Back to School Essentials
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It’s that time of year again- Back to School! In this blogpost, we’ll share our top back to school essentials for kids in elementary, middle and high school. We’ll go over laptops, tablets, accessories etc. We’ll even give you our picks for the best online study resources to really keep your kids engaged and learning all through the school year!
Without further ado, here are our favorite Back to School Essentials!
Laptops
Lenovo Chromebook
The Lenovo Chromebook is a great laptop for kids to start their technology journey. This user friendly laptop has a touchscreen, and you can fold the keyboard back to use it as a tablet. It’s a great size (11.6 inches) and is less than 1 inch thick! It has decent memory and you can just log into a Google account and be ready to go!
Acer Aspire Laptop
The Acer Aspire Laptop is one of our favorite back to school essentials for sure! We own over 100 of these laptops and use them regularly in our camps and classes. It’s budget friendly and windows-based. It’s a perfect laptop for kids to play Roblox, Minecraft and get all their homework done too!
Predator Helios Laptop
If your child is ready to get into more resource intensive gaming this school year, this is a great option. While it is more expensive than the previous 2 laptops we’ve mentioned, it will last a long time, and has the ability to do so much: hardcore gaming, video editing, heavy coding, game creation, and even schoolwork!
Macbook Air
If your child is interested in gaming, we don’t recommend a Mac, but if they don’t care about gaming and you want a laptop that will last for 6-7 years, a Macbook might be just what you’re looking for. It’s also what you child will need if they are interested in coding in Swift or creating apps for the App store. It’s a great option for schoolwork (just be sure your child isn’t looking for a gaming machine).
Tablets
Fire Tablet 8 and Fire Tablet 10
Fire tablets are a great piece of technology for kids. They can play games, learn the basics of coding, read and watching movies or TV shows. Fire tablets are budget friendly, have a long battery life, and are compatible with tons of popular apps. We use Fire Tablets in our camps and classes all the time.
Ipad
Ipads are another great touchscreen tablet for kids. They do cost 2-3x’s more than a Fire tablet, but they are definitely a higher quality product. These tablets are another great piece of technology for kids to use all year long!
Books
Hello Ruby
“Hello Ruby” is an awesome guide for kids to learn about coding. You don’t even need a computer! This half activity book/half picture book is such a fun way for youngsters to begin their coding journey. You can read our full review here.
25 Scratch 3 Games for Kids
Scratch is one of our favorite tools for teaching kids how to code. This book is a perfect way for kids to keep learning on their own this school year. Each game tutorial builds on the previous one. This book keeps kids engaged and involved in their coding journey.
Coding Projects in Python
For older kids who want to keep improving their coding skills throughout the school year, this book is the one for them! This book includes step by step instructions for 14 different projects and teaches kids important coding principles. The book also includes a script that cracks secret codes, a quiz to challenge family and friends, a matching game, and more!
Ipad Case- This is a great case to protect your investment and keep it safe while it’s going to and from school and bouncing around.
Makey Makey
Makey Makey is a super fun accessory you can get your child to help develop creativity, problem solving and to have fun! Makey Makey extends beyond the screen and brings engineering and coding concepts to life. Kids can turn a banana into a touchpad or even craft their own video game controller! There is no software to install and Makey Makey works with Mac, Windows, and Chromebook.
Minecraft
Minecraft is one our favorite games! We decided to include it in our Back to School Essentials because it provides a way for kids to create and build (without the Legos pieces we’ll inevitably step on at some point), explore generated worlds, survive dangerous mobs or play in creative mode. Kids can play alone or with friends, and there is a version for pretty much every device. If your child enjoys coding, they can create their own “mods” and really push their skills to the limit!
Online Resources
Discord
Discord is a a group messaging, video call, voice call, and video conferencing platform that was originally designed for gamers, but is now used by games, businesses and classes alike. We love using Discord for our online classes, Game Jams and just for having fun!
Blocksite
Blocksite is a Chrome extension that won’t allow you to go certain websites when the timer is on. It’s a great tool for kids (and adults!) who can get easily distracted when they need to focus on school or work.
Read Aloud Text to Speech
Read Aloud Text to Speech does just what you’d think it does - it reads aloud text to you! It’s great for kids who may be struggling with their reading, or for anyone who wants to save time. That way you can get your reading done while you’re walking, taking the bus, etc.
Grammarly
Grammarly is a great way to improve your grammar and be sure your assignments are ready to go. It helps you fix the grammar problem, and also teaches you why you need to correct it. It’s kind of like spell check, but with grammar.
Dark Reader
This app is helpful if you’re feeling some eyestrain from all of the time you spend looking at screens. It automatically turns all websites into dark mode, which puts less strain on your eyes.
Conclusion
We’re looking forward to a new school year and hoping it’s the beginning of things getting back to “normal.” Hopefully our list of Back to School Essentials has been helpful to you! Let us know if we left anything out in the comments!
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