Back To School Gift Guide 2018

Some tried and true items on the market and some brand new ones.  From a mom with homeschooling-college teens plus nieces and nephews in public school.  Check out some of the items the kids will be rocking this year.  All practical.  Some fashionable too.  This time of year is easily hectic so I try to shop online when possible.  Amazon is usually my go-to since they have 2-day shipping.  FYI- if you are a student and sign up with a student email (edu) than you can get Amazon Prime at a cheaper rate.  Right now you can get a 6-month free trial too.

 

Each year I collect things for my kids for their first day of school and I hide them.  Then the night before I put them out (one pile for each kid).  They get all of them, like a mini-gift-opening, on the first day of school.  Great way for them to have brand new school supplies.

 

Supplies For Students

 

There are some supplies that are universal.  Writing supplies, backpacks, lunch tins, etc.  I try not to spend too much on school supplies but I know right now is the right time to get things on sale.  I stock up for the whole year.  Items like notebooks are super low at office supply stores, sometimes 1 cent each, so I will buy about 50 of them.   We usually have regular things, like pencils and pens, but if there is a good sale I’ll buy those too.  I buy my son erasable pens since he has poor penmanship.  The balls roll easily so he can write efficiently.

I love these backpacks from Speck for the kids.  They needed bigger, more durable ones this year, without being too bulky.  My daughter requested a backpack her laptop can fit in too.  Speck also has phone cases and other bags.

My son needed a backpack with fewer pockets but that would hold high school and college folders plus a laptop.  He likes the darker color too since he is often putting his backpack on the ground and other dirty places.

Academic Planner by Order Out of Chaos.  Love their name and all of their tools for time management.  This is the 2018-19 academic calendar.  Students can enter things by subject, time of day, day of week, to-do list, notes for the following week, long term projects etc.  I know most people use the calendars on their smart phones now but I still like being able to flip pages and see everything all at once and plan ahead.  This is great for high school and college classes.  Right now you can get it on Amazon for $18.99.  They have other supplies, like highlighters, accessories and free downloads.

Sometimes I think my kids are too old for scissors but they still have random assignments and projects where they need them.  I love these by Fiskars.  They are long enough for older kids, fit into the hand nicely and (not necessary but cute) have color-changing handles (from blue to purple). They are great for right or left handers too.  

This denim-looking lunchbox by VAYA is perfect for reducing trash in the landfill.  No plastic baggies needed and there is lots of storage.  It has a vacuum seal, is leak-resistant, stainless steel and has latches to hold everything locked plus a pop-up handle (folds down for storage).  Hot and cold food can both be placed inside it.   I love how small it is yet it holds so much.  I can store up to four different types of food without them mixing.  it even comes with a BagMat.

The whole lunchbox, taken apart.  Lots of storage for all sorts of meals ideas.

 

Having a reusable water bottle is important to stay hydrated.  Not only are plastic bottles bad for the environment but they aren’t healthy to drink out of if the plastic gets warm.  Plus who likes to drink warm water?  I love using metal drinking bottles and this one, by Pura, is insulted and a little smaller than the sports one so it will fit in a lunch bag or backpack easier. Available at Bixbee’s website, as well as duffle bags, animal packs and more.

 

If you have a kid doing an online program and needs headphones, or even has test taking at school and needs headphones, check out these by LilGadgets.  They are the Untangled Pro ones.  So no tangle cords (my son is notorious for how tangled he gets cords).  They work via BlueTooth and are designed for kids by limiting the decibel range to keep their ears safe.  These ones are white but they are available in six colors.

 

These are multi-purpose and so cute!  They look like cute bracelets but they are also hair bands.  Great for when you are out with your hair down but decide you want to pull it up.  Now you don’t have to have a hairband on your wrist or lost at the bottom of your purse.  They are made by Go Girl Design and come in a few styles and colors.  Each one has one bangle and three hair scrunchies and they have cute charms on them too.  These are great BTS gifts for tweens and teens with long hair.

 

Most people get their kid(s) hair cut before BTS and sometimes colored but don’t always plan for how their kids should take care of the new hair style after the cut.  I love these ColorProof products for all hair types.  The purple ones are are SuperPlump shampoo and conditioner.  The blue ones are TruCurl (great for my daughter’s super curly hair) shampoo, conditioner and anti-frizz oil.  They products are 100% vegan and sulfate-free, gluten-free and salt-free too and help create bouncy, frizz-free curls.

Check out this SmART Sketcher projector.  It has over 50 activities and kids ages 5+ can use it.  I like that it works with cell phones and includes a free drawing app or works with regular images.

 

 

Supplies; Outside The Box Thinking

For homeschoolers Lifepac is a great company to order from.  They have curriculum in all subjects, separated by grade.  You can order the whole year or just one subject.  I received a 12th grade homeschool curriculum kit for language arts and can’t wait to start using it.  It includes workbooks, a chapter book and teacher workbooks for grading papers.

Teachers are often asking for supplies for their classroom (in public schools) so why not shop SoftSoap products? I love how good their soaps smell and these ones are hydrating too.  Great for someone that washes their hands a lot.  The scents of these two are Cucumber Water & Mint and Coconut Water & Blueberry.  You can also buy Softsoap for their body wash scents.  Great for kids that want to smell good at school.

If you have a kid in an preschool class you might want to invest in some laundry detergent as a gift for the teacher.  I’m sure handprints of paint, dirty aprons and more show up in their laundry hamper every day.  Plus them washing smocks, rags and more.  I love being able to gift people products by HEX Performance.  They work on all clothing types (gym clothes, daily clothing, etc) are super green with biodegradable formula so they leave a smaller carbon footprint and they enhance fabrics to feel softer and retain color.  They even have a ‘spray and go’ so you can fight stains when you don’t have time to throw things quickly in the wash.  Orders over $25 get free shipping.  Use this direct link to receive an automatic discount through 10/1. 

Thermal-Aid Zoo are cute stuffed animals but are also heating and cooling packs.  Great for bumps, bruises, sore muscles and more.  Teachers can have them (or the mini’s) in the classroom to keep around for small boo-boo aid.  The relieve pain and are gentle cooling.  They have 8 regular sized animals plus an assortment of mini’s, and heating pads too.

Another great gift is this Avitae natural water.  It comes in a few flavors and has natural caffeine in them.  Great way to drink more water and have a little energy boost.  Love that it has zero carbs too!  It comes in 8 flavors and 3 unflavored with different caffeine levels and you can even get a discount from the ‘subscribe and save’ on Amazon.

Love both of these, for different reasons, by Quarto Knows.  The book is is full of quotes by remarkable women and girls.  Quotes from the 1800’s to mid 1900’s.  Harriet Truman, Lucille Ball and more.  A great gift for youths to start the year with confidence.  The calendar says 2019 but starts August 2018 so it can be used now.  It has stickers, goal journaling, large grids, to-do lists, positive messages and more.

Elmer’s has some new classroom products for children and teachers.  Glow in the Dark glue, 2-in-1 Dry Erase markers and mechanical papers for younger kids that are thicker for easier grasp.

Lovely Candy has an assortment of gluten-free, organic and gmo-free candy and chocolates.  They sent me Dark Chocolate Honey Patties in mint, cocoa and raspberry plus gummy bears, chewy candies, cherry licorice and lollipops. I love that they don’t have a lot of fake ingredients since they are organic.

I love this BTS swag bag kit from Arizona Teas.  They sent an assortment that is perfect for the first week of school.  Backpack, notebook, pencil case, lunchbag, pencils and sunglasses.

I love Brain Quest for so many reasons.  Homeschooling, extra learning, fun road trip conversations and when I used to substitute teach in public school I would use them when we had extra time in a class and I needed to keep the class occupied.  They loved them too.  The Everything You Need to Ace___ In One Big Fat Notebook come in a few topics and are great for middle school kids or for parents to freshen up on the subjects.  Great way to help with homework.  The last one, Star Wars Origami, is just an awesome Star Wars book.  I’m going to hide it and give it to my son, a Star Wars fan, for his birthday.

Other ideas for classroom supplies:

Boxes of tissue (for kids to blow their noses).

• Wet wipes.
• Crayons.
• Pencils.
• Hand sanitizer.
• Glue sticks.
• Manual pencil sharpeners.
• Construction paper.
• Safety scissors.
• Band-Aids.  I like the ones from Johnson&Johnson.  Having a variety of sizes is great for little boo-boos so kids don’t have to go to the school office.

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What other ideas do you have that parents, teachers or kids need for BTS success?