This post is in partnership with buybuy BABY, a brand I love. All opinions here are my own.

With Eleanor starting preschool this fall, we got to partake in a very important rite of passage: back to school shopping! Eleanor’s actual school supply list was fairly short, but we decided to hit up buybuy BABY for a few educational items to use at home.

Reinforcing School Themes at Home

Our kiddos are only young once, so while I’m in no hurry to buckle down on academics, I am a huge proponent of learning through play. ANY type of play can be educational, and since Eleanor’s teacher gave us a week-by-week calendar of the classroom themes, I’m going to do my best to help reinforce those same concepts at home.

Whether it be through simple dinnertime conversation, creating something out of play-doh, drawing on her chalkboard, or playing with magnets, I’m looking for intentional ways to make connections between school, home, and the real world.

buybuy BABY was the best place to find the perfect mix of preschool + play! When we walked in the door, Eleanor made a beeline to the HUGE wall of puzzles and books.

While Eleanor and I browsed, Jeff kept Everly busy with a steady stream of Little Golden Books. This Baby Farm Animals book came home with us – Everly loves the “moo moo” on the last page ;)

Preschool Perfect

I wasn’t 100% sure what I was looking for, but once I found a little 2-sided easel with a chalkboard and magnets, I knew it would be a perfect addition to our play room. Eleanor helped me pick out some chalk, and as no real surprise, we came home with EVERY color.

Double the Fun

This little easel is seriously the coolest – and perfect for both my little ladies to use at the SAME time! One side is a chalkboard…

And the other is a magnet board! It comes with an assortment of letters, numbers and shapes, but buybuy BABY also has a great selection of additional magnet sets to supplement your play.

When we got the easel all set up, Eleanor got to work scribbling some shapes…

While Everly made it her mission to break every single piece of chalk…

Both girls wanted to draw, so I clipped up a piece of paper on the magnetic side and gave Eleanor some markers. I seriously love that this easel can keep BOTH of them busy! 

When we finally broke out the magnets, I was shocked to see Eleanor set to work spelling out her name. She’s been able to verbally spell her name for a couple months, but I’d never seen her actually use letters to do so. I was so excited for her, but honestly, she had no clue what the fuss was all about, haha! **Insert toddler eye roll**

I mentioned that the Baby Farm Animals book made it home, but so did a whole bunch of other books. Selfishly, I think these were more for Jeff and I than the girls, haha! We needed some new bedtime story material! A few of my favorites from the stack are:

• A Fly Went By
• A Fish Out of Water
• Big Dog Little Dog
• Time for School Mouse
• I Am Not Going to Get Up Today

The easel has been such an awesome addition to our play room. Sometimes the girls play with it independently while other times we do an activity together. Eleanor loves playing “pictionary” on the chalkboard side, and we’ve had a lot of fun playing sorting games with our magnet sets.

As the preschool year progresses, I’m excited to learn right along with Eleanor. New concepts at school open up new worlds of play at home!

What are your favorite ways to bridge school + home?

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