Despite our soul-deep love of summer and rock songs promising school is out forever, fall is soon to be upon us, and you know what that means: it’s time to put away the beach gear, sharpen your pencils, and head back to school.
The return of school also means the return of back to school shopping, the time when you hunt through supply lists and online stores to prepare your child for another year of learning (or, if you’re a teacher, to give your students the tools for success). Here’s a quick guide to back to school paper and cardstock supplies that parents and teachers alike will love.
Before You Begin Back to School Shopping
Before you commence back to school shopping, it pays to think about what school materials you actually need.
The best place to start is to think about the classes you’re looking at this year, whether you’re a teacher, a student, or (in the case of homeschool families) both.
Teacher supplies remain relatively constant throughout the year, since you focus on the same subject. An English teacher, for example, will need more writing tools and paper than a science teacher. Art teachers, on the other hand, will need a huge variety of paper for crafts. History teachers will need supplies relevant to their history topics, like maps to illustrate where historical events occurred.
Students, on the other hand, will be a bit more variable. They’ll need fresh notebooks, pencils, pens, and paper supplies based on the types of classes in question. They might need notecards for memorization in history, graph paper for math, and letter paper for English. With that in mind, take your child’s class list with you when shopping.
Homeschool supplies are unique in that they have to provide classroom supplies and student supplies–in other words, teaching implements and learning implements. To approach this problem effectively, look at the classes you plan on teaching your child this year and think about it from two sides: what they need to learn and what you need to teach. Fortunately, you only need to worry about one teacher and one student.
Plan Ahead
Once you have your schedule in hand, it’s much easier to plan ahead and shop for a large chunk of the year.
It doesn’t make much sense to buy supplies to last the entire year unless you’re a teacher en route to the teacher supply store. Frankly, this kind of bulk buying is pricey and inefficient when you’re one family and your student’s classes will change partway through the year.
Instead, take a look at the supplies you know your child will rely on the whole year and what supplies will only be necessary for part of the year. That way, you can get a limited quantity of the supplies you need for the fall and buy extras of supplies you need for the entire year.
Must-Have Stationery
With that in mind, what stationery does your student need? Making this list in advance will ensure you don’t miss anything (or buy supplies you won’t use).
Common stationery items for students include:
- Lined paper
- Blank paper
- Notebooks
- Folders and binders
- Pencils
- Pens
- Erasers
- Highlighters
- Post-It notes
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Tape dispenser
From there, you can add on essentials that are unique to each class. Here’s a look at some basics that you should invest in and a few extras that your student really can’t live without.
Hole-Punched Half-Letter Paper
 |
Hole-punched half-letter paper is the godsend of your school supply list. This is the paper your student will use on a daily basis to take notes, do their homework, and write tidy assignments for teachers. Once they start using it, they’ll wonder how they ever lived without it.
It’s also surprisingly difficult to find, especially pre-punched paper. Which is why we’re here to save your student the trouble of hole-punching all their paper manually. Our paper has a clean white surface in a durable 24 lb bond with 98 brightness. It perfectly fits standard 6 x 9″ three-ring loose-leaf binders and clipboards, but it’s also much more durable than standard notebook paper. The perfect choice for students who put their paper through its paces while flipping through their binder to take notes. |
Scrapbooking and School Art Supplies
 |
If you have a creative kid, you’ve probably already settled into the annual routine of art class. In other words, you’re well-accustomed to the deluge of art supplies that appear in your house in preparation for the fall.
This year, why not invest in supplies that your kids will love to transform into something beautiful? Even if your kid isn’t an artist but loves crafts, who says that school has to be boring? After all, kids spend most of the early stages of their lives in school, learning and creating and growing. Why not make it a fun experience by livening up their school supplies with crafts they enjoy? |
A great way to marry learning and creativity is scrapbooking, transforming your kid’s regular old supplies into a memory they’ll treasure (and a fantastic study tool, to boot). Our 8 1/2 x 11 pastel cardstock and 11 x 17 pastel cardstock offer the perfect canvas for your child’s creativity, available in colors such as:
- Peach
- Green
- Goldenrod
- Gray
- Orchid
- Cream
- Ivory
- Blue
- Canary
- Lilac
- White
- Tan
- Pink
Whether your child likes a subdued color to soothe them during the stress of the school day, something to brighten their afternoon when they’re a bit bored in class, or just a lot of colors to transform into their own piece of art, there’s cardstock out there for any child to appreciate.
Index Cards
 |
Index cards, much like lined paper and pencils, are a staple of the school year as the perfect vehicle for flashcards, a.k.a. the ideal study tool for students. But index cards are hardly one-size-fits-all.
We offer four types of index cards:
These cards are durable, the perfect choice for scribbling something down and making sure it holds up to a lot of handling. But you also have options for the type of note you want to take–you can reach for a classic notecard with horizontal blue lines, or you can reach for a notecard with vertical lines for a different approach. |
Educational Products
 |
Since you’re going back to school, now is the time to stock up on the educational products that will serve students well throughout the whole year.
If you’re a history teacher, for example, why not reach for 11 x 17 learning tool featuring all of the United States presidents? It’s easy to reference for students who are making their way through American history. History teachers (and parents with kids who love geography) will also love our USA map and our world map, complete with the flags of every state in the union and every country in the world respectively. |
Math teachers (or parents prepping their child for math class) will love this multiplication chart, a clean, easy to use table for toddlers, preschoolers, homeschool kids, daycare kids, and kindergarten students to start learning their multiplication.
Stocking Up for School?
When it’s time to head back to school, giving your student the right supplies is about more than making sure they have a pencil and notepaper–it’s about setting your student up for a year of academic success.
If you’re looking for some of the best back to school paper and cardstock supplies on the market, make sure to check out our online store. We can’t wait to help your child thrive in school this year!