I'm jealous of my kid's school supplies this year

I have a confession to make: I'm 40 years old and every time the store shelves start to fill up with back-to-school supplies, I swoon. I don't know what it is about school supplies that makes my nerdy little heart flutter, but this time of year is like Christmas for me.

Unfortunately, back-to-school shopping is not quite the transcendent experience for everyone that it is for me. Some parents dread back-to-school shopping because it's drudgery for their kids. I have the answer. Make it fun! One of the best ways to do that is to shop for supplies that are fun, funky, and just a little different than the norm. OOLY offers up a wide variety of school supplies and stationery products in fun colours and designs, offering products that will make doing homework a little more fun for your kids.

First up are these Note Pals Sticky Tabs, in "Cute Cakes" and Savoury Sushi." How cute are these? I'll admit: I am a sucker for sticky notes. I use them daily, for flagging recipes to try or to review, for marking a page in a magazine, or as a makeshift bookmark. I was super tempted to steal these, but I didn't as they were sent to us for the purposes of being school supplies. That was an exercise in restraint for this sticky note lover, let me tell you! I mean really -- look how cute they are! (Fortunately, C offered to share them with me, since she is well-acquainted with my love for sticky notes. She's a good kid. I think I'll keep her.)

Every kid needs a pencil sharpener and eraser for school, and what could be cuter than these Woodland Writing Pals? They are both an eraser and pencil sharpener in one.

In all the excitement I forgot to take a picture of the back of these little guys, but it's something you definitely need to see! The picture below is from OOLY's website:

That's right: The body of the adorable little bunny and fox are the erasers, and each has a backpack on his back that houses the pencil sharpener. Not only is this too adorable for words, it's smart design, too. Kids can keep both their sharpener and eraser at hand easily - one less thing to lose, right? But I guarantee they won't lose these, because they are just so cute!

Next up: Comic Attack Graphite Pencils and Yummy Yummy Scented Glitter Gel Pens. These products both combine adorable design with high-quality functionality. Very often, school supplies that are highly themed and designed like these are that way while sacrificing quality. Not the case with OOLY. These are high-quality pens and pencils with a healthy dose of fun! The graphite pencils are firm and strong, perfect for little ones who may be tempted to press too hard when writing. The gel pens write very smoothly and in a variety of vibrant, glittery colours. And each one has a different yummy scent, too!

If you grew up in the 80s like me, what I'm about to show you is sure to spark up some nostalgia:

Yes! These pens with multi-coloured inks are a total blast from the past for me. These six-colour pens can write in blue, green, yellow, red, purple and black. Perfect for colour-coding notes, or simply writing in fun colours! Talk about making homework more fun! These are perfect for allowing creative kids to express themselves.

One of my -- I mean her -- favourite products in the bunch was something I've not seen before: erasable highlighters. Yes, you heard me: ERASABLE HIGHLIGHTERS! These "Do-Overs" (isn't that an awesome name?) come in a variety pack of 6 different colours, so you can highlight and colour-code to your heart's content! If you're a student, a planner lover, or anyone who compulsively makes lists (like me!) you need these.

Check out my Instagram video of these in action!

Whether you're a student, whether you work in an office, or whether you are CEO of your household, you need these suppies from OOLY. They are fun and different, but they are functional, too. They are not novelty items. They are fun and colourful stationery items that are high quality and well made.

Take a look at some of the awesome products we got from OOLY for back to school this year. Although these products were generously provided to us for review, all opinions are our own and unbiased.

(Photo credit goes to my VERY excited 10-year-old!)

Talk about a bright, fun package to get in the mail! Right from the get-go, OOLY's stationery and school supplies are an instant mood booster.

Check out OOLY online at www.ooly.com and follow them on Instagram (@weareooly) and Twitter (@weareooly).