End of holidays and beginning of new sessions can be both exciting as well as stressful for moms. You are happy because your kids are going back to school which means you will finally have some uninterrupted hours to devote to work. At the same time, there are zillions of works to be done before you have made sure that your kids are ready for their first day. Shopping back-to-school supplies is where it all begins. To make the daunting task easier, here’s a list of 10 essential back to school supplies:
1. Backpack
Rampant opening and closing of backpacks throughout the session ensures that the zippers are no longer working when it is time to start a new session. The colours from the broken crayons and capless textas have comfortably discoloured the backpacks beyond recognition. You simply cannot think of sending your kids back to school with the same backpacks. A replacement then becomes only a bare necessity.
Moreover, a new grade signifies many ‘new’ in your kids’ life. They grow a little more, their needs change, the way they want to portray themselves also change. A backpack is an extension of this new ‘them.’ So, try to know what they are looking for in their new backpack and get them the one that matches best with their expectations. Want to win hearts? Buy your kids their personalised backpacks.
2. Lunch bag and drink bottle
Growing kids are the fussiest eaters. But you need to keep a constant tab on what they are eating. An organized lunch bag is what you can think of buying to make your little ones not miss the nutrition they need. Put a new water bottle inside the side pocket of the carry-all and you are sorted for the day.
3. Drink bottle holder
If your kids are already carrying lunch bags and the bags have somehow managed to survive the year-long torture, you better give them a miss and instead, invest in sturdy drink bottle holders. Kids grow a habit of losing water bottles in school every alternate day. So, having them to carry the bottles in separate drink bottle holders might help them change their habit. The bottles will also be saved from being dropped and broken during transport. Now, these are all possibilities but what is the harm in trying!
4. Pencil Case
No matter how many times you have bought a new, trendy pencil case for your kids in the last one year when it is time to send them back to school you have to again buy a new one with of course, the essentials inside. Make sure the pencil cases are made of fabric so that you can wash them when they are dirty. A few pockets in there will come handy too. Your kids may have much serious stuff like stickers to keep in their pencil cases, you see!
5. Labels
You will need them in bundles- book labels to paste on the book and copy covers, address labels for use on the backpacks, and clothing labels for the little shirts and jackets which often land up in the school’s Lost & Found room. You may also add those mini pencil labels to your buy list. Designed with durability in mind, mini labels can be used on a wide variety of school items including pencils, pens, lunch bags, and stationery.
6. Bag tags
Excursions and day-outs are a regular affair to beat the back-to-school blues in kids. Keep your stock of bag tags ready. These are perfect accessories for your kids to keep an eye on their belongings. They are tastefully styled to be used with backpacks, lunch bags and even travel cases.
7. Waist bag
In addition to regular back to school items, there can be a lot of other things that kids would like to carry with themselves. The glue sticks and glowing pens, mini books and secret diaries are too valuable a treasure for them to leave at home. Get them trendy waist bags to carry these things at ease. They will have a gala time flaunting them in front of their friends. Also, managing their own things will give them a sense of responsibility.
Be a smart mom, stash in a small pack of tissues in the bum bag. Your kids will be able to access them easily at times other than the usual lunch breaks.
8. Sports Bag
After-school extracurricular activity classes are the most fun-filled times of the day for kids. They play around and sweat it out at the ground learning trivia of various sports. It is important that you equip them with all the right sports and safety gears. Buy a spacious sports bag and pack in the essentials of the activity they are engaged in. Don’t forget to keep a personalised towel, a few adhesive bandages, and a water bottle inside the bag. Sports bags can also be used as overnight bags during camps and cub sleepovers.
9. Paper, notebooks and other stationery
Make a list of hard-covers and soft-covers and all the assorted paper varieties that your kids are likely to need in the upcoming one year period. You may have to top up later but be ready with the initial stock. Art paper, cellophane, and coloured paper are just a few of the things that you will soon be asked to purchase when the school reopens. Don’t forget plastic folders for the kids to carry their paper items to the craft classes without tattering them. Other must buys are crayons, glitters, brushes, tapes, glue guns, paper cutters, and stencils etc.
10. Storage box
Your kids will not be carrying these to school but you do understand that they are growing up and they will need more storage spaces at home to keep their things safe and organized. Compact in size and sturdy in make, the storage boxes allow them to keep all their craft items bundled up at one place without worrying about being too meticulous.
Creative Ways to personalise your kids school supplies
Preparing your Preppie for their first of school.
Quick and Easy Back to school Lunch Ideas to give you a smooth start