Get school ready with these fun school supplies

With two adorable children of her own, Stephanie Martinez understands just how stressful it can be when it comes to getting the kids school ready. Having demonstrated her creative prowess on Making It Australia on Network 10, Steph has teamed up with Spotlight to discuss her favourite DIY school supplies from our Get School Ready range.

I've always found Spotlight great for getting the supplies I need to make fun, personalised stationery for my kids before they go back to school. From pencil cases and diaries to gel crayons and more, here are my top five educational supplies to help your kids get school ready and express their unique personality!

Gel Crayons

My son Michael absolutely loves these gel crayons. Making sure you have all your basic back to school stuff sorted is essential, but having fun new products your kids have never used before is also important - and gel crayons are perfect! My son chose these crayons because of their vibrant colours and is super excited to try them out before he starts school again.

Blank pencil case with Cricut iron on vinyls

There is nothing cooler for kids than having their own personalised stationery when going back to school. Michael can't wait to create his very own personalised pencil case to express his unique personality. With everything in the classroom starting to look the same over time, I found the We R Memory Keepers Transfer Quill Blank Pencil Case to be the perfect blank canvas for creating a work of art!

I have created a video tutorial on this fun little project, but a great tip is to use a cricut machine to label everything. Whether it's their library bag, school hat, stationary or clothing, I love using a cricut machine because you can add pictures of their favourite things (in Michael's case: trucks). Simply print it out and iron it on!

Francheville and Denik stationery

My daughter Nikita is in high school and likes to have a different pencil case for each subject, so Francheville and Denik stationery is perfect. She really adores the Francheville Floral Pencil Case because it's small, convenient, and most of all, looks great! Kids enjoy doing their school work more when they're organised, know where all their items are, and aren't carrying around one bulky pencil case to each class.

Sharpie markers

Sharpie markers are an absolute essential to have in any kid's pencil case when getting ready to go back to school. We found it hard to decide between pastel and bright sharpies, so we solved this problem by getting both! As kids love using them, it's a good idea to make sure you have an extra packet or two because they will be getting used quite a lot.

Geek school diaries

Nikita quickly worked out that organisation is the key to success in high school, and what better way to stay organised than a diary! Spotlight has a range of really cool visual diaries, notebooks and folders that are perfect for art class and staying organised throughout the year. Nikita absolutely loves her Geek Girl A4 110 gsm Visual Diary, so it's important to choose a diary that your child loves and are comfortable with.

These are my top five picks for essential educational supplies to get your kids school ready. As the list never seems to end when doing the back to school shop, from glue sticks and rulers to lunch boxes and school bags, check out Spotlight's downloadable checklist to make sure your child has everything they need when going back to school.