As a busy mother of three, I have had different schools of thought on back-to-school shopping throughout the years. I understand that everyone has their own preference when it comes to school supply shopping, but I am positive that the parents before and after me all share in the same joys and struggles when it comes to shopping for back-to-school supplies.

When my kids were little and just entering preschool and kindergarten, I thought that school supply shopping would be a fun family outing. Don't get me wrong, being with my children was fun, but not necssarily the task at hand. I quickly learned that taking three young children to busy stores with a long checklist of items to find was much more like a stressful scavenger hunt rather than a smooth and enjoyable shopping experience.

Back-to-School Shopping was Getting Expensive

Would it be easier for me to go shopping by myself and buy the school supplies? Yes, but as my kids got older, I really wanted to teach accountability and have them shop with me for their school supplies. I wanted them to be involved. But, with age comes discovery, and they started finding additional items that they wanted that weren’t always on their school supply lists. Back-to-school shopping WITH MY kids was becoming expensive, and as their school supply lists grew, shopping became more time-consuming.

I have always known that my three children are quite different, but it became very obvious when it came to preparing for the upcoming school year. My oldest was always very excited to go back to school and back-to-school shopping. Without a doubt, he was the one adding extra items to our shopping cart. My middle son was very laid-back and was happy with whatever we bought. He also wasn’t that interested in shopping and would have much rather been outside playing with friends. My youngest was anxious about her list. No matter what, she needed to get the exact items on her list, which meant running from store to store to find the random-colored folders that were, without a doubt, out of stock.

School Supply Kits Save Families Time and Money

And then, one magical year, I received a flyer letting me know that my children’s school was offering a school supply kit program. Of course, I didn’t order the kits. I was still under the impression that it was fun to spend hours running from store to store trying to locate the correct size of Elmer’s glue sticks, the Crayola Washable Markers in a 10 count, or trying to find things like map pencils or 7 inch Fiskars scissors. I also thought that I could get the school supplies for less money if I did it myself. That was also the year that two of my three children started playing sports. Life was really starting to move quickly, so there never seemed to be enough time to accomplish everything.

Game Changer - School Supply Kits

Game Changer! The next school year, I made sure to order school supply kits. It was a complete game changer. In just a few minutes, I had ordered the kits, and my back-to-school shopping was complete. And guess what, I really did save money…and time! We didn’t spend one second in a crowded store, and there was no chance of extra items being added to our shopping list. We live in the Midwest, so our summer days are precious. Personally, I would much rather spend time doing the things we love as a family and avoid being inside shopping on a beautiful day.

The school supply kits were delivered right to school. The kits included the exact school supplies to match their teachers’ school supply lists. Each of my children had the school supplies they needed to start their school year off right, and they were ready to learn on the first day. I ordered school supply kits every year from that point on. 

Interested in a School Supply Kit Progam?

If your school is interested in offering a school supply kit program to help make back-to-school easier for families, trust me, your parents will appreciate the service. Simply visit https://sproutsupplies.com/request-quote-schools to request information about the Sprout School Supply Kit program. The Sprout team works with PTA/PTO groups and school administrators to set up school supply kit programs specific to each school’s unique needs and teacher-specific lists, from kit quotes per grade, options of name brand school supplies vs. Sprout Saver brands, right up to delivery day at school.

Community Giving

And, if offering a simple and easy way for parents to purchase school supplies isn’t amazing enough, Sprout offers opportunities to give back to your local school community through kit sales. They also offer a Pay-It-Forward program that offers parents the opportunity to purchase an additional kit for donation for a student in their child's classroom. Sprout also works with nonprofits and community organizations through their Kits for Kids, which helps streamline the delivery of school supplies and school supply kits for back-to-school events and community giving. All programs are designed to support school communities and to help ensure students-in-need have the proper school supplies for a successful school year.

To request more information about Sprout School Supplies, please visit https://sproutsupplies.com/request-quote-schools or email info@sproutsupplies.com.