10 Back to School Essentials

These are 10 back to school essentials for Pre K to 5th Grade. It’s that time of year again. Back to school time! I am excited and saddened because my oldest is going to kindergarten 😢 this year. My baby is growing up! I am planning on going back to school shopping at the Tanger Outlets when we go to the beach. It gives me an excuse to shop and will make Cadence hopefully excited to start the school year.

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Her experience with the school has been left wanting because she doesn’t have an IEP yet allowing them to make accommodations for her delays. So I pulled her out of the summer program that was making her frustrated.For now, I have been doing a lot of school shopping on Amazon, getting some stuff on Prime day. We also put some things on her wish list for her birthday. That’s how we got her backpack.

Backpack

A backpack is always a statement for you. Your personality and your favorite brands are in your backpack. When I was in kindergarten, I had a TON of keychains on mine and it looked a lot like my brothers because he was my idol at the time.I wasn’t aware of any brands or characters that I was allegiant to so it was just a solid color. Cadence is in a phase of giraffes, she wants giraffe everything. Luckily I found a backpack that has a giraffe on it (after looking for some time). That would fit her school papers in it. She has used it for her kindergarten camp and it has worked really well. It doesn’t get dirty at all because of the faux leather material it is made out of.

Lunchbox

I am not sure if I will be packing Cadence’s lunchbox or not. I don’t have to because she doesn’t have any intolerances or allergies like her sister. We do already prep ours on Sunday for the week though. So I don’t think it would be a very big step to add her to my lunchbox making party.Packing your child’s lunchbox is very healthy, and portion sizes are more controlled. All the kids I went to school with that had a packed lunch were a healthy weight. So I am in favor of packing lunch. Aria’s lunchbox is an easylunchbox you can read more about that here. Cadence’s matches her backpack.

Glue Stick

Elementary school-aged children absolutely need a glue stick. They often don’t have the ability to control a liquid glue or be able to not use it in excess. Throughout the day elementary students are being taught in a hands-on fashion. Most teachers do this with crafts which is why the glue stick is so important. Just make sure your child doesn’t eat it 😂.

Scissors

Now you need to be careful with this one because you don’t want your child to get in trouble for bringing them into school. So make sure that it is on your list of items to get your child. With how schools are these days you just don’t want to take the chance. Because they are for young children though, I would always recommend getting the safety scissors (the ones with blunt ends) just in case.

Crayons & Markers

I really don’t mind what brand of crayons I have. You can find some really cheap ones and they color just the same as the expensive ones. When I was little I loved the box of crayons with the sharpener on the back. I don’t remember ever having one though. Just being jealous of the kid that did 😆.

The markers we used were a big box that was shared from class to class. They were smelly, but you had to hope the child before you didn’t color it into a nub. I don’t know if they have smelly markers anymore, but Crayola makes these awesome markers that are super easy to get out of clothes. So those are the ones I am choosing to send to school with my little one.

Pencils & Eraser

A must-have for school is pencils. I remember when they came out with mechanical pencils. Not having to sharpen a pencil just boggled my mind. So when I was in elementary school we just had the regular #2 pencils. While looking around for some kid-friendly pencils that help with your child’s grip I came across these. They are stylish and designed for little hands. Although most pencils have erasers on them, they tend to get used up very quickly. Like I mentioned about the markers becoming nubs, so do erasers. Young children don’t quite have a grasp on pressure yet so it makes sense that they would use all there might to do whatever they are doing. So to have an extra big eraser will help them through the year. So a disappearing eraser on the end of their pencil is not such a big deal. I remember getting all my crayons and pencils from my teacher at the school. Everyone got their own pencil, a box of crayons, as well as a glue stick. I am not sure what happened that we are no longer able to have the school buy these supplies. I don’t mind buying them though.

Pencil Case

So you have your glue, scissors, markers, and crayons. Now, where are you going to put it all?! In a pencil case! Or else you are throwing it into your child’s backpack (the black hole) and your child will be screaming “mom where’s my pencil!” because they can’t find it. I found this cute one made by Stephen Joseph.

Folders

Folders are so important for young children. This is often the way that teachers communicate with parents. There is a folder for homework to be done, papers to be signed, and things to stay at home. Elementary students don’t have the capability or responsibility to take care of all of these things themselves so it’s pertinent that you supply your child with the folders they need. It makes your life, your students life, and your life easier. My daughter really wants Ariel folders this year, but you can get some simple ones written on with a permanent marker to determine which folder it is. Those are my list of top 10 back to school essentials for elementary school children. I am very new at this so if I have any updates, I will be sure to let you guys know. You might be wondering why I left out a composition or notebook. I did this because they are using more technology these days. My daughter will be using an iPad at school for her writing. They also don’t really write notes at this age. If they do work on composition it is usually provided by the school.At the end of the day, if she does end up needing it, it’s only a Walmart away 😂.If you would like a convenient shopping list for you to do your school shopping. All you have to do is subscribe to my mailing list. In your first email, you will get your password and you just enter it in the printable post HERE. What is your back to school essentials? Is my list correct? Let me know in the comments below!