BAGGING IT: FAMILY GEARS UP FOR NEW SCHOOL YEAR

It takes a lot of gear to prepare for a new school year.

Just ask our soon-to-be second grader, Becca.

Joni recently took her shopping for school supplies. Hours later, they returned with a whole cartload of supplies.

The whole experience, as it turned out, was akin to outfitting an army.

Joni promised to draft me for the job next year.

As for this year, Becca has more gear than Inspector Gadget.

Among the supplies is a new backpack. Last year's Spice Girls book bag is ancient history.

This year, Becca settled on a Scooby Doo backpack, featuring that lovable, cartoon canine.

It wasn't easy reaching a decision. The stores are full of book bags featuring everything from Barbie to Star Wars.

Hanging from Becca's backpack is a tennis-shoe-shaped bag to hold pencils. The bag has white shoelaces.

Becca even tried on the pencil-case shoe. The fact she could get her foot into it was a clear selling point with her.

Like all good backpacks, this one comes with plenty of zippered compartments.

By the time she's in sixth grade, I expect she'll be lugging around a book bag the size of a jeep.

Not to be outdone, our 3-year-old, Bailey, has her own backpack, a see-through one that features Pooh bear.

Even a pre-schooler needs a backpack these days.

This fall, Becca will be armed with a crush-proof lunch bag designed to protect her precious peanut and jelly sandwiches.

Of course, it still looks like a bag on the outside. Those old, tin lunch boxes may be collector's items, but no self-respecting school kid today wants to be seen carrying one.

Becca will begin the school year with enough pencils for a lifetime of drawings.

Gone are the days of plain, yellow pencils like those I used in school. Today's school children have designer pencils featuring Tweety Bird and other childhood heroes.

There are even rubber sleeves to put on the pencils to protect little fingers from wear.

Next thing you know, school pencils will have built-in calculators and double as cellular phones.

Becca even has a hand-held sharpener. This one sharpens both pencils and crayons.

She wanted an electronic sharpener, but you can't have everything in second grade.

Becca has an entire pack of 48 crayons to color her world or at least her second-grade art.

She also is well stocked with erasers.

She had to settle for the white glue. Blue glue can be found on store shelves, but even the public schools aren't ready for that mess.

Even after stocking up on all these items, we're still not ready for school.

We still have to buy second-grade writing paper. There are still lines on the paper, but they're smaller than the first-grade variety.

In the end, we'll carefully organize everything to fit in her backpack.

Of course, after the first day of school, the backpack won't ever look that organized again.

But it's the thought that counts or at least all those zippered compartments.

With the help of a little velcro, some of this education is bound to stick.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.