Annual School Supply List Vent

[Turn the Page]

Let me preface this by saying I believe teachers are over worked, underpaid, vastly under appreciated, have jobs that are nearly impossible, and generally have very good reasons for what they do.

I just started the kids back to school shopping and took DD6 to the store to buy the items on her list. The list is short (surprising for 1st grade) but oddly specific. She needs 75 clear plastic page protectors, top load only. I didn't know there was another option but apparently there must be. A box of 16 Crayola crayons. Our local Wal-Mart didn't have a box of 16 crayola crayons. They had 24 crayola crayons and 16 of a different brand. I got teh 24 count Crayola and called it a day.

My personal favorite was the box of washable markers broad top and fine tip. What does this even mean? I ended up getting a box of the thin markers and hope those will suffice.

I glanced at DD10's list but haven't delved into it yet though it appears she needs the standard pocket folders and notebooks of specific colors. Hopefully that is as crazy as it gets.

What are your odd/baffling/difficult to come by school supply requests this year?

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Let me preface this by saying I believe teachers are over worked, underpaid, vastly under appreciated, have jobs that are nearly impossible, and generally have very good reasons for what they do.

I just started the kids back to school shopping and took DD6 to the store to buy the items on her list. The list is short (surprising for 1st grade) but oddly specific. She needs 75 clear plastic page protectors, top load only. I didn't know there was another option but apparently there must be. A box of 16 Crayola crayons. Our local Wal-Mart didn't have a box of 16 crayola crayons. They had 24 crayola crayons and 16 of a different brand. I got teh 24 count Crayola and called it a day.

My personal favorite was the box of washable markers broad top and fine tip. What does this even mean? I ended up getting a box of the thin markers and hope those will suffice.

I glanced at DD10's list but haven't delved into it yet though it appears she needs the standard pocket folders and notebooks of specific colors. Hopefully that is as crazy as it gets.

What are your odd/baffling/difficult to come by school supply requests this year?

Broad tip are the fat markers. I got markers at Wal-Mart for like .99/pack.

Luckily our lists have been getting less specific. I think they realize that 75% of our district is low income and they are lucky if the parents buy supplies at all so leaving it pretty open makes it easier. The worst for me was finding 3 prong plastic folders in the six colors requested. I could find plastic without the prongs, and with only prongs but not both. When I did finally find them I could only find four of the colors. I had to go to Office Max for the other two.

 

[kuhltiffany]

We moved 2 years ago and I love the system here. You pay a flat fee ($20-30) and the school does a bulk buy for the years supplies. So much easier!

 

[Turn the Page]

Broad tip are the fat markers. I got markers at Wal-Mart for like .99/pack.

Luckily our lists have been getting less specific. I think they realize that 75% of our district is low income and they are lucky if the parents buy supplies at all so leaving it pretty open makes it easier. The worst for me was finding 3 prong plastic folders in the six colors requested. I could find plastic without the prongs, and with only prongs but not both. When I did finally find them I could only find four of the colors. I had to go to Office Max for the other two.

Yes, I know broad tip means the fat markers. She doesn't want broad tip she wants broad top and fine tip. The broad top/fat markers also say broad tip and she wants fine tip.

 

[Turn the Page]

We moved 2 years ago and I love the system here. You pay a flat fee ($20-30) and the school does a bulk buy for the years supplies. So much easier!

I imagine it saves a lot on the "but so and so has THIS binder. I want that binder too!!!" type of thing. I wish our district did this. I mean, if they are going to be that stinking specific they could get them all and just charge us.

 

[tvguy]

We moved 2 years ago and I love the system here. You pay a flat fee ($20-30) and the school does a bulk buy for the years supplies. So much easier!

Yeah, my kids schools always had a campus store. You wrote the check and they handed you a packet with exactly what you child's teacher requested.

 

[usnuzuloose]

May I ask how long they give you the list before they start school? Sometimes you may find things on sale with the ads long before school starts. I feel very fortunate I never had to deal with that. Or maybe some of the other parents could tell you where they have found the supply's they need. Just throwing out some suggestions. Or make calls to some store before running around and wasting the gas.

 

[kamik86]

Yes, I know broad tip means the fat markers. She doesn't want broad tip she wants broad top and fine tip. The broad top/fat markers also say broad tip and she wants fine tip.

Is there any way to contact the teacher? Given that the o and i keys are next to each other I wonder if she wanted one of each (broad tip and fine tip)

 

[Klayfish]

Yep, I agree that teachers are dramatically underpaid and overworked, especially given the importance of their responsibility. Besides having 3 school aged kids, my wife is a speech therapist at an elementary school. Even though the district is not poor by any stretch, the teachers are given very little in the way of supplies. Yet they're expected to have great lesson plans. So the costs sadly have to be passed on to the families. Luckily, for my wife, she has supplies that she can use over and over for the students, so she doesn't need to ask anything of the parents. A lot of our childrens' toys as they outgrew them went to her office to be used in her work.

I know some districts do have help for families that can't afford the needed supplies.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Yes, I know broad tip means the fat markers. She doesn't want broad tip she wants broad top and fine tip. The broad top/fat markers also say broad tip and she wants fine tip.

I think that "broad top" is just a typo. I would interpret the request to be one box of washable broad tip (fat) markers and one box of washable fine tip (skinny) markers.

 

[Magpie]

The big shocker for us, many years ago, was discovering that the reason our school supply lists were so specific (ie, yellow pencils, no branding, etc) is that the teacher confiscates everyone's supplies at the beginning of the year and then doles them out as needed from the collective stash.

That way, kids whose parents don't buy the needed supplies can't be told apart from the kids whose parents did. The downside, of course, is that your child doesn't get to keep anything for themselves. No sense of pride in ownership, or anything like that.

My daughter ended up with a pencil that said, "Susan". (No, she's not a "Susan".)

 

[scrapquitler]

Broad tip are the fat markers. I got markers at Wal-Mart for like .99/pack.

Luckily our lists have been getting less specific. I think they realize that 75% of our district is low income and they are lucky if the parents buy supplies at all so leaving it pretty open makes it easier. The worst for me was finding 3 prong plastic folders in the six colors requested. I could find plastic without the prongs, and with only prongs but not both. When I did finally find them I could only find four of the colors. I had to go to Office Max for the other two.

When I had this issue, I bought the colors they did have, and then we wrote on the folder with a thick sharpie "ORANGE" and "PURPLE" so that my daughter could easily identify her "orange" folder (why the teacher couldn't just tell them to get out the MATH folder, I don't know).

 

[Turn the Page]

The big shocker for us, many years ago, was discovering that the reason our school supply lists were so specific (ie, yellow pencils, no branding, etc) is that the teacher confiscates everyone's supplies at the beginning of the year and then doles them out as needed from the collective stash.

That way, kids whose parents don't buy the needed supplies can't be told apart from the kids whose parents did. The downside, of course, is that your child doesn't get to keep anything for themselves. No sense of pride in ownership, or anything like that.

My daughter ended up with a pencil that said, "Susan". (No, she's not a "Susan".)

I know this school does that too and I really have no problem with it whatsoever. Things like their pencil boxes to keep in their desks and their binders are for their own personal use but all the pencils, erasures, markers, etc. go in the community pot which I understand.

 

[MainMom]

Our elementary school asks for specific color folders. It's for organizational purposes. Their lists are pretty basic: ruler, notebooks, crayons, etc.

DD is entering HS and won't know her elective classes until school starts. I'm getting the supplies for her basics and then will buy elective classes later.

 

[lanejudy]

DD is entering 6th grade this fall; we've never had to deal with a school supply list. On just a couple of occasions she's come home in the first couple of weeks with a note about needing a notebook or binder, and in Kindergarten they used to share a group list of bulk items (wipes, goldfish crackers, etc.) but nothing required. We have a desk with supplies at home she uses for homework and projects, but just stuff I've picked up along the way. I don't know if our high school has supply lists; guess we'll see in a few years.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Yes, I know broad tip means the fat markers. She doesn't want broad tip she wants broad top and fine tip. The broad top/fat markers also say broad tip and she wants fine tip.

Yeah I thought it was a typo... Sorry.

 

[MSLRAC]

Broad tip are the fat markers. I got markers at Wal-Mart for like .99/pack.

Luckily our lists have been getting less specific. I think they realize that 75% of our district is low income and they are lucky if the parents buy supplies at all so leaving it pretty open makes it easier. The worst for me was finding 3 prong plastic folders in the six colors requested. I could find plastic without the prongs, and with only prongs but not both. When I did finally find them I could only find four of the colors. I had to go to Office Max for the other two.

We had trouble finding the orange folder my youngest needs for this year. I was just getting ready to text her teacher when my DD yelled that she had found one. She had literally climbed half way into the bottom shelf of folders at Target looking but she had one.

OP, I also won't worry about 16 verses 24 crayons. If the teacher cares, she can remove the extra 8 crayons. But chances are if you are having trouble finding 16 count boxes then everyone else is too and all the kids will come in with 24 count boxes.

I think that "broad top" is just a typo. I would interpret the request to be one box of washable broad tip (fat) markers and one box of washable fine tip (skinny) markers.

I'd venture to say it was a typo as well. I'd buy a box of each and call it a day.

I know this school does that too and I really have no problem with it whatsoever. Things like their pencil boxes to keep in their desks and their binders are for their own personal use but all the pencils, erasures, markers, etc. go in the community pot which I understand.

The only thing my students have in their pencils boxes is a box of crayons, a glue stick, and their scissors. Everything else I collect...I also collect the extras of their pencil box items.

I collect the pencils so that sharpening doesn't become an all day event (which it can if they all have their own specific pencil). I keep a bucket of sharpened pencils on my desk and a bucket for dull ones. They switch dull for sharpened and at the end of the day my kids sharpen all the dull pencils while they wait for us to go home. I do my best to keep all the pencils looking generally the same (all yello, all suffer t colors beside yellow, holiday themed, etc.) as to not cause conflict.

I also collect the all markers just because we ask for broad tips, thin tips, highlighters, Sharpies, and Expo dry erase. I keep buckets of each for each of the 5 tables in my class, that way I can be assured that they have the proper marker for the assignment. It also keeps their crayon box from getting too cluttered.

 

[Poohforyou]

Yes, I know broad tip means the fat markers. She doesn't want broad tip she wants broad top and fine tip. The broad top/fat markers also say broad tip and she wants fine tip.

Sounds like a typo to me. Get broad tip and fine tip.

 

[bcwife76]

I just did back to school shopping for my kids last week (eventhough they don't go back til after Labor Day). Our school has the option of buying the complete package and just having it sent to the school vs buying it in the stores yourself. You can also buy part of the package from that program and then shop yourself for some of it too, which is what I did. The complete package for my 1st grader is $74! And for my 3rd grader, $107!! So yeah I need to do it a bit cheaper.

For my 3rd grader I won the silent auction at the school fair for her package and paid just $28 For my 1st grader it is a combination of using supplies left over from last year, going to Walmart (which I did last week) and then buying a few items from the school site. I'm estimating her 1st grade package is costing me a total of $45 now so it's worth it for me to run around the stores etc!

 

[design_mom]

The elementary and middle schools offer a school supply kit through the PTO. I buy it every year. Done! There are always a few things that aren't included (if your child has a specific teacher or a specific class they might need something -- like an extra composition notebook -- that's not in the kit, but overall, it's pretty easy.) This year's supply kit for my 7th grader was $43. That's the most we've paid for one, but I think it's still relatively reasonable and saves me from shopping.

My son is in high school now and they do not do a school supply list. Last year, the school secretary just told me to wait till the first day of school and the teachers would tell him what he needed for each class. We did so, and when I went that night there were no school supplies to be found! (Seriously, I was at our local Walmart on the Friday before school started and there were aisles of school supplies. School started on Wednesday and by that evening there were ZERO school supplies, and the aisles had been filled with fall decorations. I think they must have packed them all up and shipped them to a different store assuming all of us had already bought our supplies.) I ended up driving to a different suburb (whose schools hadn't started yet) to get the supplies!

This year, I've stocked up on the basics... but I wish he got his schedule/needs before the first day of school!