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30 School Supplies to Make Kids' Back-to-School More Fun

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Going back-to-school shopping should be fun for students and adults alike, and there's nothing quite like a backpack stuffed full of fun and fresh supplies to get your little learners excited to head back to the classroom.

Here's our list of 30 must-have supplies your elementary or middle school scholars need to make back-to-school more fun.

Patterned Spiral Notebooks

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Surrounding your student with color can spark creativity and imaginatio, and even the most basic school supplies can be brought to life with a little color. These patterned spiral notebooks can help make learning fun for your middle school student. Amazon also offers wide-ruled notebooks for younger students.

A five-pack of assorted single-subject notebooks is ideal for the school year, with lined pages making it easy to take notes, write to-do lists and complete assignments. Spiral notebooks are an essential on every student's back-to-school shopping list, but you can change things up with colorful notebooks instead of standard, solid-colored ones.

Big Capacity Pencil Case

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Help your student keep note cards, pens, pencils and a variety of other small supplies and necessities organized in a large capacity zipper pencil bag. The EASTHILL pencil pouch comes in a variety of colors and patterns and is geared toward middle school, high school and college-aged girls.

Storage space for 50 pens/pencils and other gadgets as well as a sturdy carrying handle make this the ideal storage accessory for students. It can even double as a makeup bag or travel case for personal items. Your student has a number of supplies to keep up with during the school day, but a big capacity pencil pouch makes it simple to keep the essentials organized and easy to find.

Fine Tip Pens for Bullet Journaling

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Bullet journaling is the latest trend in personal organization and provides a flexible planning and time management tool for students. A set of colorful fine tip pens is a must-have for any student with a bullet journal or other personal planner.

This set of 18 vibrant marker pens allows your middle school student to express their own personal style and creativity. Quick-drying, water-based ink won't bleed through pages and adds a pop of color to bullet journals, daily planners, notebooks, artwork and more.

Ergonomic Pencil Grips

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Learning to write can be a challenge for preschool and elementary-aged children. The Crossover Grip was designed by doctors, tested by kids and approved by parents to help children learn to hold pens and pencils ergonomically while writing or drawing. They are a fantastic aid for handwriting development.

Pencil grip writing aids give children more hand control and increase comfort while reducing hand fatigue. Regular use reinforces proper grips, correcting common handwriting problems like fist grips, thumb wrapping and fingers crossing over. Crossover Grips are ideal for both righties and lefties and will help improve your child's handwriting.

Freezable Lunch Box

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Freezable gel built into the walls of this lunch box means that lunch stays cold without the need for extra gel packs or ice packs. The PackIt Freezable Lunch Box collapses flat for storage in the freezer. Just pop the empty bag into the freezer overnight (at least 12 hours), and pull it out in the morning to keep food the perfect temp until lunch time.

This classic lunch box is the only horizontal lunch box with patented cooling technology and is large enough to hold an entire meal plus a 12-ounce drink. The top-load design makes it simple to pack, and a kid-friendly zipper locks in cold air, so you can rest assured no food will spoil during the school day.

LED Stick-Anywhere Locker Light

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Homework, school supplies and must-have essentials can no longer sink into the dark abyss of your students' school locker when it's equipped with a bright LED locker light. These battery-powered, space-saving and motion-sensing locker lights illuminate the entire locker and automatically turn on when the locker is opened and off after 15 to 30 seconds of inactivity.

Stick these lights anywhere inside the locker with super-strong, 3M double-sided adhesive pads, or use the built-in magnet for metal surfaces. Each light requires three AAA batteries and lasts up to 10,000 hours.

Cute and Colorful Washi Tape Set

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Washi tape is an easy, inexpensive way to liven up lockers, school planners, books and more. This thin, decorative paper masking tape is made of natural fibers and comes in hundreds of colors and patterns.

Washi tape sticks to a variety of surfaces, including wood, paper, plastic and metal and is easily removed without leaving sticky residue or causing damage. It's perfect for journaling, planners, books, calendars, vision boards and more. Encourage your student's creativity to run wild as they personalize their school supplies with cute and colorful designs.

Stackable Finger Crayons

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Coloring has never been more fun for little ones! Finger crayons are adorably pint-sized and specially shaped for little hands. These popular finger crayons come in 12 colors. They can be held with a palm grip or put on finger tips for coloring and are non-toxic and completely safe for kids.

Early education teachers and parents love stackable finger crayons for little ones who are practicing their fine motor skills. Not only are they ideal for young children developing creativity and artistic skills but, when coloring time is over, these stackable crayons double as building blocks to spark ingenuity and intelligence.

Erasable Highlighters

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It happens to everyone — you highlighted too much, or you used the wrong color. Fortunately, erasable highlighters mean these mistakes are no longer a problem, making taking notes and studying even easier.

FriXion Erasable Highlighters are made by Pilot, a trusted brand in ink pens for decades. They write like a highlighter, but errors and mistakes are easily erased without leaving holes in the paper. Erasable highlighters make highlighter mistakes a thing of the past, so students can take notes, complete homework and edit papers worry free. Highlight, delete and repeat!

Inspirational Lunch Box Notes

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Adjusting to spending the day without mom or dad nearby can be a struggle for young students. By slipping a note into your child's lunch box, you can give your little one a sweet reminder that you're always near.

Brighten your student's day with a loving note or inspirational message with these customizable lunch box notes. Alternatively, use them as a gift card by attaching them to a child's birthday gift or as a little note to say "thanks" when returning a borrowed item. Inspirational lunch box notes are a must-have for every parent.

Fashion Notebook Binder Dividers

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These insertable fashion dividers add a pop of color to a school essential. The big tabs on Avery binder index dividers are larger than the standard divider tabs, so they're easy to see. The sturdy pockets hold loose papers in place, and the dividers' assorted designs are fun yet perfectly practical for daily use by students.

Each divider is made of durable, tear-resistant plastic, so they won't wear down and need to be replaced midway through the year. For a clean and professional look, free templates and fonts are available on the Avery website to design and print in minutes. Organization can be both fast and stylish with fashionable dividers that are great for school, home or the office.

Desktop Calculator

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A calculator is a handy tool every older elementary and middle school student needs. Sure, there are plenty of basic black calculators available, but a sleek, colorful desktop calculator can make math a bit more endurable for any student. (If your student is in middle school, check with their teacher to find out if a graphing calculator is required.)

While your student's cell phone has a calculator app, some teachers do not allow mobile phones in class. Even if your student is allowed to have a phone in class, pulling it out during math class may be more of a distraction than a help. A desktop calculator is an affordable solution to help your child complete basic math problems.

Waterproof Name Labels

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Parents have a love/hate relationship with name labels, but they're a necessity if you have any hope of keeping track of school supplies throughout the school year. Durable adhesive backs make these labels long-lasting, and they are even dishwasher safe!

Label all their things — pencil boxes, notebooks, clothing, water bottles, lunch boxes and more — with self-laminating, waterproof, write-on name labels. No lifting, peeling or smudging. Pro tip: Use a fine-tip black permanent marker to write your child's name and wait for the ink to dry before applying the label.

Beast Box Pencil Case

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This playfully-designed pencil box features an adorable friendly beast your little monsters are sure to love. The ZIPIT Beast Box pencil case is lightweight yet durable enough to protect up to 60 pens and pencils, and parents love that it's machine washable and comes with a lifetime warranty against manufacturer defects.

ZIPIT's award-winning softshell Beast Box series takes pencil storage to a new level. The zipper is kid-friendly and reliable, so it's guaranteed to stay closed once it's zipped up. Beast Box is designed to maximize space and doubles as a storage box for craft supplies and other small gadgets.

JanSport SuperBreak Backpack

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JanSport is an original backpack brand name. For more than 40 years, parents have trusted JanSport for comfortable, durable backpacks to help keep students of all ages organized. The JanSport SuperBreak is the ultimate classic backpack for everyday use.

The SuperBreak is available in more than 30 colors and prints, so students are free to express their own personality and style. This ultralight backpack is just the right size with one roomy compartment for books and other larger items and a smaller handy front pocket. It;s exactly what you're looking for in a book bag: durability, functionality and versatility!

Washable Book Covers

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Avoid fees for damaged textbooks and keep books clean and protected with stretchable book covers. As a bonus, these durable book covers made of premium quality material are even washable, so simply toss them in the wash when they start looking dirty.

These textbook covers are ideal for medium or large books, and the packs of seven they come in offer a variety of bright colors, including teal, orange, blue and red. Each cover includes a ribbon bookmark, and the set comes with a pack of 12 stick-on labels.

Hard Graphing Calculator Case

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A graphing calculator isn't a school essential anyone wants to replace. At more than $130 a pop, it's worth a little extra to give that calculator another layer of protection. This Guerrilla sliding graphing calculator case fits the TI-84 Plus as well as the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition and TI-89 Titanium calculators.

Made of high-quality, non-breakable plastic, Guerrilla's patented hard slide cases provide the ultimate protection for a graphing calculator. Choose from a selection of bold colors and cool designs that will help your child will stand out from the crowd with a unique calculator case that makes math fun.

Waterproof Wet/Dry Bags

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Keep sweaty gym clothes separated from clean clothes with a waterproof wet/dry bag. Each of these Angel Love wet/dry bags contains a leak-free section for dirty or wet clothes or swimsuits and a zippered dry section for clean items.

These bags are compact enough to fit inside a student's backpack or gym bag yet big enough to hold wet gym shorts and a shirt plus a clean change of clothes. Wet/dry bags are often considered an accessory for a baby's diaper bag, but now they provide the perfect solution for toting damp or dirty clothes to and from school.

Clear, Washable Glue

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Say goodbye to the white, slimy mess you remember growing up and give kids Elmer's clear, washable glue instead. Perfect for projects and great for home or school use, this non-runny glue is formulated to go on and dry clear, creating less mess.

Elmer's washable clear school glue is non-toxic and adheres items to paper, wood, cloth, pottery and more. This clear glue also provides the ideal transparent base for glue slime. Just add color to make your own custom slime.

Personal Pack Travel Tissues

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You can never have too many tissues for your school-aged child. Schools are a haven for uncovered coughs and sneezes. Kleenex Trusted Care On-The-Go Packs contain 10 durable, absorbent three-ply facial tissues to lock in moisture, cover sniffles and sneezes and wipe messy faces.

Be well prepared for cold and flu season with travel-size tissue packs that are small enough to fit in a backpack or a student's pocket. Each pack is designed with stylish packaging and an inspirational message to push through the day.

Locker Lock Set Your Own Word Combination

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Grabbing a book out of their locker shouldn't leave students feeling like they're cracking a secret code. The Master Lock set your own word combination padlock is designed specifically for indoor use with school and gym lockers in mind, and the four-letter word combos provide sufficient security to keep items inside the locker safe.

Setting their own word combination will make it easy for kids to recall the combo and access their stuff. Plus, grip points on the colored dials make it even easier for students of all ages to accurately enter the word combination.

Magnetic Dry Erase Fridge Calendar

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Soccer games, drama practice, play dates, parent-teacher conferences—juggling school year activities for children can be a real headache. Keep everyone on schedule and organized with this dry erase magnetic fridge calendar . At the end of the month, just wipe it down and start fresh so everyone in the family knows what's coming up in the new month.

Use this calendar to teach kids smart habits like getting organized and always being on time. No more questions about what's on the agenda in the days ahead. A simple whiteboard calendar is just what you need to keep everyone on the same page, so you'll never miss an important date or activity again.

Stainless Steel Water Bottle

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It's always tough to get kids to drink enough water, but staying hydrated is trendy with a stylish stainless steel water bottle. Keep cold drinks icy cold and hot drinks hot with a S'well insulated water bottle. The 9oz bottle is the perfect hydration accessory for kids, while adults may want to purchase the 17oz or 25oz size.

No more soggy notebooks! The S'well triple-walled construction is condensation-free, so hands stay dry and there won't be any worry about books, homework and other papers getting soaked by a water bottle in the backpack.

Fidget Cube Desk Toy

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Kids who are stressed, suffer from anxiety, ADHD, sensory-processing disorder or are on the autism spectrum can have difficulty focusing during the school day. The CHUCHIK fidget cube has six unique triggers to keep the hands busy and less distracted in class and is small enough to slip into a pocket.

A fidget cube is designed to help kids and adults release energy, increase concentration and reduce stress. Give your students the tools he or she needs to be successful. Even teachers will notice a difference in your student's attention and focus.

Volume-limiting Headphones

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Students can relax and unwind during the to-and-from school commute without blowing out their ear drums with a pair of volume-limiting headphones. Created for kids ages three to seven, the LilGadgets premium headphones are stylish, durable, padded and lightweight.

LilGadgets headphones are quieter than adult headphones and offer passive noise reduction to help kids block outside noise, allowing kids to hear sounds at a lower volume. Plus, the included SharePoint technology allows you to connect multiple headphones to one device, no splitters needed.

Twistable Colored Pencils

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No pencil sharpener needed! These game-changing colored pencils are perfect for drawing in the classroom, at home or on the go. Crayola's Twistable Colored Pencils are ideal for drawing fine lines and coloring detailed pictures. Simply twist up to color, and twist down to protect pencil tips when not in use.

Each pencil in this colorful set has a plastic barrel to help prevent damage to the pencil's color core. The pencils' break-resistant plastic barrels are easy to grip, and their transparency makes it's easy to see how much colored lead is left.

Portable Phone Charger

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"My phone was dead" will never be a valid excuse again with the Anker PowerCore portable phone charger. Avoid the stress of calling your child's phone only to have it go to voicemail with a mini portable charger that's perfectly sized to juice up an iPhone or Android.

This high-capacity, high-speed charger contains enough power to provide at least one complete charge for any phone. It's slim enough to fit perfectly into a backpack or pocket and is the perfect tech accessory for any child or adult with a cell phone.

Bento Lunch Box

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Paper lunch sacks are a thing of the past. Yumbox bento box lunch boxes are divided food containers that allow you to pack a variety of your child's favorite foods. Dips, crackers, fruit, sandwiches ... The Yumbox lunch box container is colorful, lightweight and kid-friendly.

The Yumbox comes with a removable compartmentalized tray with five sections, each sealed individually by the lid to prevent leaking or spilling. Yumbox also encourages healthy eating and a balanced diet — each section holds a half-cup portion, a perfect size for young kids. Pack the bento box inside an insulated lunch box or bag with an ice pack to keep food fresh and cool.

Academic Daily Planner

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A daily planner is a must-have for all students once they reach middle school. Choose this dated blocked calendar with individual day spaces for jotting down assignments and monthly calendar views for helping to remember important dates. The resource pages provide a quick reference source for English, math, social studies and geography, and colorful stickers make staying organized fun!

Getting into the habit of using a planner teaches kids the importance of organizational skills, neatness and punctuality and helps them plan ahead and stay on task—all valuable habits to develop as they grow into successful students and adults.

Felt Letter Board

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Create motivational messages, celebrate milestones, write daily reminders or practice spelling words with this decorative 10-by-10 letter board. It comes with more than 600 characters you can use to write a new message every day to encourage your little learners to be their best.

Felt letter boards are a fun and easy way to post an inspirational quote, display a schedule or make an announcement. A 10-inch square is also the perfect size for your student to mount inside his or her locker to keep the inspiration flowing during the school day.

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