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It’s hard to ignore all the ads on TV, internet, and radio about all those wonderful school supplies every child needs to succeed.  Of course we aren’t fooled by all the hype the advertising agencies throw at us.  Yet, we do want to make sure our children have every advantage possible to get the best education they can.

It’s easy to just go to the store and purchase all the items we think our children need or they think they need.  But if you have students well into elementary, middle, or secondary grades you probably have unused school supplies still sitting on the shelves.  The reason for this may be:

1. You bought way too many items because of the great price.
2. You or your children bought into the hype and purchased items they never used.
3. You wanted to make sure your students didn’t run out of supplies causing a last minute run to the store.

Another source of leftover supplies is when you and your children are lured into wanting all their notebooks, backpacks, pencils, and lunch boxes with the current “fads” on them.  There is nothing wrong with buying some of these.  After all it is important that our children are enthusiastic about going to school.  The problem comes in when leftover supplies with last year’s fad is this year’s “dud”.  It could sit on your shelf forever!

If you’ve had this problem in the past there is an easy solution.  Buy only a few things with this year’s “fad” knowing the child may not use it next year.  If your budget is tight try to stay neutral with the more expensive items such as backpacks, lunch boxes/bags, zippered notebooks, etc.  Start out the new school year with one or two fad notebooks and/or other supplies. Stock up on the basic ones to be used later in the year.

As children grow older the required school supplies will change.  If you have a lot of unused and outgrown leftover supplies on the shelf consider donating these to a local charity that collects new supplies for underprivileged children.  It always feels good to help all children start off the school year right. After all, they are the future!

For more information on preparing for back to school check out these sites.

http://family.disney.com/back-to-school

http://childcare.about.com/od/behaviors/bb/backtoschool.htm

If you have any unique ways in which you shop for school supplies please share them in the comment section.

Thanks,

Janice