The School Supplies Teachers Buy for Their Own Kids

Highlighters are really helpful for notetaking. Since everything mini feels more fun, I like the classic and well-designed mini highlighters from Stabilo.

For a budget-friendlyandergonomic approach, I always have a supply of mini golf pencils on hand. The lack of eraser is purposeful in my work with students and my own children: I like them to focus less on perfection and more on the process.

I can safely say that buying a pencil pouch for your child — or, better yet, asking them to choose one) is the highlight of back-to-school shopping. There are so many options for every kind of kid. From a teacher perspective, I’d just keep in mind that some may border on distraction, and those may be worth avoiding. Personally, my favorite is the classicpencil-shaped pencil case.

I always suggest having a large stash of mesh bags on hand to help children organize their tools.

Gandhi advises, “Label everything so that it all comes home. I have usedMabel’s Labelsfor years. If you have multiple children, just buy one that says your last name so that you can use them — and the things they’re stuck to — for siblings down the road.”Name BubblesandLabel Daddyalso get rave reviews from teachers.

For clothes, I use a self-inking name stamp. The ink has survived many, many washes, and my kids love adding it to any new clothing.

I use these sparkly, waterproof name labels on my children’swater bottlesandlunch containers. They’re durable and cute. The pack of stickers has lasted my older daughter’s lifetime (seven years), and I still have many more left.

My family really likes Brother’s simple label-maker, which gives my elementary-age daughter independence in creating labels, deciding where her pencils, notebooks, and erasers will all live, and organizing as such. Start the new school year off with a pledge to keep spaces at home tidy and accessible.

For a more upscale label-maker — e.g., Bluetooth, which is nice to sync to your phone but may require more parent involvement to hook up — try this model.

Another time-related purchase that I can attest really helps kids settle into their routines:analog watches. Nothing fancy, nothing digital, but wrist watches that (1) teach your children to tell time, and (2) help them begin the slow (very slow) process of understanding how time works. It’s a challenging concept, and one that can be slow for children to understand, but consistent, applied practice really helps. For many children, learning to tell time and establishing a sense of when school begins, when they’ll eat lunch, and when they’ll see a grown-up at pick-up can be comforting and empowering, which helps to quell any school-related worries. FlikFlak, Swatch’s watch line for kids, makes great watches for those just learning to tell time, as doesTimex’s Time Machine line.

I try to anticipate a rough few weeks for my children right before and after school starts. Most teachers I spoke to agree that starting school, even if it’s somewhere familiar, is a big transition. The upheaval to a summer routine and the adoption of a more stringent fall routine can be hard for young children in particular.

I really like personalized checklists or calendars to help children understand their routines and the associated expectations. Visuals help children who don’t yet read, and for those who do, they can be more independent with it and create the routine themselves. There are many options to choose from online, but you can also make your own.

Hoos says that after 15 years in education, she has become much less interested in buying children things that are explicitly “educational” and much more interested in buying materials that align with who they already are. She notes, “The best learning materials are often the ones that make kids feel seen.” So she recommends finding aplannerthat reflects their interests, like this sports-themed planner for her nephew. “At 13, organization is becoming increasingly important. I’d love for it to be a place where he can track assignments alongside practice schedules, game stats, and team information. Middle-schoolers love autonomy, and connecting executive-function tools to their interests can be really powerful,” she says.

This all-in-one kit comes with a dry-erase board and markers, magnets, a mirror, and a pencil cup.

Locker shelves are helpful tools that sit at the bottom of a locker so kids can more easily stack and store rain boots, gym shoes, books, and more.

Campoli recommends the Patagonia Refugito backpack for elementary-age kids. The chest strap is key so they can carry it themselves without it slipping off their shoulders.

You can also find chest straps on Amazon. I just ordered some myself for my daughters’ L.L.Bean backpacks.

Meanwhile the praise Campoli heaped onto Planet Boxe’sDay Tripper Snack Containerprompted me to immediately order two for my own kids. “They’re also really nice on the weekends,” she wrote to me, “because my children have a somewhat Pavlovian response to the little tins at this point. I pack them up for weekend trips, like I would for the school day, and hand them their morning snack and assure them that later in the day they’ll get their afternoon tin, just like at school. It (sometimes) stops them from incessantly asking for snacks.”

Williams is a big fan of Packit’s freezable lunch bags that fold flat, so you can pull them straight from the freezer each morning, pack them, and know your children’s lunches will stay cold all day — no ice pack necessary. “Sometimes when my kids come home after a full day, the leftovers I sent (that went uneaten) are still cold,” Williams says. This lunchbox also came recommended by at least five other teachers I spoke to.

Other teachers — including me — love this PlanetBox lunch bag. It fits Bento boxes perfectly and also has two front pockets, one of which can fit a thermos or a water bottle. They’re also easy enough to wash (though by hand only), which is important to keep in mind because, wow, do these lunchboxes get smelly.

The L.L.Bean Flip-Top Lunch Box is a good option for those who aren’t doing the four-course bento-box route. It’s durable, easy to clean, and has a nice strap and handle for children to wear or carry.

One is a friendship necklace that Megan Burton, a middle-school dean in Los Angeles, bought for her children, one of whom is heading off to kindergarten. “I’m off in the summer, so we haven’t been doing many camps. Instead, I’ve been trying to give them some classic summer-camp experiences at home,” Burton says. “We’ve made friendship bracelets, done sand art, and had a ton of water play, but I think the highlight of their summer was an afternoon trip to the mall to pick out BFF necklaces. It warmed my heart that they chose them on their own!” Whether it’s for your child and a friend, siblings, or for you and a child, these necklaces can be a sweet memento as they enter the new year, and a reminder of a special someone waiting for them after school.

Another token to stock is a fun pad of paper to write notes on for your child’s backpacks or lunches, whenever you find the chance. Since I don’t overlap with my children for very long in the morning — I’m also onmyway to school — leaving behind a note every few days eases the pain of missing those interstitial moments, for both me and my children. I’m a sucker for anything dachshund-themed, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so I’ve gotten these. But there are many options to choose from!