Back to school shopping for my kids is pretty different than it was during my own academic career. In my day, we’d select notebooks, folders, pencils, and pens. These days? Kids have a lot more options, to say the least! Smart supplies and tools are available for every part of the school day, from waking up in the morning, to lunchtime, to practices, to field trips, to hitting the hay at the end of the day.
Check out the best smart student gear for the 2024–2025 school year; you’re sure to find something that will make your child’s school year smoother, simpler, and more productive than ever before!
Skylight 15-Inch Digital Calendar ($299.99)
I don’t know about your family, but my three-person household has a TON of moving pieces to keep track of. Appointments, deadlines, work schedules, practices, and special events fill the day-to-day running of our home and farm. Enter the Skylight Calendar! This is the organization tool of my dreams—a sleek touchscreen display with tabs for your calendar, chores, meals, photos, and lists. It’s incredibly easy to add events directly to the Skylight Calendar, and sync iCloud, Google, Outlook, Cozi, and Yahoo calendars straight from your iPhone! For those of us who love family photos (and who doesn’t?), you’ll want to subscribe to Skylight Plus ($39/year). This unlocks the Photo Screensaver feature and allows friends and family around the world to add photos to the frame in a few simple steps. You’ll also enjoy Magic Import, which lets users populate their calendar with emails, spreadsheets, PDFs, screenshots, and event photos via an email link. So if you subscribe to our free Tip of the Day newsletter, you can automatically import dates for our free classes and other promotions. On top of all that, subscribing to Skylight Plus lands you a $10 discount on the Calendar itself. This smart calendar is a game changer and well worth the initial price and annual fee.
HeatsBox ($199)
This high-tech lunchbox is the perfect solution for older students who don’t have time to wait in line in the cafeteria (or don’t like what’s on offer there). Your child can charge the HeatsBox each night before school, portion food into the dividable warming tray and refrigerate it, then assemble the leak-proof lunchbox, throw it in their backpack, and be on their way in minutes. Just be sure that all four rubber lid clasps are securely fastened to avoid an epic mess.
The HeatsBox is controlled with the HeatsBox app, and cook time depends on portion size, and whether the food is being cooked or just reheated. There’s a cook-on-demand option, or you can schedule the cooking to complete at a certain time, even out of Bluetooth range!
There are a few downsides, but nothing I’d consider a dealbreaker. The portion size in the tray isn’t enough for older students with a big appetite. But, they can always supplement with cold dishes in separate containers. The HeatsBox also needs to be on a level surface with adequate ventilation to work safely and properly. This could mean leaving it on a designated locker shelf and choosing the scheduled option or leaving it on a desktop while it cooks on demand.
Loftie Clock ($149.99)
Loftie is more than an alarm clock; it’s a relaxation machine. This smart device is here to help your student sleep peacefully with a bedtime alarm, adjustable nightlight, and choice of meditation, breathwork, white noise, personalized sleep stories, or sleep sounds (rain on a tent is my favorite). If your child already has a preferred sleep podcast or soundtrack, no worries; the Loftie doubles as a Bluetooth speaker you can stream bedtime sounds, music, or audiobooks from.
When it’s time to get up, Loftie gently wakes your child with a two-phase sound that gradually brings them out of sleep, rather than jarring them with a sudden, blaring alarm. It’s a great way to start the day.
STM Goods Dux Backpack (from $199.95)
Your kid is going to need a way to lug around all their school supplies, smart and traditional, and STM’s Dux has them covered. Best suited for middle school and up, this bag is shielded from impact on every side, and has separate, suspended, padded pockets for their MacBook and iPad. The pack unzips from the top, revealing a fold-out, zippered gadget pocket with one open and three zippered compartments. The Dux also features three padded horizontal pockets, accessible from the left and right sides, perfect for storing smaller gear like headphones, pencil boxes, cameras, or even a HeatsBox lunchbox! If your kid would rather have a more traditional backpack, they can remove the center compartments in favor of one large, open compartment. There are even two side compartments, perfect for a thermos or water bottle. This ergonomic, breathable backpack has a zippered pouch, pocket, or compartment for any school supply you can imagine, and would also make the perfect overnight bag or carry on for older students headed out on field trips or study abroad.
Crown Joule – USB-A to Universal Cable 6ft ($19.99)
Whoever came up with this concept is a genius. This six- foot reinforced fabric wrapped charging cable has USB-C, Lightning, and Micro-USB charging capability all in one. Perfect for the student who has many types of devices to charge throughout the day and night. Carrying around one cable is so much easier than keeping track of three and untangling them when it’s time to charge. It comes in beige, gray, teal, and pink; buy one for each of your kids.
Speck Tagimals Shoe Carriers for AirTag ($34.95)
These AirTag holders are geared toward younger kids, but my 19-year-old daughter thinks they’re adorable and would gladly use one on her purse or backpack. The 4-pack includes dragon, Corgi, cat, and unicorn AirTag holders that can be attached to a younger child’s shoelaces or Velcro, strapped to backpacks and purses with an additional Velcro tie, or even threaded onto dog and cat collars to keep tabs on your furry friends. If your kids are too young to carry an Apple Watch or iPhone, these AirTag holders will provide you peace of mind knowing they made it to school, a friend’s house, or field trip. They can help keep track of pricey backpacks, sports bags, and instrument cases, too. You can even use the AirTag precision finding feature to locate items lost in your own home, a real timesaver when someone can’t find their gym bag when it’s time to go to practice!
I hope these gear suggestions have sparked some ideas for your back-to school shopping. Here’s to a great year of learning!
Top image credit: Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.com
