Local Back-To-School Shopping Tips

Pencils and crayons and markers, oh my! 

It’s hard to believe that it’s time to start packing those backpacks again when it doesn’t seem that long ago you were pulling out crumpled papers and trying to rid lunch boxes of their weird odors. 

It’s never too early to start scouting deals on school supplies, though, and we’re here to help you transition back to early mornings and late nights full of homework! Going back to school shouldn’t have to be like pulling teeth (although we think that can be a pretty pain-free experience now, too). 

We have scoured the internet and pounded the pavement to help you streamline your shopping this year. We’ve also informally polled our school-aged patients on their favorite school supplies—keep reading, since their answers might surprise you!  

Money-saving tips 

Saving money at back-to-school time isn’t just desired, it’s needed! Our favorite way to save money is by recycling last year’s gear. Whether that’s a backpack, lunch box or the 100 file folders that were never used, it’s always a good idea to do a quick assessment of what is still in good shape before you go shopping. 

Consider a supply swap with friends, too. Every grade seems to have at least one outlandish item on the list that never gets used. For us, it was 100 pipe cleaners that were never opened. Get together with some friends in different grades and pass down unused or barely-used supplies. That protector that got used once and can easily be handed down? Trade it. This is also a great idea for school uniforms. 

If you school doesn’t have a formal swap, start an informal gathering for new and returning students. This allows friendships to blossom and wallets to stay a little fuller! 

Follow the rules 

Rules before school starts are never fun, but following the list exactly not only helps the teacher but also helps prevent struggles for your children. While the LED pencil that switches colors might be interesting, it is also distracting to the teacher and other students. Stick to old school products that are both less expensive and less likely to “walk off” the first week of school. For paper products like tissues, paper towels or wipes, this is one area where it is ok to stretch the guidance. Always err on the side of less is more. You will be hard pressed to find a teacher or aid that turns down extra tissues during cold and flu season if you do end up with surplus. If you can, store extras at your house and send them in throughout the year. Your child’s teacher will thank you! 

Polling the patients  

Our patients represent a variety of schools in North Texas and we thought it would be fun to ask a few of our students about their favorite school supplies. For the younger students set in elementary schools, emoji paper clips were a big hit as well as any folder with favorite characters such as Spiderman or Batman. For our middle school patients, many liked customized notebooks and folders with inspirational sayings. Locker decorations are also a huge hit during this stage. Finally, the high schoolers were able to show us funny pencils with ironic quotes as well as a macron eraser set that looked good enough to gobble up! 

If we didn’t have a chance to ask you about your favorite school supplies leave us a comment on our Facebook wall and we will add it to the list. Happy shopping!