School supply rant! Too much $$$

[IDoDis]

This is my pet peeve I'm ok sending in all the other stuff but people whats the matter with them using the CHALK BOARDS in the room instead of those dang dry erase boards?? Our school has a rectangle section maybe of the chalk board that was taken out and replaced w/a dry erase board, why? What's the matter with using chalk? Really I want to know?

Chalk is soooo dusty! It ends up everywhere. On the floor, the chalk trays are full of it, it gets on clothing, and you have to clap the erasers every couple of days which sends more dust flying into your hair, eyes & clothes. Kids love clapping erasers, but they end up getting into trouble with them somehow!

Also, the first time you drop a piece of chalk, it breaks into pieces. Dry erase boards are easy to keep clean, the kids can see the writing better, and you can color-code things. The small write-on boards that the kids use are about $1.00 each which is much cheaper than little chalk boards, with no mess.

Sure we grew up with them and used them for years and years, but you could say the same thing about heating on a stove top vs using a microwave.

 

[Lisa_M]

This is my pet peeve I'm ok sending in all the other stuff but people whats the matter with them using the CHALK BOARDS in the room instead of those dang dry erase boards?? Our school has a rectangle section maybe of the chalk board that was taken out and replaced w/a dry erase board, why? What's the matter with using chalk? Really I want to know?

chalk creates alot of dust, which can exacerbate allergies. It's also makes the room messier. I remember when I was in school constantly sneezing anytime I got close to the board. I don't know if it was just me or maybe my classroom desperately needed cleaning, but white boards are so much easier. I do think it should be the teacher's or school district's responsibility to provide these markers, unless each student is using a small white board at their desk for class.

 

[Ilovemyprincesses]

My DD's teacher want an 8 pk of Jumbo crayola crayons. I looked at 3 stores and I can not find them. Roseart makes an 8 pk of jumbo crayons. Target has a 8 pack of regular crayola crayons. What do I do?

 

[mecook]

4 one inch binders
college paper for one of them
wide-ruled paper for other 3
dividers for one binder
graph paper
colored pencils
blue or black pens
pencils
1 floppy disk
dictionary
pk. of index cards
1 composition notebook

Our teachers "request the donation" of housekeeping items now.
English wants 1 paper towel
Science wants 1 sanitizer for last names A-M
" " 1 paper towel and one tissue for last names N-Z
History wants tissue from girls or paper towels from boys
Math (get this) wants paper towel, tissue, Windex AND 409
This math teacher must be going to scrub every desk, every day, with all those supplies!!! If every kid brought that, she'd have 100 of each.

We've always supplied everything a kid could need, plus tissues, ziplocs, 409, and paper towels....from K on up.

When I was in school from 1967-1979, they took our things up and only passed out the paste, scissors, construction paper, etc. when we were going to use them. I think DD has kept her own stuff every year. Do you know how hard it is to label every crayon and pen-size marker?

Melanie

 

[mum4jenn]

My DD's teacher want an 8 pk of Jumbo crayola crayons. I looked at 3 stores and I can not find them. Roseart makes an 8 pk of jumbo crayons. Target has a 8 pack of regular crayola crayons. What do I do?

Get the CRAYLOA....Roseart is VERY BAD horrible horrible. Very waxy and the colors are way off.YUCK!

 

[mellowmood]

School supplies this year will cost me about $300.00 for 2 kids. We have to buy the supplies, school and gym uniforms, cleaning supplies (the kids clean their desk and the classroom every week). Through out the year I will also get notes sent home for donations for auctions that the school holds, and various other things to be sent in throughout the year.

 

[Minnie_me]

Our teachers "request the donation" of housekeeping items now.

This is sad. Our night custodians buy their own supplies as well. The school buys the cheapest products, and they just don't work well. So these poor women, who make minimum wage, are buying their own Clorox spray.

 

[maggiew]

I just talked to my mom about this thread and we remember supplying tissues 25 yrs ago (I am 29) so this is not new. The only things I supply for my kids I do not recall on my own school lists are reams of copy paper, whiteboard markers (chalkboards), hand sanitizer and clorox wipes. None of which I mind. In fact, I would supply sanitizers for the entire class all year were it not already listed and DID do so for my youngest sons class last year (though the teacher never enforced everyone using it- yuck!).
My kids have had many teachers who did not ask for rulers or scissors because they supply them from a community bin and have used the same ones for years. I do this with my scout troops now (bought them for pennies on clearance) it keeps things simple this way.
I love plastic folders too but our teachers have asked for five of each in several colors and that means spending $20 just on folders for each child.... it IS our biggest expense! Plastic folders w/brads and pockets run $1+ ea. and I have never seen a sale on them. It seems a little absurd to me but will buy them cause I am supposed to.....

I noticed that Walgreens has plastic/poly folders with brads on sale this week 2/$1. They are on page 9 of my ad. Hope that helps.

Maggie

 

[timzagain]

I'm in Barbados, not the US. If you think $70 is bad, you should be glad you don't have to shop for my youngest daughter! I spend $300 BDS ($150US) on text books alone - in primary school, public and private (up to age 11), parents buy the books. That bill does not include any stationery items, tissues etc., uniforms. Most of those books are actually workbooks, so I won't be able to recover any money by reselling them at the end of the year!

Thankfully, the two teenage girls rent their textbooks from the Government's textbook loan program at about $38 US per school year. The textbook loan scheme is available to public and private secondary schools (ages 11 and up). It doesn't include the stationery items, or the never ending list of art supplies for DD#1, or uniforms!

On top of those expenses, we still have to pay tuition fees for DD#2, and DD#3, who are both in private school. They are both children with ADHD who need to work in a smaller class setting.

 

[timzagain]

I'm in Barbados, not the US. If you think $70 is bad, you should be glad you don't have to shop for my youngest daughter! I spend $300 BDS ($150US) on text books alone - in primary school, public and private (up to age 11), parents buy the books. That bill does not include any stationery items, tissues etc., uniforms. Most of those books are actually workbooks, so I won't be able to recover any money by reselling them at the end of the year!

Thankfully, the two teenage girls rent their textbooks from the Government's textbook loan program at about $38 US per school year. The textbook loan scheme is available to public and private secondary schools (ages 11 and up). It doesn't include the stationery items, or the never ending list of art supplies for DD#1, or uniforms!

On top of those expenses, we still have to pay tuition fees for DD#2, and DD#3, who are both in private school. They are both children with ADHD who need to work in a smaller class setting. The upside of that is that private schools aren't nearly as expensive here as they are in the US.

 

[MrsPete]

Roseart stuff is just plain bad. I bought it once or twice when my daughters were toddlers and were just starting to use crayons. The real irony is that Crayola products can be found on excellent sales at this time of year, while Roseart, though cheap, is always at full price. Even before my girls started school, I got into the habit of picking up a large quantity of Crayola stuff at back-to-school-time -- I keep generic school supplies in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, and they help themselves when they need them.

Chalk vs. white boards . . . when I started teaching, everyone had a chalkboard. Then one fall we came back to find that they'd installed white boards over the summer. They were nicer, though the markers do run out faster than the chalk did. I like that I can mark sentences with different colors (i.e., circle verbs with red); color-coding REALLY, REALLY helps grammar "click" for many kids. However, I didn't really appreciate how much better the white boards are until I taught summer school in a different building that still had chalk boards. It genuinely is more difficult to read a chalkboard.

As for classroom mess, it's about equal: White boards are less messy than chalk, but they DO accumulate a black powder similar to chalk dust; it doesn't build up as fast as chalk dust does, but it does pile up on the "tray" below the board, and the board has to be washed every other week or so with window cleaner. Also, some of the markers have an odor that's problematic -- a few students request to be moved away from the front row because of it, and sometimes it gets to me when I have a large number of students up at the board writing out grammar exercises at the same time.

Personally, I've never spent a whole lot to buy school supplies for my two kids. I bring the sale papers to Office Max and price match everything in one store; plus as a teacher, I get a small rebate from them a couple times a year -- right now I have a $10 card from them, and that should buy all the consumable supplies that they'll need for the year. When loose-leaf paper's .15, your money goes a long way. I spend way, way, way more on supplies for my classroom (for other people's kids) than I do on supplying my own children.

Large items don't have to be replaced every year. A good backpack should last 3-4 years; I bought small LL Bean packs when my daughters started school, and I had to replace them because they needed the larger packs. They're going into 5th and 8th grades, and they're only on their second backpacks. When my oldest started middle school I bought her a TI-34II calculator from ebay for about $5; the school says that'll see her through 9th or 10th grade. I bought her two gym uniforms (total of $40) as a 6th grader; she's still using them. Both of my girls like using the big zippered binder-style notebooks, and the ones they used last year are still in good condition.

 

[MrsPete]

I was in a portable classroom for years with no carpeting and a crawl space underneath the classroom so the movement of chairs and desks was loud. I used to call the local tennis clubs a few weeks before school and ask them to save the unclaimed tennis balls at the end each day. I would get a call from them a couple of weeks later (or I'd call them) and they'd have a box of tennis balls waiting for me. I NEVER had to ask the kids' parents to buy them. Typically, about 70% of the balls were reusable the following year and the rest needed to be replaced.

I was wondering why no one'd said that yet! My daughters used to take tennis lessons, and there were always tons of old tennis balls lying around the courts! If they're going to be used to cushion desks, they don't need to be new!

 

[MrsPete]

--------------------------

This is what my DD found very annoying with her DD's old school district.. By that point, all of the best sales are over and the stores are mobbed!

Why wait? The lists are pretty easy to predict, and if she buys something unnecessary, it can be saved for future use.

 

[MrsPete]

I guess I need to find a way to phrase the question without seeming like I am pre-accusing them of something? It's a question I don't feel I should have to ask - any more than I should have to ask my boss if I can keep my little notepad in my purse or if I have to share it around.

You can say, "My daughter loves picking out special school supplies -- will each child be using what she brings in, or will the supplies be pooled together?" Unless it's said with a negative tone, it's not an accusation.

Or, if this is really an issue, buy your daughter a couple nice packs of stickers instead of fancy notebooks. She will enjoy choosing them just as much as she'd enjoy picking the notebooks, and she can decorate whatever notebooks/folders she ends up using.

 

[gemjoy]

Chalk vs. white boards . . . when I started teaching, everyone had a chalkboard. Then one fall we came back to find that they'd installed white boards over the summer. They were nicer, though the markers do run out faster than the chalk did. I like that I can mark sentences with different colors (i.e., circle verbs with red); color-coding REALLY, REALLY helps grammar "click" for many kids. However, I didn't really appreciate how much better the white boards are until I taught summer school in a different building that still had chalk boards. It genuinely is more difficult to read a chalkboard.

***I totally agree with the color-coding!!!
My kids school doesn't even have chalkboards anymore - they've all been replaced with white boards.

Both of my girls like using the big zippered binder-style notebooks, and the ones they used last year are still in good condition.

***This is what I bought for my DS to start 7th grade with this year... I'm glad to hear your kids like these - I wasn't sure, but thought it would be a great way to keep him organized and easy to take from class to class. The one I purchased was from Staples - the "Five Star" brand and has folders and a binder ring as well as all kinds of places to put other things - and it completely zips shut. I was a little worried that it might not be "cool" enough... but boy is it ever efficient!

 

[tl_swift]

Ugh! Just got my DD's 8th grade school supply list. There is about $70 worth of stuff on it! Seriously. Each teacher has 10-15 items and she has 5 teachers.

DS needs about $30 worth (most of that is a scientific calculator) so I'm looking at $100 for school supplies - and I'm a bargain hunter. It gets better in high school, right?

I have found that the kids often don't need most of the supplies at the begining of the year (in fact some of the suppies turned out not to be needed at all) So I get what they truly need and then watch for sales through out the year. I also keep a school suppy drawer at home which I restock through out the year as I find sales. By the way I just bought my DS a scientific calculator for $10 at Office Depot. Don't spend too much on them because the kids loose them or they get broken in their backpacks by their books. Just make sure it has the keys that they need and that it is a two line screen. Been there done that. http://www.officedepot.com/textSearch.do?uniqueSearchFlag=true&Ntt=scientific+calculator

 

[IDoDis]

4 one inch binders
college paper for one of them
wide-ruled paper for other 3
dividers for one binder
graph paper
colored pencils
blue or black pens
pencils
1 floppy disk
dictionary
pk. of index cards
1 composition notebook

Our teachers "request the donation" of housekeeping items now.
English wants 1 paper towel
Science wants 1 sanitizer for last names A-M
" " 1 paper towel and one tissue for last names N-Z
History wants tissue from girls or paper towels from boys
Math (get this) wants paper towel, tissue, Windex AND 409
This math teacher must be going to scrub every desk, every day, with all those supplies!!! If every kid brought that, she'd have 100 of each.

We've always supplied everything a kid could need, plus tissues, ziplocs, 409, and paper towels....from K on up.

When I was in school from 1967-1979, they took our things up and only passed out the paste, scissors, construction paper, etc. when we were going to use them. I think DD has kept her own stuff every year. Do you know how hard it is to label every crayon and pen-size marker?

Melanie

A floppy disk???? The school's computers must be reallyyyyyy old!

Crayons are so cheap, I wouldn't even bother labeling those. At 20 cents a box, you could buy 5 boxes for a dollar and just give your DD a new box every couple of months (I don't see crayons or markers on her list, anyway). You can label the 10 markers with a sharpie in about 3 minutes tops. You don't have to label them at all if you don't mind replacing them every couple of months.

I added up everything required on your list and would be able to buy everything for around $13.75 at the most plus tax if you shop the sales at Staples for the 1 cent items and the 15 cent paper packs of paper. The biggest expense would be the dictionary at around 4.99 for a paperback.

Also, remember the other items are optional donations. Less than 1/2 actually bring the donations. Teachers have to buy cleaning supplies out of their own pockets if they want the room kept germ-free. The custodians do not wipe down desks and tables. They will wipe down sinks & counters, empty the trash and vacuum 2 or 3 times a week if you are lucky.

I realize sometimes teachers ask for a lot, but having been on both ends (teaching and a parent), I know why they ask for the things they do. Their best interests are for our children. Unless you want to walk in their shoes with 25 - 35 kids at a time and have to clean up after them, I would not complain.

 

[DisneyBarlans]

My kindergarden age DS has 28 items on his list, not to mention clinic supplies and yearbook fee, etc, etc, etc. My 6th grade DS has a list of 20 items just for the 6th graders, and each teacher will have another list of folders, binders, etc. that they need for their specific class. My friend that's a teacher told me that most people just pick and choose from the list and don't buy everything. I don't want to leave my kids without having something they need, and the teacher to have to pay for it out of his/her own money, but it gets a little crazy what they're asking for lately.

 

[Rhiannon2005]

About the Free or reduced lunches, my ds school, now just have the kids inter their pin number into the computer at lunch. This way they may not even know they receive Free or reduced lunch. Since everyone enters a pin number who could know.

Katie

 

[gottaluvdis]

we are here in NH and YES My kids schools ALso require that *WE* supply the Supplies!!! Pens, markers, crayons, tissues , hand gel and more........I hear ya! OH and we have to keep these stocked all year ( ie the school does not provide these so if my kids run out/ run low, they send a note home telling me they need more such and such)
this is what I say: about all the money I spend....

I guess it depends on where you live in NH. We have never been required to provide anything for DD (yet) -she's heading into 5th grade this year. They provide lists only because so many parents ask each year, but they make it very clear that the items on the lists are only suggestions and not required. That being said, we always purchase supplies for DD because she likes certain markers, crayons, etc. She also says that if you don't have your own stuff, sometimes there can be a wait in the classroom for the supplies, which can cut into the time it takes to get the work done. She's good about sharing her stuff with others too. I also send in boxes of Kleenex and hand gel, especially if DD tells me they're getting low in the classroom. I've never been asked to supply these things, but I know the teachers appreciate having them.