For DD's School I had to...

[Microcell]

INDIVIDUALLY mark each pencil, marker and crayon with her initials!!!! If she had colored pencils my brain may well have exploded!

Has anyone heard of such a thing? Her 1st grade teacher sent a note introducing herself two days before we are to meet her (so parents won't have time to try for another teacher) and it looked promising that there were smiley stickers on the outside of the envelope. We opened the note, and she dropped the organizational fiend bomb!!!!! She is gonna hate us! Really it should cut down on the fighting, but my hands hurt from the whole thing. I decided to go the lazy route and get her pencils with her name on it- with no luck- stupid Walmart! So I had to get sticky labels and she wrote her initials and I taped it on! For those numbers people it was 42 of them!!

I can't type, my hands are numb...

 

[Cindy B]

My daughters teacher gives each kid a number, and its assigned to them all year.

For example my daughter was number 8. Everything had a 8 on it.

She also had a master chart with the number corresponding to the name.

So if I found a pencil with a 4 on it, I could walk up to the chart and figure out whose it is !

 

[Microcell]

I guess I should be happy then! Numbering system?? My head really would explode with that one!

 

[kwdietrich1]

I think that's a good idea. I teach high school, and even thought these are supposed to be more mature students, you be surprised how many students get into arguments about whose pencil it is. But, my biggest problem is to actually get them to bring a writing utensil to class!

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by Microcell
I guess I should be happy then! Numbering system?? My head really would explode with that one!

Numbering isn't bad. Writing an 8 or a 2 is easier than carving initials.

 

[aprilgail2]

Wow, I would not be happy if i had to do that since her kindergarten school supply list has ONE HUNDRED pencils on there!! I did label everything else with her name but I am not labeling 100 pencils.

 

[dizneenut]

I had to do the same thing when my boys were in 1st and 2nd grade. It is such a pain.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I did it anyway for both of my children. I really helps with children that borrow and never give back. I guess it is the teacher in me.

Lori

 

[eeyoreforever]

One hundred pencils???? Geez, I thought it was bad when we had to send 48. What does that come out to, a new pencil every other day?

As far as labeling each item, we had to do that one year. It is a real waste of time on the crayons especially, because the paper gets torn off of them or their name just fade away after much use.

But, I would rather write their names on them than to have the teachers take up all of their supplies like a lot of them do. My girls always pick out their supplies as opposed to buying the prepackaged bags so they can get purple scissors, green pencil box etc. They are always so disappointed when the teacher takes it all up and hands it out randomly to use.

 

[Pooh93]

DD's are going into 3rd and 1st grade. I've done this drill since preschool. I can understand particularly in kindergarten, when they sit at tables. I'm sure things get mixed together. One year, I did 72 crayons! Doesn't really bother me though. Our last name in only 4 letters, so it goes pretty quick. I tried printing labels, but they eventually peeled off, so now I just use a permanent marker. Maybe I was a teacher in a previous life!

Oh and don't forget to put intials on the top and bottoms of crayons, because they do get broken.

 

[luv2nascar]

sorry I think it's all ridiculous
what do our tax dollars pay for
we never took anything to grade school
I had to send papertowels and tissue last year
come on
100 pencils no way
they are pushing my buttons here

 

[HollyJoy]

OMG! You poor thing! Wonder why the teacher just isn't asking for a package of pencils from each child, let the kids keep two, then put the rest in a box for the whole class to use. DD's first grade teacher did this last year. It worked great. She'd make sure they were all sharpened in the morning, then during the day, when a child needed a sharpened pencil, they'd take one out of the box. Took care of the constant pencil sharpening!

 

[lacool]

Pencils are communal in my DDs' classes as well. Every parent sends in a box. The teacher breaks out a new box whenever it is necessary. Crayons, markers and colored pencils are communal, too!

 

[JESW]

No crazy rules like that around here!

I am also curious...aprilgail2 - why on earth would a KINDERGARTENER need 100 pencils???? My DD5 is also going into kindergarten and we have no supply list at all - so far - and school starts in 2 weeks. We got a list for DS9 going into the 4th grade and it's very reasonable.

Jill

 

[ksy8384]

How many kids are in her class? Do all of them have to send 100 pencils (100 x 15 (just a guess) = alot of pencils) or does one get pencils, someone else crayons etc...

My DS (8yo 3rd grade) had to get 36 pencils.... send 2 to school and keep the rest at home. I told him he was probably going to have alot of homework if he needed that many at home. LOL

My SIL called and asked me if she needed to individually label each pencil and crayon. I thought she was crazy. Guess not.

Happy school year.....

Kalen