Must Have Back To School Supplies

Back to school supplies are the cause of 90% of Back to school stress! Okay, that is not actually a legitimate statistic but I am still sure it is accurate. We are often asked why do we need to buy all these supplies. I often wondered why my teacher requires 4 boxes of tissues from each child in the class, Then I attended a reading morning and got to personally view the children “using” the tissues. Let’s say all those tissues ARE indeed justified. Let’s not forget the kid who was licking all the glue sticks, yep he munched down on 4 whilst I was there. Here is a quick list of the basic Back to school supplies you are going to need. We added some great buys found at the Dollartree. This doesn’t have to be expensive just shop around and don’t panic buy the day before it is back to school.

Only $1 at DollarTree

Plastic Sentiment School Stationary Boxes

Crayons
Colored pencils
Washable markers
Pencil sharpener
Erasers
Glue sticks
Blunt-tipped scissors
Backpack
Lunchbox or bag
Highlighters
Ballpoint pens
Erasers

$1
Jot “Big Mistakes” Jumbo Erasers

Glue sticks
Washable markers
Book covers Plastic folders
Assorted construction paper
Wide-ruled notebook or pad
Colored pencils

No. 2 pencils
Ruler

Learning numbers actually involves a few different skills, from recognizing the shape of the number and knowing the word that goes with it to understanding one to one correspondence for counting and what order the numbers go in.

A lot of this is learned best through play and activities that get kids counting and tracing and otherwise interacting with numbers. These activities can help.

I specifically mentioned tracing above because of these number formation rhymes cards from Teaching Mama, which can be used in lots of ways to practice making the shapes of the numbers, including tracing, lining up items on the number shapes (and counting them!), using playdough to shape the numbers and so on. Each number has a little rhyme to help you remember how to make it, which is cute.

And speaking of playdough, you can find lots of playdough number mats with different themes for kids to use as they learn about numbers. Preschool Play and Learn, for example, has these cute apple themed ones that also teach one to one correspondence as you learn the numbers and count to 10.

Or use these tree-themed ones from Live Over Cs to form the numbers, count out items on a ten frame and place the correct number of items in the tree to match the number (do this with playdough, little buttons or whatever manipulatives you have on hand). Your little builders will also love these Duplo number mats from Life Over Cs, which allow you to shape the number out of blocks and count out the number of blocks that corresponds to each number.

I also love these mats from The Savvy Sparrow that include the number and the word you can trace with playdough or marker, showing how to count the number on your fingers, a tens frame and a number line.

Finger plays and counting songs are lots of fun for little ones, too, and Childhood 101 has a great collection of songs and rhymes having to do with numbers (as well as printable song cards you can use with them.

This cardboard roll number chain form Hands On As We Grow would be a fun addition to singing number songs or to use in other play and counting games. And we all love something easy to make with stuff we already have.

Older kids who already know the order of numbers can also use these connect the dot number printables from Fun Learning for Kids. Or use the shapes for playdough mats or to practice tracing even for kids who don’t know all the numbers in order yet.

Have you read?