Depending on where you live, kids go back-to-school sometime between now and early September. I love stocking up on back-to-school supplies and I especially love when my daughter can use these items on our travels.

Here are my favorite Back-to-School Must Haves for Home and Away…

Personalized Labels – If you didn’t already order these for summer camp, now is the time to stock up. I pretty much label everything my daughter takes to school (and on trips) like food and drink containers, school supplies, shoes, coats, hats, etc. Mabel’s Labels are the only ones that survive my super hot dishwasher so they’re my top pick. The Stylish Scholars Combo in the quatrefoil pattern was my opportunity to update some of our old kiddie styles with a more sophisticated look for first grade.

Easy to Serve Snacks – For lunch boxes and road trips, easy to serve snacks are a must have. Depending on the ages and taste preferences of your kids, I recommend squeezy fruit pouches like GoGo Squeez, individually wrapped multi-grain snacks from Ella’s Kitchen and dried fruit like Crispy Fruit from Crispy Green for exotic palates and Earth’s Best freeze dried fruit snacks for toddlers. I also keep snack bars, fruit leathers and nuts on hand at home and away.

Non-Messy School Supplies – I love stocking up on school supplies knowing that the non-messy items will be great to also use on car or plane trips. This year my daughter is really into writing and coloring and I found the most gorgeous colored pencil sets from eeBoo featuring metallic, watercolor and fluorescent pencils. These are so nicely packaged (and affordable) you’ll want to get a set for everyone you know. Just add the Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book for older kids (and adults!) and you’ve got a great gift idea.

Educational Activity Books – As an after school surprise, I like to leave an activity book out with scissors, markers and glue. When we travel, I like to just bring along activity books that include stickers like the new Lonely Planet Kids series that includes Adventures in Famous Places, Adventures in Noisy Places, Adventures in Smelly Places and other fun titles. These are a great way to teach elementary age school kids about history and geography while holding their interest with funny facts.

Sturdy and Stylish Backpack – Backpacks are a must for school and traveling. Last year my daughter got a Backpack Jr. from Garnet Hill Kids and this year she has a more fashion forward Kayla backpack from Matilda Jane Clothing.  I’ve previously written about the coolest backpacks for back to school if you need more inspiration. Be sure kids can open and close buckles and zippers on their own before school starts.

Kid Friendly Tablets – Older kids bring their tablets to school but kids of all ages use them when traveling. My daughter loves the LeapPad3 when we travel by car and I love that she can use it without needing help so I can focus on driving. For plane rides and long trips, I’ll bring out our latest addition, the Amazon Fire HD 6 kids edition which comes in its own kid-proof case and is great for watching movies and shows, taking photos and videos and playing apps.

What are your favorite back-to-school must haves?

I received some of these items for review but all opinions are my own. If you don’t want to miss a post, subscribe to Globetrotting Mommy for daily updates!