Kindergarten Shopping List: What to Buy for Their First School Year

Your kindergarten shopping list is the one back to school list that comes with actual feelings attached. This is not just buying notebooks and a backpack — this is the start of something big, and if you are anything like most kindergarten moms, you want to get it exactly right. The good news is that kindergarten supplies are genuinely simple. The trick is knowing what belongs on the list, what to skip and what teachers wish more parents understood before the first week of school. This is everything you need, from someone who has been through kindergarten drop-off more than once and has strong opinions about backpack sizing.

Before You Buy Anything: The Kindergarten Supply List Reality

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Here is the thing most first-time school parents do not realize. Kindergarten classrooms very often use community supplies rather than individual supplies per student. That means the glue sticks and crayons and markers you buy go into a shared classroom bin rather than sitting at your child’s desk. This is not universal — it depends entirely on the school and teacher — but it changes how you shop.

Wait for the teacher’s supply list before purchasing classroom items. It typically arrives in August and it will be specific. When the list says “one box Crayola crayons 24-count” it means exactly that, not the 64-count box with the sharpener because you thought more was better.

What you can and should shop for before that list arrives: the backpack, the lunch setup, the water bottle and shoes. Those are your head start purchases.

The Kindergarten Backpack: Sizing Actually Matters

A kindergarten backpack needs to fit a kindergartner. This sounds obvious until you see a five-year-old absolutely swallowed by a backpack sized for a third grader. The right size has the bottom of the bag hitting at the child’s lower back, not past their waist.

The kindergarten-specific features worth prioritizing:

Wide, padded straps that stay on small shoulders without slipping. Straps that are too narrow slide off constantly and become a frustration before they ever reach the classroom door.

A simple interior with one main compartment and one front pocket. Kindergartners do not need an elaborate organization system — they need something they can open and close independently. Multiple zipped sections are harder to manage for young hands.

Lightweight construction. The bag itself should weigh almost nothing because kindergartners are not carrying much — a folder, a snack, a lunchbox if it fits and a change of clothes. A heavy backpack defeats the purpose.

The brands I trust for this age: LL Bean has a small backpack option that scales properly for kindergarten. Skip Hop makes backpacks specifically designed for this age with the right sizing and fun designs. Pottery Barn Kids monogrammed options are beloved for a reason — the quality is genuinely excellent.

Shop Kindergarten Backpack for Girls
Shop Kindergarten Backpack for Boys

The Supply List: What Kindergartners Actually Need

Once you have the teacher’s list in hand, here is what you will almost certainly be shopping for:

Crayons. Crayola 24-count is the standard kindergarten classroom request. The 24-count holds up better than the 8-count for art work and is far easier to manage than the 64-count with all the specialty colors. Buy two boxes — they get used up.

Washable markers. Crayola washable broad-tip markers are what most kindergarten teachers request. Washable matters at this age more than you can imagine.

Glue sticks. Buy more than the list asks for. Glue sticks are the consumable supply item that runs out fastest in kindergarten classrooms. If the list asks for four, buy six.

Child-size scissors. Fiskars brand makes child scissors that actually cut rather than just folding paper — a real functional difference for small hands learning to cut. If the list does not specify scissors, check whether the classroom provides them before buying.

A plastic two-pocket folder. Most kindergartners use a single plastic folder to bring papers home and back. Get two in case one gets damaged — they are inexpensive and having a backup saves a trip to the store.

A composition notebook or two. Some kindergarten teachers use these for journals and drawing. Wide-ruled and hardcover.

A box of tissues and hand sanitizer. These are almost universally on the kindergarten supply list and easily forgotten.

Kindergarten school supplies crayons washable markers glue sticks Crayola scissors folder

Name Labels: The Non-Negotiable Kindergarten Purchase

Label everything. This is not an exaggeration. Label the backpack, the lunchbox, the water bottle, every folder, every crayon box, every glue stick. Kindergarten classrooms go through a remarkable amount of “whose is this?” and the labeled items come home while the unlabeled items disappear.

The best approach: order a sheet of personalized waterproof labels before school starts. Companies like Mabel’s Labels and Name Bubbles make labels in various sizes for different items — small labels for school supplies, larger ones for lunchboxes and backpacks. A set of iron-on clothing labels handles the clothing items that go to PE or come off at recess.

If you want a faster solution, a Sharpie on the inside of each item works entirely fine and costs nothing.

Personalized name labels kids school waterproof backpack lunch box supplies stickers

The Lunch Setup for Kindergartners

The kindergarten lunch setup has one primary requirement that supersedes everything else: your child must be able to open every single container completely independently. Teachers and lunch aides have thirty kids to help through a twenty-minute lunch period. They cannot open every container every day.

Test every item before the school year starts. Sit with your child and have them open the lunchbox, open each container, access the snack bag and close everything back up. If they struggle with anything, replace it with something easier.

What works well for this age:

A soft-sided insulated lunch bag with a simple zipper top rather than clips or buckles. The Pottery Barn Kids Classic Lunch Bag has a zipper that young kids manage well. LunchBots and PlanetBox make bento-style containers with easy latch openings rather than screw tops or tight-fit lids that require significant hand strength.

A reusable snack pouch or small snack bag for crackers, fruit and snacks that they can open without help.

A water bottle with a simple flip straw or push-button — not a screw top that requires two hands. Simple Modern makes a water bottle with a straw spout that kindergartners manage independently and it is leak proof.

For days when kids have sports or activities after school and need food that stays cold longer, our frostedevents.com/soft-coolers/ post has great options that work well for the longer school days that come as kids get older.

Kindergarten Clothing: What Actually Matters

Kindergarten clothing priorities are completely different from what you might expect. The primary filter for every purchase is: can my child manage this independently?

Pants with elastic waistbands rather than buttons and snaps for the first few weeks while they are getting used to bathroom independence at school. Jeans with stiff denim and button closures are not the move for early kindergarten.

Slip-on or velcro shoes unless your child can tie their own shoes confidently. Untied shoelaces in kindergarten are both a fall hazard and a classroom distraction — teachers spend real time helping kids with shoes. If your child is not a secure, independent shoe tier, buy velcro. There is no pride issue here, it is just practical.

Sneakers that can handle the playground. Kindergartners run, climb, do PE and spend significant time on playgrounds. Slip-on sandals and dress shoes are not appropriate for daily school wear.

Comfortable clothes they can move in. Dresses with leggings, elastic waist pants, soft knit tops. Stiff or restrictive clothing makes a long school day longer.

A zip-up hoodie or school sweatshirt that can stay on their hook all week. Kindergartners are in and out of classrooms that run different temperatures and a hoodie that lives at school handles it without requiring them to remember to pack one.

Kids Velcro Sneakers
Watchout Kindergarten Here I Come Shirt