- Glue sticks (at least three for the year)

- Scissors (blunt ended for younger kids, pointedfor older ones)

- Ballpoint pens

- No. 2 pencils (Stick with this classic to avoidclassroom competition over whose writing utensil is the coolest — or mostimpractical.)

- Colored pencils

- A pencil sharpener (hand-held with a top tocollect shavings)

- A large pink eraser (The old-fashioned ones dothe best erasing.)

- Water-based markers

-  A four-ounce bottle of white glue

- Highlighters (These are probably unnecessary forkids in kindergarten through second grade.)

- Spiral-bound or composition notebooks

- A three-ring binder

-  Loose-leaf notebook paper (Teachers can be pickyabout paper. Schools usually supply specially ruled handwriting paper to helpyounger children with letter formation. Older children use wide-ruled paper,and some middle school students will need the college-ruled variety.)

-  Pocket folders (If you get a folder with twopockets, label one "keep at home" and the other "bring toschool" to help your child organize his papers.)

-  Printer paper and ink cartridges (for your homecomputer)

-  A ruler with English and metric measurements

-  Scotch tape

-  A stapler

-  A sturdy back pack