Labeling school supplies on the cheap?

[sherry7]

DD (age 4) is attending a Montessori school this fall, and they want EVERYTHING labeled....even the individual colored pencils. I recently ordered a pack of cute name labels to use for her water bottle, lunch containers, etc. However, they're expensive and I'm not really willing to use a bunch of them on individual pencils.

Any tips on how to label small things like pencils, etc? I was thinking to use a Sharpie marker, but it smeared off.

 

[smitch425]

DD (age 4) is attending a Montessori school this fall, and they want EVERYTHING labeled....even the individual colored pencils. I recently ordered a pack of cute name labels to use for her water bottle, lunch containers, etc. However, they're expensive and I'm not really willing to use a bunch of them on individual pencils.

Any tips on how to label small things like pencils, etc? I was thinking to use a Sharpie marker, but it smeared off.

I just type my kids' names on a computer and put it on the page as many times as it will fit. I cut each name out and put it on each item with clear packing tape.

Edit: Was going to upload a pic, but didn't want to put my son's name on here. I've labeled pens, glue sticks, crayon boxes, pretty much everything this way. The only things I didn't use tape on were the pink eraser and the scissors, but I used a Sharpie for both of those.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Sharpies

My daughter goes to a private elementary school and they ask the parents to label everything (I mean each crayon, marker pencil...etc!). I just pull out a sharpie and write her name on them. Its much easier and cost efficient than printed labels... I'd save the pretty labels for the bigger stuff (water bottles, pencil case, etc)

Try putting a piece of clear tape over the sharpie if it is smearing. That should hold it

 

[pjlla]

I used to keep a package of those really small Avery computer printer labels on hand and print my child's name on each one and then wrap it around each pencil or down the side of each pencil. I don't have any here on hand to tell you the exact size, but they were really small..... like .5" x 1.25". And I used them on EVERYTHING.... not just school supplies. We used to use them to label cameras and chargers and stuff like that when we traveled, plus stuff around the house...........P

 

[sherry7]

I just type my kids' names on a computer and put it on the page as many times as it will fit. I cut each name out and put it on each item with clear packing tape. I'll upload a pic. give me a minute or two.

Sharpies

My daughter goes to a private elementary school and they ask the parents to label everything (I mean each crayon, marker pencil...etc!). I just pull out a sharpie and write her name on them. Its much easier and cost efficient than printed labels... I'd save the pretty labels for the bigger stuff (water bottles, pencil case, etc)

Try putting a piece of clear tape over the sharpie if it is smearing. That should hold it

I knew my fellow DIS'ers would know! I hadn't even thought about using tape.

 

[sherry7]

I used to keep a package of those really small Avery computer printer labels on hand and print my child's name on each one and then wrap it around each pencil or down the side of each pencil. I don't have any here on hand to tell you the exact size, but they were really small..... like .5" x 1.25". And I used them on EVERYTHING.... not just school supplies. We used to use them to label cameras and chargers and stuff like that when we traveled, plus stuff around the house...........P

I have a pack of Avery labels somewhere in my desk, I'll have to find them. They're big, but maybe I could cut them down. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[barkley]

the pencils would be the big pain for me-has anyone considered just ordering a bunch of pencils preprinted with their kid's name on them? you can get them from on-line sites for around 500 for around $100. I know kids go through pencils, but I'm willing to bet that an order when the kid is in preschool or kindergarten will last through most of their school careers, so if you spread out the cost it's not much more in the long run.

as for stickers with names on them-a very cheap resource is the companies that make address return labels. you just fill in the top line of the order with your child's name and leave the address and city/state/zip fields blank. I just did a google search and found plenty of sites where you can get 1000 for less than $40.

just for the heck of it I just went to the Current website (it's where we got name stickers for our kids when they were little)-they still sell the name stickers for $7.95 (for 144)-and i'll swear by the adhesive quality. dd is 20 and I recently found a couple dozen of the ones we bought when she was 2 in daycare-the stickers are still in great shape and adhere well.

 

[smitch425]

I've never priced out my way of doing it, but all it takes is one piece of paper to label everything and very little tape on the roll. $2 maybe??

 

[DreamIsaWish]

Write initials on the bottom of the colored pencils with a Sharpie. I know it smears off the paint, but the bottom is raw wood and it stays on. One initial on the left of the color in the center, and one initial on the right. Works great.

Initials on the paper wrapper of each crayon as well. Quicker to do initials than full name and still does the trick. I did initial pencils and most of it stayed on. Every night leading up to school I'm taking one category and spending 5 minutes initialing while watching TV.

After losing 45 crayons in the first 6 weeks of school, I labeled every single item. Lost very little after that. We were even able to reuse markers and colored pencils at least one extra year because they all came home. Crayons and pencils, well, they just looked a little rough so even though most of them came home, they're not going back.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

the pencils would be the big pain for me-has anyone considered just ordering a bunch of pencils preprinted with their kid's name on them? you can get them from on-line sites for around 500 for around $100. I know kids go through pencils, but I'm willing to bet that an order when the kid is in preschool or kindergarten will last through most of their school careers, so if you spread out the cost it's not much more in the long run.

as for stickers with names on them-a very cheap resource is the companies that make address return labels. you just fill in the top line of the order with your child's name and leave the address and city/state/zip fields blank. I just did a google search and found plenty of sites where you can get 1000 for less than $40.

just for the heck of it I just went to the Current website (it's where we got name stickers for our kids when they were little)-they still sell the name stickers for $7.95 (for 144)-and i'll swear by the adhesive quality. dd is 20 and I recently found a couple dozen of the ones we bought when she was 2 in daycare-the stickers are still in great shape and adhere well.

No offense meant, but I find all of these options to be WAY more expensive than a sharpie. lol. Even using the little file folder label stickers and a marker would be cheaper.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I saw this on pinterest but have not tried: put clear nail polish over the sharpie. Why in the world do you have to label pencils and crayons? I home school so I do not understand; it seems much easier to buy extra supplies when they are practically giving them away. Or just donate extra to the teacher. What's the deal with not sharing pencils and crayons at school?

 

[DreamIsaWish]

I saw this on pinterest but have not tried: put clear nail polish over the sharpie. Why in the world do you have to label pencils and crayons? I home school so I do not understand; it seems much easier to buy extra supplies when they are practically giving them away. Or just donate extra to the teacher. What's the deal with not sharing pencils and crayons at school?

It's not about sharing. It's about having the right supplies when needed. In preschool and kindergarten it's communal supplies. After that, each kid has to be responsible for his/her own supplies and keeping them in his/her desk. If you lose two entire boxes of crayons on the floor, those either go in the trash or in the lost and found. So, you go to do your project and find you've only got 5 crayons left in your desk. Pretty hard to do the work. And I don't think it should be the responsibility of the kid sitting next to mine to share all of his/her crayons with my kid when mine can't keep track of supplies.

And I know if I had sent 6 boxes of crayons there still would have only been a small handful left after a few weeks. But with initials on the crayons they can actually be found in the lost and found. Same with pencils. When all the pencils were lost in a few weeks you have to use the lost and found bucket and those were pretty awful looking -- chewed on, no erasers.

I guess I just see it that labeling was a tool that enabled my kid to take more responsibility. When a supply was lost, there was hope of findng it again. With no label, might as well throw the supplies in the trash because that's where they were ending up anyway. And once I gave that tool, the responsibility followed.

 

[scrapquitler]

write the name on piece of masking tape with an extra fine sharpie, stick it on whatever stuff you need to label.

I do like the idea of buying personalized pencils. I bought them for each of my kids and niece and nephews when they started school, from Oriental Trading. I think I bought packs of 48 for less than $20.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

It's not about sharing. It's about having the right supplies when needed. In preschool and kindergarten it's communal supplies. After that, each kid has to be responsible for his/her own supplies and keeping them in his/her desk. If you lose two entire boxes of crayons on the floor, those either go in the trash or in the lost and found. So, you go to do your project and find you've only got 5 crayons left in your desk. Pretty hard to do the work. And I don't think it should be the responsibility of the kid sitting next to mine to share all of his/her crayons with my kid when mine can't keep track of supplies.

And I know if I had sent 6 boxes of crayons there still would have only been a small handful left after a few weeks. But with initials on the crayons they can actually be found in the lost and found. Same with pencils. When all the pencils were lost in a few weeks you have to use the lost and found bucket and those were pretty awful looking -- chewed on, no erasers.

I guess I just see it that labeling was a tool that enabled my kid to take more responsibility. When a supply was lost, there was hope of findng it again. With no label, might as well throw the supplies in the trash because that's where they were ending up anyway. And once I gave that tool, the responsibility followed.

I do not remember having this problem when I went to school! Are big kids seriously dropping supplies on the floor and expecting the Pencil Fairy to magic them back into their desks? They don't know better than to put their things back when they're done using them? I understand what you're saying but...sorry, this phenomenon cracks me up!

 

[MAJPLO]

I do not remember having this problem when I went to school! Are big kids seriously dropping supplies on the floor and expecting the Pencil Fairy to magic them back into their desks? They don't know better than to put their things back when they're done using them? I understand what you're saying but...sorry, this phenomenon cracks me up!

Strange, right? I've been teaching for sixteen years and up until the last couple of years I still had all the same scissors, rulers, colored pencils, crayons I started with (obviously added to the crayons and colored pencils). I have only three pairs of scissors left and maybe ten rulers. Really? What's a kid taking a pair of scissors and rulers for??? So weird.

 

[elphaba91]

When I was a kid my mother would use a knife to shave a small bit of the colored part of the pencil off near the end, exposing the wood underneath, and then write our names on with an inky black pen.

 

[sherry7]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. There are some of these that I hadn't thought of. School starts in just a few days, so I'd better get busy! Fortunately, her supply list is very small, so I dont have a huge amount to do.

Someone asked why the supplies have to be labeled, instead of being put into a shared pool. DD4 is going to Montessori pre K. One of the Montessori principles is for children to be independent, self sufficient, learn responsibility, etc. So I'm theorizing that making the children responsible for their own supplies helps reinforce that.

 

[Alesia]

Masking tape and a pen.

 

[tinker&belle]

Gold metallic sharpie worked well on my daughter's colored pencils.

 

[sskem96]

I used the tiny Avery computer labels, put a little picture of whoever my daughter's favorite character was at the time and her name. There are probably about 200 stickers on a page, so 1 page was enough to label everything and only took a couple mintues to design and print out.