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It is 10 days until school starts in most Florida school districts, and I know that many Florida families will be doing their back-to-school shopping this weekend to take advantage of the Florida tax-free shopping days.

Melanie and I and our daughters recently had the pleasure of having lunch with Patrice McCrary, a kindergarten teacher from Bowling Green, Ky. Mrs. McCrary isn’t just any kindergarten teacher, though. She has been teaching for more than two decades and is in the National Teacher’s Hall of Fame.

Mrs. McCrary shared some great tips on getting ready to go back to school, especially for children in the primary grades:

• It’s time to start establishing a regular bedtime and practicing getting up at the time that the kids will need to for school. We have been lax on bedtime over the summer (because that’s what summer’s for, right?), but I can’t expect my daughter to adjust in a day, so we are starting now.
• Buy school supplies according to your teacher’s list. Some teachers may ask for particular brands or very specific items, and I have been tempted to vary from the list, but we shouldn’t. The teachers have reasons for asking for specific things – maybe they know that one brand of markers lasts the whole school year while other brands run out of ink in January, for example.
• While you’re buying school supplies, stockpile things that you will need to replenish during the year, such as paper or pencils. They will be much cheaper during back-to-school sales than they will be in February when you need more.
• Practice self-help skills. Your child needs to know how to fasten and unfasten clothing and use the bathroom completely independently – while preschool teachers may offer assistance with this, elementary school teachers cannot. Also, think about skills your child may need to eat his or her lunch. For example, can he or she open tupperware containers and insert straws into juice boxes?
• Be sure your children are in the habit of picking up after themselves. This will be expected in the classroom!

Mrs. McCrary is a big advocate of hands-on learning, so she says you need to practice good hygiene with your child. She shared these “germy” facts:

• A sneeze leaves the body at 100 miles per hour.
• Children can touch up to 300 surfaces in just 30 minutes in the classroom.

So, it’s obviously important to make sure your school-age children are up to speed on hand washing and what to do when you need to cough or sneeze.

Mrs. McCrary is working with Kleenex Brand Tissue with Sneeze Shield to share her tips on hands-on learning. They have put together some great back-to-school activities to help your children get ready.

What are your best back-to-school tips? Kleenex is compiling a “By Mom For Mom” back-to-school guide. You can add your best tips on the Kleenex Brand Facebook page.

Thanks to Kleenex Brand Tissue with Sneeze Shield for arranging our lunch with Mrs. McCrary.