S/O School Supplies: What do you stock up on?

[three4me]

My kids are still preschool age, but I'd love to hear what all you experienced parents stock up on when school supplies go on sale during the summer. So...

 

What do you stock up on?

When is it worth it to buy name brand?

What DON'T you stock up on (maybe prices aren't much better?)?

Where do you usually shop?

Any other helpful tips? Supply storage, etc.?

 

For what it's worth, DD is 4 and we've started reading and a little math, with art projects and science/history for fun as read-alouds from the library.

[ABQmom]

I stock up on glue, spiral notebooks (usually around .15 at Walmart during school supply time), notebook paper, markers, crayons, pencils, and pens.

 

I usually find what I need at good prices at Walmart after the fourth of July. All the other office stores and Target will have deals going too after the fourth.

 

I also buy things for my kids rooms during the big back to school sale time because we can usually get cute things for less money---lamps, comforters, sheet sets, wall hangings, etc.

[greenleafknitter]

:lurk5:

[LillyMama]

I buy binders whenever I find them on sale. I can always find a use for a good binder. Or twenty. ;)

 

I always buy name-brand pens for me. I have a favorite style, and I write out my kids' copywork, so I will pick them up whenever I see them.

 

Computer / printer paper.

 

Post-its.

 

Colored pencil sets.

 

Index cards.

 

Regular old #2 pencils.

 

This is also when I buy my kids packs of new socks and underwear. Don't ask me why, it's just a time-honored tradition.

 

Highlighters- another thing I'll splurge for the name-brand.

 

Washable poster paints.

[happypamama]

I buy colored pencils, big boxes of crayons, and construction paper at the craft store with 40% off coupons. Paint too, actually, and any other occasionally-used craft items.

 

When the sales come around in the summer, I buy notebook paper, spiral notebooks, 3-prong notebook/folders, printer paper, small boxes of crayons, pencils, glue, and glue sticks. Maybe pens too. (Actually, this year, we didn't go through as much glue, so I won't buy much of that next year, but I'll buy glue sticks for sure.) I generally get as much as Staples will let me get super cheap.

 

ETA: I usually buy a couple of pairs of child's scissors each year as well. As I mentioned in the other thread, they actually have been doing pretty well at keeping track of their own scissors, but I'll buy a couple of pairs anyway in case one does get lost or broken.

Edited May 31, 2012 by happypamama

[MissKNG]

Glue sticks, crayons, colored pencils, construction paper, paints and tape. I shop at Walmart. I buy lots of generic but always Crayola Crayons - we have better luck with them lasting longer than the others.

[readinmom]

Spiral notebooks: You can always use them for something (10/25cents)

Composition books: (1 to 25 cents)

Pencils: I still have 40 boxes of pencils from four years ago at Target. I donated over half of my supply to our math department.

Notebook paper: (1 to 25 cents)

Highlighters: (1cent to $1/pkg)

Glue sticks: (1 cent to 25 cents/pkg.)

Index cards: (25 cents/pkg.)

Crayons: (1 to 25 cents)

 

Targets deals are good, and usually start in early-mid July. Staples had great deals this past year with comp books for a penny, 5 color highlighter packs for 25 cents. Each region has a certain deal, but all stores eventually have the same sale items.

 

This year I plan on stocking up on the highlighters and spiral notebooks. The 5 color pack is perfect for annotating articles, stories, etc. Each color can represent a different element. The spiral notebooks are good for projects.

[frugalmama]

I stock up on anything that is in the penny sales lol. Normally if it's .25 or under I get as many as the limit, if it's something I think we will use a lot of {like crayons} I go back a couple of times.

[Heatherwith4]

Pencils. I swear those things grow legs and run away! :)

 

I have a serious school/office supply program, so I'm afraid that I stock up on pretty much all of it. :)

[kadesmom]

I stock up on pencils, pens, crayons (as many as I can buy), and binders.

[alisoncooks]

I am typically a Target shopper, but I do occasionally frequent Walmart. I might check out the office stores if I see a good deal... Big Lots is another option...

 

What do I stock up on (and will get this year)?

Glue sticks, school glue.

Art paper (the big, looseleaf kind)

card stock (white and colors)

construction paper

index cards

tape

tempera paint

 

What I've found I don't need?

Spiral notebooks, standard composition books, and notebook paper. Because my kids are almost 4 and 6 and I probably have 20 spiral notebooks tucked away in a closet. And guess what? Kids this age don't use that type of paper very often! :p

 

Also on my to-get list (but not stock up on):

grid paper (to use with c-rods)

some 3-ring binders

laminating pouches (if I can find them cheaper than usual)

highlighters

[tsavoie11]

Glue sticks. Elmer's are the best but the cheapo ones are great for younger siblings.

 

Pencils. I'm not positive but I think my kids eat them.

 

Pink Pearl Erasers. If I find a great deal, I stock up. These are the best erasers.

 

Dry Erase Markers. Find out which ones you like to use and then buy your kids their own cheap brand! Little kids will ruin a good dry erase marker in no time flat!

 

Paper. Can't really live without it.

 

Binders. Just because I *heart* organization! :D

[daffodil]

My girls go through tons of paper, crayons, and glue sticks! They've also worn out or lost a few pairs of children's scissors. We have a box of HWT pencils that will last us forever.

[fraidycat]

I'm a name brand snob with pencils...but we've managed to acquire a lot of advertising freebies (and holiday themed ones) so we're probably good on pencils for at least 3 or 4 years :lol:, crayons, pencil crayons.

[SunnyDays]

Oh, I *love* back to school shopping, LOL!! We get pencils, erasers, colored pencils, paper, and everything else mentioned above.

 

I also usually let DS pick out something small but fun for himself... a themed pencil case, pencil sharpener, glitter pens, whatever.

 

Also, get a few extra colored pencils or markers or whatever. At that price, they are great to put in the Christmas stocking to resupply mid year, and also for school supply drives, Operation Christmas child boxes, etc.

[three4me]

Oh, I *love* back to school shopping, LOL!! We get pencils, erasers, colored pencils, paper, and everything else mentioned above.

 

I also usually let DS pick out something small but fun for himself... a themed pencil case, pencil sharpener, glitter pens, whatever.

 

Also, get a few extra colored pencils or markers or whatever. At that price, they are great to put in the Christmas stocking to resupply mid year, and also for school supply drives, Operation Christmas child boxes, etc.

 

What a great idea! Thanks :)

[Runningmom80]

I've been stocking up on school supplies my whole life. I will die with a storage unit filled with .15 notebooks. my children will fight over who has to go through mom's school supply closet. :lol:

 

 

Anyways, besides the notebooks, pencils, post it's, crayons and copy paper are my biggies. But really I buy it all. I have a sick obsession with paper.:tongue_smilie:

[txhomemom]

I don't always stock up on a lot of school supplies because we often run out of room, but the extras I tend to keep on hand:

 

whiteboard markers

regular markers

colored pencils

mechanical pencils

erasable pens

spiral notebooks

3 ring binders

highlighters

tape (you would not believe how much of this my artsy dd uses up)

scissors (can never have too many)

glue

clear sheet protectors (can use whiteboard markers on these)

post-its or little flags to mark books we are reading, workbooks, etc

arts and crafts materials like paint, construction paper, fabric remnants, yarn, etc

printer paper (I tend to get this at various sales throughout the year, by the box/case)

printer ink (I always seem to be running out)

 

Also, when my dd was younger I would get pretty colored paper to print various worksheets on, but we don't have as much of a need for this anymore.

[Halcyon]

Good ticonderoga noir pencils.

Blank 3ring binders.

Erasers.

Lined paper.

Comp books. We use these for writing, math and science.

Scotch tape.

[Gentlemommy]

Mechanical pencils

Pens

Crayole crayons (the off brands aren't as long lasting or vibrant)

Elmer's glue (it flows best)

Colored pencils

Composition note books

Paper (lined and printer)

Ink (printer)

Highlighters

Dry erase markers and crayons

Window markers

Chalk

Scissors (lots and lots, for some reason these always go missing)

Markers

Binders

Rulers

[Mommee & Baba]

When I first started on the journey of school supply shopping I went crazy. I went from cheap brands with lots of them to name brands in the stores to only 1 extra of each. Now I'm really working my list this year for a couple reasons. I don't like Crayola markers! We also have found the ticonderoga pencil love!! I'm tired of Dollar Tree pencils, glue sticks, & erasers!

 

I also purchase extra's of crayons, pencils, erasers, & glue sticks for my nieces and nephew that I toss in their Christmas package I send each year. I also put a new pack of crayons in Easter baskets as well as Christmas Stockings. The prices have been slowly going up each year though. I'm curious to see what the cost of things will be this year.

 

 

 

 

This year we're getting.....(bolded items are stock up items)

• Pronged Folders (much like a binder but less space!)
  
• 3-ring Binders (Only need a couple!)
  
• Drawing Paper
  
• Art Paper (for watercolor, acrylic, oils, & pastels)
  
• Graph Paper
  
• Pencil Zipper Pouches (I use them for busy bag things and put into a LARGE binder to keep the "bored" child busy)
  
• Dick Blick Erasers
  
• Crayola Crayons
  
• Dick Blick Colored Pencils
  
• Dick Blick Markers
  
• Dick Blick Pastels
  
• Ticonderoga Pencils
  
• Mini tri-fold boards (would like about 6 for projects)
  
• Printer Paper
  
• Cardstock
  
• Scissors
  
• Lined Paper
  
• Manila File Folders (for lapbooking)
  
• Printer Ink
  
• Tape! Tape! Tape!
  
• Spiral Notebooks (LOVE these!! My kids doodle, write silly stories, & play with them!)
  
• Composition Notebooks (LOVE these too!! My kids use these much like the spiral notebooks.)
  
• Dry Erase Markers
  
• Wet Erase Markers
  
• Dry Erase Board Spray
  
• Calendar (I want one for the house, the girls bedroom, & ds's bedroom)
  
• Stickers
  
• Glue Sticks (I would buy a box of 100 if I had a place to store them all!)
  
• Craft Glue (LOVE this stuff better than elmers school glue! But then again I have a CRAFTING house!)
  
• Elmers School Glue (for ds's school project needs)
  
• Post It's
  
• Index Cards
  
• Laminating Pouches (Amazon has best price for those searching! Can get a box of 100 for under $12.)
  
• Paper Clips
  
• Push Pins
  
• Headphones (Need to get another pair so all kids have their own set!)
  

[Pen]

pencils, erasers, extra graphites for mechanical pencils and paper, bookends: pencils get used, lost, broken, and paper, especially plain old white paper as for the printer gets used up pretty fast. Lined paper and graph paper, are not used up quite as fast. Bookends help hold things up that need to be held up, and I finally got a few more than I needed and was glad to have them for when they suddenly are needed.

 

Most other things I get when I need it--I would try to anticipate needs for the coming year and get that when it is less expensive if possible, but not big stocks of things.

 

 

We have a small house, and I have often found that things I thought we would need and stocked up on were never used, and just took up space--and turned out to be a wasted expense even if they cost less than when at full price--in fact I think all the kicking myself has been in the direction of why did I buy x just because it was on sale, and not, gosh I wish I had stocked up on x when it was on sale.

[DaffodilDreams]

Glue, pencils, composition books, tape, markers.

 

Next time I'm also stocking up on rulers. They seem to disappear around here.

[Jpoy85]

What do you stock up on?

I will stock up on everything pretty much! Except crayons. we have plenty! We need markers, colored pencils, pencils, glue, tape, grid paper, etc

 

When is it worth it to buy name brand?

Id say anything but crayons.

 

What DON'T you stock up on (maybe prices aren't much better?)?

I havent thought on this yet.

 

Where do you usually shop?

Walmart and Target

 

Any other helpful tips? Supply storage, etc.?

I have a cleaning caddy and a 3 drawer organizer i keep supplies in.

[Ohmomjacquie]

Oh goodness the crayons! Lol I bough 3packs last fall thinking they'd last a good portion of the year hahaha they were all snapped pretty quickly. I think I may buy like 20 boxes this year!

 

Construction paper

markers

Pencils (I have a beaver dog)

Glue sticks

Handwriting paper /notebooks

[Mrs Twain]

No one mentioned pencil boxes and plastic bins? I have a lot of these to try to keep things organized.

 

I buy most of my paper, cardstock, construction paper, art supples, etc. from Miller Pads and Paper at our convention, or sometimes online.

 

I always buy extra school supplies for my Operation Christmas Child boxes as someone else said. You can't beat the back to school prices on markers, pencils, erasers, etc.

[FairProspects]

Printer Paper!! (I can usually get enough to last us all year at Staples for about $10)

 

Colored pencils (one of the few time Prismacolors go on sale)

 

I probably need a few binders, but that is it! We finally have a lot of supplies after 3 yrs of homeschooling - I wish I could say the same about curriculum.

[heritagelearningacademy]

#2 pencils, index card (you would be amazed at the uses we have with these!), markers, colored pencils, crayons. I also get glue, glue sticks, highlighters, pens, loose leaf paper and 3 ring binders.

 

I tend to go to Staples for some of my things. For example, last year they had dollar days and sales when you purchased $10 worth of something you could get up to 5 index cards for 10cents a piece. I picked up my index cards, glue, pencils and sitcky notes REALLY cheap that way. I bought ink for my printer and just did separate purchases and they were cool with that. After several weeks of stopping in to do this with their different deals, they started looking forward to seeing what i would come in for! LOL

[RobinF]

 

What I've found I don't need?

Spiral notebooks, standard composition books, and notebook paper. Because my kids are almost 4 and 6 and I probably have 20 spiral notebooks tucked away in a closet. And guess what? Kids this age don't use that type of paper very often! :p

 

Also on my to-get list (but not stock up on):

grid paper (to use with c-rods)

some 3-ring binders

laminating pouches (if I can find them cheaper than usual)

highlighters

 

If you have a membership to Sam's or know someone who does Sam's has laminating pouches much cheaper.

[Mom2boys]

I've been stocking up on school supplies my whole life. I will die with a storage unit filled with .15 notebooks. my children will fight over who has to go through mom's school supply closet.

 

 

But really I buy it all. I have a sick obsession with paper.:tongue_smilie:

 

:lol::lol::lol: Me too!

[Cinder]

I stock up on paper, mechanical pencils, pens, crayons, spiral notebooks, index cards (my high schoolers use a ton of these).

 

I prefer name-brand for:

crayons

mechanical pencils (recent decision after bad experience with cheap-o brand)

wooden pencils

colored pencils

pens

 

I don't stock up on:

glue sticks (they dry out too soon even if unopened)

Oh, wait, I don't even buy glue sticks anymore. Dd has discovered the joys of double-sided tape.

 

Other supplies I end up buying several of (primarily for my private-school high schoolers):

poster board

double-sided tape

display boards

I pick these up when the local craft store has them half off or when I can use a coupon to bring the price down.

 

I get most of my school supplies at Walmart, some at Target. The extra stuff usually comes from Michaels or Hobby Lobby.

[My3Munchkins]

I hit Target and Walmart to stock up on crayons, pencils, glue sticks and glue. Most of it gets used but when I recently cleaned out our school closet, I found that we have a bunch of bottles of glue. I guess I don't need to buy any more!

[sandst]

Prices like those in the US make me drool. We do not get anything like that cheap even when the back to school sales are on End Dec. to End Jan.

 

:drool::drool:

 

A ream of A4 paper (100 pages) on sale is between US 6.00 to US 6.50.

 

A box of crayola (24 count, if you can find them) is US 2-5 dollars.

 

A small 2 prong (1 inch) file US 2-3 dollars...

 

Maybe I should stop converting prices. This really makes me sad. Sometimes I drool over stationary at Amazon.com (not necessarily the cheapeast) but shipping is also very high.

[Walking-Iris]

I do shop during back to school sales.

 

I try to stock up on:

glue sticks and bottles of glue and craft glue, basically glue. It's amazing how much glue they go through.

paper (notebook, drawing paper, rolls for the easel, printing, construction and composition notebooks)

markers (Sharpie, Dry-Erase and regular coloring markers)

pens

box of pencils

erasers and eraser pencil caps

hand held sharpeners (we have electric but I insist on the fine motor practice)

crayons

scissors

three ring binders

pocket folders

art supplies (paints and brushes etc)

pencil cases

 

 

I don't buy all of these things every year. My kids lose things, but being homeschooled they lose them a lot less often than if they had to keep up with things at a school I'm sure. We can also reuse things that weren't used up in the last year because again being homeschooled they don't care too much about the new factor and what other kids have got.

 

I also try to take advantage of any back to school sales as far as fall/winter clothing. Especially jeans and shoes and socks and underwear. Things outgrown or lost etc. Online curriculum stores like Rainbow Resource has sales too.

 

But usually I still find myself picking up things as we need them throughout the year.

[Critterfixer]

Pencils, binders and TONS of notebooks for my youngest book-writer. He'll go through one every two weeks.

I also tend to start hitting the hobby shops and purchasing art supplies, expecially paper.

[masaki]

There are only a couple of items that I'm picky about when it comes to brand.

 

1. Pentel's Hi-Polymer erasers-I was introduced to these in a drawing & painting class I took in high school. They are really great at not tearing paper or leaving marks behind. They're also handy if you use chalk pastels. I buy these all the time, usually at Target, never seem to go on sale though.

 

2. Ink refills for my beloved Parker pens. I've had the same two, one on my desk and one in my purse, for the last 15 years.

 

Other stuff I stock up on:

-dry-erase markers

-dividers with tabs for binders

-cardstock-I use these as dividers sometimes, but also for special printables.

-printer paper and ink

-binders-every other year or so, I like the 2 1/2"-ring ones from Costco

 

A previous poster mentioned socks and undies, we do this too. And, if I see a deal on iTunes cards, I pick one up. iPad apps add up.