Getting Organized for Daycare

I posted these photos on my social media pages and got so many questions about what I used and how so I figured I'd put it all together here! 

I'll add more information soon but wanted to get the products listed out right away for those who specifically asked for that information. I am an Amazon affiliate so I may earn some money when you purchase through my links but please don't feel obligated to do so!

Lunch menu

Giving our kids some small choices helps them feel empowered and learn about decision making. I was excited to take this idea and apply it to his packed lunches since it's a new experience for him and because I want him to start him off with a healthy relationship with food by reinforcing why we eat certain types of food. Yes, the descriptions I used are super basic and oversimplified but we gotta start somewhere!

I took photos of the foods that I make for him or used images from Instacart (get $10 off your first order with that link) since that's how we do almost all of our grocery shopping these days! 

Materials used:

- Magnetic white board (easy to cut for the individual food choice magnets and used a whole sheet for the base): https://amzn.to/2YSpqI5

- Print and cut clear sticker paper (print and cut with my Cricut for the circles on the left that match his bento boxes, printed and hand cut food choices, wrote and cut with my Cricut for the food group squares along to the row): https://amzn.to/3lBkuiD

- bento boxes: https://amzn.to/2YMghk5

- Wet erase markers (for drawing the lines - wet erase means that it'll take water for the lines to come off and it won't smudge as easily for day to day use): https://amzn.to/3A7OhFj

- Bowls (we're keeping the choices in each bowl - color coded of course! - and using the rest of the set for fun color sorting and other activities): https://amzn.to/3C5y1FA

- Cricut Explore Air 2: https://amzn.to/3C5Agsu

Instructions to come!

Labeled bags and daycare / school items

Teachers everywhere need our kids' items to be labeled! I may have taken this too far but I'd rather overdo it than leave anything out! Note: try to avoid putting their full name on the outside of anything they may carry or wear when they're alone. Stick to initials for things like backpacks, masks, shirts, etc. 

Materials used:

- Blue / clear pouches for masks and back up clothes: https://amzn.to/3Edo1Md

- Drink bottles: https://amzn.to/2XiExKg

- Permanent vinyl: https://amzn.to/2XaLs82

- Iron-on vinyl: https://amzn.to/3AaLqvl

- Transfer tape: https://amzn.to/3z5HpXJ

- Cricut Explore Air 2: https://amzn.to/3C5Agsu

- Lunch box: https://amzn.to/2YRR9bU

- Bento boxes (not pictured): https://amzn.to/2YMghk5

- Lunch box ice packs (not pictured but made to fit in this lunch box with our bento boxes): https://amzn.to/3nu6wRS

- Silverware (not pictured but perfect for little hands): https://amzn.to/3EbgfTh

- Silicone pouches for silverware (not pictured but fit perfectly in the lunch bag with the silverware inside): https://amzn.to/3C9qeqa

- Acrylic paint: got it from Dollar Tree!

- Clear acrylic discs: https://amzn.to/3A7RuEV

- Jump rings (for attaching the discs to the binder rings): https://amzn.to/3nsJf2J

- Binder rings for attaching tags to bags: https://amzn.to/3hvDj5v
- Masks: https://schoolmaskpack.com/a/rewards/r/08DWmkuI (Get $10 off your first order with my link!)

- Thermos (not pictured only because they didn't arrive in time): https://amzn.to/2XlVBz9

Prep Station

Thanks to The Home Edit, I've gotten way into using carts for little stations (like crafts and my Cricut) and I quickly realized that a little cart would be the perfect solution for all these things I'd need to pack daily but were taking up so much room on the counter. Enter the daycare cart prep station! I found one that fits perfectly under a corner of our counter which makes great use of an otherwise wasted space