Printable School Bag Check List

We have all gone through or are soon to be initiated into the dreaded morning school routine. Many a morning of chasing after the kids for the things they supposedly packed last night! Hopefully, this printable school bag check list might help to alleviate some of the stress and let your children take responsibility for checking off each morning. DISCLAIMER I cannot take responsibility for non-compliance to the list, sorry!

I have always tried to instil some autonomy in my chillblains (kids). It sometimes backfires when I receive a phone call telling me to please bring in the PE kit as Joshua has left it at home! I hasten to add a deliberate act that would occur when cross county running was the sport of the day!!!!!

I digress; the list should help in the early days when everyone is getting into the swing of the new school year and just keeping track of the right supplies and everything is packed and ready to go. Print off a copy and keep it on the fridge or somewhere it will be seen and used. I laminate mine and use a dry erase pen for the kids to mark off. You could have a fresh print each week.

What’s Included?

There are two versions of the list a partially filled in list with some basics that I my kids had to take to school. The other school bag checklist is blank so you can customise to suit the bits and bobs your children need to pack. You will also find two different sizes and a sheet of mini reward cards.

I’m all for using bribery. I use rewards as an extra incentive to keep the kids on track. On Sunday night, we choose the reward they will earn if they complete the task. We didn’t choose anything expensive but it would maybe an ice cream or a trip to the park. Either way, it helps them to see the benefit of being packed up and ready to rock first thing in the morning.

School Bag Checklist Reward Ideas.

If you need more ideas on what rewards you can offer to keep the kids on track, here are a few more ideas. Before the kids go back to school, it could be fun to sit down with them and write down a list of things they would love to earn as their reward. Think of fun activities to do. The kids will remember the time you spend with them more than gifts.

• A trip to the cinema.
• A play date with a friend.
• A fun escape room adventure.
• A fun treasure hunt.
• A pizza party.
• A movie and popcorn party.
• A trip to the beach
• Stay up late
• Build a sofa fort
• A hot chocolate bar

How to use the back-to-school checklist.

1. Download a copy of the printable school bag checklist.
2. Create your checklist or use the ready-made version.
3. Print out the checklist and laminate it or use a plastic document folder and clipboard to display your checklist. Use a wipeable pen to use the checklist over and over again.
4. Print out your school bag reward card. Fill in with the reward details and have them ready to hand to the kids at the end of the week.

Get the kids excited and eager to have their bags packed every night. It will make your life so much easier as a parent. It doesn’t always work, but building those habits right from the get-go is going to take away some of the early morning drama.

More Back to School fun Ideas!

Take a look at some more fun back to school ideas.

• Start a new tradition with this back-to-school countdown calendar.
• Try this back-to-school escape room game. Kids are going to love solving the clues and get them excited to go back to school.
• Check out this free mini back-to-school scavenger hunt, a fun way to give your children some shiny new back-to-school supplies.

This link will open the school bag checklist PDF file, which you can then download to your computer. Open up the PDF and print. It is formatted as 8.5″ x11″ but just select fit to page size for printing at A4 size.