For most of England and Wales it is back to school today. And all I can say is woo hoo! What a relief. It is so hard to work when you've got people running around the house who don't have to. Judging by the gloom on my husband's face though I am clearly the only one glad the holidays are over.

Son went off with a hop and a skip though, so eager he was ready to leave the house as soon as he could. That's what two weeks away from your friends will do I guess. I expect it to be all back to normal by the end of the week, with dragging feet and threats of doom just to get his shoes on.

What better way to add a little sparkle to their school lives than some cool back to school stationary? OK so yeah, that doesn't really amount to a whole lot of sparkle but you might be surprised. Just before I was asked by Stabilo if I wanted to review these products I was in the queue at Sainsbury's behind a little girl aged about 9 who was positively glowing because she was getting a packet of these Boss Mini Ocean Friends.

I didn't think the love of stationary gene that is clearly on most X chromosomes kicked in so young. So maybe there's something to making these items fun for kids. I thought it would be a good idea then to take a closer look.

Stabilo sent us their pack of 6 Easy Colors too, just to make it a bit more interesting I guess.

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Do you have primary school age children? Government guidelines state that children in year one should have 60 minutes of homework a week. That's a whole hour. At the age of 5. Yikes.

Even before that, when they are in Reception and even Nursery, they will start to practice their letters. Gripping pens and pencils isn't that easy, and for some children it is even harder.

My son is in year 2 now, and has even more homework. I've tried lots of different types of grips, but none have really helped with his particular problem (he can't put a lot of pressure on his fingers). Last year he did his homework in felt tip pen, as a way around the problem. But that's not really something we want to keep doing.

Even if your child doesn't have any issues, a good grip on a pen or pencil can get them started in the correct writing position right from the beginning. And also, they'll find it a lot easier to draw for fun as well.

Stabilo are a brand of stationery that all parents of school children are familiar with. I had the opportunity to try out some of their latest products, to see how they work and what the quality is like.

Here's what we found.