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School Supplies

School has reopened in many parts of the world and school supplies have already been purchased. In preparation for your education (or child's) what did you consider the most essential schools supplies that others do not usually purchase? For instance, a pen is essential, but not unusual.

Supplies School

My unusual school items:

A bag of hard candy. I have a serious attention problem, and if I have to sit through a 50 to 90 minute lecture, I will often fall asleep. Candy keeps my mouth occupied and gives me a bit of a sugar boost.

Hand Sanitizer. I am not paranoid about germs, but school is the best place to get them, and the worst place to have to miss because of illness.

A USB Flash Drive. These are becoming more common, but I would recommend them to every student. It's more durable than carting around a pocketful of floppy disks in your bag, and it's also much faster.

Index cards. Not for note-taking so much, or to make flashcards for memorizing terms. Those are good uses, but I use them to write important appointments, phone numbers, to-do lists, love notes, etc. They don't crumple into little balls in your pockets as easily as scraps of paper, and they are a great size. They are also useful for making oneself look studious when need be. They don't have to say anything - just the act of shuffling them about a little bit and looking contemplative gives an aura of educated intelligence.

School Supplies UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

Hand sanitizer was actually on our girls school list. In fact we buy many supplies on the required list that are just community use items for the classrooms. That said, looking at what the kids bring to school you could almost believe that by age 13 a cell phone is mandatory school equipment.

Wyldehorse

Supplies School

A hole puncher is definately essential for me. With my education classes, I actually keep my folders and my books, and so it's important for me to be able to keep everything in tact. I do remember getting a funny look from my fiance at the start of the semester last Spring when I went on a hole punch hunt.

Supplies School

Mandatory purchase for my 3rd grader this year is what the school calls an "Agenda." What it is, is a modifed day planner, with weekly sections and monthly sections, goal setting, time management, and an ongoing story threaded throughout the book that tells the story of some hapless kid who, by the end of the school year, learns how to manage his time and his study habits, etc. I'm required to sign each individual day, showing that I've read what her homework assignment is, and that it's done. Can you believe it? Time management for 3rd graders....

The other perhaps not so odd thing, is an electric pencil sharpener. Last year we had a really hard time keeping the pencils functional.