Try These Back to School Tips

Try These Back to School Tips

Tips for Navigating Supply Lists

​There’s nothing better than buying school supplies! It is something I will always be obsessed with. However, not everyone shares my joy of back-to-school shopping. The mass crowds, the limited supplies, long lists, kids grabbing random items and throwing them in, all while trying to keep your cool. I get it…not ideal. So, let’s break it down about where to find the lists, the best places to go, and understanding why your teacher asked for those items. Then we can plan on how to get these supplies, organize them, and not lose our minds in the process

Where Do I Find My Child’s Supply Lists?

This is the initial dread many parents have when preparing their kids for the upcoming year. Many schools will mail or email the lists to the parents. If that is not the case, check your school’s website, Facebook page or PTO/PTA Facebook pages. Typically, they are cross referenced amongst these domains. If that is proven unsuccessful, you can look for the lists at your local Target or Walmart. These big box stores usually have a handful of the nearby district schools’ lists in an organizer and the end of an aisle with school supplies. The last option, (and at this point you’re probably over the list and tempted to wait until school starts to just ask the teacher) you can call the school or go to their office for a physical copy of the list. But hopefully, nobody will have to do that!

Ok, now you have the list! Now, it is a personal preference how you obtain your supplies. You can either gather them online via Amazon, Walmart, or Target. Or you can venture into the stores. With that being said, you will absolutely get better deals by going into the store. If your time and sanity is worth the extra dollars… go for online! If you need to get the best deals, love a good find, or don’t mind going into a physical store…head on in. If you plan on taking your kiddos with you, I highly advise you give them one or two items they are responsible for looking for. These could be glue sticks, scissors (they can pick the color), Crayons (Crayola is preferred), notebook paper, or a ruler. Items that are straight forward that don’t have big designs on them will allow for less arguing and helps them put their excitement to good use. If you hate school shopping, this will be a big help. Kids love ownership and will also feed off your energy. Help them channel their energy into something useful to help save yours at the same time.

How to Find the Deals

When looking for a good deal, compare online. However, I have found over the years, Walmart has supplies at a cheaper price than most other places. Target has great deals and low prices in store as well. The up and comer in the game is Dollar Store. It has always been a teacher favorite. However, the school supplies have become much cuter, more brand names, and clearly the best price. For items like scissors, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers, glue, and even smaller Crayola crayon packs, it could benefit your wallet to venture into the Dollar Store. Dollar store also has cute backpacks and bigger items. However, I would not expect them to last the entire school year. It might be better to have a backup store or plan for resupplying resources.

As for online, I find that all three major sources are about the same with their pricing. Amazon has a greater variety of supplies and brands. If your child is looking for a specific lunchbox and backpack, it might be better to check out Amazon. I’ll show some examples of various prices for the same item so you can see the difference.

Ideas for Storing Supplies

Alright, lists have been found, supplies have been picked up or shipped…now what to do with them?! If you’re like me, you got your supplies early. But letting them sit around creates more chaos and angst. What you can do with your kids’ supplies to make it more manageable and less likely to result in a 10 pm trip to the local store for something you swore you already bought.

As basic as this will sound, once you have all the supplies, sort each child’s supplies into piles. If you want your kids to be involved, you can read the items off the list and make them put each item in a pile. Yes, this will take much longer, but it will provide the opportunity for them to be responsible for their belongings and learn to help you. Once they’re in their sorted piles with the few items labeled, put smaller items (glue sticks, sticky notes, pencils, pens, sharpener, markers, crayons, folders, etc.) in the child’s bookbag.

This again can be done by your child too, even the preschoolers. I would then take shopping bags, whether reusable or not, and put all paper products and larger items in these bags with your child’s name on them. Another sorting tactic I recommend is getting laundry baskets for each one of your kids. Then sort all supplies into the laundry baskets and store in a utility room or closet. It is easy for you and your child to move around as the school year gets closer. Once everyone’s supplies are in a bag, you can decide the best place to store them. I highly recommend a storage closet, or utility room. I would not advise putting the supplies in your child’s closet, because it will be very tempting to play with them which will result in this process happening all over again. Getting everyone’s supplies organized before the last minute may seem basic and obvious to some but not all. The more we can help ourselves beforehand the more we thank ourselves the night before.

Do I Label or Not?

Although our first inclination is to put our child’s name on every single item… I urge you to resist this temptation! There are many schools that have adopted the community supply ideology. If your child’s name is on the item…it might be harder to use and ultimately a waste of your money. Unless specified by the school, I would only put your child’s name on lunchboxes, water bottles, and the inside part of straps on a backpack (this is for safety purposes). If you feel the need to label supplies to keep them separated between children, you can always use markers to dot each kid’s supplies with a different color, use stickers on the outside of packaging, or put initials on the outside of packaging.

​I can feel some irritation rising about the labeling comment. I know it is not a popular opinion. However, let’s think about how these lists get compiled first. At the end of school year, teachers are asked to discuss as a team what supplies were used and what they as a team believe will be used again for the following year. That list is submitted to the principal and distributed to parents at the beginning of the following year. So, the first thing to know is this is a generic list that should cover the basic supplies needed for the school year. What is on that list will be used to promote your child’s learning. There is a reason it is on the list and why that specific item is on there. For example, if the list for 3rd grade asks for a red, a green, and a blue folder WITH prongs, the teacher plans to use each one for a subject area. The prongs allow for the students to hold loose leaf papers in them and assists with developmental organizational skills. As a parent, it can feel ridiculous to have to get the specific types and colors of items. But as a teacher it is critical for the school year and their own wallets.

​And yes, teachers spend their own money for supplies. They want your child to have the best year and having the necessary supplies are important. Whatever is not supplied by the families, they must purchase. This includes the items that have names on them when they were not supposed to be labeled. Teachers also purchase classroom décor, learning games, books, enrichment activities, and just about anything you love about their classroom. The school districts do not have the funding to provide much other than technology, desks, some other furniture, and the curriculum. Although it can be frustrating when your child wants the fun school items, or you cannot label their belongings, it is to ensure the supplies are used to maximize a successful year.

​As a former teacher, I was always grateful for all the supplies provided for our classroom. Every year I would spend between 200 and 300 dollars of my own money at the beginning of the school year. This didn’t include classroom parties, holidays, end of the year gifts, décor, books and learning resources. While many may say…but Jacquelyn…you can write it off on your taxes… the tax write off is only 250. Unfortunately, that write off never covered the entirety of what I spent out of my own pockets for my kids. While we’re all working hard for our money, please understand this one thing…teachers love your kids and want to meet them where they’re at. The least we can do as parents is to be on the same team, so our child gets the best educational experience. Consider this when you are throwing items in the cart that you think they’ll never use or are purchasing items that seem ridiculous.

Wait, I Already Bought My Supplies!

I realize some regions have begun school already and some of you have already begun your preparations for the upcoming school year. If that is the case, I have a tip to share that might help for the following school year! Once the school year has begun in your area (or the fall merchandise is pushing school supplies out) many stores begin marking down their supplies even further! This is a great way to get school supplies even cheaper for the next school year. Items such as crayons, markers, colored pencils, paper, glue sticks, etc are always on school lists. These are great items to toss in your cart and store for the next school year.

​If you want to take it one step further, grab your school’s supply list and look for the next grade’s list. For example, if your child is in fourth grade, you would look for the fifth grade list. Then you could grab items off the list at an even cheaper price! All of these supplies can be put into a container and stored in a closet until the next school year. Then you would only have a few extra things, saving your wallet and sanity!

​Supply shopping can be enjoyable or irritating depending on how you approach it. Ultimately, I hope with these tips it becomes more enjoyable. I will also provide a list of items many teachers love to help you as well. You and your child’s teacher are a TEAM. You are your child’s VIP, but they are the classroom VIP. The first step in venturing in a partnership is getting supplies for your child. As parents, we set the tone and our children follow it. So set a positive tone, an upbeat tone, a funky tone, a chill tone, a loving tone, or a kind tone for this upcoming school year and see where it takes you. I believe your new team will have a great school year, and your teacher will know you’re a team because you supported her from the start with supplies. Great job, Mama!