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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, July 7, 2005

Gearing up for learning

As summer vacation winds down, thousands of parents of school-age children will once again be braving the back-to-school shopping frenzy. About 66 percent of parents feel the experience is time-consuming or stressful.

By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer

This rolling backpack is a student's best friend when it comes to lugging around heavy textbooks.

Photos by Jeff Widener | The Honolulu Advertiser

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BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT THE DOOR ...

Take inventory of what you already have, and develop a budget for what you still need.

List each item in priority, from most important to least important. By having a prioritized, budgeted shopping list, it can be trimmed easily by cutting from the bottom.

Compare prices. If a store five miles away is offering low prices on backpacks, it may be worth the drive. Buy basics in quantity when they are on sale. Check as many newspaper advertisements and catalogs as possible before you make your purchases.

Before you run to the "Back To School" section at an expensive retailer, compare prices with discount outlets and office-supply stores.

Shopping for school supplies also gives parents a chance to teach their kids about spending habits. Sit down with your children and set a budget. Then let them do the comparison shopping, pointing out that if they get the expensive calculator, for example, they have to cut back in other areas. The result: They learn about smart shopping and place more value on what you buy for them.

The most important strategy: Stick to the budget you set. Bring only as much cash as you need, based on your budget, and leave your credit cards at home.

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Elementary school supplies
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Middle school supplies
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High school supplies
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With children in preschool, elementary school, middle school and high school, Flo Medina of Pearl City has tackled back-to-school shopping often enough to develop a successful strategy: She searches advertisements for the best deals, buys quality brands her children will like, and most importantly, sticks to a budget. "I have four kids, so when you add everything up, it gets expensive," said the 35-year-old mom.

As summer vacation winds down, Medina and thousands of other parents of school-age children will once again be braving the back-to-school shopping frenzy. About 66 percent of parents feel the experience is time-consuming or stressful, according to a national online survey conducted by Harris Interactive, a market research firm.

The same survey showed 61 percent of parents cited one of their biggest challenges is staying within their budgets. Also, 15 percent cited not being able to find the brands their children want.

It doesn't have to be a dreadful ordeal, said Edward Parsons, assistant manager of sales at Hopaco/OfficeMax in Honolulu.

Each year stores come out with selections aimed at pleasing students — things like brightly-colored composition books — and at prices that please parents, too.

"We listen to what customers want, and basically that's value," Parsons said.

But don't get carried away with buying fancy designer products, such as glittery glue and fragrant colored markers, said Karen Denny, a first-grade teacher at a Honolulu public school. "They can be too distracting in class," she said.

Make basic supplies a priority, Denny said. "Composition books, pencils and erasers — there are never enough of those," she said.

We checked with parents and educators, and asked store managers at popular back-to-school retailers — Office Depot, Hopaco/OfficeMax and Wal-Mart — for their recommendations on quality, low-cost must-haves. These items are sure to please students without breaking the family budget.

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FOR THE KIDDIES

  • KinderMat (Wal-Mart, $6.97). This fi-by-19-by-45-inch cushioned mat is ideal for a kindergartner's nap time. And it's made of vinyl for easy cleanup and is flame-retardant.

  • Lanakila Crafts denim smock (Wal-Mart, $9.92). Arts and crafts time doesn't have to be messy. Protect your children's clothing from paint, markers, glue and anything else they get their hands on with this washable smock. It comes in different sizes and decorative aloha-print pockets.

  • Portfolio (Wal-Mart, 78 cents). Keep papers, reading materials and take-home fliers neat with these portfolios, available in an assortment of designs, including all sorts of adorable puppies and kittens.

  • Elmer's glue, 4-ounce bottle (Wal-Mart, 25 cents). Normally 88 cents at Wal-Mart, the cost of these bottles has rolled back to a mere quarter each through Sept. 16. It's the perfect time to stock up.

  • Crayola crayons, 24-count box (Wal-Mart, 50 cents). What's small-kid time without these elementary school staples? The boxes usually sell for $1.13 at Wal-Mart, so get them while they're cheap, through Sept. 16.

    • • •

    TOO COOL FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL

  • Office Depot-brand stretchable book cover (Office Depot, $2.99). Gone are the days of paper book covers — no more fussing with measuring, cutting and taping book covers with these stretchable creations, available in various colors. The covers fit books up to 8 by 10 inches, and are washable and reusable.

  • Extreme In-Line Skate Wheel Rolling Backpack (Hopaco/OfficeMax, $29.98-$39.99). Lugging around heavy textbooks can be a drag. Painful, even. This backpack comes with a single-pull aluminum handle and in-line skate wheels for easy-glide motion. Colors include purple, blue and gray.

  • Franklin electronic dictionary, MWD-450 (Hopaco/OfficeMax, $29.99). Make homework time a little easier with this pocket-sized Merriam-Webster Dictionary, complete with more than 80,000 words and 274,000 definitions. The gadget also comes with a spelling correction function, an organizer to store names and numbers, and nine games.

  • New Seasons designer journal (Hopaco/OfficeMax, $6.69). Give your child a place to write down assignments or brainstorm ideas with this notebook, which comes with a front-page pocket to stuff school notes, a place to mark important dates and too-cute covers, such as pink graphic flowers and lavender argyle designs.

    • • •

    GOTTA-HAVES FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS

  • Texas Instruments graphing calculator, TI-83 Plus (Office Depot, $107.99). This popular model is a basic tool for courses such as algebra 1 and 2, trigonometry, statistics, biology, business, finance and physics.

  • Office Depot-brand jumbo backpack (Office Depot, $19.99). This bag is big enough to accommodate your teen's every need: large main compartment for books and binders, detachable cell-phone holder and CD port. Colors include purple, blue, black and dark green.

  • Vaultz pencil box (Hopaco/OfficeMax, $7.99). Protect school supplies with a locking pencil box that comes with a mesh pocket and pencil straps. Comes in metallic blue, leopard print and retro pink designs.

  • Mead Upper Class and At-A-Glance student planners (Hopaco/OfficeMax, $11.99-$26.99). Teens' schedules are often jam-packed with school assignments and events, extracurricular activities and after-school jobs. Keep track of what's going on with these weekly and monthly appointment books that come in a variety of styles and colors.

    Prices are subject to change. Call stores for details.