The top 5 “Catholic” school supplies and how to use them

Back-to-school sales started just after the Fourth of July. Most of them focused on the supplies kids need to make the shift from summer to fall — the stuff.

But kids need more than stuff to be successful in school (and in life). They need a strong foundation of faith. Take Out’s “Totally Metaphorical Back-to-School Fall Catalog” can help you outfit your kids’ spiritual backpacks with the equipment they need, and it doesn’t cost anything extra.

Compass

Your student may still be learning east from west, but with this stylish compass, they will always know right from wrong! Inlaid with a heart of gold, the Moral Compass can be there when you aren’t. With care and regular use, your child will be as wise as King Solomon!

Parent part: Pray the following together before heading out the door: “God, help me make choices today that honor you, others and myself.”

Dictionary

Words are the currency of any education, so make sure your child has the right ones at the ready. This handsome volume includes some of the most powerful words in our vocabulary. Use them alone (“please”) or in popular combinations (“thank you” and “I’m sorry”), and your child will move to the head of the class in no time!

Parent Part: Share the words of Pope Francis: “Above this door are written three words that we have already used other times: May I, thank you, and I’m sorry … in their genuine sense of respect and desire for good, they are far away from any hypocrisy and duplicity.”

Eraser

We all make mistakes. Whether giving or receiving, the sharp, pink Eraser of Forgiveness can turn the darkest of marks into shavings blown away with a single puff. Sure, it’s important to remind our young scholars to be careful with their words (not all of them are so easily erased). But it’s just as critical that they have a tool at the ready to fix the mistakes they make whenever they can.

Parent Part: Talk with your child about how it feels to ask forgiveness. How does it feel to offer forgiveness? (Does it feel a little like erasing our sins and starting from a clean slate?)

Day Planner

Life happens one day at a time. This handy Calendar/Diary will help your little time traveler see what’s ahead of them and what’s behind them while keeping a foot planted firmly in the gift of the present. With plenty of space for their memories and an almost infinite number of pages for new experiences, the Calendar/Diary can hold it all.

Parent Part: Measure how far your child has grown by talking with them about what it means to be a kid at their age. Heading off to school means they “get” to do a lot of the stuff they couldn’t when they were younger.

Glue

School can be bumpy. A dab of Friendship (glue) can be just what the doctor ordered when cracks or chips appear in your student’s confidence. The bonds of Friendship will teach your kids that relationships can be “sticky”: sticking together; sticking up for someone being teased; sticking around when relationships with classmates get hard.

Parent Part: Model strong friendships for your child by being a good friend to the people in your life. Talk about the things you do for friends without any expectation of something in return.