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The Back-to-School sales have begun! Admittedly, I get less excited about this now than I did when my kids were younger. When we were homeschooling pre-k and elementary school, I purchased ample supplies of crayons, washable markers, pencils, glue sticks, etc. whenever I could find a good sale. Back in the day, Office Depot/Office Max used to do weekly rebate sales where you could get colored printer paper, calculators, etc. for less than $1 after rebate. These store also rotated weekly sales for rulers, spiral notebooks, pencil sharpeners, glue sticks, etc. for $0.25-$0.50 each. I used to buy the max allowed for my kids to last the whole year and for donating, like for Operation Christmas Child boxes.
After a couple of years homeschooling, I began to get picky about buying only sales on name brand supplies- Crayola crayons/markers/pencils, Prang watercolors, Elmer’s glue/glue sticks, and Ticonderoga pencils. After the COVID-19 pandemic, those fabulous rebate offers disappeared. I spend more on supplies these days, so I have become very selective on what we buy. Our needs have also changed as my kids have gotten older. Here are my recommendations for what to look for each age:
Pre-K: Brand name supplies are usually better quality, but with the volume used at this age, go for the cheaper or store brand if its a great deal. Buy washable markers, crayons, glue sticks, washable glue, safety scissors, large diameter pencils, water colors, washable tempura paints (Prang is a good alternative to Crayola for watercolors and tempura paints), construction paper, bulk watercolor paper, primary ruled composition books, colorful file folders (for file folder lapbooks or games), award stickers, colorful bins for organization (Dollar Tree rocks for these). Try to get enough of the high volume items on sale to last the year: construction paper, glue sticks, and crayons.
Elementary: This is a good time to really focus on brand name supplies as the kids will become frustrated with markers and glue sticks that do not work well. Buy Crayola washable markers, crayons, and colored pencils. Prang or Crayola are good choices for watercolors and tempura paints. Look for deals on Elmer’s glue/glue sticks, quality scissors, Ticonderoga pencils, possibly highlighters, spiral or composition notebooks, wide-ruled paper, graph paper, binders and dividers, construction paper, colorful file folders (for folder lapbooks), award stickers, colorful bins for organization (Dollar Tree rocks for these).
Middle School: Name brands are almost always a must at this age: Ticonderoga pencils, Pilot/Bic/etc. pens, highlighters, Post-it pads, good scissors, scientific calculator, Crayola markers and map pencils, Elmer’s glue/glue sticks, paper, spiral/composition books, binders, dividers, pencil pouches/boxes. Buy quality art supplies for art courses: watercolor or acrylic paints, watercolor or mixed media paper, decent quality brushes, etc. Be on the lookout for sales and coupons at your local art stores.
High School: Name brands are a must at this age for quality: Ticonderoga pencils or name brand automatic pencils, Bic/Pilot pens, Bic white-out tape, Post-it pads, Bic/Sharpie highlighters, Sharpie fine point permanent markers, good scissors, name brand scientific or graphing calculator (Casio, Texas Instruments, etc.), college ruled paper/composition books/spiral notebooks, binders, dividers, pencil pouches, index cards. Buy quality art supplies for art courses: watercolor or acrylic paints, watercolor or mixed media paper, decent quality brushes, etc. Be on the lookout for sales and coupons at your local art stores. Watch for sales on laptops, printers, headphones, and any other specialty items for electives.
Teacher stuff: Watch for sales on Scotch laminators and laminating sheets, electric pencil sharpeners (recommend the kind that plug in instead of battery operated), 3-hole punch, 1-hole punch, Brother label maker, file folders, gradebook/planner, Swingline stapler, Scotch tape and dispenser, Expo dry erase markers. Amazon Basics offers a good alternative for some of these. After several years of paying a copy shop, I invested in my own Coilbind S-15 spiral binding machine and have used it enough to pay for itself several times over. I also recommend a high volume printer like the Epson Eco-tank or an HP Smart Tank.
Make a list and carry it with you. Watch weekly sales to look for the best deals, and write down what you paid to keep a record for next year. I personally have a price point of $0.25 per Elmer’s glue stick, so I will be hitting at Target and Wal-Mart this week to stock up on glue sticks this week. Lastly, if you buy enough to last the year, you will need a place to store all of the extra supplies till needed. I store our extras in shallow underbed Rubbermaid or Sterlite containers in the garage (these usually go on sale with dorm supplies in late summer).
