A supply list, three aisles, and the feeling of having bought the same thing twice. Here is how we sort it out.
The list arrives in late August and says nothing about what matters: what will last until June, and what will have vanished by half-term. We have been watching new school years go by from this side of the counter since 1932, and the difference eventually becomes obvious.
What lasts, what disappears
Pens get lost, the pencil case stays. Glue runs out, the compass gets handed down. That is the only genuinely useful way to settle a back-to-school budget: spend a little more on the things that cross the whole year, and simply have enough of the consumables.
The pencil case: less, but better
A flat case is more than enough. It sits in the schoolbag without bulging it, it opens flat on the desk, and the child finds everything at a glance. The big tiered models have their fans, but they often end the year half empty.
My Pencil Case
Pens that really do erase
Heat-sensitive ink settled an old quarrel, the one about crossings-out. Rub it, the heat erases, write over it. For a child learning to write neatly, that means less tension and fewer torn-out pages. And a refill costs less than a new pen.
Legami Erasable Gel Pen 0.7mm
Label everything, once
It is the most thankless quarter of an hour of the school year, and the most profitable. A marker, a protective film to lay over it, and the name holds: things come home instead of ending up in lost property.
66 Adhesive Name Labels
The small object that makes the bag worth opening
You need one. Just one. A rocket-shaped glue stick, a pencil like no other, and the child unpacks without being asked. That is not frivolous, it is the ritual that makes the rest bearable.
Glue Stick - Rocket
What you do not buy again
Last year's scissors still cut, and so does the ruler. Before heading out, empty the pencil case onto the table: half the list is often already there. What you save goes into the case or the bag, which will serve four years.
A good start to the year is not decided by the length of the list, but by two or three things chosen to last. The rest gets replaced along the way.
About the author: This article was written by the team of L'Oiseau de Paradis, a Parisian toy shop founded in 1932. Four generations in the service of childhood and authentic play.
