10 school supplies that any child of the 1960s will remember


 The electronic calculator didn't come along until 1967, and even then they were primarily used by businesses. That means that children of the 1960s had to do math the old fashioned way — with pencils. Hence the need for all those pink erasers. And pencil cases. Dig through the backpacks of history and check out these iconic school supplies from the 1960s. Miss these items? You can still find many of them.

Big Chief writing tablets


These notebooks date back to the early 20th century, but this is the design common in the '60s. Want to scribble your thoughts nostalgically? You can still buy them!

Pee-Chee Portfolios



Likewise, Mead still sells these classic folders, but we prefer the vintage look with the throwback football uniforms and a much more heated relay race.

Pink Pearl erasers



There was no Command–X on a keyboard. This was our delete button. Today, these are manufactured by Paper Mate.

Mucilage glue



Our glue was organic long before Whole Foods came along.

Dick and Jane books



See Dick and Jane wear sunglasses. Those are hip sunglasses. Yep, these are still in print thanks to Penguin.

Milton Bradley Phonetic Word Wheels



Pretty nifty how you can break down so much of the English language into a slide wheel.

Fisher Price barn lunch boxes


Before the explosion of television show lunch boxes, there was barns or brown bags.

Fitchhorn song flutes



Everyone could play a recorder.

Playtime Water Colors



Not dry, not moist. Semi-moist.

Plastic roll-top pencil cases



These pencil cases felt like the future. They were like sleeping chambers for astronauts. At least that's what we imagined with our action figures.

What else did you keep in your desk? Which school supply do you miss most?
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3 Comments

idkwut2use 35 months ago
Cool lunchbox and pencil case! 8D
cmurf1960 35 months ago
I remember most of those. However, I went to Catholic school, and instead of Dick and Jane, we had Judy, John & Jean. I think they were published by the same company, but the JJJ stories had a bit of a religious slant to them they said their prayers and went to church and all. But I knew kids in public school who had Dick and Jane.
LeeHarper 47 months ago
I had a few of those but never had a recorder. I went straight to saxophone.
First the alto, then a tenor and last, the Bari.
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