Teachers urge parents not to go overboard. At most schools you’ll find out what your child needs in a letter that the teacher sends home on the first day, says Cathy Dunne, a seventh-grade teacher in the Toronto area. But Dunne stresses it’s still important to get the essentials, in particular a backpack to hold a snack and any take-home items from the teacher.

Fay Felesky, a third-grade teacher from Alberta, also suggests that some new items can help get kids off on the right foot. "A few new things are important to kids because they help make the event of going back to school seem special. My third-graders love to get new felts, for example. And obviously a new outfit or new shoes are nice too, and essential if they’ve outgrown the previous year’s stuff."