With Labor Day behind us, the summer has unofficially ended.  Most kids have returned to school by now, and households have returned to the pattern of school, homework, activities, and reasonable bedtimes.  Our house has been in that routine for two weeks now, and thankfully the return to this schedule has gone well.

As always, the start of the school year is filled with newness:  a new grade, a new teacher,  and new classmates.  Never mind that there may be a new bus stop or a a new school to consider.  These pieces can make any child feel exhilarated and nervous at the same time.

For the parents, there are other new items that cause the same feeling of dread and excitement: the need for new supplies and clothes.  Multiple trips to the mall are almost guaranteed.  While pencils and crayons most likely are on the list, so are other items, such as thumb drives.  The older your children are, the bigger the items they need.

This week, a few of our sites highlighted some items that older students might  need.  If your child needs an external hard drive, read this review of a 1 terabyte drive.  For college-aged students, one of our writers offers suggestions on how to minimize the cost of purchasing textbooks.

Finally, if you are a teacher who is looking for ways to increase success in your classroom, then you should visit Test Soup, which is a sister company of ours.  Working with five other educational companies, they are providing $150,000 worth of giveaways in this contest.

Here’s to a great school year for all!