DS' Kindergarten supply list.....

[bucket o' butter]

DS (4th grade) list was the longest, but I did get it at the end of the school year. There were a few specific items for certain teachers that we didn't find out about until last week though.I was able to get most of the things on a decent sale though. I always overbuy during the summer sales and keep a "supply box" so when they need paper, pencils, crayons, etc they can just go to the box and get what they need. The one thing on the supply list that I am not sure I agree with was Clorox Wipes. Don't get me wrong, I think Clorox wipes are great and use them in my home. But why are we responsible for buying cleaning supplies for the classroom. If the desks were cleaned on a regular basis, I don't really think it would be necessary for every student to bring a box of wipes. I bought them though, but thought it was a little weird. Did anyone else have this on their lists? Just curious. By the way, I am a teacher, and I have the world's best custodian who does clean our room. My aide and I also clean off the tables on a regular basis. Just don't think the students should be responsible for bringing in the wipes, that's all. Okay, now that I have protected myself with armor you can let me have it!

 

[bucket o' butter]

As a teacher, I do my best to project what supplies the children will need for the following year. One year I may have everyone bring in 2 boxes of Kleenex and at the end of the year, I may have enough left over for the next year and won't have to put that on the list. Same for crayons, markers, etc. I teach pre-school so everything is put together and we get supplies out as we need them. My list changes each year based on what we have left over at the end of the year. So, actually, we might be using supplies from the previous year this year. I hope I explained myself clearly, because it is hard to put in writing. I certainly don't give away the supplies or throw them away. They are always used!

 

[creativeamanda]

Please don't flame me - but I often wonder when I see these shopping lists - what happens to the huge amounts of tax dollars I spend every year to support the schools? Why do parents need to provide things that are necessary for education on top of funding it as well?

(Seriously, I'm just wondering..)

Let's see, among the things that I sign purchase orders for just my department alone. . .

Salaries
FICA
a certain % of health insurance
upkeep on computers
bandwith for internet usage
copy machine rental fees
electric bill
phone bill
supplies such as books, etc

And I could not believe the cost of the broken water main last year

The average district in my area has around a $7000 per pupil expenditure. If the average classroom has 24 students, then that is $168,000 per classroom. Our district office's electric bill last month was $7240. That's a building with no kids! The problem is that the state continually keeps reducing the per pupil allowance, meaning we'll likely be seing a 7% across the board cut by October 1. In other words, your tax money is helping run the infrastructure of a school. You really want to cut expeditures for any school? Reduce the number of people working in a district office.

 

[creativeamanda]

DS (4th grade) list was the longest, but I did get it at the end of the school year. There were a few specific items for certain teachers that we didn't find out about until last week though.I was able to get most of the things on a decent sale though. I always overbuy during the summer sales and keep a "supply box" so when they need paper, pencils, crayons, etc they can just go to the box and get what they need. The one thing on the supply list that I am not sure I agree with was Clorox Wipes. Don't get me wrong, I think Clorox wipes are great and use them in my home. But why are we responsible for buying cleaning supplies for the classroom. If the desks were cleaned on a regular basis, I don't really think it would be necessary for every student to bring a box of wipes. I bought them though, but thought it was a little weird. Did anyone else have this on their lists? Just curious. By the way, I am a teacher, and I have the world's best custodian who does clean our room. My aide and I also clean off the tables on a regular basis. Just don't think the students should be responsible for bringing in the wipes, that's all. Okay, now that I have protected myself with armor you can let me have it!

Our custodial staff certainly does not have the time to clean every floor, empty every trash can, clean every bathroom, buff the hallway floors and wipe down every desk every day. That being said, I don't understand why Windex instead of Cloriox wipes can't be used. I think it teaches kids a good lesson to have to wipe down their desks at the end of every day.

 

[tavettava]

then how is my child going to use 48 pencils in a school year?

QUOTE]

Yes, a child can go through 48 pencils in a school year. I would put it at more like 100 pencils a year. Kids sharpen their pencils at least 5 times a day. A lot of kids like pencils to be really short. They also lose them.

 

[AZMermaid]

QUOTE]

Yes, a child can go through 48 pencils in a school year. I would put it at more like 100 pencils a year. Kids sharpen their pencils at least 5 times a day. A lot of kids like pencils to be really short. They also lose them.

LOL! Yes- I tell my 3rd graders if it is shorter than your thumb, you have to throw it away. They will sharpen them WAY down.

 

[tavettava]

Some one was asking where tax dollars are going. Here in MI all the money for schools goes to Lansing (our capital) and they dish it out all over the state. So in my city we don't keep our money, it goes to other places. Oh ya and the people that are running the schools in our district (superintendent, school board ect) have gotten raises for the last 3 years, not the teachers though.

 

[Calliaz]

We didn't get a list from the public school for my 1st grader this year. I did buy a bunch of supplies for home, though.

Last year DS went to a private school. Since I don't have to pay tuition this year, I want to give his teacher some extra money for supplies.

I'm thinking a gift card would be good (probably $50). Any ideas what store? Would this not be allowed?

 

[momxx5]

Our school district does not announce teachers until the Friday before school starts. Thus you cannot buy the specifics that each teacher wants to have a supplies. With 5 kids, my oldest in high school, by now I figured out to buy all the basics while the sales are on. A few yrs back Walmart had their pkgs of paper for 10cents so I bought a box of it for $5.00. The older kids laugh that we'll have lined paper all the way for my youngest to go to college. Certain things, for older kids (5th gr and up) to watch for sales are graph paper, note cards, post-its, larger zippered binders, dividers, page protecters, and especially project covers. I really stock up when they are on sale because one small pkg of graph paper can be $3.00 later in the year. During the year the kids always have projects and then the day or two before they are due they are asking for report covers, so now I have a drawer with assorted colors and kinds.

 

[squirrlygirl]

LOLYou must not live in California. I remember my parents did not buy school supplies until I was in junior high. School suppllied everything. Now many organizations are trying to get backpacks filled with supplies to give students. I don't think parents should have to supply sanitziers, chalk, etc. My boss doesn't make me bring my own phone, stapler, etc.

Be thankful. DH has to buy his own pens, paper, folders, etc. Some of his coworkers have lost their phones and have been told to give out their personal cell number and (get this) "we'll try not to call you unless it's important".

As for the clorox wipes, our school found there was a decrease in illnesses if they wiped down the tables before snack time. Freshly washed hands don't do much if you're sitting at a germ-covered table.

 

[torinsmom]

The one thing on the supply list that I am not sure I agree with was Clorox Wipes. Don't get me wrong, I think Clorox wipes are great and use them in my home. But why are we responsible for buying cleaning supplies for the classroom. If the desks were cleaned on a regular basis, I don't really think it would be necessary for every student to bring a box of wipes. I bought them though, but thought it was a little weird. Did anyone else have this on their lists? Just curious. By the way, I am a teacher, and I have the world's best custodian who does clean our room. My aide and I also clean off the tables on a regular basis. Just don't think the students should be responsible for bringing in the wipes, that's all. Okay, now that I have protected myself with armor you can let me have it!

Our custodial staff sweep and mop the floors and clean the bathrooms/sinks in the classroom. They don't clean the desks, tables or chairs. To kill the germs, we either need clorox wipes or clorox spray and paper towels. This year we will really need to use it, as they are saying the H1N1 will be a problem along with the seasonal flu.

That being said, I don't understand why Windex instead of Cloriox wipes can't be used. I think it teaches kids a good lesson to have to wipe down their desks at the end of every day.

Windex does not kill germs, does it? I would be okay with parents bringing in clorox and paper towels. We could make up bleach bottles, but it is tricky getting the perfect amount to sanitize without being harmful.

Marsha

 

[MouseLover]

I teach first grade.

Any supplies that are left over at the end of the year are given to my students to take home. There are usually 2-3 students who have lost their scissors by then. I have loaners and send notes to parents that they need to replace them, but usually they never bring more.

We ask for 30 pencils. I sharpen 3 pencils for each child before school begins. They lose them, break them (sometimes on purpose), and sharpen, sharpen, & re-sharpen them. They get reward pencils for birthdays, best citizen, drug-awareness week, & a few other occasions or holidays. At the end of this year, my students had 1 unsharpened pencil and 1 sharpened pencil to take home. We ran out of kleenexes this year. I bought more myself, a couple of parents sent in more, I borrowed more from the teacher across the hall. Finally, we just had to use the rough brown paper towels.

My grade-level team is required to come up with a supply list together. This means that if Teachers A,B,C require sticky notes, and Teacher D doesn't, D's students are going to buy them anyway.

We do not list brand names on the lists, but Crayola crayons and Fiskars scissors are really superior. Children are frustrated when they are coloring and the color barely appears on their paper, or if their scissors won't cut.

 

[Princess April]

I just wanted to send a "thank you" for all the teachers that have been explaining about the school supply situation. Not only does it make me feel better that one or two random kids aren't "getting over" on the rest of us, it also puts into perspective why all the items are necessary. I'm not a teacher, I work in H.R., but some of the supplies I require might be questionable to others that don't do the job I do, but to me it really makes sense. Thanks for doing a great job and teaching our kiddos!!!

 

[tspann]

A quick question for you teachers. Where can you get good left handed scissors? My daughter is left handed and has scissors on her Kindergarten list but I have yet to find a left handed pair. She had problems in preschool trying to cut with the right handed ones and I wanted to avoid the frustration this coming year.

 

[AZMermaid]

Is there a teaching supply store in your area? They should have them. Lakeshore Learning is one to google to see if they have one near you. They have an online store which says the fiskar scissors work for lefties too, but I don't have personal experience with it!

 

[SandrA9810]

A quick question for you teachers. Where can you get good left handed scissors? My daughter is left handed and has scissors on her Kindergarten list but I have yet to find a left handed pair. She had problems in preschool trying to cut with the right handed ones and I wanted to avoid the frustration this coming year.

You might want to make a note to the teacher about her being a lefty. In case they go to a general bin. Sometimes in school there were the lefty and righty bins, but for the most part just one. It was usually the teachers that were left handed that did this...


When I was in school, my sister started wroking for Wal-Mart, and so she bought use a couple boxes of paper. It lasted till I was out of high school and I think I still had about 20 packs of loose leaf left over. I ended up returning it to wal-mart for store credit, I had no idea what to do with it.

 

[squirrlygirl]

A quick question for you teachers. Where can you get good left handed scissors? My daughter is left handed and has scissors on her Kindergarten list but I have yet to find a left handed pair. She had problems in preschool trying to cut with the right handed ones and I wanted to avoid the frustration this coming year.

Not a teacher, but I found some online-try thelefthand.com. DS's kindergarten teacher specifically requested left-handed scissors as opposed to ones that supposedly can be used with either hand-she said she found that lefties can't see the line they're cutting because the top blade is on the side of the paper they're looking at, blocking the line of vision. I've found he really does have an easier time with true lefty scissors.

 

[torinsmom]

A quick question for you teachers. Where can you get good left handed scissors? My daughter is left handed and has scissors on her Kindergarten list but I have yet to find a left handed pair. She had problems in preschool trying to cut with the right handed ones and I wanted to avoid the frustration this coming year.

What does your child use at home to cut?

I have always been told that the Fiskar scissors are for right or left handed students. None of my lefties have ever mentioned having a problem cutting. When I did a search, I came up with these http://www.thelefthand.com/leffisscisfo.html They look the same as regular Fiskars to me.

Definitely tell the teacher if your child needs special scissors, so she doesn't put them in the general bin. Maybe she can keep them somewhere special.

Marsha

 

[EthansMom]

We didn't get a list from the public school for my 1st grader this year. I did buy a bunch of supplies for home, though.

Last year DS went to a private school. Since I don't have to pay tuition this year, I want to give his teacher some extra money for supplies.

I'm thinking a gift card would be good (probably $50). Any ideas what store? Would this not be allowed?

Our teachers will occasionally ask for supplies to be sent in during the year (craft supplies, kleenex, cleaning wipes, etc...).

Also, I give the teacher(s) each a $25 GC for Borders bookstore for Christmas and an end-of-year gift. Our teachers must buy all of their own books for their classroom libraries (that the kids read when they are done with their work or during quiet time) and kids can be rough on books. I don't have any expectation that the teacher will use the GC for their classroom, but so far, every teacher, has told me that they LOVED getting it.

Our PTO buys all of the kids' basic school supplies as well as most of the kids' field trips and all of their enrichment programs (author visit, puppet shows, visiting science programs, etc...) so we try to be supportive of our PTO.

I hope this helps!

 

[grlzmom]

My kids generic grade level lists are longer this year. They will also get a list of teacher specific items on the first day of school.

We also had the addition of copy paper to the list for this year (or money to purchase copy paper).

Every year it becomes harder to lug all the supplies into the classroom on the first day (used to be able to drop them off prior to school start), even with parental help with all the paper towels, wipes, paper plates, copy paper, hand sanitizer, ziplock bags and kleenex in addition to the traditional school supplies.