Please explain school supply requirements

[LuvsDragonflies]

That's odd bc in 9 years of grade school (they even used crayons in 8th grade at our school) I have bought both crayons for my kids, and I certainly treasure all the artwork nor can I tell the difference in any of the artwork they have brought home. And they dont do community piles at our school.

Personally I like the Roseart ones bc they come in a hardcase which keeps them from breaking in the pencil case, I have reused the hard case until it breaks or gets too gross, and I have refilled with Crayola and Roseart.

I don't recall anyone saying they preferred artwork from their kids depending on what crayon they use?

I will agree tho, I prefer the Crayloa's feel, both in the feel of the crayon's "write factor" and the feel of the crayon itself.

 

[luvmy3]

We pay to have a lot of things translated, but the picture lists work better in this circumstance. They work for all languages, which is important as you might not know when the mailing goes out which languages this years' parents will speak. They work for parents who aren't literate in any language. In addition, if I have someone transliterate Crayola or Fiskar into Amharic or Mandarin or Urdu, it doesn't mean that a parent will recognize it on the package in the store when it's written in English. Knowing that they're looking for the yellow package that looks like this helps a lot. And with picture lists even the preschoolers can help hunt for the right item!

As for the rest of the year, we have staff members who speak the most common languages, and call them in to translate or interpret. We also have a language line you can call, tell the person who answers "Vietnamese" and they'll get a translator online in a minute. We work hard to communicate, and use lots of different strategies. In this case the strategy that works is pictures.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with how you do it, you asked me previously how I would go about it, and I answered.
No matter what you state on your list, or the picture you put on it, I still think that a parent should be informed of what you do with the supplies they send in when they aren't the ones you requested. Or you could just return them since they wouldn't be used anyway. I'm not sure why that needs to be debated, it certainly seems like the right thing to do, in any language.

 

[Mkrop]

Are the crayons being used to create works of art the school will raise for fundraising? Because otherwise I don't see where crayon quality is a big deal.

The art kids create at school is valuable, even when it isn't sold. I know I treasure everything that ends up on my fridge!

Roseart crayons are lousy. They break easily, and the marks they leave are faint enough that you have to color over and over. Both of these things are frustrating for kids. They don't work well for techniques like wax resist.

There are few places where I think brandname is crucial at school. Crayons, washable markers that actually wash off, and scissors that actually cut are at the top of the list.

I don't recall anyone saying they preferred artwork from their kids depending on what crayon they use?

I will agree tho, I prefer the Crayloa's feel, both in the feel of the crayon's "write factor" and the feel of the crayon itself.

The two posts above went back and forth talking about it. I was pointing out that the pumpkin my kid colored would still be awesome and on my fridge whether my child colored it with a Roseart orange or a Crayola orange. If you prefer Crayola then buy it, but to say the others are unacceptable is baloney! My kids crayons lasted a good long time and were never broken, more were lost than broken no matter what brand it was. The key was the hard covered box that Roseart sold theirs in. I would refill it with whatever crayons we had, sometime it was a combo of brands bc many time I would throw the old crayons in a big bag when I replaced the whole box. This way if the orange went missing I would pull from my box of barely used crayons and replace the orange. Therefore my kiddos could have quite the assortment. They didnt care they got the job done. I asked my DS14 once if he cared after one of these threads, and he said there was no difference, he hated coloring no matter what kind of crayon it was

 

[kirstenb1]

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with how you do it, you asked me previously how I would go about it, and I answered.
No matter what you state on your list, or the picture you put on it, I still think that a parent should be informed of what you do with the supplies they send in when they aren't the ones you requested. Or you could just return them since they wouldn't be used anyway. I'm not sure why that needs to be debated, it certainly seems like the right thing to do, in any language.

I think this was answered upthread, with the comparison to Great Aunt Edna's weird sweater for Christmas or whatever it was. I donate unwanted gifts to Goodwill if it seems someone can get use out of them. I think if the teacher goes to the trouble to specify something, and I persist in sending in something else, it's not unreasonable it will meet the same fate.

 

[NotUrsula]

FWIW, my DS volunteers at a charity school supply warehouse. The warehouse is not open to the public; only to educators. They can request their supplies in one of two ways; either go onto the website's inventory shopping cart and fill the cart with what they want, then drive by the warehouse to pick it up already boxed, or they can come in and "shop" at the store facility that is set up in one side of the warehouse.
Schools are classified by their Federal free lunch percentage, and teachers get a set amount to "spend" based on the school's poverty level and what grade they are shopping for. It's a point system, and the premium brand supplies are marked at a higher point level.

The interesting thing about this warehouse is that while they do have barrels around town for the drive, their primary donors are companies that donate leftover client giveaways. Tons and tons of inkpens and rulers and backpacks that say things like "ABC Plumbing Supply", and LOTS of old stationary (the teachers use the blank verso to run off copies; they don't care if there is letterhead on the back side.) They do have new blank paper, of course, but the "recycled" stuff has a lower point cost, so they can get more of it for less.

DS says that while the teachers happily snap up lower-point off-brand supplies in just about every category and leave the better stuff for the stragglers who come late, the one exception to that is pencils, crayons and markers. They will spend more points to get the Crayolas and the Ticonderogas.

Last year the warehouse gave teachers enough supplies to completely outfit 46,000 students, and they are on track to surpass that this year.

 

[luvmy3]

I think this was answered upthread, with the comparison to Great Aunt Edna's weird sweater for Christmas or whatever it was. I donate unwanted gifts to Goodwill if it seems someone can get use out of them. I think if the teacher goes to the trouble to specify something, and I persist in sending in something else, it's not unreasonable it will meet the same fate.

Well that is where we differ, I don't believe its reasonable that it will meet the same fate since school supplies are not "gifts" for the teacher, they are tools that I am supplying my child with to use in class.
And, I don't know about you, but I have never seen a "required" brand listed on any school supply list. I have 3 kids, ranging from 4th to 9th grade so I have seen quite a few through the years. I have never seen one with pictures, but even so if you are showing a picture of crayola crayons to someone who doesn't even speak english, they may not understand the "requirement" of crayola, maybe they just see crayons.
So, while we can sit here and debate it, I will continue to believe that if a teacher isn't going to use what a parent sends in for their child, they should give it back to that parent, or let the parent know beforehand what you plan to do with it, and they can decide to send in the "required" stuff or something else. Its not really that big of a deal, its just how I feel about it. YMMV.

 

[taylor1293]

Last year, I gave out almost 500 pencils...500. I'm convinced children eat them! This is on top of all the pencils students brought in. I can definitely see a child using 72 pencils in a year!

I've pasted my supply list below and I think it's reasonable. However, of my 18 students, approximately 6 will send in the whole list, 6 will send in part of it and 6 will not bring in anything at all. I'll be left to provide the rest. As a teacher, I don't ask for parents to send in extra, but am I ever grateful for a parent who comes to me and gives me a couple packs of pencils or packs of paper for my classroom! Oh...and we aren't allowed to ask for Kleenex or hand sanitizer, those are items I also have to provide.

This is my supply list:

1 2” binder
1 Pencil box
1 Pack wide-ruled notebook paper
3 Single subject notebooks
3 Folders
2 Glue sticks
1 Pack of colored pencils
1 Composition book
2 Large erasers
2 Packs of pencils
1 Box of 24 crayons
1 Pair 5” scissors

 

[sam_gordon]

Last year, I gave out almost 500 pencils...500. I'm convinced children eat them! This is on top of all the pencils students brought in. I can definitely see a child using 72 pencils in a year!

500 pencils for 18 students is 27 pencils/student.
72 pencils/child for 18 students is 1296 pencils.

Granted, some students will use more, some will use less, but even your 500 number doesn't match asking for 72 pencils from each student.

 

[taylor1293]

500 pencils for 18 students is 27 pencils/student.
72 pencils/child for 18 students is 1296 pencils.

Granted, some students will use more, some will use less, but even your 500 number doesn't match asking for 72 pencils from each student.

500 pencils is how many I personally bought and gave out, not how many were used.

 

[torinsmom]

Well that is where we differ, I don't believe its reasonable that it will meet the same fate since school supplies are not "gifts" for the teacher, they are tools that I am supplying my child with to use in class.
And, I don't know about you, but I have never seen a "required" brand listed on any school supply list. I have 3 kids, ranging from 4th to 9th grade so I have seen quite a few through the years. I have never seen one with pictures, but even so if you are showing a picture of crayola crayons to someone who doesn't even speak english, they may not understand the "requirement" of crayola, maybe they just see crayons.
So, while we can sit here and debate it, I will continue to believe that if a teacher isn't going to use what a parent sends in for their child, they should give it back to that parent, or let the parent know beforehand what you plan to do with it, and they can decide to send in the "required" stuff or something else. Its not really that big of a deal, its just how I feel about it. YMMV.

Giving inadequate supplies back to a parent would not be the way I would want to start my year with them. Even if I explain that I prefer a particular brand because the quality is better, I am sure it would either make the parent mad or embarrassed. Besides, everyone brings their supplies in at the same time, and by the time we are able to sort things out, I don't even know who brought what. If a preference of brand is listed, I feel like that should be enough. It is only on the art supplies, not on things like kleenex, ziplocs, bags, etc.

 

[taylor3297]

500 pencils for 18 students is 27 pencils/student.
72 pencils/child for 18 students is 1296 pencils.

Granted, some students will use more, some will use less, but even your 500 number doesn't match asking for 72 pencils from each student.

500 pencils is how many I personally bought and gave out, not how many were used.

For those of us who taught middle school, we would go through lots of pencils, since we see 140 students a day.

 

[Andtototoo]

The interesting thing about this warehouse is that while they do have barrels around town for the drive, their primary donors are companies that donate leftover client giveaways. Tons and tons of inkpens and rulers and backpacks that say things like "ABC Plumbing Supply", and LOTS of old stationary (the teachers use the blank verso to run off copies; they don't care if there is letterhead on the back side.)
Last year the warehouse gave teachers enough supplies to completely outfit 46,000 students, and they are on track to surpass that this year.

That's interesting to me because our church runs a "stuff the school bus" drive every summer and at the very top of the list, it says, "NO brand/company names on pens, pencils, notebooks." -- by which they mean, while your pencil can say "Ticonderoga", it can't say "Betty Sue's Hair Salon". The organizer said she was told that it's against the rules for a company to advertise on school property and Betty Sue's Hair Salon pencils would constitute advertising.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

This sounds hugely excessive to me. My first grader last year needed 6 pencils and still came home at the end of the year with 2 half used ones.

 

[torinsmom]

This sounds hugely excessive to me. My first grader last year needed 6 pencils and still came home at the end of the year with 2 half used ones.

That would mean each pencil lasted 6 weeks. My ink pens don't even last that long and they don't have to be sharpened.

 

[luvsJack]

I just can't believe that some of you actually KNOW how many pencils your child uses in one year!

I would be scared to even try to guess and dd uses mechanical pencils most of the time now.

Pencils get lost, broken, stolen, dropped, thrown away but they also get picked up, borrowed, found, etc. There is no way to know for sure that "my child used 5.2 pencils last year". You have no idea how many pencils your child may or may not go through while at school.

I would simply trust that the teacher has a better idea of what your child will require at school and go with it. 72 pencils really isn't that many considering they are used all day everyday.

 

[NotUrsula]

That's interesting to me because our church runs a "stuff the school bus" drive every summer and at the very top of the list, it says, "NO brand/company names on pens, pencils, notebooks." -- by which they mean, while your pencil can say "Ticonderoga", it can't say "Betty Sue's Hair Salon". The organizer said she was told that it's against the rules for a company to advertise on school property and Betty Sue's Hair Salon pencils would constitute advertising.

I'm afraid they are dealing with a poverty level that doesn't permit that kind of pickiness; the only limit is that promotional items cannot have the names of religious organizations, bars, liquor companies or tobacco products, because those are prohibited in public schools by state law.

 

[Mkrop]

I just can't believe that some of you actually KNOW how many pencils your child uses in one year!I would be scared to even try to guess and dd uses mechanical pencils most of the time now.

Pencils get lost, broken, stolen, dropped, thrown away but they also get picked up, borrowed, found, etc. There is no way to know for sure that "my child used 5.2 pencils last year". You have no idea how many pencils your child may or may not go through while at school.

I would simply trust that the teacher has a better idea of what your child will require at school and go with it. 72 pencils really isn't that many considering they are used all day everyday.

I dont know exact numbers but when DS14 went into K, my SIL bought him a package of 200 pencils with his name on it. He used them until 4th grade when they were no longer "cool", then we used them around the house. This was supplmented with the occasional theme pencil and at standard testing time I would give him him 3 #2 pencils and he would add that to his stock. Even with him losing stuff, we had tons of those pencils left. We just used the last one here at home and he starts HS in a few weeks. So he used those pencils pretty much all the time for 5 years!