School is about to be back in session, and as you prepare your kid for his or her first day of the year, you might be surprised at how much you still need to buy. When you get into the routine of doing school virtually, there are formerly everyday items that you simply lose track of. Here are five must-have school supplies you can get to make sure your child is ready for the big day.
Remember lunchboxes? In school, children are responsible for feeding themselves at lunchtime, and that usually means either purchasing something from the school cafeteria or bringing in a healthier option from home. For the second option, your kid needs some way of taking the lunch to school—no one wants to be a boring “brown bagger”! Bentgo boxes are the current fad among schoolchildren, and they are the huge upgrade from the capacious tins of generations past. They are strong and sturdy, and their design allows you to pack the perfect amount of food each morning. Bentgo boxes are available in over a dozen different styles, ranging from camouflage to unicorn.
Does your school require a clear backpack? If you are not sure, you’d better check. For both safety and security reasons, many schools mandate clear backpacks so that the authorities can see the contents at any given time. Most of the clear backpacks out there are rather boring; the Expersion one comes in four colors, plus it is equipped with an American flag patch to help your children display their patriotism.
During virtual schooling, many of the traditional methods of learning were marginalized or discarded altogether. That includes the very simple act of writing things down, a “skill” that may not be required at all in the future as more and more screens get integrated into the classroom. For now, your kid will probably need notebooks. It is hard to beat this 12 for $20 offer from Mead.
Sadly, the CDC is now recommending that all children who attend school in the fall wear masks. This may not be the rule at your school—for example, if you live in Florida—but if it is, you need to be prepared. This 5-set of masks comes with one popular Crayola color for each day of the school week.
Last but not least is a pencil sharpener. I am including this from personal experience. I can never find a pencil sharpener when I need one! Committing to a big one, like the X-ACTO one here, will make you more likely to keep in a designated spot, so your son or daughter will always know when to find it when doing homework. Of course, you can also send your kids into school with the small manual ones. Just don’t be surprised when they lose all of them a few days in!