C'est bientôt la rentrée! updated for 2026

Bonjour friends! As August slowly comes to an end, and families make their way back

home, everyone focuses on la rentrée or back to school. This is

the time to sign up the kids (and even the grownups!)for different activities- from sports to

arts. Maybe it’s also time for a wardrobe refresh as the weather turns cooler (or rainier).

To help our families get over that hurdle, we gathered a few practical tips from different

Message members to help you and your kid/s get ready for the rentrée. We've also included some after school activities that you can look into.

School supplies or Fournitures Scolaires

• School Supplies - Whether it is your first year or you are a veteran of the

French system, there are certain places or services that can help put

together the supplies you need without you having to trek up and down the

aisles with your long list in hand.

• Online Services – There are many online services where you can upload

your school list and they will purchase the items on your list and send

them to your home. Some examples of these types of services are:

• Scoleo - https://www.scoleo.fr/

•  Cultura - https://www.cultura.com/ (for specific page click HERE)

•  Bureau Vallée - https://www.bureau-vallee.fr/schoollist

• Rentree Discount- https://www.rentreediscount.com/

Local Papeteries – Papeteries or stationery stores are the OG of these

school list fulfilment services. If you have a good one in your area, bring

your list in and ask if they perform this service. They will do the ordering

and assembling and you can just pick it up from them.

Alternatively, big supermarkets are now well furnished with all the required school supplies. We hear that LeClerc has particularly good prices!

• School Books – Apart from the normal pens and notebooks, some school lists

include books you have to order for the upcoming year. Here are some

suggestions to help find those books:

• Ask the parents association or your school’s parent network if parents

  are selling or giving away their child’s old school books.

• Local librairies or French bookstores are a good source for books and even school supplies. Our members have used:

  • Gibert is a well known bookstore for school books.

    They sell both new and used books.( https://www.gibert.com/)

  • Librairie Lamartine -a well known bookstore and papeterie with locations in the 16th and Neuilly-sur-Seine (https://www.lamartine.fr/). They have a great selection of pens (I'm looking at you Legami!),agendas and stationary so consider yourself forewarned about all the goodies! You can also send them your school supply list or book list by email: commande@lamartine.fr

  • Librairie Decitre- the online store carries (lots!) more books but you can browse their brick and mortar for school supplies. https://www.decitre.fr/

• Labels – putting your kids’ names in everything they bring to school will become a typical start to the rentrée (trust us!!). You can of course, write their names with markers or if you prefer to use sticker labels. Our members suggest the following:

o https://www.ludilabel.fr/

o https://www.a-qui-s.fr/

o https://www.c-monetiquette.fr/

• Sports Equipment and Outfits – It's a good idea to secure all the sports outfits and equipments late August and before the rentree! Decathalon of course is your first stop as they have affordable options and complete in their product offering. www.decathalon.fr. You can also check out vinted.fr as they will probably have many gently used sports outfits for very reasonable prices.

Maternelle – A special shout out for parents starting maternelle ( or pre-school) – here

are some recommendations:

-Chaussons – These are slippers or soft shoes that the kids can easily

slip on and off before they go into the classroom. Most kids shoe stores

have them but you can also use Crocs (need we say more?) or the Decathlon chausson which have easy rubber soles and Velcro straps.

-Doudous – These are your child’s comforters (e.g. stuffed animals). Most maternelles allow you to bring one to help them for their naps. However if your little one can deal with it, bring a secondary doudou rather than their main one.

Besides books and school supplies, most schools and after school activities also require an updated medical certificate so its a good time to make an appointment with your general practictioner or pediatrician for a general check up where you can also ask for the Ceritificate of Health. Once there, your doctor will be able to let you know if your child needs any vaccinations.

Now that you've secured everything, you can turn your attention to some activities that the kids can do after school. Most schools will offer some after school activities but there is no shortage of other places. Here are some of our favorites or tried and tested places:

• Petite Foret - our friends at Petite Foret (who also host a weekly Thursday Message meet up) have a wonderful program of activities for babies and kids. They also have mum and kids yoga classes.

• American Children’s Theatre (ACT) (https://www.actparis.com)- an American style theater program for kids and teens. Many of our members have kids in their programs. The highlight of each semeter is the show put on by each class. They're always great fun!

• Rock U. (https://rock-u.fr/) – Rock U. is a performance-based rock band program for kids, teens and adults. They cater to English-speaking children ages 3-12 years of age who either already play an instrument or are wanting to learn one.

• Paper & Palette Society (https://paperpalettesociety.com/ ) – the newest art program taught in english for kids ages 8-12. Classes are held every Wednesday in central Paris and runs during the school year, except during the school holidays.

• USA Girl Scouts in Paris ( https//www.facebook.com/GirlScoutsInParis/ ) – Every troop organizes meetings throughout the school year. For more information or if you are interested in signing up email here: parisregistrar@usagso.org.

• Club Scouts and Boy Scouts of America in Paris (https://pack112paris.org/) - Pack 112 is an international, English-speaking Cub Scout pack located in Paris, France. Paris Pack 112 welcomes boys and girls ages 5 to 11 from multinational families. They usually meet once or twice a month. 

• American Learning Centre in New York (ALCNY) (https://alcny.com/ )- ALCNY is an after school program aimed at assisting students to master English by immersing them in different activities like Multisport, yoga, visual arts, fashion design, film making and more. ALCNY caters to children from 3 to 18 years of age. Besides activities during the school year, ALCNY also organizes holiday camps.

Written by Meg Gerner and Imelda The