From our readers, their best school supplies hacks
Don’t stress out about buying every single item on the general school list before the first day. The kids often come home with different supply lists from the teacher that require other items, and the school never expects everyone to be fully stocked right away. I send my kids with just the basics on the first day and do the rest of the shopping during the first week.
My best school supplies caddy: a dish rack. Any notebooks or seforim that stay at home go into the main section, and pencils go into the silverware cup. We keep it on the dining room table all week, then tuck it away for Shabbos.
For anything that runs out over time, go as cheap as possible. But for things that will be reused, buy them once per kid. Get your pencils and paper and markers from Dollar Tree, but go to L.L. Bean for a lunch box and backpack. Their stuff is high-quality and outlasts everything even the roughest boys put it through. Make sure to get them in a color that the kids won’t hate in a few years — make your kindergartner happy with pink, sure, but don’t get the sparkly rainbow poodles.
To make school shopping more engaging, order everything online. Then, set up a miniature store at home and take each kid shopping, one at a time. They can use their own list to take what they need, then organize it themselves in their backpacks.
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