A Back to School Tip from Mom: Restock your Homework Center

In my 15 years as a Mom, I've learned the hard way that "Back to school" supply shopping should include restocking the items you may need duplicates of at home.  There's nothing worse than that last minute rush to the store after dinner to get a piece of poster board or more printer ink.

These needs can vary greatly based on the age and grade of the children.  To help her decide what she needed rather quickly, my mom always just bought duplicates of anything we didn't have at home from each supply list provided by the school.

Don't forget about the computer related supplies as your child gets older.  A printer that doubles as a scanner /copier can be a complete "lifesaver" when your child forgets something at school.  You can copy notes from a missed day of class or even that forgotten workbook page or homework sheet.

My homework center supply suggestions include:

Crayons, markers, colored pencils, glue, tape, glue dots, black pens, #2 pencils, a pencil sharpener, erasers, a compass, a protractor, calculator, highlighter markers, poster board, construction paper, a ruler, scissors, loose leaf paper, graph paper, some report covers, file folders, index cards, a hole punch, paper clips, various sized envelopes, labels, post-its, a printer/scanner/copier, a computer, printer paper, printer ink, & a usb flash drive.

If you have a dedicated space, a white board and/or bulletin board for tracking homework assignments and permission slips can be really helpful too.  (Be sure to get dry erase markers and/or thumb tacks for those.)

Consult our Back to School Guide and Back to School Gear Category for specific product suggestions.