Some of the best supplies for going back to school in the pandemic are simple yet effective. Our simple list includes hand sanitizer, masks, clear, reusable bags, tissues, and a few more besides.
Having the right equipment through Covid-19 has been challenging, but keep it simple, and follow our best school supply list for k-12 students (amended for covid-19) guide, to navigate this challenging time at school and start the year off in the right way.
The New Normal
There is no doubt that the past year and a half has been a trying time for parents, teachers, and students alike. All our worlds have been turned upside down as we had to adjust to remote learning during a pandemic. If you happen to live in an area where shifting back to normality is occurring, and “regular” in-class sessions are scheduled to resume, we have the modified version of the best school supply list for K-12 students for you below.
This list details the additional items that students will need if they are attending the modified school sessions.
Please note this list in addition to the complete best school supply list for k-12 students, which follows closer to the pre-Covid times and details all the supplies needed throughout the different grades.
There Were Plenty of Challenges
No matter what challenges you and your family had to face, you should be proud of what you achieved, It was a struggle for us all, but we pulled through. We scrambled to grab Chromebooks and headphones, kitchen tables became school desks and workstations, and Zoom became the norm for us all.
As we’ve been doing this for a little while now, and even though covid is still among us, we’ve arrived at a point where we can start getting back to “normal” with some modifications.
Related: U.S. Department of Education Releases, “return to School Roadmap”.
If you’re in a location where in-school sessions are welcomed again, this list will help you cope with our future in the “new normal” we find ourselves in.
Check out our amended Covid list for tips on the best supplies to buy for your kids:
Check out the list below:
As you know, prices and availability change, especially as Amazon runs various promotions, but as the time of writing, all prices are correct and all products are currently available via amazon.com.
Best School Supply List for K–12 Students (Amended for Covid-19)
Hand Sanitizer
After the last year and a half, we have all learned how crucial handwashing is, so let’s make sure we keep hand sanitization easy for our children when getting to the water, and soap isn’t always an option. Buying in bulk and filling up multiple travel-sized bottles will be ideal to ensure your child has it in multiple bags/locations for easy access.
Best School Supply List for K – 12 Students (Amended for Covid-19)
Hand Sanitizer Holder
To help your child even further, add these fun and colorful hand sanitizer holders to your child’s backpack, pencil cases, and lunch bags. The added keychains make it easy to add to their bags to ensure they always have sanitizer handy wherever they go.
Best School Supply List for K – 12 Students (Amended for Covid-19)
Masks
Throughout the pandemic, the new mandatory accessory is the face mask. It may have been a struggle to get used to face masks, but if prints and fun characters make it easier for children to follow suit, here are some options for you.
Note, it is suggested to have multiple masks available, anywhere from 10 – 15 makes it easy to ensure they will always have a clean one and do not have to worry about getting washed every day.
Another tip, always make sure they have an extra in their bag in case they need a spare for whatever reason.
Best School Supply List for K – 12 Students (Amended for Covid-19)
Mask holder/lanyards
Children are easily distracted and may not be as careful remembering their masks, so these mask holders/lanyards will make it one step easier for children to keep track of their masks.
By keeping the masks attached to these holders/lanyards, you can ensure your child always has one when needed and that the mask they are putting on will be clean. This makes it easy for them not to lose masks or to accidentally put on the wrong mask.
Best School Supply List for K – 12 Students (Amended for Covid-19)
Clearly Labeled Supplies
With the spread of Covid-19, we quickly learned how easily and rapidly this virus could spread, thus it should be no surprise one of the new rules for students returning to in-class learning would be no sharing of school supplies. Each student will need to bring their own supplies, and borrowing is no longer an option.
This will be a new concept for children who are great at sharing, so help them keep track of all their supplies by clearly labeling all their items. Save your sanity by investing in a label maker and make the process of labeling each individual item that much faster.
Best School Supply List for K – 12 Students (Amended for Covid-19)
Clear Reusable Bags
As mentioned above, each student will have to bring their own school supplies and to help keep them organized, these clear, reusable bags will help keep everything together and organized. The typical fabric type of pencil cases may be ill-advised at this time since keeping them germ-free may be harder. The use of reusable plastics bags will make sanitizing them and the supplies that much easier.
Best School Supply List for K – 12 Students (Amended for Covid-19)
Tissues
As school starts up in the fall, it is common that it leads right up to cold and flu season, this year, add in covid, and it only makes sense that tissues will be necessary all around. If something so simple can drastically reduce the spread of germs, let’s make sure we all do our parts to do so. Tissues paired with hand sanitizer are essential!
Best School Supply List for K – 12 Students (Amended for Covid-19)
Water Bottle
Keeping hydrated to keep our immune systems strong is always a good idea. With the new restrictions, any shared fountains/ cups will likely be few and far between, so providing your child with water will most likely be the safest bet.
Final Thoughts
This updated post aims to help you navigate the wild world of back to school, to get your kids all the supplies they need to function and succeed at school. The items required throughout the pandemic and for the new school year are a little different than pre-covid.
Most of these supplies are focused on cleanliness and making sure that your kids are safe at school and less focused on things like drawing and painting tools.
We hope this isn’t the case, but if kids have to go back to virtual learning, then some of the items on this list may need to be amended, but until then, we feel there is an ample number of solid picks for you to set your children up for victory.
There is a lot to consider to ensure your children are safe when going to school in this “new normal.” But we hope these supplies will help and that as we move forward into 2022, we may be able to get some level of normality back in our lives.
Remember to check our related post, “Best School Supply List for k-12 Students,” in case there are any supplies there that may also be useful.
Good luck with the new school year.
Let us know how it goes.
Catch you soon
Hey, I’m Kris Taylor. I’m a Learning and Development professional currently in the healthcare field, with over 8 years of experience in the area of corporate education. I have created numerous instructional content for various corporate projects including eLearning, in-person facilitation, and virtual training across a wide variety of learning interventions and sectors. On Taughtup, I discuss topics ranging from how to succeed through K-12 to college all the way to instructional design tips for L&D designers.
