I can’t believe that summer is almost over with and my kids will be heading back to school in less than a month. It seems like this summer has flown by. I have enjoyed having my kids at home with me so that I could spend some extra time with them. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the stores were already stocking the aisles with school supplies. It seems like yesterday that the kids just got out of school for summer but in reality the summer is half over. My son saw the school supplies when we were at the store on Saturday and was excited already. As a mom, I am not quite ready to buy my kids supplies I am not quite ready for summer to be over with. Once, your child reaches middle school you are lucky if your school as a required school list of supplies for your child. In fact, most of the time each teacher sends home their own list of supplies on the first day of school. So I usually stock up on the basic items and catch the few items that I missed when I am at the store again.
Disclosure: The opinions reflected in this post are my own and based upon my own experiences.
I came home from the store and told my husband that my son was already ready to buy his school supplies. He thought about it for a minute and couldn’t figure out why my son was so excited to buy school supplies. As we were talking, it brought back our own memories of back to school shopping. My husband said that he enjoyed back to school shopping and couldn’t wait to go to the store to get his new supplies, clothes, and shoes. I told him that the beginning of the school year meant new things and as a child, I was always excited for a new beginning and a new school year. Going back to school means a new teacher, new material to learn, time with my friends, and a new opportunity.
Since my kids were little, each year I always stock up on extra school supplies and store them in my closet. As a mom, I am always looking for an opportunity to save my family money. Buying extra supplies for my supply box has always come in handy. In fact, I hardly ever have to run to the store during the middle of the school year to buy the kids new supplies. I just tell my kids to go dig out the items that they need from my school supply box. The cost of school supplies are always cheaper at the beginning of the school year and once the school rush is over the cost of basic school supplies are often 2 to 3 times higher. Here is a list of things that I keep in my supply box for my kids to use during the school year:
- Crayola Crayons – I skip the cheaper crayons and invest in the 24 count crayons that are often sold for $.50 cents or less depending on the area that you live in. The cheaper crayons tend to break easier and aren’t quality crayons. It is worth the little bit of extra money to invest in a good set of crayons for your children.
- Pens – You never can have too many pens in your house. I always pick up an extra bag of pens and store them in the box along with any extras that are left after my kids get the amount of pens that they need for the beginning of the school year. I can even raid the pens if I need some new ones for my purse or in the office.
- Pencils - I always grab an extra package of pencils so that we had an endless supply at home in case the kids needed some to get their homework done.
- Markers – I always grabbed an extra set of markers because we all know that markers often don’t last throughout the end of the school year and need to be replaced. Having a set of markers at home, also comes in handy for those school projects that kids have to do at home during the course of the school year. If I still have some left in my supply box, I will send the older set with the kids to school the next year and replace the stash with fresh markers.
- Map Pencils – I always grab and extra box or two of map pencils. They come in handy to have around the house for those home projects.
- Folders – In my house folders rarely last an entire school year and often times my kids need additional folders during the middle of the school year when they change classes mid-semester. I try to keep a good number on hand so that I don’t have to pay full price for folders during the middle of the school year.
- Paper – I always stock up on enough paper to last my kids the entire school year.
- Spiral Notebooks – I always keep a handful of extra spiral notebooks on hand so that if my kids need a new one. Since my older son is starting middle school, I will have to make sure that I keep additional notebooks at the house so that we have enough to last through the end of the school year.
- Stencil Letters- I bought a box of stencil letters one year for a project and I always make sure that the kids return them to my school supply box, it never fails they often need to use them each year for a school project.
- Note Cards (often called recipe cards) – These are handy to keep around the house, you never know when your child needs more during the school year.
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Do you stock up on school supplies to last throughout the entire school year?
