Kina Aikau, 7, center, checks out the contents of the new backpack she received from the Spokane Salvation Army on Thursday.

Santana McCullough was quiet but deliberate as he pushed aside the red and blue backpacks for one in olive green during the Salvation Army’s Backpacks for Kids event.

The bashful 6-year-old unleashed a smile when he looked inside his new pack: “Oh! Scissors, markers, crayons and a box.” Still smiling, the 3-foot-tall Spokane boy headed for the door and slung the pack over his shoulder. “This is big,” he said.

Parents with kids in tow started lining up at 5 a.m. outside Spokane’s Salvation Army. When the doors opened at 8 a.m., the line wrapped around the entire city block. The charitable organization was prepared with 3,500 backpacks to distribute – the largest number since starting the school-supplies giveaway 10 years ago. Jody Lawrence Turner, SR

I've got a 7th grader and a 12 grader this year and so far all I've purchased is some spiral notebooks and pencils. I think I've got back-to-school denial syndrome. Are you and your kids ready for school to start?

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