide sponsor, Classroom Matters offers academic support and coaching for kids in grades K-12. They emphasize study and organizational skills to help children thrive at school. Programs include tutoring, supervised study, and after-school enrichment in Spanish and Math. Classroom Matters also has an amazing afterschool program run out of St. Alban’s for which they walk students from Marin, Cornell, Thousand Oaks, and Harding schools. CM addresses the whole student through individualized attention and strategies.
“Thank you Classroom Matters for helping my son during supervised study. You have turned homework from an anxiety-provoking ordeal into a manageable task by providing a calm, respectful and supportive environment. He is now a much calmer, happy and self-confident child. Supervised study really works Thank you!”
~ Adina N. parent
Practice new routines. The Who-What-When-Where of the school year is completely different from the Summertime vibe. I have an enormous white board with our family member’s schedules that I update each week in the mud room. We use music to get us to school on time (and minimize yelling). Adorable printables might be the thing to get your kids on track.
When you have to be in 2 places at once. Do you know about the services that provide cars and drivers for children to get them to and from school and activities — like Uber for kids? Here’s a round-up of rideshare services.
Activities and fun
You are getting our newsletter, right? It is the best way to solve the “OMG the weekend is coming again blues”
Our {510} Families calendar has hundreds of activities for big kids for weekends and after-school. You can check it daily and we’ll keep on updating it until you can figure out where you want to go on your minimum days and random days off.
Upcoming grade-schooler-friendly events from our online calendar:
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Thanks to Classroom Matters for sponsoring our Back to School Guide.
[Photos by 510families, all rights reserved]
