It’s that time of year that parents love and kids dread: back-to-school. As summer winds down and the school year peaks its head around the corner, families across the district prepare to send their babies back. Picking the back-to-school outfit, buying supplies, scrambling to finish that summer packet – if your child knows where it is – has become a ritual for many families when the calendar hits mid-August.
Back-to-school is important to ensure kids get the supplies they need, but it’s also important because it gets them excited for the school year. I still remember, as a child, riding with my dad to the outlets, picking out a new backpack, breathing the late-summer air. Even though I didn’t admit it, it was exciting. I once saw a kid hit a full split because he found a Spider-man backpack. He then told his mom he “couldn’t wait to use it.”
As a paraprofessional now, I see the shift in student engagement when they have the supplies they love vs. the supplies they’re indifferent about. Kids want stuff that feels like an extension of them. As literacy rates fall, maybe it would benefit us if more creative, outside-of-the-box approaches were applied to student engagement.
One major impact on back-to-school shopping this summer is the state of the economy. Prices are high. Trends show that parents are opting to buy less or shopping as early as July to spread their funds instead of making one big purchase in bulk. People are sacrificing in response to this rapid inflation. Unfortunately for many, that means the back-to-school cart gets sacrificed too. A parent should never have to choose between feeding their kids and their education.
Here’s some free back-to-school events and drives happening in the upcoming weeks around the DMV.
- Saturday, August 22 – Back To School Backpack Jam @ 3401 8th Street NE | 10-1p
- Saturday, August 22 – Mohammad Mosque Back to School Dash @ 3160 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. | 2-6p |Register on Eventbrite
- Saturday, August 22 – Back To School Extravaganza @ 3901 Calverton Blvd | 2-7p
- Sunday, August 23 – THEARC’s Beyond The Stars Back-to-School Festival @ 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. | 2-6p | Register on Eventbrite
- Saturday, August 29 – Cafritz Back to School Festival @ The Modern at Art Place | 10:30-1p | Register on Eventbrite
- Saturday, August 29 – Ready, Set, Safe! Back to School Family Day @ Eastern Market Metro Plaza | 10-1p | Register on Eventbrite
These events offer backpack and supply giveaways, parent resources, and fun for the whole family!
Featured image/photo courtesy of Pexels.
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