The square pizza sucks and the librarian’s a meanie. Otherwise, school rocks if you’ve got the right gear.

Wake
Help them know when to rise and shine with Teach Me Time’s alarm clock. The interactive talking timepiece and night-light changes colors: yellow when it’s time to snooze, green when it’s time to rise. Found locally at Barnes & Nobel.

Pack
Personalize a lunchbox from local Austin you’re-gonna-want-everything-on-this-site, The Initial Impression. Choose from over 100 different playful and unique designs, and customize everything down to the hair color on your super hero to make the perfect kit for your kid. Added bonus: matching water bottles.

Fit
Let the experts at the recently expanded Sandy’s Shoes replace those well-worn flip flops with rubber soles. Our pick? The Tsukihoshi with it’s lighter than air comfort yet practically indestructible durability. Pssst – Sandy’s has the largest selection of Tsukihoshi in the country.

Prep
Calm those back to school jitters with the The Kissing Hand. A perfect first-day book about a little raccoon whose mother comes up with a wonderful solution to help her son remember that she is thinking about him even when she not there. Available at Book People.

Here’s to raising a class act.