Pencils, erasers, pens and more are not just stationery items. They are the building blocks that will enhance the child's learning at home as well as at school.
As parents and teachers, we need to carefully understand the stationery needs of our children.
Most parents do not know how to choose stationery for their children and end up buying something that is less useful for them. The best thing to do when shopping for stationery is to involve your children in the purchase and let them choose what they want.
We need to know that they must have just the right quality and quantity of stationery items so that they do not struggle in the absence of them. Important here is to mention that stationery is not something that children should show off to their peers.
Too much of anything is bad and we need to quantify the limits on children's availability or exposure to such items. Core school study material should function as supporting material and not as demonstration or comparison material.
We also need to ask and get informed about the recent and new items available in the market which can work for the benefit of any child. Say, for example, a child needs a pencil and often writes with tremendous pressure on the page and as a result, the pencil breaks many times. You, as parents, recommend a pop-a-point or mechanical pencil to the child.
It is indeed a simple thing, but to understand it, you need to monitor the child's reactions to specific products
The 10 essential types of stationery that every child should have in the early school phase are….
- Pencils and pens
- Erasers
- Notebooks (other than school)
- Colors (oil pastels/crayons/pencil colors)
- Tempera colors
- Coloring and activity books
- Ruler (more commonly called a scale)
- Sharpener
- Files and folders
- Case/pencil box
Read the 5 things to remember when choosing stationery for your child...
- Apart from the basic items mentioned above, take home your children's stationery such as a small diary, coloring books, a board, pen/pencil, number game boards, picture charts with fruit names, animal names, etc.
- Check the supply and availability of such items with the children. It should neither be too much in number nor too less.
- Show the child how and when to use the stationery.
- Keep things that could cause harm to a child out of their possession. Such items can be pins, staples, paper clips, etc.
- Try to make them understand that the items bought are to facilitate their learning and they should not destroy them