BayLink: School pencil boxes now modern tool kits

Tag : Tool Cases & Bags

Hand sanitizer. USB flash drive. Magenta Sharpie. Clean socks.Quick — what do they have in common? Answer: They're probablygoing to be in your kid's pencil case when school starts.
Thanks to the onslaught of kid-focused marketing and the growingpresence of technology in children's lives, those perennialfavorites have gotten makeovers. Where the pencil case itself wasonce the canvas for self-expression and coolness, today the toolsinside play that same fetish-object role.
"It's fair to say there will always be room for a No. 2 pencil,"says Target spokesman Joshua Thomas. "But what's happening is thatthese classic back-to-school supplies are evolving."
In addition, the list of supplies considered vital has grown, saysBarb Kapinus, senior policy analyst for the National EducationAssociation. Items that didn't exist when most of today's parentswere climbing aboard school buses — tiny, portable harddrives and scented hand sanitizer — now make the list in manyplaces.
Whether teachers send home exhaustive wish lists or ask only forsimple supplies, shopping lists have grown in school districtsaround the country, says Jennifer Olsen, assistant professor ofeducation at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., and mother of twoschool-age children. Retailers add further fuel by offering theirown exhaustive back-to-school shopping lists, broken down by agegroup from preschool through college. Candidates for your shopping list
Here are some items that will probably be tucked inside pencilcases (which now come in an environmentally friendly variety madefrom recycled juice boxes) this fall:
Writing tools: No. 2 pencils emblazoned with motivational phraseslike "Great Job!" and pens topped with tiny screens of HannahMontana images. They may also need washable crayons, coloredpencils, highlighters and dry erase, washable and permanentmarkers.
Cut and paste: Elmer's Glue is still popular, but glue sticks arealso. Scissors are a must, but many are for right- or left-handedusers.
D oing the numbers: Calculators, restricted by some schools, come inmany styles and capabilities, from cute pink ones for basic math tographing calculators for trigonometry. Compasses, protractors andrulers have been tweaked; Office Depot offers a flexible ruler andprotractors come in vivid hues.
Data devices: Spiral notebooks and loose-leaf paper aren't the onlymethods for recording information and transporting work to and fromschool anymore. Flash drives (also known as jump or thumb drives)and CDs can be necessities for older students. Index cards andPost-it notes also make many must-have lists.
Other unusual items: Hand sanitizer, hand wipes and tissue packs are now standard.Clean socks for erasing white boards and zip-top plastic bags forbringing things home.
Associated Press

[Last modified: Aug 13, 2008 11:06 AM]