Name labels, for school books, bags, water bottles, shoes, pencils - you name it and literally you have to name it!

We go through labels like crazy.  At first I bought from the more internationally popular brands like Stuck on You and BrightStar.  I will say, I love Stuck on You's shoe labels and both Stuck on You and Bright Star's pencil labels.  Stuck on You also does fancy stuff like slap bands and products.  

But, and there is always a but, they are pricey for the amount we need.  The kids get A LOT of books, and they all need to be labelled.  

Also, my kids need bilingual labels - with their Chinese and English names - and some of the international sites cannot do this, others can but with time consuming work arounds.

So I researched some other options more specific to Hong Kong.  

Then I found that UR Photo in Hong Kong does labels, including washable ones - got a whole bunch and they are great.  We use these on books, rulers, water bottles, their chopsticks box, and anything that needs a more durable sticker.

HKIOU wins the award for cheapest, and most ancient website - you have to confirm your order by FAX... needless to say, that didn't happen!  We go to their 'stall behind Sogo' in Causeway Bay, to get small cheap labels for pencils, scissors, glue, lip balm and other small items.  Their iron on labels have mixed reviews, so judge for yourself.  See the map link below for the exact location or use this in Google Maps 銅鑼灣駱克道517號.

My recommendation is to get a 'pack' that comes with shoe stickers, pencil stickers, large, medium, small labels to start and maybe some iron on labels.  Then you can see what you use most and supplement with specific orders of those.  We run out of pencil stickers constantly, so having a huge cheap supply of those is great!

Meanwhile, on a local HK moms forum lots of people posted their ideas so I checked them all out and made this list below for your convenience.  All of these ship internationally for a reasonable price or for free.  

Related Links

UR Photo - Hong Kong - waterproof, well made and can even put photos on some labels - good value for the quality
HK IOU - Hong Kong - cheap and cheerful, great for pencil stickers
Fotomax - Hong Kong - can shop online or at one of their many shops 
ID Me Labels - USA - good 'packages' which include laundry safe stickers for clothing tags
Stuck on You - Global - great quality, good 'packages' and special items too
Bright Star - Australia - great quality, good 'packages' and customer service
TinyMe - Australia - name labels, bags, water bottles, wall stickers, more
Cash's - UK - name labels, iron on labels, travel and woven labels too
Mine4Sure -  France - ID bracelets, allergy labels, and the usual name labels too
Name Bubbles - USA - cute designs and allergy stickers too
Name Labels - Denmark - have large sizes and very cool temporary tattoos
Stamptastic - UK - uses a stamp for paper and clothing not plastic
StickerKid - Switzerland - see review from TrilingualMama here
Woven Labels UK - UK - offer ribbons too
GB Name Labels - UK - luggage straps, cool accessories, special labels for scouts

We love school uniforms!  No stress and worry getting dressed in the morning, and no trends to follow.  My kids love their uniforms and wear them with pride.

Our kids are in uniforms 5 days of the week.  We buy them twice a year through the school, and that's it.  Once a year, I stock up on 'weekend clothing' when I am in the USA, and maybe buy a few smaller things the rest of the year.

Besides the uniforms, the kids must wear certain undergarments.  The school doesn't tell you this, you just are expected to know. Yeah for my smart mommy friends who constantly share such gems with me!

• The boys need to wear white t-shirts or singlets.
  
• The girls need to wear white t-shirts or singlets on top and white cotton 'shorts' over their underwear.
  
• They also need a lot of white socks, or with some school black or gray socks too.
• All black dress shoes, and all white sports shoes.  

We buy basic calf length white socks for both kids at Marks & Spencers - either in HK or online since they deliver to HK for a flat rate of 15 GBP we can do one order every year of things we may need (towels, sheets, some children's activity books, etc...)  I also saw that Tesco online has good white school socks now too and delivers to HK.

For the other items, we go to our local wet market, as pictured above.  This is the only place I have found the long white socks my son likes and the white cotton shorts for under my daughter's skirts.  

And yes, while the uniforms last, the socks do not.  They get holes, lose their elasticity, or just plain get lost!  The socks from the wet market seem to get holes, while the ones we order are very well made, but more cotton, so eventually lose their elasticity.  But the main reason we buy socks a couple times a year - is due to growing feet! 

Other locations to shop in Hong Kong

For undergarments: Bossini, Giordano, Chicks, Jusco, WingOn and other major shops in Hong Kong.

For shoes: Dr Kongs always has acceptable shoes for HK schools, they are well made too. New Balance in Tung Chung sometimes has 100% white sneakers/trainers, local malls in housing estates also have shops with less expensive school shoes.  
Many kindergartens require 'kung fu' white cotton shoes for indoor use, wet markets are your best bet. 
 

Many local kindergartens are part of the 'voucher' scheme which gives HK residents a large discount on kindergarten fees.  With the voucher, half day classes are usually 'free' and full day come in at under 1000 HKD a month.  But it does vary per school.
More details: http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/preprimary-kindergarten/preprimary-voucher/index.html

And when you search for a kindy here: http://www.chsc.hk/kindergarten/index_en.html you can easily see which kindergartens are part of the voucher scheme.

The next obvious question, is how to find a local kindy. There is no secret trick, you have to look through the list of kindergartens in your district, look at the descriptions of each school, come up with a shortlist of those that interest you, then start calling/emailing/visiting until you find one that suits you and has space.  

Only *after* doing that step one (making a shortlist), then start talking to other parents in your district and getting their opinions.  Because, at end of the day, it does no good if the parents all direct you to a school that is either full or does not meet your needs or is too far from your house - so having your own shortlist first often helps.  Plus you can always add another school to your list.

It will also make your conversation with other parents go better, as you will already be a bit more aware of the schools and locations and have good questions to ask them, and as a result leave the conversation much more informed.

Kindergartens in Hong Kong offer morning class, afternoon class, whole day class or some combination of the three.  Some are religious, a great many are christian, some are not, many are bilingual, many are Cantonese only.  I would go so far as to say that all offer a loving and caring environment for children.

Just remember, not every kindergarten is for every family.  With all the variety in Hong Kong, you are sure to find one that suits you, in your district.  

Related Links
http://www.topschools.hk/admission-arrangements-for-k1-places-in-kindergartens-for-201516/

Sassy graduated kindergarten in July 2013, and we truly miss this school. About a month before graduation, the kindergarten asked us to write something to include in the next parent handbook. I sat down and wrote this in 5 minutes, it just came out, all very true.

"We would like to take this opportunity to give our heartfelt thanks to the principal, teachers, staff, students and parents of Chun Yue Buddhist Kindergarten in Yat Tung.

Two years ago, in June of 2011, our non-Cantonese speaking children started attending Chun Yue, in K1 and K2. Our son graduated 13 months later in 2012, and our daughter is graduating two years later in 2013. 

They came to Chun Yue with no Cantonese. We speak no Cantonese at home. The school welcomed us with open arms. Natty and Sassy were accepted into their classes and fully immersed in Cantonese. They were not treated differently or special, they had to work to earn the respect of their teachers and to make friends with their classmates. 

Natty went on, in November of 2012, to earn First Runner Up in a Hong Kong Cantonese Speech Competition, against local native speaking children. This is completely due to the full immersion environment in which he learned Cantonese at Chun Yue.

More than just the language, Chun Yue has taught our children to be gentle and kind, to take care in their work, to be proud of their accomplishments, and to help others. 

Chun Yue also took care of us, as non-Cantonese speaking parents. Making sure important notices were translated, and taking the time to communicate with us regularly.

As a family, and each of us as individuals, greatly appreciates all that Chun Yue has done for us. It is a model of how school could be for children in Hong Kong, regardless of their race, language or abilities. A full inclusive and immersion environment, in which every family and child is welcomed and nurtured. "

Related Links

Chun Yue Kindy
HK Buddhist Schools

Photo: Sassy hugging and kissing her teachers at graduation