Peaceful Primary: Stationery Tips!

And with the uniform, also comes the stationery. Again, there will be some variations on this, so I'll note these as I go. I originally started writing this post for both primary and secondary students, but then realised that the post is way too long otherwise so I've split them up accordingly. In this case, the split is K-6/7-12 with some overlap.

Keep these points in mind:

-Some schools will either insist or provide parents with the option to purchase a "stationery pack" from the school. While this will provide your child with everything they will need for the year, this also generally has the issue of providing way too much for your child and as a result, you wind up with half a drawer full of unused stationery. If you can, definitely print out the list of items in the pack as it will come in handy. Price-wise, the pack is usually about the same or more expensive than the shops and you may be able to get a better deal elsewhere, especially if you have multiple children with similar needs or plan on purchasing some extras to use around the home.

-Some primary school teachers will provide certain items such as textas and coloured pencils as "group sets" (that is, if your child's classroom setup as them in groups of 4-6 students, there will be 2-3 tubs of pencils/textas for each group to use), but even if your child doesn't need these at school, I'd highly recommend purchasing a set for home use. The "class/group set" rule sometimes extends to pencils, pens and so on.

-Some public primary schools (this is still a very common practice) will also provide a stationery pack for your child on the first day, leaving it up to them (and you) to label everything. The only thing you really need to provide is a pencil case and book covers. This is usually covered as a part of your child's "materials and services charge" (some schools call this a "student contribution") but even if you are paying that fee off in instalments, your child will still receive a pack on your first day.

-And some schools will provide a stationery list for students, but leave it up to them for what to purchase.

So with those points in mind, I'll go down the list for each individual item and some general tips for each. I'll try not to name-drop brands, but if I do, please be assured that these are more because they're of a decent quality and are often used in schools for this purpose.

NOTE: throughout this post, I'll refer to some items as "licensed." What I mean by this is items that are themed around movies, TV shows, toys, novelties (i.e. "World Industries"), sports or similar. I am not referring to items with surf brands on them (i.e. "Roxy") or similar.

Pencil Cases:

• While it may be tempting to go cheap and get one of those tartan pencil cases or the fake leather ones (with the space for your child's name) like you see in newsagencies and some stationery shops, don't. Your child will get teased mercilessly for the tartan ones and they also often get used by teachers to store newsletters, communication books, readers or similar. The fake leather ones don't fit a ruler and tend to also be used by teachers for "small" items such as money. If your child does wish for the latter however, make sure that it's clearly identifiable as belonging to your child (i.e. child draws on it with fabric pens)
• Make sure that the pencil case can hold EVERYTHING. Do the "ruler test"-if you can fit a ruler in there, then it's OK. 
• For your child's sake, also try and refrain from purchasing any sort of "licensed" pencil case. They tend to be very cheaply made and it shows as they tend to split and break very easily. The novelty also does wear off quite quickly with those, so your child demanding that Barbie pencil case in Term 1 will be begging you for a Monster High pencil case by term 4.
• Barrel or tube-shaped pencil cases are not really recommended for primary school students unless they are large enough for items to be grabbed easily without needing to pull everything out first. The same goes for hard pencil tubes where the top or bottom of the cylinder opens up or shapes with a similar concept. Many of them also don't fit the "ruler test." 
• Twin Zip pencil cases are good in theory, but the second zip doesn't get used nearly as much. Keep this in mind. 

Pens:

• Unless schools explicitly state on the list to provide a red pen, try and keep it to blue or black only. If your child's school does ask for a red pen, question when exactly this is going to be used. Avoid any other colour pen (green or purple) as these are hard to read and don't scan well. 
• And on that note, please refrain from buying the cheap "Gel pens" in those colours. Pony up for a biro or other pen. Some companies use gel ink in their pens (such as Papermate) and these are usually fine. The ones where it becomes an issue are pens that look similar to these. 
• On a similar note, please avoid the large 10-colour pens, or any click pen with multiple inks in it. They're usually hard to hold (especially for younger children), the ink doesn't last in them and the parts in those pens tend to fail quite easily (they're also quite hard to switch between colours)
• I would also avoid any of the "Fineliner" pens or ones with a felt/plastic tip. If your child loses the cap, they DO dry out. Rollerball pens (i.e. biros and biros with gel ink in them) will not have this issue. If your child's school does ask for these, question if it's possible to have them as a "class pack" instead.
• Buying pens in the "bulk pack" (i.e. a packet of 10 or a box of 20) will also prevent pens going missing from around the house and save you having to buy replacements throughout the year. Some bulk packs will come with a mix of blue, black and red, others will come without the red and some will just be one colour only. 
• If you have a child who is prone to getting distracted or is a chronic fidgeter, avoid click pens where you can (simply put, if your kid is clicking their pen constantly, then it drives everyone else nutty) 
• Finally, try and refrain from giving your kid the huge thick decorated novelty pens (i.e. the ones that have a boxing kangaroo on top or have a fluffy thing in them) as the ink doesn't last in them and they can be quite distracting for everyone.

Pencils-Lead:

• This is one area where cost and buying in bulk are the key points to keep in mind here. 
• With perhaps one or two exceptions on brands, I would not recommend purchasing mechanical pencils for your child until at least Year 5, if at all. The mechanism for keeping the actual lead in place tends to break with a lot of them, they're also quite flimsy and long-term, they aren't as good value especially when the eraser runs out. The two big exceptions I would make are the Faber-Castell Tri Click/Grip Easy ones (they will automatically push the lead out for you rather than your child clicking it into place and the eraser is quite long, meaning it'll last a bit longer, plus they come with refills for both eraser and lead) and anything from the Staedler brand. 
• Most schools will recommend either a HB or 2B pencil for your child. There is a reason for this-they are the ones that will show up easily on paper and for the most part, don't smudge. The pencils on the H scale are often far too light to see and the B scale ones smudge easily. 
• Here, brand names are important-do NOT go for the cheap generic pencils (sold in places like The Reject Shop or Dollar King). They break very easily in the sharpener and don't write as smoothly. You'll be able to tell if they're the super-cheap ones by the sound they make on the paper. The super-cheap generic ones make a very obvious scratching noise (and in some cases will scratch the paper) while the brand name ones tend to be a little bit smoother. 
• Some newsagents and stationery shops will sell lead pencils individually. Try and refrain from purchasing these-it is much better value if they are purchased in bulk and a number of manufacturers will do this. 
• If your child is a lefty, Staedler do an Easyergo pencil for them to help them develop their pencil grip. Even if their stationery list says otherwise, I would strongly recommend purchasing one of these-your child's teacher will thank you. (and if they try and "beat" it out of them, get your kid out of that class (or school) pronto)
• Pencil grips are really not that necessary and tend to be a bit bulky. If your child is still developing their pen grip, it is worth just buying them a triangular lead pencil as it will encourage their fingers towards the right shape, whereas the pencil grips (as in the rubber ones that you buy separately) tend not to encourage little fingers especially if they're still using a fist grip.
• Pencils with erasers are good, but this isn't an excuse to avoid purchasing an eraser for your child. The most reliable ones are the white ones. 

Correction Fluid/Correction Tape:

• For primary school students, the absolute earliest I would introduce correction fluid into the classroom is around Year 5. Otherwise I would recommend putting it off until high school.
• If you are planning on introducing correction fluid, I would recommend the pen over the larger brush/foam wedge. The brush tends to clog up easily and drags fluid over the page, whereas the foam negates that issue. The pen however, encourages your child to minimise the use of the correction fluid unless absolutely necessary. 
• I would also recommend checking with the school first, as correction fluid is banned in many classrooms and schools for a number of reasons. 
• Avoid the correction tape-they are tricky to control and are best left until high school. 

Coloured Pencils:

• At the most for primary school, your child will not need anything more than perhaps a 24 pack of coloured pencils.
• Again, do NOT purchase the generic pencils and especially so if they are "licensed" pencils. Both the generic and "licensed" pencils do not last as long and the quality for the leads quite frankly sucks. They aren't as bright and the coverage doesn't last as long. There has also been a semi-recent issue where the licensed items were found to contain toxic materials, so buyer beware.
• Good brands for this are Crayola, Micador, Jasart, Staedler and Faber-Castell. If you really want to pony up for it, Derwent is also a good brand, but for school I'd suggest aiming for the Academy line rather than the Studio, Artist or Watercolour range. The Academy line is basically a rebadged Studio line for students who are on a budget (the Watercolour one likewise is the same). Try and avoid the watercolour pencils in primary school-if your child's work gets soaked, the colour does run. 
• As an absolute last resort, the only other brands I would recommend for pencils are the IKEA ones and anything from Lyra. I have actually road-tested these and they're quite solid. The Lyra ones do break if you are not careful, but provided they're well looked after will last you quite some time.   
• It is absolutely important that you label the pencils-if you do, the quickest, cheapest and most reliable option is to shave a section off the end of each pencil with a stanley knife and write your child's name in there. Do not use the "label" section on the pencils (the label tends to fade or wipe off) or stick labels on the pencils yourself (they fall off). The monogrammed pencils also tend to be of an incredibly cheap quality.  

Textas/Markers:

• No matter what your child tells you, Sharpies or permanent markers of any kind are not part of the school booklist at all. If your child claims otherwise, follow this up with the teacher and get it in writing that they need it. This will reduce the likelihood of your child later being busted for vandalism or some other issue. If they do genuinely need a Sharpie, hand it into the class teacher.
• Many schools have this tendency to provide, order or suggest the Texta Nylorite pens for both junior and upper primary students or a similar variant of these. I'm telling you now-these ones suck. If your child's teacher provides these, ditch them and replace them ASAP. For junior primary students, I would recommend any "triangular" or thick round marker, for upper primary students you can go a bit thinner. (think Crayola classic markers vs Connector Pens) 
• Try and avoid any of the really "gimmicky" textas such as the colour-change markers, brush tip, dual-ended (unless the dual-ended ones are the same colour on both sides and the nibs are not brush tip), or similar. The brush-tips tend to be really hard to control and are much more suited for home activities. Connector Pens are really the exception, but keep the "school" wallet to no more than around 24 at most. 
• Again the rule around cheap generic markers stands and they do run out MUCH quicker than brand name ones. The only real exception to this is again, the IKEA markers. I have road tested these and they are of very decent quality. 
• Make sure that the ink is either a) water-based or b) washable.

Highlighters (Middle School ONLY):

• Some primary school teachers do allow for highlighters, but generally this is an item only for middle school and above.
• Again, pony up for these ones as the cheap ones will fail quite quickly and easily. 
• The "gel" highlighters that are currently on the market are good up to a point, however suffer from that tendency of poor accuracy. While I would recommend these as they don't run out of ink (because there is no ink to work from, it's a gel "stick" of sorts, similar to a crayon), they do have their limitations. 
• At the most, your child should only need a yellow, green and either orange or pink. Most of the other colours are too dark to view easily. 

Erasers, Rulers and Sharpeners Oh My! 

I've put these three together as there's not a lot relating to these that warrant their own individual thread. 

• For an eraser, I would stick with a thumb-sized (your thumb that is) white rectangular eraser. These are often quite cheap to get hold of and can be worn down to a more controllable side over time for small details. 
• Eraser pen toppers are also a good alternative, but make sure that they are replaced regularly and are a simple shape. (such as a pyramid)
• Do NOT, under any circumstances, opt for a novelty eraser shaped like anything other than a "box." They're of poor quality, fall apart easily, do not erase very well and will get lost easily. Save them for collecting or playing, not for erasing. 
• I would also recommend removing the cardboard sleeve-it is not needed. 
• For rulers, the best ones are the 30cm rigid plastic or wooden rulers. Bendy rulers tend to get "stuck" within that bend after a while and as such, are harder to use. Keep them for home. Also try and avoid giving your child a 15cm ruler or ruler that is not 30cm long. 
• For sharpeners, I would highly recommend the "barrel" sharpeners over anything else. Aside from the fact that they aren't as messy (save for your child needing to empty the barrel every now and then), they also don't get lost as easily and apart from the cheap barrel sharpeners available at The Reject Shop or simiar, they don't break apart as easily. 
• Crank sharpeners tend to break pencils (even the ones marketed as "unbreakable") as they put a huge amount of stress on the strip of colour/strip of graphite. Electric sharpeners do sometimes do this but generally aren't too bad about it. Just make sure your child isn't going too crazy with the sharpener. 

Glue Sticks:

• The bane of teachers everywhere as the lids get lost easily, fluff gets caught in them and students overuse them. Many teachers still provide them, but will otherwise leave it up to parents to purchase them. 
• This will sound weird, but I highly recommend any of the ones where the glue goes on a certain colour but then dries clear (i.e. "Blu Stik"). They work wonders, especially if your child is unsure of where the glue actually needs to go or similar. 
• Unless your child's pencil case is quite small, I would also recommend the largest glue stick you can get hold of (currently it's around 40gms). Anything smaller tends to run out quickly. 
• Finally, take note that it is a GLUE STICK. Glue pens or anything of that nature that squeeze out "wet glue" are highly discouraged for school use. This also includes those cheap glue pens with the "grid" over the top where the glue comes out. Avoid for school. (basically, they will leave a very obvious line of PVA where the paper has been soaked)

Exercise Books/Covers:

• This is where I would recommend you stick to the booklist as the teacher will have set a reason for these books over others. While you may have a choice for brand, make sure those brands fit the requirements as not all books are created equally. 
• While they may look tempting, try and steer clear of any bulk book deals where the individual books are less than 20c each-they're often not the right size for the classroom. The booklist books are A4 or A3 for a reason.
• Binder books are good if your child's teacher has requested a binder, but just make sure that the page requirements also fit. (that is, do not buy a 64 page binder book if your child's teacher has requested 96 page books) 
• Take very careful note of the line gaps or in the case of maths books, the square size. Many parents get tripped up on these-some books are sold with wider line gaps (i.e. "14mm wide ruled") for children who are still developing writing skills and for maths subjects some books are sold with 10mm squares (for kids in Year 5 and high school, the most common size is 5mm, while anything smaller is used for more advanced mathematics and physics)
• Check the page requirements as well: interleaved refers to alternating blank and lined pages (that is, 2 pages are white, 2 pages are blank and so on), botany books will also alternate (as in one page is blank, one page is lined and so on), while handwriting books will alternate between solid and dotted lines (and the gap is also wider) to help them practice their handwriting. Some books available also have alternating grid and lined pages and some books also have music staves. 
• Books with pre-decorated covers look nice, but are quite expensive. It is far more economic to buy a few rolls of contact. 
• If you are picking book contact, the most economic (and also longest-lasting option) is for a plain coloured contact. Licensed contact tends to not last as long (1m will cover maybe 2 books at most) and is also subject to that embarassing thing of "fad change." Holographic contact is another option provided that your child does not get distracted easily. 
• If your child still wants to decorate their books, why not have them create the front covers themselves? Give them a sheet of white A4 paper, some pencils and textas and let them go to town (provided it's appropriate). You can even have them write the subject and their name on the cover and it negates the need for a book label! 
• And finally, for book labels, keep it simple. Name, Year and subject are all that's really needed. 

...and everything else. 

• Most teachers will provide scissors for students, while some will insist on parents providing them. If your child is left-handed, I would recommend buying them a pair regardless of whether or not the teacher provides scissors to the students, simply because many pairs of scissors are not designed for left-handed students. Make sure that they're child-sized though! 
• Please do not send your Year 3+ child to school with the plastic "safety" scissors (that is, the "blades" themselves are plastic but there is a razorblade "edge"). Many of the smaller pairs of scissors cannot cut butter let alone your child. 
• Unless your teacher specifically recommends these, please do not send your child to school with any other art supplies.