Stationery is an important aspect of education and learning of a child. It not only helps in writing but there are several other stationery products those are helpful in managing the learning process of your child. Nowadays, stationery products are easily available over the internet and can be purchased in a few clicks. But choosing the right product for your kid is a matter of usability and safety.
Thus, we have made a checklist to ensure that you choose the right product:
- Before buying school stationery check what you have at home, perhaps your child has some items in good condition that can be used in the next cycle.
- Consider a budget.
- Do not forget the list of school supplies at the time of making your purchase.
- Before purchasing, compare prices and quality of products.
- Start making your purchases as soon as possible. Even if some schools delay in publishing the school list, parents can anticipate buying those things that they need and are sure that their children will need them. Thus avoiding making a large outlay at the last minute.
- If your children are going to accompany you online to buy any stationery product then avoid buying in bulk and stick to your need.
- Take advantage of auctions and liquidations.
- Before paying for the products, verify that they are complete and in good condition.
- Verify that the tools include instructions for use.
- Make sure that school supplies such as oil colors or crayons do not contain toxic elements that could cause damage to children's health.
- Take into account that the tools with fashionable images are more expensive than the conventional ones and also sometimes the masters ask them to be covered, so it is not necessary to acquire them because they will lose all the charm of the product.
- Buy school supplies in formal establishments and do not forget to request your purchase ticket as it is very useful in case of future returns or changes.
- If you are going to buy your children's school supplies on credit then make sure you receive and understand all the information about cash price, fees and interest, total amount to be paid for the product, delivery date etc.
- There are some items that are bought during the year such as pencils, notebooks, rubber bands etc. If you buy them at wholesale price from the beginning of the school year then you will save some money.
- It is said that the use of the ergonomic (triangular) pencil allows a better adaptation to the natural position of children when they grasp it.
- Stitched notebooks last much longer than stapled notebooks.
- For primary school children it is convenient to buy resistant materials, for example in the notebooks so that the sheets do not fall off.
- For high school boys it is better to buy notebooks with double springs, since it lasts longer and can not be easily peeled off.
How to choose Pens and Pencils?
Choosing the writing instrument is sometimes complicated since it depends on several factors to be taken into account as many kids have doubts about which markers to use, permanent markers, special markers, or which type of roller is more suitable for more precise writing.
For this reason we have encouraged ourselves and have made this practical guide to choose the most appropriate writing instrument:
Pencils
There are several kinds of pens i.e. with wooden body or fiber composite and inner mine a mixture of clay and graphite. The hardness of the mine is limited by the abbreviations H (hard, hard) and B (black, soft). The hardness scale of the pens is usually between 8B (the softest) up to 6h (the hardest). The most usual graduation is HB and that is the medium point of hardness.
Mechanical pencil
The mechanical pencils or plastic pencils are available with mines of different diameters. These are made lower by the tip by means of a push-button mechanism, whether on the top or the side or automatic. The most common mines are the HB of 0.5 and 0.7 mm although we you find diameters from 0.3 to .015 mm.
Pens
They are instruments for a daily and economic writing.
They can be classified by different variables:
Protection of the tip for pens:
● Cap
● Retractable tip
Type of ink:
● Oil base
● Fat base
● Erasable ink with different technologies according to brand
Rollers and markers
This category offers a wide variety of possibilities:
Type of ink:
● Gel ink: low viscosity ink that provides a high writing power.
● Liquid tub: classic roller ink, high fluidity with water base.
Type of tip:
● Ball point: the tip of the ballpoint pen. In the case of the roller, it is usually associated with gel ink or liquid ink.
● Fiber tip: offers a different operation to the pen. The fiber, which reaches up to the inside of the pen's body is impregnated with ink for making writing possible by friction of the tip on the support.
Type of tip finish (for ball tip):
● Conical tip: The classic tip for all uses.
● Needle tip: tip that offers a finer stroke, ideal for more precise writing.
So next time you buy stationery products just remember this checklist!