The smell of freshly opened notebook paper.
Bright, new crayons.
Clean, pink erasers.
Crisp spiral-bound notebooks…one in every color.
The sound of a new 3-ring binder opening and closing.
New backpacks, pencil pouches, and lunchboxes.
Maybe it’s my teacher heart, or maybe it’s the fun of getting new things, but I just L-O-V-E back to school shopping!!! Not for clothing…that part is ok, but my true excitement is the school supplies!!! Eeeeee! Just thinking about this fun time makes me long to be in those store aisles right now!
Sometimes, I find myself asking questions like “How many glue sticks is too many?” and “do we really need a new lunchbox? We homeschool!” I have come to the conclusion that the answers to these and many more questions are simple. I’ll list them off for you, and I bet you won’t have any trouble guessing what the questions are!
- There are never enough glue sticks. Buy the big pack.
- Yes, a new lunchbox is necessary…remember the mystery slime/old banana/sticky fruit snacks/etc? Plus, planning ahead by having all the supplies makes going on impromptu field trips much more doable.
- Let them get the bright backpack…it’s easier to spot at the park, and no, it doesn’t matter that the dirt will show more.
- An extra set of crayons, markers, and colored pencils is always handy. Plus, those don’t go bad, and also make make great “oops, I forgot about that birthday party that we are supposed to be at in a hour” gifts, too!
- There is no such thing as too many pencils.
- Index cards are super useful, so grab 1 or 2 packs of those. They make great flashcards, bookmarks, lift-the-flap projects, and more.
- Never underestimate the power of binder clips. Definitely grab those!
- Clickable/Retractable Sharpies are life.
- Even middle schoolers like stickers…let them pick their own, and let them decorate their binder and spiral notebooks. It helps them take ownership of their school stuff.
- Same as #1, but for invisible (gift-wrapping) tape. The kids use like a mile of it for ever project. Haha!
Some of you might be thinking to yourself “Wow. This lady has lost it. Why would she be so excited about all this mundane stuff?” Well, I’ll tell you. It’s all about finding the JOY. Yes, there is joy in school supplies. A lot of it, actually! I found that by starting the kids young in getting excited for the beginning of school, they are much less averse to it now that they’re older. But even if yours are already older, I encourage you to still get excited, even if you never have before. They might look at you like you’re crazy, but at least they’ll be curious as to why! Curiosity leads to…you guessed…engagement! Yippee!
When they were young, we made a big deal out of “School Supply Shopping Day.” They each got to carry their own shopping basket. I gave them a choice on most things. (Now, that choice was sometimes either “the white one or the yellow one,” or something like that, but the fact that they got to choose was huge.) We also did either smoothies or ice cream on the way home. I find that purposefully making the start of school an atmosphere of celebration and growth is just the recipe needed for finding the joy in it, too. Yes, sometimes money was tight and we did our back to school shopping at the local dollar store. Other times, it was at a big box store. Once, it was at a retiring teacher friend of mine’s garage sale. It doesn’t matter where you shop, or how much money you do or don’t spend. Brands don’t matter, either.
What does matter is that your kids see and experience you celebrating them and their new academic adventures. The opening of a new package of pencils has never been so joyous as when it’s the night before the first day of school, and the kids are readying their study areas.
**SPECIAL NOTE FOR MOMS OF NEW KINDERGARTENERS** This is likely their first time feeling “big,” and it’s a BIG deal! Don’t forget to celebrate their entrance into the elementary world! We read the book The Night Before Kindergarten, and both kids loved it because each one knew that when it was their special turn with that book, they were the featured guest at bedtime story time. Yes, more grade levels also have their own books, which are each super fun, too! Here’s the one called The Night Before First Grade for you as well, just in case you need that one.
Now that you’re mentally prepared, it’s time to get excited and plan your School Supply Shopping Day, too! Build up the excitement in your kids, and make it a genuinely joyful occasion. What better way to prepare for the new school year is there, than to have kids who are looking forward to it’s commencement? Wishing you aisles of colorful crayons, mamas!