Back to school supplies

Do you enjoy fun school supplies as much as I do?



 Some of our favourite things for school are:

• sticky name labels from Mabel's Labels.  Nearly five years ago, I made my first order with our family name printed on them for general use and easy hand-me-downs.  Those labels are still well in place, not faded or loose (I have read someone stuck one inside their dishwasher to see how long it would last and it was still there 2 years later)!  Now that each of my girls will attend separate schools for the first time, I ordered new ones with their own names and also a set of shoe labels for my wee one.
• PlanetBox stainless steel lunch boxes.  We have the Rover System for my girls, but I just ordered a Launch for my big kid (AKA Hubby).  We used to use Laptop Lunchbox and loved its versatility, but I wanted to get away from food in plastic.  Hubby doesn't like the size limitations of the stainless steel sets, but it just takes getting used to and my girls don't eat "normal" lunch food (sandwiches, etc) anyway.
• In Australia, I bought the girls' backpacks from tiny me.  Their school required labelling and no cartoon characters were allowed.  These were perfect: cute, personalised and acceptable.  The medium backpack was the perfect size for a 5-6 year old and still fit in the cubby.  Bonus: these backpacks also fit the PlanetBox lunchbox inside, which was fantastic.  Since we left at the start of the school year there, these backpacks are still in great condition for the coming year here, though experience tells me they won't last more than one school year.
• If you have a littler one going to school (Montessori kids start at age 3), I found the SkipHop backpacks to be the absolute perfect size.  These hold up much better than the tiny me bags, I have to admit.  It still looks almost new after a year of use.  The PlanetBox does fit in if you leave off the carrier bag.
• Need a pencil case?  I couldn't simply buy a plain one.  Oh no.  I had to go here.  Free shipping in the US and Canada and only $4.95 to other countries.  Go crazy.

The fun has only just begun.