Is your child’s pencil case full of sad stubs of broken pencils, odd bits of rubber and leaking biros? Well it is time to give it a makeover and stock it full of education essentials so they’re school-ready for the new term.
Everyone wants their child to do their very best at school, but in order to make the most of that clean slate at the start of a new school year, they need to have the necessary tools. Making sure they have everything they need for all the subjects they take is not as difficult or expensive as it sounds. It’s important to know what your child really needs in that all-important pencil case. Having the right pens and pencils are the basics on the back to school checklist – Faber-Castell’s range of mechanical writing and drawing equipment are the perfect solution for all classes, especially in maths and arts thanks to their versatility.
Follow our checklist for two of the most important school lessons, and your child will be able to become a star student, rather than being the kid known for borrowing equipment.
Maths
Studying mathematics is arguably the most important lesson your child will take during their years at school, as numeracy skills are needed by everyone on a daily basis. From counting out change in the shop to telling the time, you need to know about numbers for nearly everything.
Your child’s first meeting with maths will come in their first year of primary school – simple addition and subtractions will become their bread and butter. As they progress through the years, they’ll need a small 15cm ruler so they can start drawing graphs and tables to truly put the lessons they have learnt into practice.
As they move into secondary school, the equipment needed for maths steps up a level – a little ruler is no longer enough. Top of the list is a geometry set. Buying one of these is a perennial staple of the back to school shopping trip for secondary-school kids, as it contains set squares, a protractor and a compass – everything you need to tackle geometry and perpendicular bisectors. The Faber-Castell mechanical pencils and pens have a rubber grip, so you’ll be sure your hand won’t slip when drawing different shapes and tackling equations. A standard calculator won’t be enough either, as your child will be delving into the world of trigonometry and will require help from a scientific model.
Art
The most creatively-influenced lesson your child will sit, making sure they’ve got all the right gear for art class is a must. They’ll first come across this lesson in primary school, usually make finger painting or drawing pictures of the outdoors, so having the necessary equipment in their pencil case will allow their artistic minds to flourish. At a young age, they’ll need the basics – a set of pencils, a rubber in case they make any slight mistakes and a sharpener to keep their drawing tools sharp. A set of coloured crayons would also be a good idea, so they can truly express their feelings on the page in front of them.
Once they’re at secondary school, your child will get the opportunity to take their creativity to new heights, and many schools ask for them to be equipped with some slightly more specialist equipment such as pencils of varying hardness, watercolour colouring pencils and paintbrushes. If they want to pursue their artistic inhibitions even further, say to GCSE or A-Level standard, you might need to seriously invest in some quality art supplies, so they can produce work of the highest standard and receive the recognition they deserve. A set of pencils from the Faber-Castell Poly range would be a great option – their finer points are ideal for detailed sketching and shading. An A3 sized sketch pad may also be a necessity, depending on the projects and artwork your child is looking to attempt. For impressionist sketches and notes for your projects, a pad would be a perfect addition to your supplies too.
Making sure your child’s pencil case is fully stocked is a must to ensure they have everything they need to really be productive at school, and get the results they deserve.
