Navigating Back-to-School: High School vs College Essentials

We wrap up our back-to-school series with practical advice for high school and college supplies, focusing on the transition between these educational stages and what students actually need versus what retailers want you to buy.

• High school students need quality binders and organizational tools to manage increased coursework
• Laptops and tablets become essential tools for high school students using online learning platforms
• Invest in a good printer with scanning capabilities for assignments and digital submissions
• Choose durable, multi-purpose backpacks for high schoolers, especially those involved in sports
• For college, remember "LESS IS MORE" – focus on necessities before decorative items
• Consider end-of-year storage issues when purchasing college supplies
• Pre-clean dorm rooms thoroughly before move-in and encourage ongoing cleanliness
• Use Amazon wishlists or gift cards to help supplement college supply needs
• Emotional preparation for parents is just as important as practical preparation for students

Make sure you're following us at thegagispod on IG and YouTube, and my personal page smartfit_okie on IG as well.

Chapters

• 1:09 Welcome to The Gagas Pot
• 2:21 High School Supplies Essentials
• 6:24 Multi-Purpose Backpacks for High Schoolers
• 9:44 College Shopping: Less Is More
• 13:56 Dorm Room Cleaning and Storage
• 20:02 Dropping My Son Off in NYC
• 24:09 Song Lyric of the Week

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:35

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Gagas Pot. I am your girl, charlie Shantae. Thank you for joining me on another episode. Okay, here we go. Y'all know, for some reason, sometimes I come on here and I have it all together. Sometimes it's just been hot mess.

Speaker 1: 0:50

And today I think it's like giving a little uh, I don't want to record, like the equipment don't want to record, but we finna record, like why do why the mic keep falling, like you are a whole microphone, like your sole purpose is to be here. But nonetheless, as I always say, if it's a Friday, then it's a new episode. If you're not listening to it on a Friday, that is all good, just glad that you are here. And if you are not already, please make sure you are following us at thegaggiestpot on IG and YouTube, and if you want to follow my personal page, smartfitorg, smartfit underscore orgy on IG as well. So, as I always say, grab your drink or whatever it is that you eat, drink or do when you are listening to this, so we can go home, go ahead and see my words going to be everywhere today, so that we can go ahead and get started, all right. So today we're going to close out the last part of the back to school series. You know, here the kids have already started school. Your kids may not have started school. I know, sometimes in the West or up North they don't start school until after Labor Day. So if that is the case, then these rules still apply to you. But even if your kid has already applied, has already started school, then you know they this still apply as well. Going forward.

Speaker 1: 2:14

So we're going to talk about school supplies for high school and for college, and I wanted to do this one last, because this one is kind of like. It's kind of like a two for one, right. So high school and college I feel like high school is like a transition for college, right, because in high school, like my kid could, your kid could be taking college classes. So I feel like some of the supplies go hand in hand. I feel like this microphone just don't want a microphone today and, um, I may have to hold it. So you know, bear with bear with me. I don't want it way up here. Okay, all right, it might look, but y'all finna get it. See, that looks funky. Okay, but y'all gonna get the word. So, high school versus college some of the supplies are the same, like I said, and shopping is very similar.

Speaker 1: 3:12

This is the best time, I say, to determine your child's needs. Like is your child a visual learner? Is your child an audio learner? You know? Like do they do better with pen and paper? Do they do better with computers, slides, different stuff like that?

Speaker 1: 3:26

So what I'm going to say is make sure that you are getting quality supplies for high school and college because, unlike middle school and elementary, it looks a lot different, like I call high school, like junior college, like junior junior college or whatever. So for high school, my first bullet point is minimal supplies are needed outside of the usual paper and writing items. Unlike middle school, and definitely elementary, you don't need your crowns, your rulers, your glue and your different stuff like this. So, with that being said, I personally always make sure that I invest in a good binder trapper, keeper or something like that. That way it's very durable. Because they are going from class to class, the course load is more, so it's going to be holding a little bit more compared to your typical middle school and elementary where they just have just little flimsy folders and stuff. Versus high school, they need the thicker two to three inch binders because there is more work and there are more things that have to be cataloged when they are in class.

Speaker 1: 4:38

This would be a good time to invest in a laptop. The reason why I say this is a lot of the work is done on Canvas, which means it's done on the computer. I say invest in a laptop right now. That way you can determine what type of laptop your child likes. Every child does not like an iMac. Some kids may like HP or something like that. So I feel like now is a good time to get your child a laptop, just to determine, so they can get the feel and see if they really like it.

Speaker 1: 5:17

New Face, I was like you need a laptop. And he has a laptop. He just has like just a Microsoft. I think it's like a little HP or something that I bought from the store. He loves that. I tried to get him to use my MacBook for one day for the homework and he was like I cannot do this. Can it grow on him? Absolutely, but I'm not going to force him to do something like this. Can it grow on him Absolutely, but I'm not going to force him to do something like this.

Speaker 1: 5:43

So, in addition to his laptop. He had a tablet as well. He had an iPad as well. I also suggest getting one of these, just like an iPad mini or just a regular iPad or something, as when it's study time, instead of lugging their laptop around they can take this tablet around. They can do the same thing and instead of typing on there they can write Little bit. Easier to carry around they don't need a big backpack, they can just have like a carrying sleeve or something like that. So make sure you do your due diligence. You know like, don't get like a ninety nine dollar laptop that they have on. So it's going to cost you a couple hundred dollars to determine if your child likes a certain laptop or not. I would say a MacBook would be the last option because it is more pricier than the others, but I would say four to six hundred dollars would be a good starting point for you to get a laptop for your child.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Um, a printer. Oh, my goodness, a printer, because let's think how many times have our kids come to us and go hey, mom, I need this printed out. Most of us probably do it at work, but that's neither here nor there. But a printer. Printers are very inexpensive. This allows, like new face. New face has his stuff on his computer but he also likes to write stuff down. So he'd be like hey, mom, can I print this out so that I can you it take my notes? Different stuff like that. A lot of teachers also say you can bring in one piece of paper to assist you with the test. Only the notes that are on there are only the notes that you can use. So he'll take that and then he'll write his notes on there. Then he'll utilize it like that.

Speaker 1: 7:26

I also got a printer that serves as a dual purpose. So not only is it a printer but it's a scanner as well. This is because a lot of their work from what I noticed from new face is once they complete the work, they have to send it in via canvas. Yes, I do know that you can use your phone, your child can use their phone to take a picture of it and scan it, but sometimes that's not always applicable. So a printer that serves as a scanner will also get the trick done.

Speaker 1: 7:59

And I also make sure that I get a color, not a color printer. Yes, a color printer. I meant to say not a color computer, but yes, I do get a color printer. That way, if they need to print a presentation or something like that in color, they have it there. You can do your due diligence to see if you need an inkjet or if you're going to do like little cartridges or whatever you want to do. I would just say, make sure that is a two in one, something that is very practical, something that's very doable, something that's not very big, something that does not take up a lot of space. Here we actually have two printers. I don't know how we ended up with that, but they're very centrally located in our home. It's in my office, so if New Face needs to print something, he can just come in there and print it. I also have a printer that is Bluetooth wireless capable. That way, if he has something on his phone, he can print it off his phone as well. If not, he can print wirelessly from his laptop. Or he can bring his laptop in, plug it into the cord and do it like that top end. Plug it into the cord and do it like that.

Speaker 1: 9:13

And my last bullet point for high school is a quality, multi-purpose backpack OMG. This is especially important if your kid does sports, but also if they're going to be utilizing and bringing their laptop back and forth. I know some high schools do allow the use of personal devices in class to take notes or if they're doing like something online. I know they can't use their personal for testing, but something like submitting to Canvas or if they're doing research in class or something of the sorts, they can use their personal device for that. So I always look for a backpack that has like the back pocket is insulated. So most backpacks have what they call a laptop slot where you can put the laptop in the back slot. It's padded. It's typically on the back portion of the backpack. That way when you're carrying it it's flat against your back or it can be in the front. I've seen both. Nuface has one where the laptop slot is in the back. I also say look for a multi-purpose backpack that has a lot of pockets, because a lot of kids do sports.

Speaker 1: 10:27

Now for new phase. He does swim, so I typically pick him up and take him to swim, depending on which swim he goes to, whether he goes to the high school swim practice or whether he goes to his competition team, his travel team practice. So I needed him to have something that had enough pockets that if he needed to, if I forgot to get something anymore, like he didn't pack something in his bag he can bring it with him. Typically I have his big stuff like his wedge, his kickboard and his flippers I typically have those. So he'll take a pair of jammers and his goggles and his backpack has a compartment for that, to where he can keep that stuff on him. It's not interfering with the binders that he has. It doesn't make his backpack any heavier or anything like that. I want to say he has a North Face backpack and it runs around one hundred and ten dollars but it's very resourceful, very lightweight, very sturdy, because these kids go through backpacks like it's not nothing.

Speaker 1: 11:32

Parents and I mean this with all it's your kid do what you want to do. But I have gone to my child's school and I have seen so many kids there. They want the little cute backpacks, the Hello Kitties and the Bluey and different stuff like that. I seen a girl. She had a blue backpack and it was lighting up and I'm like baby, that backpack is not practical. It's just a one compartment and it's not very strong because it's intended for elementary, maybe even middle school. It's intended for elementary, maybe even middle school. It's not very strong, the materials are not very strong. It's not going to support the weight of the books and the binders that you're supposed to have in your bag.

Speaker 1: 12:15

Yes, they're cute, yes, they're fashionable, but, parents, I do not recommend you get these backpacks for your children, because if my child has a backpack I'm going to be looking like so you're just not bringing no work home, you're just not doing no kind of work. You ain't got nothing to bring home. No papers for me to sign? No, nothing, just nothing, huh. So, parents, please refrain from buying these little cute backpacks for your children, unless they're using it for sports or something like that. I would say that would would be the only thing. But other than that, those backpacks are not practical for college. They're not practical for high school.

Speaker 1: 12:51

Okay, moving right along. Oh, I like the flow it is. Today, your girl came in here prepared and organized. Okay, college, oh, my goodness and I can attest to this because I've been there and done that, y'all forget. I got Marco Polo, and when Marco Polo went to college, I was like every other parent out there. You need this, you need that, you're going to need this, you're going to need that, when truth be told, he need none of that. Need that, when truth be told, he need none of that.

Speaker 1: 13:30

So my first bullet point for college is less is more, and in my notes I have it in all capital letters, with a bunch of exclamation points at the end Less is more. Do not break the bank for college. Okay, college ain't nothing but high school outside your house. You want to be very, very, very, very, very, very minimal when it comes to purchasing for college. Now, with that being said, I'm not just saying your kids should only have a bed, bedding and a desk in their room. Make your kids comfortable, by all means. But in order to do that, you need to set a budget, because if you don't set a budget, I don't care what store you go to. They got these fancy displays with all of this stuff. Send your kid off to college, the right way. This for simplicity. That for that. Don't fall for it. Okay, this stuff is cute.

Speaker 1: 14:32

These advertisements is meant to get you to buy this stuff. Don't do it, okay, and I'm gonna tell you why here. Um, and one of my next bullet points spend money on the needed stuff first. See the needed stuff. You know your kid's going to need sheets, they're going to need bedding, they're going to probably need a little small dresser or something to put their extra clothes in. They're probably going to need a little small desktop lamp, pillows, pillowcases, different stuff like that. Yes, get that stuff. Clothes hangers, a little area rug or something to put next to their bed so when they put their feet down in the morning. Yes, all of that stuff is stuff you need Shower curtain, toothbrush holder, soap holder, soap dispenser, toilet paper holder, stuff like this, simple, small, functional, everyday stuff.

Speaker 1: 15:29

Because, remember, high school is like their bedroom outside. College is like their bedroom outside their house. So it should be high school minded, but outside your house. Does that make sense? Then, if there's a little bit of money left over, you can go ahead and get extra items there once. So like um, no, curtains is not necessary. But if they want curtains cause they want to decorate, or they want the little fancy lights that go around their room or something like that, all of that stuff is good. But that's not in a necessity.

Speaker 1: 16:05

Stuff Like these things are not pivotal to you being at school. You could argue and say you know, they want to decorate, they want to feel like they're at home. They want to give the ambiance you know, they want to give the vibe. I get that. But if it's not in the budget right now, it's okay not to have it. That's not to say that later on down the line that you won't have the money to get these supplies and these other little things to help decorate your room. You know, I encourage, if you have friends and family, I encourage the use of gift cards or set up like a little cash app or something so that they can get money. Set up an Amazon wishlist to see if people can help buy or, you know, purchase the little stuff to send them off to college.

Speaker 1: 16:49

There's many different ways that your student can get everything that they need for their dorm room or their apartment when they go off to college. And I said all of that to say this. And I said all of that to say this Please remember that at the end of each school year, your child has to move out of their dorm room. This is not like, unless they have an apartment that you are personally paying for. That is not a part of student housing. They got to move out every May, every April, may, june even. They got to move out.

Speaker 1: 17:23

So I say that to say this remember when I told you don't be buying all that stuff, because less is more, because think about it, during those two and a half months, while they're home for the summer, you got to have somewhere to put this space, this stuff. So what we did with Marco Polo is, for the two summers that he was there, we had to get a storage unit. We had to pack up all his stuff and he had to get a storage unit. And that was a cause that he wasn't thinking about because we were like, oh okay, we'll just leave his stuff there over the summer, he going to come home, whatever, whatever. Nope, you got to pack up all of that stuff and put it somewhere and you're not going to continue to lug it home, especially if your child goes to school out of state. You're not going to get a U-Haul, bring all that stuff back only two months later to have to pack it all back up and U-Haul it away, going to have to get a storage unit. So that's why I say less is more, because it's easier to pack up the necessities and stuff like that, some items you can give away or what have you, but it's easier to pick up the stuff, the few items, and put them in the storage, compared to getting a whole bunch of stuff and then you're going to have to get a bigger storage because you have bigger stuff or having to worry about lugging it back home.

Speaker 1: 18:39

Marco Polo, he, like I said, we got his storage, he left clothes there and then he had clothes here at the house, so that way when he came home he didn't have to do much. And then when he would come back here and then go back to school, then he would just take a little bit more clothes with him or he would swap it out, because we live in Florida, he went to school in New York, so he would bring his summer clothes back and then he would take more winter clothes and then vice versa. And my last bullet point for college ensure your child has clean and supplies the first dorm that Marco Polo went into. I hope that he gives these people their deposit back. And it also lets me know that they didn't check the room. Nor did they. You know, they just ain't checked the room because I'm going to spare y'all the details, but it was dirty. But they just ain't checked the room because I'm gonna spare y'all the details, but it was dirty. But me being me, I went and bought a gallon of Fabuloso, some Lysol, some Clorox, wipes, all of that stuff and by the time um, he moved into that room for the summer.

Speaker 1: 19:41

That room was very sanitized and clean. When I tell you I'm doing doors, floors clean, wipe down the beds, mattresses, everything, because they had like the plastic kind of like mattresses, you know like before we put the bed cover on there and stuff like that, wipe down everything, everything that was wiped down. I'm talking about windowsills, windows, the little part of the window where the little latch is. I'm wiping all of that down. I would have wiped the walls if I could, but there was that pain and I didn't want to mess it up, so I was like we'll just lice all this Got to clean. Tell your kids keep it clean, because you don't know what the people next to them are doing. You would hate to get ants and roaches. I've heard horror stories in dorms about ants and roaches. You don't want them having problems. You don't want to got problems again.

Speaker 1: 20:37

Like I said, marco polo went to school in new york and so you know there was occasional rat story, you know, running through the hall, different stuff like that. So always, like I said, pre-clean the room and then encourage your child, you know, to keep it clean during the school year. Okay, now, since we're talking about high school and college and you know, cleaning and different stuff like that, my, you can't make this up. It's kind of funny, but it's not funny. So Marco Polo went to school in New York and he wanted to do the Summer Bridge program and I was like, and it was for 30 days. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is the first time he's been away from home for a long time, that he hasn't been with family, he hasn't been on, just like in a trip or something like that. Omg, like he's establishing his footprint in new york. Like new york, new york, nyc, like city of dreams.

Speaker 1: 21:39

And I remember the day that I dropped him off and left, we were standing outside the hotel. Wait, was that the first time or the second time I went back? We? I think no, the was the first time. I can't remember if the first or the second time because I dropped him off twice, but one of the times that I was there I up walking. I left the hotel, ended up walking to um to the train station and to get to ride the subway to the airport. And I was like, oh my god, like I'm really leaving my kid here, like this is crazy.

Speaker 1: 22:17

And y'all ever seen the movies where, like people get on the train and then it's raining, and then it's like that one rain drop dropping down. So I go to get to the train station and I'm dragging my luggage and I'm on the train and they're like I walk in and I'm like looking like you could not tell me that I was not on the set of a movie. Okay, because this is exactly how it felt. I sit down, I slide in by a window seat and I'm looking at everybody else come in, and then I see a little window, a little raindrop, like there was a raindrop. So I went in, I see a little raindrop, it was dropping down and I lost it. Lost it Because I was like, oh my God, my baby, like this is my firstborn and like I'm really leaving him out here to the savages of NYC, like what? So that's my.

Speaker 1: 23:09

You can't make this up story. Needless to say, my boy was fine, he adapted. You know what I'm saying, but don't think he came back and he's like you walk too slow and I'm like, bro, I drive everywhere. I got to walk everywhere. I'm not trying to catch no trains and buses, but it's all good. So that's my. You Can't Make this Up story of the week, as always. If you are not, please make sure you are following me on IG at TheGagIsPod, and it's the same handle on YouTube as well. And before we get up out of here, we got the song lyric of the week and this week the song lyric of the week is going to be Grateful, by DJ Khaled, featuring Vori. All right, I am a girl. Charlie Shante. This is the Gag. Is Pod Bye, guys.