If you’re a parent with school-aged kids in New England and you haven’t yet, you will have to soon: Go back-to-school shopping for notebooks and pencils and pens and many other supplies.

A recent National Retail Federation poll found Americans will average $95.63 for elementary school student on school supplies this year, $100.81 for middle schoolers, and $96.85 for high-school students. And with the so-so economic recovery, 34 percent of shoppers say they are buying more generic and store-brand supplies this summer to economize.

Looking for some tips, we recently went along with Bedford, Mass., mother of two and TrendyMommies.com consumer expert Annmarie W. Seldon and her daughters, Sophie, entering 8th grade, and Bella, entering 5th, as they did their back-to-school shopping at a Staples store.

“When kids get older, the lists get longer, and they're very specific,’’ Seldon said.

What you wouldn’t immediately know: Just how much homework and research she’d done ahead of time to know what’s a good price for various school supplies, and to know that you may not necessarily find them at the front of the store. “When you first walk in, those pencils are $2, but they need four dozen of them, so you have to go check out the different sections of the store that have the specific sale items, and maybe you'll get the bigger packages for less.’’ It presented a good math problem Bella solved: What’s a better deal, per pencil: 18 pencils for $5? Or 72 pencils for $14? Knowing pencils will get used up over the course of the year, they went with the 72-pack to save $6.

Seldon said she likes Staples because of its 110 percent price guarantee – if you can find an item cheaper at a dollar store or another chain, they’ll reimburse you for 100 percent of the difference in price plus and extra 10 percent on top of that.

By knowing her daughters had to get both thick-tipped and thin-tipped Sharpie pens, she knew she could get Sharpies with tips on both ends for $6 instead of $10 for separate packages.

They made a point of going to the far end of the store to the clearance bin to find a few more school necessities, like pencil gholders. “They tend to hide it in the back, so you really have to look” to get those deals, Seldon said.

And the biggest source of savings Seldon demonstrated: Being a Mom who can say “no” – nicely. She repeatedly reminded her daughters to “stick to the list” and not buy peripherals, no matter how adorable.

“I’m not mean, but just very focused. ‘Focused’ is the word when you go back to school shopping,’’ Seldon said.

She’s also learned not to over-buy in August but look for deals throughout the 180 days of the school year. “Kindergarten through fifth grade, you need those basic items all year round, the erasers, the glue sticks, the pencils,’’ Seldon said. “I know that people don't think to shop during Christmas break for items like these, but try and spread your shopping out throughout the year. You know that they're going to need some Crayola markers and Crayola crayons, so when you see them on sale, stock up.’’

Finally, with her list all checked off, she showed us one more trick to save a little more: Never throwing out a gift card or a returned-item card with a cash credit on it. “I put my cards in my car, even if they have little, low amounts, just in case,’’ Seldon said. It turned out a Staples card she had had for three years in her glove compartment still had $3.73 on it – adding another $3.73 to what she saved by being choosy, sticking to the list, and buying but not over-buying for the first day of school.

With video editor Lauren Kleciak and videographer Daniel J. Ferrigan