Time to shop for all things your schoolchild might need
Summer heat is over at last and we can already smell autumn in the air. For many kids and their parents it also means that school time has arrived.
While singles are busy trying to capitalize on the last warm days on city beaches or resorts, many parents are busy shopping for their youngsters – and many of them at school fairs and markets across the city. If you are out there walking around Kyiv, you have probably already caught sight of families making their way between vendors, inquiring about prices, buying everything necessary – from clothing, books to pencils – to prepare children for school.
The full set of school wear and accessories can be found in the various shopping centers in the capital. But fans of so-called school fairs and markets say they are the best place to buy everything that your kid will, or may, need in one place.
You can find books, drawing-albums, painting kits and all school necessities at one of the biggest school fairs in Kyiv located on Khreschatyk next to TSUM shopping center. If you’ve got kids, but haven’t made your way there yet, don’t panic. Its open until Sept. 5.
Discounts, some 5 percent, are offered to all customers on a wide assortment of goods for those who prefer weekend shopping.
School uniforms on Khreschatyk cost almost the same as at any children’s wear store but the choice is said to be much wider. The market carries school clothes by Ukrainian manufactures Milana and Yunist, which have been making clothes for Ukrainian school boys and girls for the past 70 years.
School jackets are Hr 200 to Hr 250, pants – Hr 80 to Hr 150. Shirts for school uniform can be bought there also: white shirts with short or long sleeves at the school market cost from Hr 30. Girl’s school uniform will cost you a bit more. For an apron with shirt-blouse or skirt with jacket you’ll pay Hr 180 to Hr 300. For a vest – Hr 70, tights and knee-length socks – Hr 50. And don’t forget about those funny but sweet huge white hair bows – Hr 25.
Prices for backpacks vary from Hr 45 to Hr 800, pencils-boxes are from Hr 3,5 to Hr 36, pens – from Hr 0,40 to Hr 21, copybooks, depending on number of pages, from Hr 0,40 to Hr 3,7.
Naturally you can find a full scale school kit not just in the city center, but also at the second big school fair in city near shopping center Dytyachiy Svit (Children’s World), next to Darnytsya metro. Also check out kid’s store Dytyachiy Svit on Hnata Yury.
Children’s store Yunist on Frolivska, which specializes in children’s clothes and school uniform, is full of kids and their parents, shopping for new outfits. Especially crowded is the girls department. First-graders are trying on their future school uniform, while their mothers sigh heavily, calculating what sum it will shape.
One of the main goals in school shopping is purchasing a kid’s backpack. Your best bet for finding a good satchel with a orthopedic back and various pockets for books, pencils and copybooks may not be one of the fairs, but kid stores such as Kazka-Nova or Antoshka. They carry a range of backpacks for Hr 120 to Hr 200. Never mind the cheap backpacks, costing Hr 60 to Hr 70. As a rule, they are painted in very bright almost acid colors, and get dirty very quickly. It’s may be a good idea to choose a backpack with light reflectors, which is a precautionary measure against road incidents for when your kid will be returning from school in winter times, when it gets dark early.
Everyday school accessories should not only be useful, but also fun for kids. So it’s best to choose something colorful. Various ball pens cost about Hr 0.40 – 0.60, a set of pens with colored ink are Hr 3 to Hr 7, pencils cost Hr 1.5 to Hr 2 and crayons are Hr 12 to Hr 35. Small items such as erasers, pencil-sharpeners and drawing scales cost Hr 2 to Hr 3 per item. Pencil-boxes for these goods will cost you Hr 16 to Hr 40.
TSUM (3 Khmelnytskoho);
Yunist (3/34 Frolivska, 537-6771);
Dytyachiy Svit (7 Hnata Yury);
Dytyachiy Svit (3 Malyshko);
Baby Boom (4 Heroiv Kosmosa);
Kazka-Nova (65 Chervonoarmyiska, 246-7538);
Expocenter Ukraina (1G Prospect Hlushkova, 596-9101);
Antoshka (19/16 Bulvar Lesi Ukrainky, 286-2621).
