[Amanda]

My child will be in kindergarten in the 25/26 school year. I’m wanting to take advantage of school supply clearance to save money.

I’m looking on suggestions for what items I should definitely grab, which you think should be left for later.

Most importantly, when to time my purchases.

I have a state with a tax free weekend.

I reviewed the supply lists for all of the possible schools.

[McKenna]

Just grab the school supply list that your child will be going to school at

They really don’t change much from year to year
This is coming from a kindergarten teacher

[Tracy]

I bought Fiscars scissors and the one pair they lasted my girls all the way through elementary school.

Always buy crayola crayons and Elmer’s glue sticks, they just work better and last longer, most stores have them on sale for 0.50 at this time of year.

I always bought a few extra incase they needed more later in the year

[Cindy]

Usually in kindergarten they do shared supplies so you pay money and the teachers get the supplies.

But don’t buy glue sticks ahead as they dry up

[Gayla]

I commend you for being wisely frugal but do want to say, “Please be frugal but not cheap.”

School supply lists often ask for brand name crayons, pencils, markers, etc.

because they last so much longer than the generics.

[Jill]

Mom of 5 here
Up until last yr we were in a state that did tax tree weekend
The headache of that was not worth any savings to me

(I mean I guess if I was buying a laptop maybe….)

I have the same feelings abt Black Friday though

It’s cost vs benefit to me

[Regene]

Does your tax free weekend include school supplies? Some don’t- my state is only clothing under $100.

[Ann]

You may be able to go to the school’s website to see what is on the school supply list.

My advice: don’t skimp.

Cheap markers and crayons sound great until you have to buy them twice.

Staples usually has amazing sales in the last couple of weeks of August.

[Carolyn]

My biggest savings on kid’s school supplies was waiting until we knew exactly what we needed and not buying more than suggested.

Also, at winter break and especially at end of year, gather all supplies and see if anything needs replenishing.

At end of year I took all supplies and put them in a gallon ziplock bag or shoe box.

We used multi things for multiple years because we didn’t throw things out or have them get lost over summer.

Example, my daughter is about to begin her final year of Masters Degree.

On her desk right now is her scissors, stapler and some random pens she’s had for years.

The scissors are from middle school.

I still use her pencil case she didn’t need anymore after using it for all of high school.

Seriously, don’t throw things out.

Markers and glue needs to be double bagged to keep them from drying out.

Only buy what you need. They need less than you think.

[Tiffany]

My youngest ( mom of 4 ) will also start kindergarten in 2025. To save money I have been buying clothes on clearance already.

School supplies generally aren’t that expensive.

But clothes, shoes, sweaters, coats can get spendy.

Also my thought on backpacks, if you buy a high quality one it can last several years.

Also for school supplies crayola 100% , the cheap ones don’t last.

[Cora]

A lot of our schools require nap mats so I would definitely grab one of those while on sale as well as colors paper

(even if you don’t use them this year it helps to start stocking early on these cause you use a lot throughout the years)

[Sandy]

Crayons, markers, pencils, kid scissors, glue stick, tissues for classroom.

A few folders with his name on.

A nice pencil box to keep it in with his name on.

It’s better not to use shared supplies, because that’s how germs spread.

I worked in schools for 20 years.

[Linda]

Kinder-mat. Sometimes you can pick up and pay for a pack of supplies at their school.

[Jackie]

I think the time for more school purchases is in 1 st grease and your child will have fun reading the list with you and picking supplies.

They are cheap and there has always been enough to choose from but make sure you don’t wait til the last week cause it starts dwindling down and gets messy and harder to find what you need.

But Walmart is usually the cheapest and has quality pencils n markers

[Jeanie]

Kindergarten supply lists usually don’t have expensive items. It’s best to just wait and get exactly what they need.

[Suzanne]

Not all states/ schools have naptime for kindergarten so you may want to find that put before you buy a kindermat or sleep sac.

My daughter’s doesn’t.

I just put all the things in the cart through target and have it delivered to my house.

[Karen]

Definitely wait on buying markers, glue/glue sticks, erasers, and baby wipes until next year.

Pay the extra for Crayola!

[Chantra]

Walmart always has sales right before school starts. I just ordered my supplies today.

Ex – $0.50 for 24 pack of crayola crayons.

[Patricia]

More importantly, label your kids clothing, water bottles, lunch boxes. Shoes.

Anything that can fall off their body.

Then the winter coat they forget is theirs can be given back to your child when they leave it on the playground.

[Kristy]

Usually after the school supply/beginning of school rush iss over is when they go sale/clearance.

I always stock up on markers, pencils, crayons and paper as the teachers usually run out when it’s closer to end of year and so I’ll send more supplies.

In our school district the kids in elementary school share most of the supplies.

Each kid is given a supply list and you can shop from that or we buy the school pack that has most everything they need and is delivered right to the classroom.

We are told no personalization or special designs since it’s all shared and they don’t want fighting about a folder with a unicorn on it or whatever.

Our kindergarten is all day but there are no naps so a nap mat is not something that is needed for us.

I would just look at the school’s supply list that they would be going to and stock up on that stuff when it’s on clearance.

[Karen]

Back pack and lunch box when they go on clearance are greaa as t I sometimes buy one when they are low prices as I have had a kid rip or zipper break and then come mid year they are so expensive.

Crayola crayons, blunt tip fisKar scissors.

Washable markers, Ticonderoga pencils they are the best and sharpen evenly I always pick some extra up when they go on sale.

Menards had a great deal on the one year

[Author]

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