by Annabelle Short of https://wunderlabel.com/blog/
If there is one thing that every parent is familiar with, it’s the list of items that comes every year to tell you what your child needs for the upcoming school year. These lists seem to cover all the bases – binders, folders, pencils, pens, and more.
However, if you look a little beyond the list, you’ll find a few extra supplies that your child needs to make it through the school year successfully.
1. Water Bottle
A great idea is to get your child a reusable water bottle before school starts. For one, this will make packing school lunches a breeze. After all, with a reusable water bottle, you don’t have to worry about buying new drinks for every lunch and won’t be stuck out of luck if you forget to put them on the grocery list.
Reusable water bottles can also help children limit the number of times they have to leave the classroom if they want water. This way, they can focus on their lessons. You will want to double check and make sure the school allows water bottles first. Unfortunately, some schools do have a policy against water bottles in the classroom but they’re still great for lunches!
2. Labels, Stickers, and Tags
Especially in younger grades, teachers and schools won’t typically ask students to have anything like labels – sticky notes, tags, or stickers. While many people think of these things as useful to high school and college students, they can be useful to younger children as well.
Labels and tags are the perfect way to keep things organized. For older children, this might mean keeping chapters in textbooks marked or helping keep track of notes. Younger children, though, don’t always need to take detailed notes. Being able to keep track of which folder is for which subject, which folder is for homework, and which folder is for papers meant to be taken home to parents. In fact, teaching your children to be organized when they’re young will help them to stay organized throughout their life.
For younger children, you can even pick up some more fun stickers. Allowing them to decorate their folders and binders or even rewarding them with stickers can help engage younger children to be more interested in getting ready for school.
3. Book Covers
Some schools actually do ask for this but not all do. Even if they aren’t, though, these are a good investment. While these are often used for textbooks, they can also be used to keep library or personal books safe. This is particularly useful with younger children since they are more prone to spills.
Alternatively, these can be made. They are commonly made from paper bags. These are a
popular choice because then children can decorate them. The downside to this is that these are typically made to fit a specific book while book covers you can buy are stretchy as to accommodate more than one book.
4. Snacks
It sounds ridiculous, after all, you send your child to school with a snack every day. Consider, though, sending them to school at the beginning of the year with a large box of allergy-safe non-perishable snacks. For example, a large box of granola bars.
This is for the benefit of the whole class. While your child may have a snack every day, there are probably children in their class that aren’t so lucky. Plus, if your child was to ever forget their snack, this way they won’t be out of luck.
5. Extra Supplies
Finally, all school supplies list will tell you how many of a supply your child needs. This many folders, that many binders, the list – literally – goes on.
Throughout the year, you might notice your child’s supplies diminishing. Maybe those folders you bought them are breaking down or their paper supply is running out. The best option you have is to buy extra supplies at the beginning of the year.
So, why not buy supplies as needed when the original supplies run out? In truth, this is an option. By buying extra supplies before school starts, on the other hand, you can take
advantage of the savings that accompany back-to-school sales.
About the author: Annabelle Short is a freelance writer and a seamstress of more than 5 years. She is a craft lover. Annabelle is a mother and she loves making crafts with her two children, Leo (age 9) and Michelle (age 11). When not working, she’s spending time with her family or putting pen to paper for her own personal pursuits. Annabelle writes for several online publications and magazines including her blog https://wunderlabel.com/blog/.
