Safe & Long Lasting School Pencils

Every year parents around the USA are purchasing pencils and school supplies for their children. As a school teacher, I happen to know the trial of pencils that melt away in the sharpeners. I have wondered at times if the children were hiding or eating the pencils because they would disappear so rapidly. I came to realize that the children were not being wasteful. Inexpensive pencils are not worth the dime or two they save. When it comes to pencils I have found that you really do you get your moneys worth out of a name brand quality pencil. The cheaper grade pencils sometimes have this odd edge that hangs over the tip of the lead and causes the writer to have to write at an odd angle. Other times the pencils just break quickly or dull fast so that excess sharpening is required. I have sharpened pencils for students and watched them disappear an inch or more from one sharpening only to be needed to be re-sharpened again fifteen minutes later.

Another element that parents should consider when purchasing pencils for school is PMA Certification. PMA stands for Pencil Certification Program. The certification ensures that the pencil is free of harmful toxins from eraser to tip. It ensures that there will not be adverse health effects if chewed. It certifies that the pencil that your child may place in his mouth while contemplating the up coming lunch break is safe to taste. I have begged one of my children, to no avail, to stop chewing her pencil. I was concerned for her teeth and also for her health. For some children nibbling away at their pencil is a way to release energy that is being contained as they sit in their classroom learning. As a Mom I feel much better knowing that she is chewing a PMA certified pencil.

Dixon Oriele has a pre-sharpened pencil which is bonded with a break resistant core. Dixon Ticonderoga Co has a laddie pencil without an eraser. This pencil is a bit thicker for smaller children and is intended to to help the transition from printing to cursive. The fact that it has no eraser may also benefit a smaller child in that often the teachers do not allow them to erase mistakes. Staples Pencils have break resistant black lead and a smudge free eraser. There are also a wide variety of pencils with designs. These designs can help your child identify his or her pencils from the rest of the children but remember to check for the PMA Certification.