2015 Holiday Gift Guide for Kids that Wear School Uniforms

Got a uniform wearing kid on your holiday gift list?
Here are a few gift ideas for school aged kids:

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Fleece Accessories
sold by Lands' End

Keep 'em warm at the bus stop with these fleece accessories from Lands' End. Some of my favorite are linked below:
Kids Fleece Gloves  - ThermaCheck®-100 fleece
Kids Fleece Hat - ThermaCheck®-100 fleece
Kids Fleece Hat - ThermaCheck®-200 fleece

Code Socks

These fun socks are designed specifically for kids that wear school uniforms and must comply with a dress code requiring solid navy or white socks.  Three fun designs are featured only on the bottom of the foot staying hidden inside the shoe.  See the full review.

Hair Accessories -300 Piece Combo Pack in Carry Bag
sold by French Toast

Hair accessories in navy and white. 300 assorted rubber bands, hair clips, ponytail holders, barrettes and elastics, in a purse-style case that she will love to take anywhere she goes.

Girl's America Doll Plaid Dress
sold by the Ideal Uniform Store

These doll sized dropped waist jumper fits any 18" doll. It come in a wide variety of plaids and solid navy. Girls love when their doll looks and dress like them.

Code Socks- fun socks for kids that wear school uniforms

I am excited to be one of the first to review Code Socks, a new collection of school uniform socks.   The socks allow kids to "follow the rules, but crack the code inside your shoes."  Most uniform dress codes and schools with standard student attire require students to wear basic navy or white socks to match their uniforms. Code socks are a solid color, except on the heel and bottom of the foot where it features a fun colorful design.

What a great ideas! They are perfect for kids that aren't looking to break the rules, but may be itching to express a bit of personality in their attire.

Code Socks is currently offering 3 knee high styles in the basic white and navy.  While looking to expand their offering, they currently offer code socks in girls knee highs that fit youth shoe sizes 12-5 which roughly translates to ages 5-10. The owners sent me two pair as a basis for this review.  The socks are 85% cotton, 12% polyester and 3% spandex.  In our house, the school socks with that hint of the poly blend hold up and wash up better than other socks.  We struggle to keep our white socks white, but the poly blend ones stay a bright white.

The three styles feature cute designs on the bottom of the foot and heel which would be hidden inside the shoe while wearing school shoes.  They retail for $8 per pair or $20 for three pairs.

• The first design is a cute polka dot (shown above).
• A second design has rainbow colors along the bottom of the foot (shown to the right).
• The third design features the word hello written in cursive across the foot.  

My daughter especially loves the hello socks.  She is totally into the hi/bye trend in girls clothing, so the hello socks play right into it. She wears a size 2 shoe and they fit her fine, not too big or tight. She is also very picky about the seam that run across the toe on socks. It has to be placed just right before she'll put on her shoe. Maybe she was successfully distracted by the cute design, but the seam on these socks didn't bother her a bit. She wears knee socks to school all fall and spring with her skorts, so these will get a ton of use.

I think the designs are super cute.  The socks are very soft to the touch.  The quality of the material and the workmanship is solid.  No loose threads and the stitching is clean.  Uniform Mom is big fan of Code Socks!

Please consider supporting this small US based business with an order for the uniform girl in your life.  They will make a great gift this holiday season.

School Fundraising with Discount Cards

A segment of our readers are involved with the Parent Teacher organization (aka PTA or PTO) at their child’s school, so I try to share school fundraising opportunities as I come across them. In the past, I have written about passive fundraising efforts with school uniform providers and others. With passive fundraisers, the school or PTA registers with the company, promotes the code and receives periodic income from the company based on a percentage of sales when the promotion code is used.

Discount card fundraisers are in a different category because they take more effort by both parents and students. There are two variations on how it can be managed. While both require a level of effort from volunteers on the PTA, one requires more effort than the other.  The more legwork the group puts into the program, the more profit the group can hope to receive.

What are Discount Cards?

A discount card is a plastic card that an individual can present to a participating business at the time of sale to receive a discounted price on their purchase. Who doesn’t like getting a discount? We present our loyalty cards at the grocery store to get the discounted price. But unlike store loyalty cards, discount cards can be used at a variety of participating retailers.

How can Discount Cards be used as Fundraisers?

A typical discount card is a plastic card that can fit in a wallet or card holder. It features the sponsoring organization on the front of the card, such as the school name and logo. The back of the card contains a list of participating businesses that have agreed to participate in the fundraiser. The businesses gain exposure and hope to draw in customers or gain new customers by participating in the program. The sponsoring organization makes money by selling the cards for a set price. Folks that purchase the cards can use them to receive discounts at the participating retailers.

How much can the PTA make?

It depends on two factors. The biggest factor is how much you charge for the discount card. Some groups charge as little as $5, while seasoned groups that product a card annually can charge up to $15 or $20 per card. The higher amount you can charge, the more potential profit the sponsoring organization can make.

The second factor is the cost of the fundraising cards printing.

• If you go low tech, the school may be willing to make the copies and let you use the school’s laminating machine. In that case, the cost may be limited to supplies for paper and materials. To make a professional looking card, you can find or purchase a template online.
• Another option is to use a local printer or ask a local printer to donate their services to create the cards for the school.
• A third is to use a professional discount card company. These vendors require a minimum amount of cards, and some offer to help with design and layout of the card for an additional fee.

To figure out how much money your group can raise for your school, decide how many cards you will get printed and decide how much to charge for each card.  Multiple those 2 numbers together and subtract the cost to print the discount cards.

Formula:

( # of cards to sell  X price per card )  -  cost to print the cards

How do I find businesses willing to participate?

If your school has good relationships with local business, the PTA may choose to create the cards on their own. You will need to solicit volunteers to contact local business, request participation, and collect the details on the discount information to be placed on the card. The PTA should also solicit the assistance of an attorney to draft a simple agreement between the organization and the business to include details such as the length of time the discount cards must be accepted by the business. If you have a volunteer with layout and design skills, you might include logos or artwork from the participating business or you can choose to keep it a simple text layout. If the organization does not have bandwidth to do this level of legwork, you can find vendors that will line up the participating business and print the professional discount card for the organization. This option increases the cost to host the fundraiser, but makes the fundraiser possible with less coordination.

How does the sponsoring organization sell the cards?

Some schools send home several cards per student with an envelope to return the payments and any unpurchased cards back to school. Veteran organizations that have experience with this type of fundraiser caution not to overestimate the amount of cards that can be sold per student. While discount card companies might encourage a school to purchase five cards for each student to sell; two per student might be a good starting point.

Asking PTA volunteers to sell the cards at a school or local event such as at Back to School night or at a school sporting event is another option with the potential to sell out quickly. Be sure to get permission from the event organizers.

If the school has a great relationship with a local business that caters to area families, the business may be willing to sell the any remaining cards at the counter and give the proceeds back to the school. 

Good luck with your fundraising efforts!

Has your school sponsored discount card fundraiser in the past? Let us know what worked and what didn’t work in the comments below. 

Photo credit: Home Water Softener Reviews

Related Posts:

Lands' End School Rewards Program

French Toast Dollars in Uniform Fundraiser Program

Cookies Kids School Uniform Fundraiser

Tiny Prints PTA School Fundraiser

Olly Shoes School Fundraiser

Is Your School's Dress Code Sexist?

Just after Labor Day, I noticed a spike in visits to a Uniform Mom post that featured longer skirts for girls that would pass the "fingertip test".  The fingertip test is a commonly used way to determine if the length of a skirt or shorts is too short.  If a girl extends her hands down to her sides and the skirt is past her fingertips, it passes.  If it is shorter than her fingertips, it is considered too short and therefore a uniform infraction at many schools.  Sometimes, administrators make efforts at the beginning of the school year to set the tone with consistent enforcement efforts. In some cases, the school conducts some sort of mass inspection that usually results in headlines in local newspapers and on local news channels. Girls that receive warnings that their skirts are too short may be offered a change of clothes from a inventory of donated second-hand uniforms.  Other times, they may be isolated until a parent can arrive with a change of clothes that complies with code.

I thought that increase in traffic was an indication that your daughters' might be getting caught up in enforcement efforts that left you searching to find retailers that carry skirts that are long enough to pass the fingertip test. I was relieved to learn that this wasn't the case. But....

Instead, I stumbled upon a conversation regarding "slut shaming" that referenced the post.  Stelman, a writer for Addicting Info, a popular liberal blog, wrote a post that summarized recent examples of uniform policies and enforcement efforts that he found to be sexist because they selectively applied to only girls.

This lead me to a video by Laci Green, a sex education activist with a popular channel, Sex + on YouTube.  In her video on Dess Code Sexism, Laci says that the use of school dress code guidelines are not the problem, but she presents top five reasons dress code double standards are sexist. She raises many interesting points that should cause school boards and school administrators to pause and reflect on their own policies and enforcement efforts.

So what do you think? Does your school have any policies that contain these dress code double standards? Have you seen sexism in enforcement efforts or in comments by teachers or administrators? Share your thoughts or observations in the comments below.

Fun Find: Girls Glow in the Dark Graphic Tee

A supermoon eclipse is set to occur on September 27. What's a supermoon eclipse?

A supermoon occurs when the moon appears to be abnormally large and bright in the sky. This happens when the moons reaches its full phase while on it's closest path to Earth. And a lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes in the shadow of the Earth resulting in the sun's light being blocked by the Earth. The supermoon eclipse is a special event because it is rare that a supermoon and an eclipse happen simultaneously. The last one occurred in 1982 and the next one is scheduled in 2033.

Here is a super cute, girls glow in the dark t-shirt to mark the occasion. Here is a similar style for boys.

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Schoolwear from Primary.com

Primary.com gifted me several clothing items to evaluate so I could share my opinion of the items with you. All opinions are my own.

(c) Rene Shonerd. All Rights Reserved.

I recently read about a new children's clothing retailer that was created by Moms.  The idea is to keep things simple and stick with what works.  From what I have seen so far, Primary.com is doing just that in a very cheerful way.

The idea behind Primary.com is that kids tend to favor a few key pieces of clothing in their wardrobe that they wear over and over.  The moms at Primary.com make sure you can find that item again in the next size up when your little one outgrows it.  All of their items are basics in solid colors.  For girls, think of quality tees, shorts, sundresses, tunics and leggings, hoodies, and cardigans in solid colors.  For boys, think basic shorts, pants, hoodies, tshirts, and polos.  The styles are classic and they are only offered online only.  The prices are kept simple too. Everything under $25 bucks!

Intrigued?  I was too.  I contacted Primary.com and asked to check out their school wear items.  I received a cheerfully decorated jiffy-bag package.  Each items was individually wrapped.  I unpacked everything to take a look.

First, I fell in love with the simplicity.  Everything tagless and kid friendly, even the laundry instructions are simple.  The stamped label in each item has a different cute critter representing each size.

I also love the sizing options because they carry more options than most children's retailers. I recall the big difference in the length between a size 6x and a 7 on girls pants.  Now I'm again noticing a big difference in tops and shirts that jump from a 7-8 to a 10-12.  At Primary.com, most basic items are offered in all sizes giving more options when your child is between sizes. When you click to select a size, the image updates to show the item on a model that age.  It provides the height and weight of the model so you can compare with your child.  My daughter is the same height and weight as the model wearing the size 8 and 9 items.  I love that the site gives that extra visual to help you decide what size to order.

(c) Rene Shonerd. All Rights Reserved.

They offer a basic polo for $16. The cotton is 100% super soft pima cotton jersey and the weight of the fabric is just right, not thin or chintzy. For girls it is offered in white, navy, lilac and sky (blue). The boys polo is offered in four additional colors. We tried a basic white one that works for many school dress codes. It is not a traditional interlock polo because it has a relaxed soft collar made from the same cotton as the shirt itself. At my daughter's school, the uniform dress code is basic and broadly defined. It calls for a "white collar long or short sleeve shirt".  The Primary brand polo will work just fine for us, but might not make the cut at schools with a stricter interpretation of what makes a polo shirt a polo.

They also sent girls basics of leggings and undershorts (like bike shorts).  While either could be worn by themselves as bottoms, they pair nicely in a uniform wardrobe under skirts and jumpers. Reviews on the site indicate the shorts and leggings are running small and we agree with the recommendation to order them a size up.  These leggings are made from a blend with 7% spandex, which is higher percentage than other brands at major retailers.  This makes them fit snuggly and would be great for girls with very thin legs.  My daughter, with her athletic legs, would recommend two sizes up since she hates tight fitting leggings.

(c) Rene Shonerd. All Rights Reserved.

The girls cardi, or cardigan sweater, is offered in three colors, white, pink and heather gray. The fabric is a blend of 70% cotton and 30% bamboo (note the heather gray version is different; it is a poly blend). I haven't given it too many turns through the washing machine yet, but so far, it is holding up beautifully.  This sweater is unique in that it is the first cardigan that I've come across that contains bamboo. It is very soft.  It costs $24.  I am a big fan of this sweater!  I would order one for myself if it came  in my size.

Based on the selection of items I've seen, I'm a big fan of Primary.com.  I wish the site would have been around when my daughter was a toddler.  If your kids do not have a uniform dress code, you will be sure to find many great items to assemble an entire wardrobe for the school year.  The site offers quality basics for a reasonable price.  Works for me!

School Uniforms in the News - Back to School 2015 edition

Below are articles that feature school uniforms from all over the world! They are complied from my twitter stream. Follow me at @NavyPlaid to get updates on these types of headlines as they are published.

Features:

• The true value of school uniform CWB - Childrenswear Buyer Magazine: ow.ly/2buJfy
• Parents dig deep into pockets as kids head back to class ow.ly/2buvxL

Assistance Efforts:

• LISD receives over 20000 in school uniform donations - goo.gl/alerts/ENa4
• Jeezy Donates 1,000 Backpacks to Atlanta Elementary School Children - DJBooth -klou.tt/akpvieqkxoq7
• Christmas in July benefit helps local families in need - goo.gl/alerts/Dskh
• School supply drives planned around the Lowcountry (Charleston, SC)goo.gl/alerts/BjL1
• Back-to-school supply drives and and a giveaway happening this weekend - (Mobile, AL) goo.gl/alerts/AzwI
• Lyndhurst Health Department (NJ) collecting backpack and school uniform donations -goo.gl/alerts/lt3j

Enforcement Issues:

• Aguillard sets rule for uniform shorts length - goo.gl/alerts/wbLZ
• Students given timeouts at Wainuiomata High School (New Zealand) for incorrect shoes - goo.gl/alerts/HVFr

US School Boards Discuss School Uniforms:

• Volusia County School Board (FL) discusses school uniforms - goo.gl/alerts/cUYx
• Hillsborough schools will be stricter on dress codes - goo.gl/alerts/ZGL

(photo used with permission from Microsoft Press)