READY SET

SCHOOL! ELEMENTARY EDITION

GRADES K-5Get Educated about School Supply

Essentials

Tips

• Make a list for each child. Use previous years' expenses as a guide and compare notes with other parents.

• If your kids are old enough, put them in charge of online comparison shopping.

• Review the school's dress code so you don't waste money on inappropriate clothing.

• Learn what your school charges for meals and weigh their convenience (and nutritional value) against the cost of home-prepared lunches and snacks.

• Back to School is the second biggest consumer spending event and hit an all-time high in 2012. –$30.3 Billion

• $688 was the average spending for back-to-school clothing and supplies

• Back-to-school combined with back-to-college spending will reach: 72.5 Billion This Year

• Back to school shoppers are undecided–More than 1 in 4 compared prices online/mobile before –72% prefer to research what back-to-school supplies, electronics and apparels child needs

Hand Sanitizer

• Nearly 22 million days of school are missed annually due to the common cold

• A case control study of 6,080 schools reported that those who enforced classroom-dispensed instant hand sanitizer at specific times throughout the day experienced 20% fewer absences due to illness

A Sturdy Backpack

• Pick a backpack that has – Chest and/or hip straps and a padded

back, to decrease stress on the back and enhance comfort

– Has reflective material on the back, so that it can be seen at night

– Has many individual pockets, to distribute weight evenly

In the United States, 92% of kids carry backpacks that hold 10-22% of their body weight

Crayons• Kids, ages 2-8, spend

an average of 28 minutes each day coloring. – Combined, children

in the U.S. spend 6.3 billion hours coloring each year.

• The last official poll of people's favorite crayon colors found that blue was the most popular color followed by red. 

• The average child in the United States will wear down 730 crayons by his 10th birthday

• (or 11.4 boxes of 64's).

Safety Scissors

• Safety scissors are useful for crafting, creative assignments, etc.

• What’s great about safety scissors, is that they aren’t as sharp and powerful as “adult scissors,” which means less boo boos!

Scissor Safety on

Safety ScissorsScissors are sharp.

Caution should be taken when using scissors.Instruct children not to run with scissors.Store scissors so sharp edges are not exposed.Safely hand over scissors. Wrap hand around closed blades, handle up.Organize supplies to keep scissors out of children’s reach.Review safety guidelines each time scissors are used.

Scissors are a tool, not a toy.Adult supervision is always required when using scissors.Follow age recommendations – the right scissors for the right age.Exercise good judgment when using scissors.Tables are the best place to use scissors, with hands in plain view.Youth specific tools are great for building self-esteem.

Also…(For Creative Kids)

Glue Sticks

Ruler

Construction Paper

Some Facts About Creative Kids in

Elementary School• Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be

recognized for academic achievement and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school attendance.

• Arts and music education programs are mandatory in countries that rank consistently among the highest for math and science test scores, like Japan, Hungary, and the Netherlands.

• Researchers find that sustained learning in music and theatre correlates strongly with higher achievement in both math and reading.

• Multiple studies have concluded that curricular and extracurricular art studies and activities help keep high-risk dropout students stay in school.

Pocket Folders

• To transport all of the homework, artistic masterpieces, and creative writing brilliance your child makes home!

• It’s useful to color code your child’s pocket folders according to a specific subject –For instance:•Green= Earth Science; Yellow= Math; Etc.

Never Forget #2 Pencils & Big

Pink Erasers!Standardized testing usually requires the use of a #2 pencil. Do NOT have your child be without one!

A Reusable Water Bottle• Keep our children loving the planet! Especially during hot

months, a reusable water bottle makes all the difference. Keep these facts in mind:– In response to public concern, manufacturers have

developed BPA-free reusable water bottles.–When you use a reusable water bottle, you help reduce

the production of bottled beverages and therefore, the landfill and recycling burden of the bottles. –Buying and using a reusable water instead of bottled

water saves you money over the long term. • In fact, Greeniacs.com reports that bottled water can cost up to 10,000 times as much per gallon as tap water.

Shoplet is the leading purely online office supply retailer. Founded in 1994, Shoplet is one of the original e-marketplaces

We specialize in a variety of fields ranging from office supplies, Break Room Supplies, and cleaning and Maintenance Equipment.

SOURCES

• http://www.itsasnap.org/snap/statistics.asp• http://www.edudemic.com/2011/10/heavy-b

ackpacks/• http://union.k12.mo.us/clarkvitt/emints/pen/

school%20wq/Crayon%20Facts.htm• http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychi

ldhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=648• http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11

-facts-about-arts-education