Back to school *vent*

[luvmy3]

I bet there is a black market for those binders!

No way I'm letting them go! Who knows what they will need in High School

Actually my dd hasn't gotten her list yet, I'm hoping she needs them for 7th grade.

 

[here757]

aggg... my second grader needs a 3 inch 3 ring binder.. WHITE!!
my question....
FOR WHAT?!

 

[torinsmom]

I was one of those parents who went out and paid $2.39 for the 16 packs of crayola crayons because the list specifically said "no roseart and no boxes over 16". I only did that once, after that my kids always brought in the box of 24 and no teachers ever said anything about it.

Sorry you had to do that! Ours didn't day "no boxes over 16", just 16 pack of Crayola crayons. The teachers were probably fine with the extra crayons; I don't get why anyone would specifically request 16 pack, except maybe that people were bringing in the 8 pack, which doesn't have some colors we might use, like pink and gray.

Marsha

 

[pandora174]

I was one of those parents who went out and paid $2.39 for the 16 packs of crayola crayons because the list specifically said "no roseart and no boxes over 16". I only did that once, after that my kids always brought in the box of 24 and no teachers ever said anything about it.

My DS list said 48 crayola washable crayons !!! I could not find them anywhere, so I had bought 3 boxes of 24 crayola washable crayons & that's what he's sending. I'll just send 2 boxes But when it came to markers they just said crayola washable. So I made up & got him the 10 large pack & a 24 thin marker washable since it's his year with a real Art class & assigned teacher so he is super excited about that !

 

[nicki.momof3]

It really hurt to spend $12 on 4 notebooks today I still have to find the elusive yellow one too

If you are spending $3 on one notebook this time of year you are not shopping at the right places. With all the back to school sales it is nearly impossible to not find a good sale.

 

[nicki.momof3]

Just a budget tip- I pay my kids if they can provide me with the supplies on my list from the previous year's stash. They get 50% of what I would have paid at the store.

Hope your not using walmarts prices as teh 50% rule - your kids won't get to much $$$.

Glue is $.25 and folders are $.17.

That would only be $.21 profit for them

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Hope your not using walmarts prices as teh 50% rule - your kids won't get to much $$$.

Glue is $.25 and folders are $.17.

That would only be $.21 profit for them

But it sounds so good on paper!

 

[fiveforall]

My current complaint is not being able to find everything on the supply list. I went to 4 stores looking for 2 packages of dividers with pockets and didn't find any. Plus none of those stores carried a wierd size post it note that the school wanted.


I found dividers with pockets at Target. They were in the special school supply section under 3 ring binders. They were mixed in with the regular cheaper dividers and were a little pricey. Good luck!

 

[princessmom29]

aggg... my second grader needs a 3 inch 3 ring binder.. WHITE!!
my question....
FOR WHAT?!

My DD will use the same thing in 1st grade this year. They have workbooks for each subject that are 3 hole punched and go in the binder. The binder comes home every night with a homework sheet in the front that tells us which pages to do in which workbooks, and any extra homework that doesn't come from the workbooks gets hole punched and put in the front of the binder. All of the communicatoin form the teacher, grade reports, lunch order forms, ect all go in the front pocket of the white binder. it keeps workbooks from getting torn up, lost ect, keeps all paper work in the same place, and really streamlines homework time!

 

[here757]

My DD will use the same thing in 1st grade this year. They have workbooks for each subject that are 3 hole punched and go in the binder. The binder comes home every night with a homework sheet in the front that tells us which pages to do in which workbooks, and any extra homework that doesn't come from the workbooks gets hole punched and put in the front of the binder. All of the communicatoin form the teacher, grade reports, lunch order forms, ect all go in the front pocket of the white binder. it keeps workbooks from getting torn up, lost ect, keeps all paper work in the same place, and really streamlines homework time!

ohhhh!
thanks for the response.. ill pick it up tomorrow before they sell out

 

[Vijoge]

My DS list said 48 crayola washable crayons !!! I could not find them anywhere. .

I can see where that would be a problem. The Crayola website doesn't even list them as something they make. Just 8, 16, and 24 in washable.

http://www.crayola.com/products/list.cfm?categories=CRAYONS&categories=WASHABLE

 

[luvmy3]

If you are spending $3 on one notebook this time of year you are not shopping at the right places. With all the back to school sales it is nearly impossible to not find a good sale.

It may be impossible not to find a good sale however it is impossible to find what I need on sale around here. Like I said before everyone is looking for the exact same thing and if I don't get it when I see it (on sale or not) it won't be there when I need it.
I'm not worried, I'm a true bargain shopper and always keep my reciepts so if I happen to find what I need on sale I'll buy it and return the stuff I paid full price for

 

[mom2threecuties]

Does anyone have to pay a 'supply contribution fee' in addition to buying items on the supply list? I spent about $170 on supplies for my three kids, and I'm also expected to pay a fee of $40 each for supply contributions. That adds up to $290 in supplies!!

 

[princessmom29]

ohhhh!
thanks for the response.. ill pick it up tomorrow before they sell out

no problem! Just wanted to pipe up b/c I thought the same thing when we were told we would be using them. DD gets a supply kit as parto f her tuition, but they let us know ahead so we couldbuy backpacks. If that is actually what they are using them for in your case, be aware that they DO NOT fit in the regular child sized backpacks with characters on them. You will need a bigger bag if it is coming home every day. Our school requests a bag with wheels through 3rd grade, and many of us get the LL Bean deluxe rolling bookbag. It is pricey, but they replace it if it breaks. Most kids use that one bag all the way from 1st to 5th!

 

[MM27]

My kids are young but I am not. I am an older mom who taught middle school for 20 years. Again, I don't like that there are parents who don't do for their kids when they are able, but in the end the kids suffer, not the parents. I provided for many during my years of teaching. Yes, it got old, but I am not going to let a student go without.

Now I just didn't just dole out the pencils because the student didn't have one. If the student wanted to borrow a pencil, they had to leave me one of their shoes. When it was time to change class, they had to give me the pencil back in order to get their shoe back. I never had anyone leave my room wearing one shoe.

One of the teachers in my school got in trouble for doing this. We had a fire drill and our vp saw kids outside without shoes on. The teacher didn't think about giving them their shoes back when the alarm went off.

I use golf pencils when kids start wasting pencils in my classroom. They hate writing with them and tend to hold on to their real pencil later.

 

[pandora174]

I can see where that would be a problem. The Crayola website doesn't even list them as something they make. Just 8, 16, and 24 in washable.

http://www.crayola.com/products/list.cfm?categories=CRAYONS&categories=WASHABLE

Thanks ! I went to Wal-Mart stocked up on the 24 but now I'm going to get a few more before school starts & just keep 2 24 packs ready. I always stock up on 3 of everything he uses regularly. But no complaints. Tomorrow when my debit card cries at the uniform store I'll be telling another story.

Why in the world does a 2nd grader need 3 uniforms every week (Mass 1x, PE 2x, everyday 2x), + PE sneakers are solid white or black, regular shoe laced black. Small vent over

I'm cringing at when the weather gets cold, at least I'm in So FL so I can get away with buying 1 item each which will entail another trip to the dreaded school uniform school. But I picked the school, great academics & teachers so I'll grin & bear it. Anyway I see their point, good grooming, pride in appearance, everyone looks exactly the same, etc etc

 

[Leajess99]

My children will be well supplied for school because they fear repercussions from their teachers. After having read your replies to this thread, it's clear that their fears are well founded.

Not everyone, in every school, takes Disney vacations worth thousands of dollars. The purpose of schools supplying materials is to make sure that ALL students have what they need, not just the wealthy or comfortable families.

And to those of you who think buying supplies is no big deal, ask yourself what is next. When the schools don't have enough money will you be purchasing textbooks? How about desks? Maybe they can't afford the teacher's salary. Will you be splitting that with the other parents too? Maybe we should just make all public schools tuition based? Seems to me that would defeat the purpose of a public school system. It's a slippery slope.

There are clear differences in opinions here which is okay, but when some resort to being rude it ruins the opportunity for an intelligent debate.

In reference to the highlighted, it IS legal for the schools to charge a textbook rental or useage fee and some districts do do this to help afford the books and keep them up to date. I think that before schools start charging for the books though that the sports budgets are taken away and that money used for education purposes. IF a child wants to participate in sports than they need to be charged for that. Some of these kids that played sports in high school get full ride scholarships to colleges and go on to play in the pros making big bucks. How much are they giving back to the schools?? I'm sorry but it is very sad when a pro football player can make 10 times more than a teacher. The scholarships need to be more for academic than for sports in my honest opinion. My kids' education is paid for so no biggy on scholarships but there are many kids that cannot go to school because they don't have the money and their parents can't do it but they are very bright kids. If you don't play a sport than chances are you are out of luck on a scholarship.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Where did your sports gripe come from. The only schools that give sports scholarships are division 1 schools. All schools give academic scholarships. That would be 120 colleges and universities out of the 2363 4 year institutions in the US.

Also the pay difference has far more to do with statistics and the % of skilled people in both fields. There are many many great teachers (thankfully) and far fewer great football players. Multiply that by the profit margin of football, and you have your answer. It doesn't mean football players are worth more than teachers, or social workers, or carpenters. It means more people can make more money from their skills. nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Leajess99]

Yes, sadly, we have had kids who wet their beds at night and did not take a bath, so they smelled like urine. The principal has taken a child into his bathroom and washed him up and the counselor gave him new clothes. The next day, same thing, because the sheets were not changed Or kids come in short sleeved shirts with no jacket in the winter. We have coats they can take home and keep, but often they will come back without the coat. It's very sad.

I really, really don't mind supplying this type of child with what they need, even if it comes out of my grocery budget. It bothers me a lot more when the kids with the designer clothes(on mom and kid) don't bring in the supplies we request. We do our best with what we get. I think some people want to make a point that the school should supply everything, but they don't, so someone has to do it.

Marsha

It really is sad that some parents do not have their priorities where they should be. I know when my now 7th grader was in preschool she had a classmate that kept taking his shoes off. Now this child was my neighbor and I knew a little about him outside of preschool. We found that his shoes were too small so the teacher told his mom when she came to pick him up. The next day the child was in shoes that were still too small. I ran to Walmart and bought 2 sets of shoes (they were boxed shoes with 2 pairs for like $7 or $10 so not much money). I had to run back to Walmart as his shoes were 2 sizes too small. We sent him home in one of the new pairs and kept the others at school so he would have shoes that fit there. It was a good thing as his mom never sent the other pair in on his feet. This woman always had her hair and nails done and she and the baby girl were always dressed in the nice name brand clothes. The woman once commented to me that she would be so happy when the behavioral health clinic he was going to (won't say the name but here it is more used for and by those on medicaid) diagnosed him with ADHD so she could get SSI for him. I was floored by this as the child really did not have a problem with paying attention or sitting still. I also could not believe that she wanted the child diagnosed just for a check. Having a child with ADHD I had never heard of such a thing before this woman. My son has ADHD but I have never thought to apply for SSI for him. I do know some kids with ADHD have severe learning disabilities but I still don't understand the check concept.

 

[taylor3297]

One of the teachers in my school got in trouble for doing this. We had a fire drill and our vp saw kids outside without shoes on. The teacher didn't think about giving them their shoes back when the alarm went off.

I use golf pencils when kids start wasting pencils in my classroom. They hate writing with them and tend to hold on to their real pencil later.

This has happened to me too. Luckily only a couple of students only had one shoe missing. I asked the principal about it later and he said if was a real fire they wouldn't have time to worry about the shoe. Samething if kids were changing during PE class. Some students may have to grab their clothes and finish dressing outside. In other words if it was a real emergency it wouldn't matter. In 20 years I never had a parent complain. Maybe I was just lucky.