Happy back-to-school season! As we get ready for the 2020-21 academic year, most students will be preparing for remote learning, whether their school schools are fully online or have a hybrid learning setup.
What does back-to-school shopping look like during COVID-19 remote learning? Here are some supplies you could pick up!
What You Need
- Bins or baskets to keep materials in.
- It’s a good idea to have a dedicated area for students to do their work in! Get bins for them to organize their supplies.
- If the work area needs to be cleared off at the end of the school day, students can store their materials in a bin or basket that they can pull out when they’re ready to get started again tomorrow.
- A planner or calendar.
- Using a planner or calendar is a great skill for students to develop at any time, but remote learning can make it a lot more challenging for students to stay on top of all the assignments and due dates that they have. Get a planner or calendar where they can write down their upcoming assignments, quizzes, and tests so nothing falls through the cracks!
- Planners can be purchased at stores, ordered online, or even printed out for free.
- Headphones or earbuds.
- Your student will probably have instructional videos and potentially full lectures or classes to listen to. Get them some headphones so that they can listen without being distracted by surrounding noises (and to keep the sound of their computer from distracting the rest of the family!)
- A comfortable chair.
- In a normal school environment, students get up and move around more often than they might if they’re working in front of their computer all day. If they have a comfortable chair that’s at the right height for their work surface, they’ll be able to focus better for the full day.
- Pens, pencils, and erasers.
- Even if a lot of students’ classwork and homework is typed, they’ll still need to write things down! Whether it’s writing out steps to a math problem or filling out a brainstorming diagram for a writing assignment, there’s still plenty to write by hand.
- Kids love to use a big, high quality eraser in addition to the ones that they have on their pencils.
- Loose-leaf paper
- Depending on the age of your child, they might need different types of lined paper. Younger students should have wide-ruled paper, while older students might need graph paper.
- You can also keep colorful construction paper on hand for art projects or study materials.
- Notebooks, binders, or folders.
- Without needing to carry papers to and from school every day, students might be tempted to let the papers they write on get scattered everywhere. Stay organized by keeping everything in notebooks and binders just like you would in person at school!
- Consider using different colors for different subjects or binder tabs to keep things separate
- A pencil sharpener.
- Your student’s classroom at school probably has a pencil sharpener that they would usually use. If they’re not using mechanical pencils, get them a small hand or electric sharpener so they can keep their pencils ready to go!
- Post-Its and notecards.
- Students can use these to take notes and study! Post-It notes can be used to jot down a quick note or mark a place in a textbook, and index cards can be used to study. Because it can be more challenging to stay organized and retain information when students are learning remotely, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to learn!
- Colored pencils, markers, and highlighters.
- These are great for every age level! Younger students can use them in art projects and creative work, while older students can use them to color code notes and study.
- Other things to consider:
- Pencil grips to help younger students hold their writing utensils correctly
- Ruler
- Mini whiteboard and whiteboard markers
- Protractor and/or compass for older students
- Glue stick
- Scissors
- Three hole punch (to keep everything organized in your binder!)
- Stapler
- Whiteout
- Stickers
If you’d like some support for your student’s academic coursework or test preparation, please give us a call! We are also introducing K-8 learning pods to help students meet the challenges of virtual learning.
