Our kid's don't go back until the second week of September. They are our youngest so they are still little but I remember well the graphing calculators and such. I bought them Lego backpacks and lunch boxes from Zulily so I got them for half price which was sweet. I bought their shoes and sneakers and will pick up some jeans and a few new shirts just because it is what I do. I say that because they truly have so much clothing that is new they really don't need much just something in my mind that says it has to be bought special for the first few days. Weird I know. LOL

Mine are both super young so no shockingly expensive items are needed yet. We also don’t go back until after Labor Day and I just have to get shoes for school now.

Lucikly for us our mandated iPads are already purchased so it was a matter of buying electronic books for them. They each use their backpacks for several years. Other supplies were minimal - a few binders and paper and pencils.

I only back-to-school shop for necessities. They both needed backpacks and lunchboxes this year, so we did that. We preordered school supplies at the end of last school year (love that). They each got a new outfit for the first day and one needed new shoes. And that's it. They will be wearing the same clothes they wore this summer for a couple more months since it stays warm here into October at least, but when the seasons change we will have to shop for clothes for my oldest as she's outgrown last years. It's all on an as-needed basis for us though.

We usually just buy new notebooks, paper, folders and any other necessities for school at home. I also buy text books for a few of my son's classes.