Trends: Back-to-School Supplies, The Kid Review

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- When the classroom doors open, students will pour in with all the must-have school supplies. So right now the rush in on to get budget friendly supplies.

First Coast News asked a group of elementary age students to tryout some of this year's trendy school supplies to see what they liked.

The big hit was the Problem Pad sold at Staples. It's a thin dry-erase board that has a three holes punched in it to go right in a binder. It also comes with a dry-erase pen and eraser.

"If I had to write a poem and I didn't want to mess up, I could use this problem pad and erase it," says 2nd grader Adrien Ciena.

"I would use it (Problem Pad) mainly for math problems," says 5th grader Christopher Noe.

Thomas Hammond, the general manager with the Staples at the St. Johns Town Center, say the Problem Pad was actually a request from a customer. "We created it for that person and now he gets royalties on the product," says Hammond.

A must-have for school is a durable binder. One teacher told First Coast News during binder checks if any papers fallout of the binder then it results in a lower binder grade in her class.

Hammond says Staples' most popular binders are the ones labeled "our most durable". Hammond says many customers complained about other binders breaking through the year so they created a one that would stand up to a year of use.

The students told First Coast News they also liked the new pencil pouches that clip on to the outside of the binders.

"I like the little pencil pouch on the outside," says Noe. "Not like the one inside where you have to go searching through everything to find a pencil."

These clip on pouches also come in styles to hold cell phones and thumb drives.

Book covers are a necessity at many schools. But the types of covers are getting creative. There are now scented covers and ones that change colors. Both were big hits among the 2nd and 5th graders we talked to.

Hammond says the Hannah Montana book covers, and well, anything Hannah Montana are flying off the shelves.

This year for backpacks many students are doing away with the old style of backpack. Instead the most common is the shoulder bag (which looks similar to laptop bags).

Some backpack companies such as Dickies are also selling brightly colored tote bags that students are using to carry supplies to school.

5th grader Caleigh Morrison says since she has a locker this year the locker kits are important. Many of the kits come with shelves, magnets and mirrors.

It may never be to early to start getting organized.

Hammond says Staples has taken the weekly / monthly planners for adults and added cool designs for pre-teens and teenagers. But even some younger students are finding them helpful.

"I like the weekly / monthly planner because you can write down all your homework assignments," says 5th grader Benjamin Lantinberg.

The economy is tight this year and that can make buying school supplies are little harder on families.

Hammond says he is seeing, for one of the first times in 20 years, parents giving the kids a set amount of money and letting the kids buy the supplies. So they can see where the money goes.

He says the kids are very serious about getting all they can for the $100 or so.

"It's like a research project," says Hammond. "They come in with ads to all the different stores and have they parents drive around to get the cheapest prices. They are even doing the math as they go to see how much they have left to spend. That is a big change."

Once kids head to school the next supply some parents will have to think about is a musical instrument.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 29 percent of children will return home from the first week of school, talking of playing piano masterpieces or marching in the band.

Some families will opt to rent an instrument, which can cost as much as $360 a year.

Another option is many wholesale stores like BJ's and Costco are noww selling musical instruments at a reduced price.

BJ's Wholesale Club is now selling six Borg instruments. They include a saxophone, trumpet, violins, flute and a clarinet. The prices at BJ's range from $159.99 to $399.99.

The one thing to remember, to buy the instruments at the wholesale clubs parents must be a member of that store.