Missing Summer break and dreading the next school year was one of the many recurring moments of my childhood, but where the grass is greener on the other side, some neat looking school products arrived in stores to make it all the more bearable, so join me as I bring out my next topic....
Trapper Keepers/folders/binders
What more to give those boring preserved homework/classwork papers some personality than a ringed binder or folder with a familiar cartoon/video game character? Seeing different varieties of these in stores always had me excited to take my best pick on what to get, and by the time I was in middle school I got a total of three.
Pencil toppers
And to add to some personality, different forms of pencil toppers made writing papers for your school subjects a lot more interesting, instead of seeing an eraser moving back and forth as you wrote, but the 80s and 90s were jam packed with many familiar characters popping up to be a pencil buddy.
Scented markers/crayons
Going into some early years territory, scented drawing supplies had drawing activities given a flair with the handful of different scents and they were hard to put down for me as a kid. Unfortunately this may have led to drawing on some of the wrong things back home.
Pencil/crayon boxes
Have plenty of pencils but don't have a desk to store them in? Little plastic storage boxes like these kept them from getting lost in your backpack and easier to manage when you were burning your other pencils from writing a ton of classwork throughout the year, and definitely a lifesaver for me.
Lunchables lunch packs
When you wanted to take a break from the same old school lunches (or just making plain sandwiches from home), Lunchables had its own handful of different lunches to choose from as the 1990s came around. Cracker Stackers were a common favorite, but then came along the pizza and nacho packs, later coming with a drink and snack inside.
Thermos lunch boxes
If Lunchables isn't your thing, your own lunch could always come bundled inside of a lunch box based on some of your favorite shows/movies/video games, and Thermos had you covered for that.
Colored floppy disks
When doing projects in the computer lab, sticker labels on the floppy disks being used wasn't the only way to help keep track of what you had saved, if the bland gray colored ones weren't your thing, a rainbow of different colored floppy disks were a fun way to go when storing your data.
Pencil grips
If you couldn't exactly get the feel of holding a writing utensil the right way, the pencil grip was your answer as a stepping stone. They not only came in different colors, but different shapes as well, so pushing your pencil on to a piece of paper never felt easier
Eraser shapes and designs
Erasers on the ends of pencils won't last for long, and if your teacher didn't have any replacements for you there was always the alternative to bringing in a selection of erasers coming in many shapes and forms if you didn't like using the original pink and rectangular ones.
Multicolor pens
These neat (although thick) pens came with tiny switches that could change the color of the pen ink when pushed down, making for some neat school paper conveniences as well as interesting forms of art through pen color. I only ever used one for one school year, but I think I got a little carried away with creativity using mine so it didn't last long.
Crayola crayon box with sharpener
Sure, pencil sharpeners were everywhere but what about sharpening crayons? Much like getting your average pencil sharpened the crayon sharpener made a work of art have less dull looking outlines or color details as it made your art pop out a bit more.
Did you enjoy the school supplies you got back when you were a kid? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!
