It’s back. Suddenly backpacks and notebooks have replaced beach towels and sunscreen in the store displays. School fees have replaced pool passes in the checkbook.

I’ve already flown to Philadelphia and back to get my youngest started on her second year in college, and to be honest all the things that seemed so complicated about enrolling a child in public school seem easy as pie now.

Over the years, I learned a few tricks to making back to school a bit easier and save money. First and foremost is not to buy all their supplies before you get their teachers’ individual supply lists. Some teachers prefer college-ruled paper while some prefer wide-ruled. Some classrooms have tables instead of desks which means there’s not enough space to store huge notebooks.

So until you get that list, hold off on the big school supply shopping spree. Just get a small pack of notebook paper and some good No. 2 pencils and a pen. Also, if there’s something on the supply list you don’t understand, just ask.

I was born in the wrong generation or in the wrong part of the country to know what the teacher meant when she asked for Pee Chees. (For the similarly uninformed they are folders with two pockets.) As our children grow they also seem to lose their ability to tell us absolutely everything that happened during their days at school.

I cannot begin to stress how important it is that you communicate with their teachers if you have a concern. The best way to do this is via e-mail. Those addresses are a set format throughout the district.

For example, in

Pendleton, e-mail addresses are firstname.lastname@pendleton.k12.or.us. As the hot weather is definitely not over, I would also recommend getting shoes and a couple of clothing items now and taking advantage of the big sales that come on fall and winter clothing when the stores suddenly panic and realize they have too many jackets, sweaters and long-sleeved shirts.

This also gives your child time to consider that they want to wear after they’ve taken stock of what other people are wearing. (I know, they shouldn’t care – but they do.) As

your children get older they might not want you to volunteer at their school.

I was not aware when I dutifully filled out the volunteer forms that my children were following behind me, picking

up my forms and throwing them in the trash. So if you have time to volunteer, please do it. With school budgets decreasing dramatically, teachers need all the help they can get. You also don’t have to be in their classrooms.

You can volunteer in the office, for the guidance counselor or in other capacities. Finally, for the parents of new high school students, it’s not too early to

start thinking about college. As a matter of fact, if your child wants to attend a competitive college it’s required that preparation begins now. Aspire is the name of the program at PHS that helps kids with college requirements, applications, etc.

However, if you fear your teenager won’t fully communicate with you about the process (big surprise) you can meet with an Aspire counselor as well. Just call for an appointment.

There’s one other important thing to remember. This isn’t a war. Just as you don’t want your child to treat the school year as a battle before it even begins, you shouldn’t either. It’s the kids’ job to work hard and

speak up when they don’t understand something.

It’s your job to try to form a partnership with your children’s teachers. Don’t expect problems before you have them.

And remember, as catchy as the phrase is, it’s not true that everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten.

“Home Front” by Terry Murry is published every other Sunday. She can be reached at tmmurry@hotmail.com.