Cool School Tools We Didn’t Have As a Kid

As the world continues to change, it can be fun to take stock and note all the new gadgets and tools our kids have today that we didn’t have when we were in school. These are some of the latest cool school tools you may want to consider adding to your homeschool for a bit of fun and flare.

Kwik Stix
With Kwik Stix, kids can enjoy the fun of painting without the mess. Kwik Stix look like markers in a nicely contained capped tube, but they coat any surface just like paint. Many homeschool moms wish these existed long ago!

Twistables
Twistable crayons are not the newest invention, but they were a significant contribution to the Crayola operation. No more fussing with peeling down the paper around the crayon to extract a bit more color. Rather than a knob, the twistable crayons allow for a colored point from beginning to end.

Erasable Highlighters
It’s such a pain to accidentally highlight the wrong word or section while taking notes. There is no way to go back and “un-note” something. While you may have had to struggle through such frustration during your school days, erasable highlighters allow your children to have their notetaking free of messy mistakes.

Coding Websites
With the shift towards STEM learning and the push for starting kids in coding at a young age, the accessibility to coding games, toys, and websites has exploded. Children can now learn to code on websites like code.org completely free.

Smart Pens
This gadget is a bit pricier than your average school supply, but it can be immensely helpful for children who struggle with handwriting. With smart pens, the technology in the pen can actually turn handwriting into typed text on a computer. With such a gadget, parents can keep students practicing their handwriting while enjoying the benefit of grading typed work rather than struggling through deciphering printed work.

Personalized Anything
This may sound too broad to be its own category but think about it. We live in an age where you can put your child’s name on literally any school supply you want. One quick Google search or a brief browse on Etsy provides you with artists who can embroider pencil cases, paint favorite characters on notebooks, or even print inspirational sayings on sneakers. Gone are the days where getting initials on backpacks from L. L. Bean was a novelty. Now, you can easily personalize just about anything and make school supplies specific and special for every child.