Parenting on the Plateau: Back to School

Well, there you have it. Another dismal summer on the books.

Perhaps school supplies and backpacks on the shelves in July didn’t seem so shocking this year, since we’ve been dealing with one of the ugliest summers I can remember. With weather tipping 65 degrees, it didn’t really seem all that out of the ordinary to be looking toward the school year with more than a month of summer still to come.

If you’ve popped into Target, Walmart or Fred Meyer in the past several weeks, you have to know what I mean. Usually, the arrival of all these school supplies following the Fourth of July holiday sends me into a fit of frustration at the retailers for trying to take away the remaining weeks of my summer.

If anything, it makes me want to get out there and enjoy those last weeks even more and protest the purchase of school supplies until the last minute.

OK, maybe I just protest until mid-August – I am a planner after all and heaven forbid the competitive parenting scorn of not getting the right brand of pencil, or inability to collect the suggested 50 glue sticks for kindergarten, as they’ve already been cleaned from the shelves. But I digress.

As much as I love summer, and I really do, I also love September.  Something about crisp mornings and never-ending blue skies, about the start of a fresh year and new clothes.

This probably links back to my own youth, where I’d spend hours with my mother and sister shopping for new shoes, a school coat and other necessities. All these shiny new things would hang in my closet with tags until the first day of school -- we weren't allowed wear them or even remove the tags until school officially started. On the rare chance we got to wear “school clothes” early, it was a big deal and usually involved some kind of photo opportunity.

I’m delighted to relive these same traditions with my own children.  We’ve already hit up Old Navy and Children’s Place for deep discounts on denim and tees. Also, check out Marshall’s on the hill for great prices on everything from shoes to backpacks, coats to lunchboxes.

Wherever you choose to shop, most stores have area school supply lists available in-store if you haven’t already gotten one from your child’s school. Check your school district’s website for more information on bus schedules, orientation dates, calendar of events and more.

Not sure how much time you have?  Here’s the rundown on when school starts:

White River School District: Sept. 1
Enumclaw School District: Sept. 6
Dieringer School District: Sept. 6
Sumner School District: Sept. 7

And a few others:
Puyallup School District: Sept. 1
Auburn School District: Sept. 7
Green River Community College: Sept. 19
Pierce College: Sept. 21