back to school— beyond the basics

› By Lisset Lanza

As families gear up for the start of the school year, it’s helpful to have a back-toschool checklist. Along with your standard pencils and paper, these fun items are anything but basic. Check out our musthave picks for back to school.

Top Trumps Cards

$9.99 per pack, toptrumps.us

The world of STEM comes to life in this fun, easy-to-play card game. Choose from Terrific Technology, Sensational Science, Extraordinary Engineering or Peculiar Problems to learn about groundbreaking discoveries and amazing facts. Do you have the best stat? If so, you collect the cards to win! It’s fun and educational.

Water Bottle

Elemental Water Bottles

$34.95, elementalbottles.com

Available in matte and glossy finishes and a range of colors, these high-quality bottles are made to last. They’re designed to keep beverages cold for 24 hours and hot for 12, and you can choose between a sport cap, stainless steel or bamboo cap. The ability to customize allows more room to show your personal style. The best part? No more sweaty bottles.

Razorx Cruiser Electric Skateboard

$179.99, razor.com

Have a college-age student who needs to get from one end of campus to the other quickly? We have just what they need. With soft-start, kick-activated technology, this unique skateboard ramps up slowly with the press of a button on the handy remote control. Reaching speeds of 10mph, you’ll get there in no time. It also slows just as safely, and if you forget to charge it, no worries. The Cruiser doubles as a manual skateboard in a pinch.

STEM starter kit

$19.99, myfirstlab.com

Turn your smartphone or other device into a 60x-magnifi cation microscope and take science on the go! Now your young explorers can discover a whole new world around them using the selected device’s camera lens. The coolest part is the kit comes complete with 15 prepared specimens to get your budding scientist going.

Peace Frogs

peacefrogs.com

You can count on Peace Frogs brand clothing to always have a positive, optimistic message for your youngster. With a motto like “Live Fun, Do Good,” you shouldn’t expect anything di erent. From fun boxers and T-shirts to hoodies, check out Peace Frogs for some of your back-to-school shopping needs. Check out their fun stu and accessory shop, too.

Q Toys Bundle

$64.99, shop.eqtainment.com

Sure, reading, writing and arithmetic are the basics. But just as important are manners, social skills and creativity. That’s where EQTainment and the Q Wunder curriculum comes into play. All EQtainment products help build emotional intelligence by allowing kids to practice key EQ skills like feeling identification and verbalization, balance, coordination and social skills. This get-you-going bundle includes Q’s Race to the Top Board game, Q’s Race on the Go Pack, Q’s Wild Ride Read-Along Storybook & CD, Q’s Coloring & Activity Book and Q-Time Buddy. Various packs are available for purchase, and a helpful parents’ corner is always free. Follow along with the interactive app at qwunder.com