Kindergarteners look so adorable in their backpacks for their first day of school. However, you may wonder why they need one or why it appears so big. When packing the kindergarten’s backpack, a parent has to get it right with what’s important.
Ensure your child has all of the essentials that they need for school while packing. The backpack should be as light as possible so that the weight of their backpack does not weigh them down.
Packing your child’s backpack shouldn’t take you more than five minutes each night with a bit of organization and planning.
Table of Contents
Most schools provide the parent with a list of essentials that the child should have, though not all schools give that information. This piece highlights the requirements of a kindergarten’s backpacks. The primary things found in a kindergarten’s bag include:
- Daily folder
- Emergency contact information
- Stationery
- Lunch and snacks
- Water bottle
- Hand sanitizer
- Extra clothing
- Seasonal items
Items to Put in a backpack
Daily folder
A daily folder is essential in transporting loose sheets for assignments, artwork, letters between parents and the school in case of any communication. Having one with pockets ensures that these papers stay intact and that none fall out of the folder or get crumpled. It is also an excellent way to train your child on organization skills.
Emergency contact information
On a card or a piece of paper, write down the child’s details such as;
- The kid’s name,
- Date of birth
- Any medical condition
- Parents’ names
- Parents’ home and work telephone numbers
- Home addresses.
Place the card in a Ziploc bag or laminate it and attach it inside the backpack using a cable tie. Emergency contact information is crucial if anything happens to the child; the school can quickly reach the parents.
Stationery
Stationery is essential in the backpack of any school-going child. Most times, stationery is only a requirement on the child’s first day at school. Stationery is necessary for the child educational purpose, and they include items such as;
- Scissors
- A box of pencils.
- Pencil sharpener.
- A packet of crayons.
- Removable markers
- Erasers
- Paint set.
- Construction paper
- Glue sticks or glue bottles.
Ensure to purchase stationery according to the school’s specifications. Also, in some instances, the child may require to carry some of the stationery to and from school for their homework. In that case, ensure the child returns with the said stationery in their backpack the following morning.
Lunch and snacks
Lunch and snacks are some of the things you can’t fail to pack for your child. Most backpack designs have a separate compartment to pack your child’s lunch and snacks, so they do not have to come into contact with other items in the bag.
When packing your kindergartener’s lunch, always ensure the meal is healthy and well balanced. Pack the lunch in a suitable lunchbox to avoid food spills messing up the child’s bag.
Also, avoid food with smells that may fill the whole backpack with that particular odor, including the child’s folders and books. In case your child’s school provides lunch, then all you need to pack is snacks.
Water bottle
Children need water for hydration and other bodily functions. Parents ought to pack for the child enough water to last them an entire day in school. A 16-oz bottle should be adequate if you include another drink like juice for lunch.
Make sure to label the child’s name on the water bottles that they may easily recognize it. You can also buy several to use them on rotation and as a replacement if the child forgets or misplaces the other.
Hand sanitizer
With the current pandemic, it is good to keep your child safe. Ensure you remind your child to sanitize throughout the day by placing a bottle of sanitizer in their backpack. A hand sanitizer keeps your child’s hands clean and free from germs.
Personal items
The backpack also includes personal items such as tissues, paper towels, handkerchiefs, and even baby wipes for hygienic purposes.
Extra clothing
It’s normal for kindergarteners to have minor accidents. As a parent, ensure the child carries an extra pair of uniforms and underwear to change. Put the spare pair in a Ziploc bag to switch the wet items with clean clothes.
Seasonal items
Depending on the climate or season of where you live, the child may need specific items. For example, the child may require a sun hat, sunscreen, and an extra pair of sunglasses for the summer. The child may require gloves, a scarf, boots, snow pants, and a winter hat for the winter.
What size of a backpack is advisable to fit all the essentials?
With all the list of essentials above, you may wonder what size of a backpack your child should have to fit all the essentials.
The size of a child’s backpack varies depending on their age, height and width.
However, the average size of a kindergartener’s bag that ought to fit in all the essentials is about 20-22 litres. That is approximately a small to medium-sized backpack that is not bulky for the child to carry, including all the materials without risking their health.
Also, remember to pack the heavier items closer to the backside while the lighter items are further away from the back.
5 Tips to help you while packing your child’s backpack
The most important tip is night preparation to avoid the morning rush that will have you leave some of the essentials behind. Some of the things you could do at night include;
- Remove the child’s lunchbox and water bottle to clean them.
- Check the daily folder to take out any papers that were to remain home.
- Prepare any food that needs prior refrigeration and leave them in the fridge overnight, as well as drinks such as milk and yogurt.
- Remove the extra clothes if need be and replace them with others.
- Check on the child’s items if they are all intact and replace the depleted or lost materials and the handkerchief.
With all these tips in place, all you have left is packing the child’s lunchbox in the morning, and you are all set.
Conclusion – Packing a child’s backpack requires good organizational skills and early planning. With the list and tips provided in this article, you are sure to have you and your child ready for school.