Staples School Tools

It’s a back to school time unlike any other we’ve ever experienced. To put it mildly. In just a few days, summer holidays will be over (which, to be fair, started in the spring) and while typically this is the time I kid with my readers about celebrating the freedom that comes with the kids going back to school and my house being empty – it’s just not a happy time for anyone right now. Whether you’re moving to online-schooling for the 2020/2021 school year, or your kids are returning to the classroom, this is a time of concern that we, as parents, are navigating with our kids. I want my kids to be excited (they are!) and I want to look forward to them learning and growing at school while I’m at home in my quiet house (oh my!) so we’re working hard to make the best of a very odd situation and get ourselves prepared for back to school.

My kids are – as of writing this post – returning to the classroom at their schools. Our back to school shopping list was shared when report cards were mailed at the end of June, and updated with communication from our school recently to state items that were no longer needed, so that helps.

This year, like I have every year for as long as I can count back, I’m partnering with Staples Canada to do my back to school shopping, and sharing information with YOU. I couldn’t have imagined a year ago I’d be sharing the assortment of cute masks Staples Canada has for back to school, but here we are (and they really are cute!)

As Canada’s trusted back-to-school destination for decades, Staples Canada is helping Canadians navigate the new school by carrying their widest assortment yet, always available at low prices, and with fast free delivery for online orders!

If your school participates in Staples School Tools, you’ve got it made!

Staples School Tools allows teachers to create an approved list of school supplies that their students will use in the coming year. Parents can then shop with confidence, knowing their kids will start the year off with the right supplies. Staples Canada also offers a general list for grades K-12.

Parents will receive extra savings of up to 10% on top of Staples’ everyday low pricing. All orders can be shipped to their home address or directly to their school. Additionally, Staples gives 3% of every order back to the teacher’s school, allowing them to get whatever supplies they need from the robust Staples catalogue.

Neither of my children’s two schools participate in the program, so I was tasked – list in hand – with shopping for back to school as normal this year. It’s one of the few normal traditions at this time of year, albeit a little different with a mask on my face and arrows on the floor and reminders to make sure we’re giving people ample space.

No one could have predicted masks would be on our back to school lists for 2020/2021 a year ago. We’ve been buying masks all summer from various places and I’m really impressed with these Bond Street Non-Medical Kids Masks With Filter ($12.99/set of 2). I bought two sets for a variety of patterns and my 9 year old is happy with the way they fit on her face and especially behind her ears (they’re adjustable!). Staples Canada also has a large selection of other PPE back to school items including filters, disposable masks, face shields and even signage.

While some items on the list may be different than last year, Staples Canada has everything you’ll need for a successful school year whether learning in school or online. The Pep Rally Notebooks ($3.18) shown in the photo above are just a few of the designs available and also have matching binders, folders, pencil cases, water bottles, lunch kits and more so you can personalize your back to school items as an entire theme – or aesthetic as my 12 year old calls it – if you like. And, of course, you can always count on Staples Canada for super-low prices on all the school basics like Crayola 24-Pack Crayons ($0.69) and Crayola 24-Pack Coloured Pencils ($1.99). I actually stock up on both to have extra for the school year and this year is a good idea to buy extra because students will NOT be sharing items and if something is lost, they won’t be borrowing a friend’s to use.

Remember to label all your school supplies this year as you do every year, but it’s very important to do so this year because of that non-sharing rule. With great prices at Staples Canada, having extra items on hand makes sense. Also, help teachers out by not sending everything at once – in the first few weeks of school teachers will share information about what items are needed, and this makes good sense too!

To celebrate another back to school season with Staples Canada, I’ve got a $50 Staples Canada gift card to give away to a lucky reader! To enter, just fill in your name and email address in the form below and click BEGIN! Then just leave a comment on this post telling me – parent to parent – how you’re preparing for back to school this year. Do you have your masks, supplies and everything else ready to go, reusing most of last year’s items, or maybe you’re stocking up like me! Maybe you’re online-schooling this year. Basically, use the comment to enter as a way to share how you’re doing. What a year, parents (and grandparents!)