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How to save time and money when preparing first graders?
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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The biggest shopping lists are usually given to parents of future first-graders or kindergarteners. What to prepare wallets for and where to look for accessories, uniforms, shoes? Toddlers, pencils and more…
In kindergarten, children begin to receive their first knowledge and develop their creative abilities, for this they will need the following stationery:
- felt-tip pens;
- white and colored cardboard;
- pencils and sharpeners;
- colored paper;
- paints and a jar for water;
- brushes;
- plasticine.
The mandatory purchases also include a uniform for physical training (a T-shirt, shorts, sneakers), and ballet shoes for dance lessons. For the youngest children, they are asked to bring a sheet for the mattress and an oilcloth.
You will also need a toothbrush, toothpaste, liquid soap. The kindergarten will also be glad to receive other household chemicals.
Kindergartens always need toys, especially educational games. Fortunately, there are plenty of them on the shelves now. A game from each parent – and, look, the children will turn into child prodigies. At least this way you will know for sure that your child spends his leisure time usefully. The only problem is where to find these unique educational toys. They can be bought at retail. But more on that later. In the meantime, let's take a look at the list of first-graders.
First class list
If freestyle reigns in kindergarten shopping, then everything is regulated for schoolchildren. Firstly, the school uniform must correspond to the business style. Every year, Ukrainian factories sew new clothing collections. Some models are successful, some are not so. But there is a choice. A schoolchild will also need a uniform for physical education, sneakers.
Gymnasiums often have special requirements for the color of business suits and sports uniforms. They even "find fault" with the design elements of notebooks.
You may or may not need a backpack. Parents should find out in advance about its real need in the first grade. Often, first-graders' things are stored at school, in special lockers or on the windowsill. The need for a backpack arises, in fact, from the 2nd or 3rd grade. If you can't do without a backpack, then you should approach its choice as seriously as possible in terms of orthopedics (back load) and size.
And, of course, you need lots and lots of school supplies. For example, the Ministry of Education gives this approximate list:
- A sketchbook or a block of white paper.
- Set of colored paper.
- Colored pencils.
- Watercolor paints.
- Gouache, water glass.
- Paint brush.
- Ruler 20 cm.
- Glue stick.
- Scissors with rounded ends.
- Ballpoint pen.
- Simple pencil, eraser.
- Large squared notebooks (2 pcs.).
- Notebooks with diagonal lines (2 pcs.).
- Plasticine, a set of stacks, a board.
- Counting sticks.
- 16. Set of geometric shapes (plastic).
- Fan of letters.
- A fan of numbers.
- Felt-tip pens.
- Sets of colored paper and cardboard.
This list is not a dogma. Each specific school may have its own requirements. Most often, the lists of parents of schoolchildren coincide. So where to go now with this solid list? Don't miss out on a successful shopping spree
A typical story that happened to one of the mothers: she got so carried away looking for cheaper goods that, in the end, she got completely confused and bought whatever came to hand. Perhaps she saved a thousand on notebooks, but at the same time spent so much useful time.
The best way to get your child ready for school or kindergarten, regardless of age, is to visit a specialized exhibition. Every year, before the start of the school year, manufacturers and sellers of goods for schoolchildren gather in Kyiv. They bring the latest new products and the best samples for demonstration, advertising and retail sales. Moreover, many of them offer goods directly from manufacturers and suppliers, that is, at reduced prices.
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