It’s that time of the year again, when the new school year officially kicks off. Man, the roads were seemingly quiet somehow with the kids being off on holidays, while noise levels in my complex grew exponentially from all the screams, laughs and all those innocent playtimes moments. But reality must set in for them, as much as it has been for some of us who were seen back at the work grind as soon as the new year’s day dessert began to filter into the body by settling in.

I speak like a disgruntled old man yet I am far from both two adjectives preceeding the word ‘man’ I used in that line. Why am I like this, when I too was just a kid on December school holidays once upon a time, like they are, all waiting and in fact praying for the schools to not re-open?

I remember back in the days, with some help from my friends of course, I need to say this because I need to implicate more than just myself on this one. A week or so before the new school year began, we would spread a rumour around home about how the schools will not re-open on the scheduled date due to some heavy maintenance that the schools had to do. And we were serious about this. One of my friends also used the line, “You know how filthy the school toilets are hey? So the school principal said, it would take 2 weeks or more to complete and they will inform our parents when it’s safe for us to come back.” He said to one poor child, who believed such a fabrication. We would be happy that people, at least some kids our age, believed us. That was our reward, even more so that we began to believe our own lies. Unluckily for only a couple of hours until our parents will remind us to go polish our school shoes, prepare our school bags and uniform for waking up to start school off for the new year the following day.

Jokes aside now, I really enjoyed school.

Genuinely.

No lies, to a point where I was that learner who would come to school even at the last day of the school term, when most learners would be already a week or couple of days off. Nothing much really happens during those last few days at school. Although the teachers would attempt to threaten us that should we dare miss a day of school, we will be severely dealt with – that honestly didn’t materialize because learners still missed school even after that. Fell on deaf ears? I think so. I remember a time when we just came to school, greeted our teachers and were soon told to go back home. I mean, all that effort for what?

Last days of the school term were the best. No pressure. No homework to submit. Just a need to be at the school’s playground more.

Even with my love for school, there was something about school holidays. December school holidays in particular. Remember those? Not the ones in September, those are way too short. The long and nice ones? Those had the power to make me forget that I was a school learner. That time off was always priceless. Knowing that I passed to another grade the following year was also something worth celebrating, by adding more luggage as I would visit my granny’s house. The extra luggage was a way of saying ‘I am gone for a very long time, mom’ with implications that the school holidays will be so long that I did not see myself coming back home anytime soon from visiting Ugogo.

Reality will always rear its ugly head. It always does. I am sure millions of school children across the country are hating this ‘reality’ they find themselves staring at the moment. Some may be ecstatic. I dare not put them all in one basket. School holidays mean hours and hours of playtime on the streets, TV time galore, in particular those kids channels shows (making it almost impossible to catch up during the day with the latest news update from around the globe) and sleeping late at night. Back to polishing those toughees and buccaneer school shoes, covering those school books with a plastic cover as well, not forgetting to use those blue and white book labels. Ladies must also not throw away those used up pantyhoses as they will come in quite handy to keep those shoes shiny and spotless as ever.

Back to school, back to reality adverts will be a norm on TV. Bare with these, in as much as you did those Christmas ones and others throughout the year. Here are a couple of tips to help you navigate and survive this usually stressful period.

1. Shop around for ‘back to school’ specials.

It’s important to shop around for some really great specials on offer at the moment. Shop at more than one place and compare prices. Saving is also what to look for at this time of the year. The more change for you, the better. Not all stationery items are excessively expensive, have your finger on the pulse for those specials. I even stumbled upon a popular furniture store running some ‘back to school’ specials, talk about adhering to the current craze in and outside of context.

2. Big brands are expensive.

Welcome to the time when people remember and even visit a store named CNA, a time when people even flood the ‘school supplies’ aisle at those grocery stores. Look out for those cash ‘n carries that are no so famous as they may have great saving deals for you. The big and popular stationery stores are often synonymous with high costs so be cautious on your spending and in deciding on your choice of store.

3. Consider shopping when the stationery demand is not that high.

It’s also advisable to enquire with the school a year before regarding the expected stationery that your child will use for the new grade. Often the school will have a list of the items that will be required for you to use in advance and this is the list that you can use to shop around with, even during the festive period. Why most people choose to buy stationery during this time of the year, beats me as prices are mostly excessive due to the high demand. Maybe there are reasons to this but people should consider buying school supplies when the demand is not that high. Be savvy and strategic about this in order to save.

4. Save wherever you can.

Reuse some items and recycle, where possible. My mother used to let us keep those used peanut butter tubs, clean them up and made us use them as crayon holders while we were at home. She kept old ice cream tubs as well, those 2l ones, not just as a supplement for Tupperware but for us to also use as a pencil case for our wax crayons, counters and all those school items needed for drawing, cutting and pasting. The big size also helps to put in all the items you have inside one carry tub. Those Bantex pencil cases are not cheap at all. Do a roll call on the items your child still has from the previous year so that you avoid having to waste money on buying items that your child still has or hasn’t even used as yet. If your child already has a pencil case, a school blazer or a school bag still in good condition, I think it’s safe to say you can easily scratch these off the list. Not everything has to be new.

5. Sacrifice. Sacrifice. Sacrifice.

It’s often a better idea to sacrifice those expensive Christmas clothes and fireworks for ‘back to school’ supplies. The kids will thank you for that. Those ‘crickets’ can leave them harmed or bruised if not supervised correctly, which will make them dread going back to school even more. And clothes, well, they easily wear off. So compromise and prioritize. Remember, your debts still need to be payed. And still on sacrificing, why don’t you take a day off, just one (yes, all you workaholics, myself included) to take and drop off your child at school yourself on the first day and do the pick up? I am sure your child will be excited by this and will not forget the moment of seeing you send them off. All the best to those starting Grade R and 1, starting at a new school, going to High School and those doing matric this year. Trust me when I say this, make the most of it. You will never claim back your school years so make the most of every single moment.