Similar to last year, students are looking forward to getting back in the classroom, as opposed to the Zoom room. While we’d love to tell you COVID-19 is “so last year,” unfortunately, new variants continue to emerge and wreak havoc on public health. 

While Texas schools can’t mandate students wear masks, it’s still a good idea to grab some during your back-to-school haul if they make your kids feel safer and more protected. Likewise, handwashing and sanitization are encouraged by most Houston school districts, so add sanitizer gels, wipes, and sprays to your school supplies shopping list, but don’t fret; we’ve found the best deals on all the back-to-school safety supplies so you can clean up without getting cleaned out!

As far as kids’ PPE goes, these masks are the best in terms of cost — 50-count packs come out to 20 cents per mask — and the colors make them fun for kids to mix and match! If your child is one who plans to mask up, they’ll be headed back to school in style with these 3-ply kids-sized protective face coverings. For a little more pizazz and at 26 cents per mask, scoop some of these dinosaur-print masks to mix things up.

These fun and stylish kids’ refillable hand-sanitizer travel keychains are perfect for affixing to any backpack or lunchbox. Make sure little ones head back to school with everything they need to stay safe and healthy! If you’ve got older kids, they may prefer a more understated look — we’ve got you covered there, too!

As far as we can tell, there aren’t any restrictions on self-expression through school supplies that keep little ones safe! If your child is spirited, let them wear it loud and proud, with a hand sanitizer keychain to match! For kitten and unicorn lovers, check additional styles here!

You’ll need plenty of hand sanitizer to refill travel bottles and keychains, so industrial size is the way to go! Houston schools that do mention hand sanitizer requirements recommend having an ethyl alcohol content of 60% or higher, so these fit the bill, plus aloe will keep skin from drying out over time. If you’re the type to donate school supplies to help out the whole class, we’re sure your teachers will be grateful for a bottle-or-ten of these!

Just think: Field trips. Petting zoos. Finger-painting. Kids needed hand sanitizer before COVID-19; now they just need it more than ever! Be sure to send them back to school prepared to stay healthy, and if you’re chaperoning the next class trip, don’t forget to pack about 100 of these.

If your little one is immunocompromised, or if they have a classmate who is, you might be wary of sending them back to school without all the best PPE available. These children’s face shields are an extra barrier of protection for everyone that only cost a few dollars each.

Remember growing up how when you didn’t feel good your mom would use the back of her hand to see if you were burning up? Those days are gone, friends. Houston schools are asking us all to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and while we agree mother knows best, thermometers are a sure-fire way to get an accurate read on body temps! 

Every runny nose, scratchy throat, and stuffy head sounds the same alarm in every parent’s mind: is it a cold, or is it COVID?! You’ll be doing yourself, your kids, and their classmates a favor by stocking up on tests before the masses head back to school. As far as 2022 school supplies go, COVID-19 tests are still on the “must-have” list. 

And lastly, if your little one does develop coronavirus in the new school year, they’ll likely need to quarantine, adding loneliness to being under the weather. Cheer them up with a get-well package! Yes, we know they have toys at home, but something about getting a package in the actual mail infuses extra TLC they’ll really appreciate on those long and boring recovery days.

Hearst Newspapers participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

Pamela Mahler is an E-Commerce Writer for Local Commerce at Hearst Newspapers. Email her at pamela.mahler@hearst.com.