School Supplies: What Should Be in Your Child's Backpack?
What Does a Child Need in Primary School?
Textbooks 📚
For several years, schools have been providing most of the textbooks. At the beginning of the year, teachers might ask for some additional workbooks not covered by funding. To protect the textbooks, it’s good to buy covers to ensure they last for future students. Remember to remind children not to mark the textbooks.
💡 TIP: Did you know you can cover textbooks with wallpaper? It's a great, cheap way to protect them and it looks nice.
Writing Supplies 🖋️
Provide a variety of pens, pencils, markers, and crayons so your child can use the right tools depending on the class. Colorful pens help create creative notes and aid in learning.
Ruler, compass, protractor: Essential tools for math and technical tasks.
Lunch Box and Water Bottle 🥪
Choose a practical lunch box to ensure your child has a tasty meal at school. Lunch boxes have become a trendy backpack item. You'll find many variations in stores and online. Make sure to choose one that will last, check for a solid closure, and good quality plastic. Recently, more alternatives to plastic have appeared, such as hemp fiber material, which is a great eco-friendly option.
Art Supplies and Materials 🎨
To nurture creativity and a passion for drawing, include a set of paints, brushes, and drawing pads in the school supplies for younger children. Pastels are also often useful.
Calculator 🧮
As subjects become more advanced, a calculator becomes a necessary tool for performing mathematical operations.
Pencil Case: School-age children often have their own preferences and favorite ways of storing materials.
Backpack 🎒
Backpacks are a mystery; every year I try to buy a sturdy backpack that will last longer, and every year I find myself back at square one looking for another. It might be due to the weight or wear by the children, but backpacks often don't last even a year. Torn straps, cracks, or banana accidents (long story), so really pay attention to the quality of the seams and material. Backpacks with textbooks, water bottles, and lunch can weigh up to 8 kg!
More and more often, children can leave textbooks in school lockers, but what to do when they have 5 tests to study for and need to take them home.
The choice of backpacks is huge, from rigid satchels to backpacks that resemble bags. Much depends on the child's preferences and current trends.
💡 TIP: Remember reflectors! Younger children's backpacks often have reflective material or inserts, if there are no reflectors, try to attach some. It's a matter of safety.
Clothing and Footwear 🎒
Remember to buy (or refresh) a set for physical education and replacement shoes.
Notebooks 📓
This is a broad topic (or maybe a forest...?) How many notebooks are needed for school?
In Grades 1-3
In first grade, it's best to start with 16-page notebooks in 3 lines and grid. At this stage, notebooks are quite a small expense, so I recommend buying 3 of each type. Then the teacher will guide the child and advise when to switch to a single-line notebook.
It’s also worth getting a music notebook.
In Grades 4-8
In older grades, 32 and 60-page notebooks work best.
It's worth buying those with higher grammage (min 70), so the pages don’t show through and students can write on both sides.
The most commonly chosen format is A5, although in older grades, students often choose A4, especially for math, which allows for clearer task explanations and additional notes.
Lined Notebooks: It's a safe bet to buy a minimum of 3 lined notebooks. For learning Polish and two foreign languages.
Graph Notebooks: Minimum 10 graph notebooks, subjects vary in different classes, but it’s good to have a small stock at home.
science (in 4th grade), computer science, mathematics, history, geography, biology, ethics (or religion), physics (from 7th grade), chemistry (from 7th grade), civics (from 8th grade), first aid (from 8th grade)
Additionally: Also buy a pad of graph paper, you never know when it will be needed, and a music notebook.
A well-organized school supply kit is key to success and comfort during learning. Remember to involve your child in the process of choosing and packing their supplies. This will make them more engaged and excited about the upcoming school year! PS. Check out our TikTok, where we discuss school products in three stores: Biedronka, Lidl, and Auchan. Link ➡️HERE
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