“Back to school.” Depending on whether you’re the parent or the student, these three little words are either met with anticipation or dread. While we can all agree that there’s nothing appealing about the sound of an alarm clock going off at dawn or the frenzy of the parent pick-up line, shopping for new school supplies is usually pretty fun for everyone.
While you can easily head to your local retail chain store and stock up on basics, unique school supplies help kid’s express their individual style and will put them in a class all of their own. This list of a dozen cool school tools, which includes scented pens, erasable crayons, and battery-operated locker lights, may actually make your kids excited about starting the new school year (or, at the very least, help soften the blow!)
Iwako Japanese Erasers In A Mini Bento Box
$5.71, YoYo.com
Even if your kids don’t ordinarily like cleaning up after themselves, we think these erasers will have them making an exception. Writing errors are wiped out with these Japanese erasers, which are also available in various other cute shapes, like tiny fruit and adorable animals.
Set Of 12 Color Dots Mechanical Erasable Crayon
$10.00, UrbanOutfitters.com
Broken crayons and coloring outside of the lines are a thing of the past thanks to these erasable mechanical crayons.
Leopard Calculator
ShopJustice.com
Math is fun! Okay, maybe not, but they’ll still have a blast keying numbers in on this ultra bright, glittery leopard calculator from Justice.
Smens and Smencils
PerpetualKid.com
Available in pens or pencils, Smencils might actually encourage your kids to do their homework, if only to get a whiff of sweet scents like Red Licorice, Creamsicle and Ninja Berry.
Notebook with 100 Elements
$20.00, UncommonGoods.com
This paper-filled notebook includes 100 colorful letters, numbers, and symbols buttons that can be used on the rubbery cover to write their name or create a special message all their own.
Inanimate Character Stickers
$4.99, ThinkGeek.com
Cutting and pasting is boring, unless your scissors and glue are smiling at you! With over 100 stickers in an assortment of expressions, there’s nary a dull moment when their supplies are covered in wacky, customized faces.
Locker String Lights
$15.50, PBTeen.com
Their locker is the one space in school that’s all their own, but if they keep it anything like they do their bedroom, they’re going to need a little extra lighting to quickly find their stuff between classes. Enter these super cool battery operated string lights (available in blue or pink), which will lighten up and liven up their lockers.
Lunch-Bot 5000
$34.00, The Land of Nod
If your student is into cool looking lunchboxes, this one will kick their bot. The easy to clean bag will get an instant reboot with a quick toss into the top rack of your dishwasher.
Blooming Bunch Pencil Case
$11.99, LillianVernon.com
This pretty personalized pencil case is the perfect place for stashing all of her girly essentials, like pens, pencils, and flavored lip balms.
All of Your Beeswax Backpack
$20.00, The Land of Nod
This backpack might just “bee” the perfect size for your preschooler or kindergartener, measuring just 10″ wide and 11.5″ high.
Aquanaut Mad Pax Backpack
$55.99, PerpetualKid.com
Available in a rainbow of colors, the Mad Pax backpacks are on point, with plenty of pockets and adjustable padded straps for a comfortable fit.
Glow-In-The-Dark Zombie Backpack
$24.50, HotTopic.com
For the high school student with a dark sense of style comes this Hot Topic exclusive backpack. It’s covered in glow-in-the-dark zombies (which may very well resemble their early morning peers) who look to have an insatiable thirst for…knowledge?
Which cool school supplies are on your child’s wish list? Let us know in the comments below!
