Prepare for School: Labeling Your Supplies

     You finally finished all of that back-to-school shopping. You've got pencils, notebooks, folders, binders, pencils, pens, and more. Finally, finally you have gotten back home, and you are ready to plop on the couch...your bed...even the floor. You think you're done. But, not so fast: you still have to do some things. One such thing being labeling your school supplies.

If you don't change classes, then this process will be easier for you.
     First, grab all of your supplies and a pen. You do not want to use a pencil. If you use a pencil, your hard work could easily be erased or looked over. A dark pen will stick and stand out.
     After you have gathered your things, it's time to label! Start out with the simple things: notebooks, folders, binders, etc. Write your name, grade, room number, and teacher on the supplies. It's good to write on the inside of things (inside covers, not pages), just in case your teacher is specific about what she/he wants written on your supplies. Just be careful when you write: let it dry before closing it up to avoid a big smear of ink.
     Don't think you are done just yet: you still have the more complicated things left. These include pencils, pencil cases, tape, etc. These, of course, are optional, but can be helpful in the long run. For pencil cases, it might be best to paste a piece of paper on it and write on that. Tape, too: homemade paper labels are useful. In fact, these labels are a great way to label any difficult surface.

However, if you do change classes, you'll have to be more careful when labeling your supplies.
     First things first: look at your school supply list. On this list, is it specific about what supplies are needed for each class? For example, does it say, "1 3-subject notebook for math, 3 composition notebooks for language arts, etc."? If not, you will not be able to label things as specifically as preferred.
     Organize your supplies based on what is needed for each subject. Put math in one section, science in another, social studies in yet another, an  so on and so on. This will make it easier when labeling your things, and will also make clear any mistake  in back-to-school shopping.
     Once this is done, you may start labeling. Write your name, class, grade, and other necessary information on the inside covers of things. Writing things on the inside is best because each teacher might have a set way they like information written on supplies. Be sure that you write in pen, as pencil can easily be erased, and let it sit for a little to prevent smearing. Then, now that you have done this, you can move on to general supplies.
     These include pencil cases, pencils, pencil sharpener, etc. You can choose what you want to label. Do you want to label everything? Or do you want to leave some unlabeled? The decision is up to you.

     Remember to put your supplies away in your backpack when you're done...you don't want all of this work--buying supplies and labeling them--to be wasted by carelessness!