Earlier this week we talked about the cost of sending your kids back to school…from notebooks and pencils to clothes and electronics it averages about $600 each year.

Some parents can’t afford that and teacher end up buying a lot of the essentials themselves.

RetailMeNot asked a group of teachers what they needed most.

Pens and pencils (pre-sharpened is the best), plain notebooks and folders, pencil erasers, crayons, glue sticks, dry-erase markers and Kleenex and antibacterial wipes topped the list.

They also could use some red pens to grade children’s homework.

Now you know what to get some extra of when you go back-to-school shopping!