School is around the corner for most of us, while some have already started. For me, I'm starting in five days... :( Either way, we've all had to buy supplies or rummage around in our closets to find school supplies from last year. I went to Staples and purchased the "necessities" to survive in school, even though I am 100% confident I could pass my classes without most of these things. But, without further ado, here are the things I think you WILL need to pass your classes and go to school without lugging things around in a too-big-for-you backpack.
1. A notebook
This sounds like an obvious thing, as do many on this list, but it's SO important. You want to have a notebook ready at all times to take notes, as well as have them to study from. A notebook is a much better solution than scribbling on a piece of loose leaf you found in the hallway, then throwing it out when you think that those notes won't come in handy later on.
2. A binder
Again, an obvious one. You'll want to have this to put handouts in, (teachers LOVE giving handouts, at least in my school...) loose leaf, notes, and anything else that may be important.
3. Plastic dividers
I highly recommend these because they are perfect for dividing up your classes or sectioning off units for one class. It'll keep all of your papers organized and look a lot neater. But, I would suggest buying a bunch of these- since they are plastic, they do break (as do the cardboard/paper kind).
4. A pencil case
Ok, this is a must. Don't just throw pens and pencils into your backpack; they'll stay at the bottom until you clean it out at the end of the year. Having a pencil case will ensure that all of your writing utensils will stay in one place and be easily accessible. Also, you can put extra index cards, post-its, highlighters, whatever supplies you need for math (like a graphing calculator or a compass) in there as well.
5. A planner
When I was in elementary school, they'd give every student the same agenda/planner on the first day of school. Obviously, they didn't do that for middle school or high school, but I'd recommend continuing to write homework/assignments down in a planner every day. This helps me so much; it makes a huge difference. I've seen kids write their assignments on their hand, on their iPhone, or a scrap piece of loose leaf. That is a little disorganized to me, and I find it helpful to have all the assignments in one place.
6. Index cards
This is getting into how you like to study, but for me, index cards help a lot, so I buy them in bulk before the school year starts. Last year, right before finals, I ran out of index cards and for some reason couldn't leave the house to buy more, which was annoying and drove me crazy. I don't want that to happen again, obviously, so I bought 4 sets.
All of these suggestions I gave you are just that- suggestions. If you love writing your homework in your iPhone, do that. If you're ok with having papers floating around in your backpack, stick with that. These are just ideas to help you ease into the new year. I'm thinking of writing a new blog post soon on things you might need/want for high school (or middle school) that would be helpful to have in your locker- if you like that idea, email/comment! I hope this post was helpful... If you haven't started school yet, I'm there too, so I sympathize with you. But if you have, congratulations! The hard part of transiting into a daily schedule is over! I'll be doing that soon enough...
- Evangeline
