Photo by Miranda Pederson/Daily NewsA'Lisa Smith, 11, of Bowling Green browses for school supplies Monday at Staples.

Soon, yellow buses will make their rounds, school hallways will buzz with chatter of summer fun and students will be back into their routines.

But not without loading up on gizmos, gadgets and whatchamathingies.

Parents are finding their way to retailers, such as Staples, Office Depot, Wal-Mart and Target, racking up on all the school supplies their children will need for the 2007-08 school year. With lists in hand, parents carefully searched bins and aisles full of supplies, placing the necessary items into carts. Yet, even as curriculum shifts, requiring students to do a little more than the year before, the supplies they need are fairly the same.

&#8220It’s a lot of the same – mostly the same things we took to school – pencils, folders and plenty of notebooks,” said Todd Martin, sales manager at Staples.

Martin said right now they are only dealing with elementary and secondary schools, since college students aren’t due back for a couple of weeks. He said one thing he has seen is students in the upper-grade levels needing flashdrives.

&#8220They’re becoming more integrated, where the students don’t need floppy disks or CDs,” he said. &#8220And they’re more affordable. Laptops are big now for high schoolers and college students.”

While having lists makes life a little easier for parents, some want additions.

&#8220I wish they would require rolling backpacks,” said Jennifer Turley, the mother of Chase Turley, who will be attending the fifth-sixth center in Edmonson County. &#8220There is an increase in scoliosis, because of the backpacks they carry on their shoulders. His bookbag weighed 40 pounds last year, with everything in it. They don’t have time to get to their lockers, and they lug everything around in that one bag.”

Turley said both her children, Chase, 10, and Sierra, 12, have mild cases of scoliosis.

&#8220When you consider having to lug around all that weight, those backpacks are too heavy,” she said.

Some parents said they are reusing materials from last school year to save money.

And parents are finding that while the materials needed are the same, the cost of them has increased. Turley said last year she spent more than $100 for school supplies for three children. She said she is hoping to spend a little less because she only has two in school now.

Turley said school supplies can become costly, especially graphic calculators, which are $60 and higher.

&#8220The boy likes the plain. He doesn’t care about the Spider Man graphics, but she likes the cutesie stuff,” Turley said. &#8220It’s more expensive to buy the graphics.”

For example, at Wal-Mart, a plain folder costs 88 cents, but one that has a design on the front and is glossy goes for 98 cents.

&#8220I will spend probably $100 or more,” Melissa Prickett said. &#8220I am shopping for three children and have six different lists.”

Prickett shopped with her three children, Abigail, who is going to the second grade, Clayton, who is going to the sixth grade and Jacob, who will be going to the 10th grade. All three attend Anchored Christian School in Bowling Green.

&#8220I am surprised at how much binders and notebooks cost,” Prickett said.

Amy Carter, Family Resource Center coordinator at Warren High School, said the Family Resource and Youth Service centers have made an effort to supply families with material children need before school begins. She said different organizations and churches are providing assistance as well, such as Living Hope Baptist Church.

&#8220During KidsBlitz, the church gave backpacks to children that were full of school supplies,” Carter said. &#8220We have a lot of families that need help. Any family needing assistance can call their school’s family resource or youth services center.”

From clothes to school supplies, prices vary, said A’Lisa Smith, 11, who will be entering sixth-grade at Bowling Green Junior High. She said she is getting older, so what she needs will cost more.

&#8220I’m excited about going,” she said. &#8220It’s the newness of going from elementary to junior high. I’m prepared to go back.”

Shelley Hickman of Franklin said without the cost of clothing added, she would end up spending more than $50 on school supplies alone.

&#8220They just don’t last,” she said. &#8220We have to get new stuff every year.”

And getting new stuff is always the best part of school shopping; well, for Clayton Prickett it is.

&#8220This is fun,” he said. &#8220It’s the best part because I get to choose the stuff I want, and it’s all new.”