Parent’s Guide for the New School Year

Back to school always brings with it a mix of emotions of excitement, worry, nostalgia, and maybe even a few tears. This year is starting off with a whole new approach, challenges, and emotions along with it. We will all need a little something extra to help us make it through such a unique back to school year.

Today we are sharing our favorite picks that parents will love for the new school year. With school day essentials for the family and special picks for some unwinding time, too. There’s something to help here with all the new school year challenges.

We received a variety of samples in exchange for this post. Affiliate links are used below. All opinions are our own.

Essentials for the School Day

Multipurpose Backpacks for the Family

Turn to a backpack that will handle whatever this school year can throw at your family with Kelty Daypacks. They’re built to handle even tough situations and can go along with your family on camping trips, travels, day hikes, and house all the school textbooks without fail. There’s nothing worse than a backpack that breaks down in the middle of the school year leaving your family scrambling. With Kelty’s quality daypacks you won’t have that worry.

Start with the Agate 24 for your youngest students. It’s a perfect size if they don’t have a ton to pack back and forth. It’s a slim-profile that still roomy and includes dual water bottle sleeves and a front stash pocket for easy access. The Quartz 26 takes it up a notch with a little extra space and adds a sternum strap when you need that extra support. For High School students, look at the Slate 30 includes a padded laptop sleeve and a deluxe organizer with lots of room for everything they need to haul.

Instant-read Thermometer for Health Checks

Our world looks a little different this year as we head into the school year. One of the essentials for parents this year will be a trusted thermometer for those before-school temperature checks. With a TruMed Infrared Thermometer it couldn’t be easier! You can test each child’s temperature quickly and easily up to 5cm (nearly 2″) away! It’s wonderful to have these contactless options for when you need them.

The TruMed Infrared Thermometer takes just 1-2 seconds for results that are then displayed on a large LCD screen to easily read. It has been tested accurate within +/- 0.4°F so you can feel confident in the results. The thermometer will alert with 6 beeps if a temperature of over 100°F is detected making it easier for parents to make crucial decisions for the school day. Find the TruMed Infrared Thermometer at Target!

Help Fidgety Kids With Online Studies

This school year will be tough on grade school kids that need to move throughout the day. Make home and virtual school easier for your children that need to stretch with the help of Fluidstance Kids Balance Board. Grade For Kids will keep kids up and active while they sign in for zoom calls, work on their homework, or just need a minute to be up and moving about during the day. It’s non-distracting movement that can help them better focus on their tasks by expending excess energy while they work or study.

The Grade For Kids is just like the top-selling decks for adults but with kid-friendly colors and sized just right for children up to 125 lbs. It uses recycled rubber tires for the top of the deck and recycled plastics like milk jugs for the base. Kids aren’t meant to sit still for a full school day, and with the Grade For Kids you can really help ensure they get the movement the need and encourage time standing up and moving throughout the school day.

Kitchen Must-Haves

Helpful tools for More Cooking at Home

Turn to Zulay Kitchen to find new tools for all your kitchen and home cooking needs. Start with the Zulay 4pc Silicone Spatula Set that can go from cooking to baking and even help clean out the rest of your peanut butter and jelly jars. The variety of sizes helps you with all your kitchen tasks. Another tool all kitchens need is a good pair of Stainless Steel Silicone Tongs. They offer the durability to tackle those hot oil tasks with silicone for comfort and heat protection.

If you’re in need of a whole new set, you’ll love Zulay’s 8pc Silicone Kitchen Utensil set. It will include all the tools you need for a well stocked kitchen and silicone food grade tools that can handle up to 392°F. I love that slender handles don’t add unnecessary bulk that takes up space in your utensil crock or drawer. Zulay has a lot of cool and useful kitchen gadgets in their Amazon store.

Keep Food Fresh Longer

We’re doing everything we can to cut back on grocery store visits. To help with keeping bulk purchases fresh, the Oliso Pro Smart Vacuum Sealer is a kitchen necessity. The multi-layered storage bags along with the patented punch-and-seal technology keeps food fresh for up to 5 times longer! It’s really cool watching the Vacuum Sealer work. Load up your food and then line up the sealer along one of the numbers along the side of the bag to easily seal the bag.

The Pro Smart Vacuum Sealer punctures a tiny hole into the bag and then removes all the excess air. Then, using heat it seals the hole closed keeping it sealed perfectly. Then, the vacuum bags can be washed in the dishwasher and reused on each of the numbered slot extending their use! You’re able to select if you are sealing moist or dry foods for a more accurate seal. We used it to seal pork loin and then transferred the sealed bag right to the Oliso Smarthub Sous Vide and made the most moist, delicious pork I’ve ever tried. With the bag so perfectly sealed, it cooked the meat amazingly well!

Cleaning is a Family Job!

Get everyone in the house involved with cleaning with Polly! These high quality microfiber cleaning cloths with help to rid your surfaces of bacteria by trapping germs within the small Polly fibers that are specifically designed to trap microscopic bacteria from all over your home. They’ll also easily tackle dirt, dust, and debris while cleaning up spills and crumbs along the way.

You’ll only need one style of Polly Cloth to tackle all the jobs in your home – countertops, stainless steel, bathrooms, mirrors, windows, you name it! This simplifies the unnecessary confusion of a wide variety of styles and functions – just grab any Polly Cloth and get to cleaning. The Polly Cloth can even absorb up to 8x its weight to easily pick up spills. All you’ll need is water and use the cloth either wet or dry and watch how well it works! Without all the cleaning solutions, even your youngest helpers can get in on the cleaning action with Polly Clean.

At Home Family Sanity Savers

A Unique Tool to Help Around the House

The classic carabiner is getting a whole new look with the revolutionary spin by Heroclip that combines a carabiner and clip in one. You’ll find endless ways to use a Heroclip both around the home, on campus, and in your family adventures.Use a Heroclip to hang up backpacks and purses just about anywhere. Or let it help secure a water bottle or lunchbox to the exterior of the backpack with ease.

We found the Heroclip was not only handy, but fun to play and fiddle with, too. The clip part swivels around to lay flat along the backside of the carabiner to be out of the way when the extra hook isn’t needed. The rubber tip helps give the clip added grip for hanging on tight. And the Heroclip can hold up to 60 lbs taking much of the load off of you. Hang bikes and tools to tidy the garage or a lantern from your tent that’s easy to grab and go. There really are so many ways you can use this handy tool in your everyday life and travels. How will you use your Heroclip?

A Good Night’s Sleep is Everything

Sleep is so crucial for helping your children make the most of their school day. 5 Little Monkeys offers a complete sleep system that makes bedtime easier for families. Start with a triple-layer mattress that is made with CertiPUR-US certified memory foam. It’s made to keep your children comfortable and cozy with enhanced airflow to regulated their temperature. The outer cover of the mattress can be unzipped and be removed to keep it clean for hygiene and allergens.

Top your 5 Little Monkeys mattress with a waterproof and stain-resistant mattress cover that feels soft with an organic jersey knit but protection from any accidents or spills. The final piece of the sleep system is a custom filled pillow that is sized just right for smaller bodies. We were so impressed with the 5 Little Monkeys mattress and cover. They’re so soft and cozy and absolutely top quality. Being able to unzip the outer layer of the mattress to make sure it’s deep clean is so smart for a children’s mattress!

When You Need a Minute of “Down Time”

The whole family needs some down time, and what better way to have fun together as a family than with the latest Nintendo Switch Games! Two favorite series have the perfect games your family will love! Start with Super Mario Odyssey as you play as Mario along with Cappy as you explore the world and control objects, animals, even enemies with your new helper! It’s a sandbox world for up to 2-players where anything goes and packed full of surprises and secrets to explore.

When you’re ready to get lost in an immersive world of exploration and adventure, turn to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You’ll travel over fields, forest, and mountains across the kingdom of Hyrule. Help Link as he wakes up in a world he doesn’t remember after a 100-year slumber. He’ll need to regain his memories and save the kingdom and survive the dangerous land before him. Nintendo Switch is a console families will love for it’s flexibility and amazing collection of games you can’t find on any other system.

Make sure you enter the giveaway for these two new Nintendo Switch games below!

Me Time to Unwind

Learn Something New

Audible is my go-to source for audiobooks. They have the absolute best selection and I’m always finding new stories to get lost in. Join this month and you can get all 11 of August’s Audible Originals titles free with your membership plus a credit for your choice of Audiobook. We’re excited about STUCK a ‘Groundhog Day’ tale for middle graders and Letters from Camp by Jamie Lee Curtis!

I’ve been having fun taking advantage of the limited time 2-for-1 Double Up specials! Audible changes up the included titles every couple of weeks and have been including a wide assortment of fiction, mysteries, family stories, and educational titles too. It’s a great way to stretch your credits to get your choice of two books with your monthly credit! There are even The Great Courses included among the selection and lots of self and business development titles to help you learn something new.

Have an At Home Spa Escape

At the end of a long day of virtual or homeschooling or juggling school and work it’s time for a little relaxing to help you unwind. With Sabon you’ll find the perfect way to treat yourself. Choose one of the Body Scrub to help take off the worries of the day. Or focus on your face that takes on the world with Sabon’s Anti-Pollution Foaming Cleanser.

You can truly unwind with your partner’s help and Sabon Massage Oil to relieve built up tension in your muscles. When you’re too tired for even that, spritz some Fabric Mist before bed to help calm your mind and on the way out the door for a fresh room when you get home. No matter what part of you is stressed and needing a mini-escape, Sabon has you covered with products any parent would love!

Fall Essentials for Moms

Look Your Best Starting with the Foundation

You’ll look and feel your best with the comfort of a Wacoal Bra. They have styles that are pretty and feminine and so supportive. Like this Halo Lace Underwire Bra that flatters your natural shape. The straps can be converted for the current trend of shoulder-baring fashions. I appreciate features that can help smooth and control back and side rolls giving you a smooth look like the Back Appeal Bra.

Get the perfect polished look with the Ultimate Side Smoother T-Shirt Bra. You’ll look perfectly smooth with no visible bra lines in your favorite t-shirts and tops. Wacoal bras have a hidden inner sling within the cups that help provide extra support. They’re thoughtful with features like widened straps or a curved back strap for larger bust sizes for full support. I found these bras so comfortable and made me look great!

Tune out Excess Noise

When my 4 boys are home all day, I find I need a little bit of time to tune out all their noise. I love slipping in my set of 1MORE ColorBuds to block out a busy household and focus on a task I need to accomplish. I’ll turn on some tunes, a podcast, or an audiobook and get busy cleaning the kitchen, folding laundry, or even go for a walk for some fresh air. It’s truly a sanity saver to have a little bit of time to focus on me and certain tasks on my to-do list while multitasking with something I enjoy! The ColorBuds have fantastic sound quality, wear comfortably, and are so easy to use.

Another great choice is the 1MORE Stylish Bluetooth Pro Headphones. They have a necklace-like accessory so you’ll never lose your buds but with the Bluetooth connectivity you’ll love. Just hang them around your neck as you go about your busy day and they’ll be there when you need them. The magnetic earbuds will stick together to keep them secure. The Stylish Bluetooth Pro Headphones are both water and sweat resistant to tackle whatever life throws your way.

Sleep in Comforter and Luxury

You’ll find the ultimate in comfort with a Bamboo Duvet Comforter by Cariloha. Both the interior and exterior are made entirely of viscose from bamboo. That gives this comforter a softness while providing warmth and comfort that adjusts to all-seasons. The filling will stay evenly spread throughout the comforter with the bamboo-viscose fibers that stay in place and the sewn in square patches to avoid any shifts in coverage in the middle of the night.

The Bamboo Duvet Comforter will naturally help regulate your body temperature to keep you just the right temperature all night. Whether it’s the middle of summer or deep into winter weather you’ll only need this one comforter all year long. The bamboo material will help repeal odors and allergens to help you sleep soundly. You can finish off your bedding with duvet covers, sheets, throw blankets and more at Cariloha.

Which of these back to school essentials would help your family?