Quote:
Originally Posted by lisalan
No thank-you! Yeah I'm sure it will get less expensive but then I have 3 kids total so....
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Obviously, I can't speak for Canada, but school supplies are just as expensive, if not even more, for middle school than for elementary school here in Colorado. Honestly, I don't mind the expense. I think my local schools do a tremendous job of educating kids, and I consider it important to support their efforts.
One thing we are very careful to do is save things from year to year. My kids use the same rulers, scissors, backpacks, calculators, pencil cases, protractors, erasers, and lunch boxes year after year. If folders/binders are still in good condition, we re-use those, too. The plastic pocket folders my son used in second grade were just fine to use for third grade.
School supply lists seem to change very little, so we watch for sales during the year. Most of the time we end up buying supplies at Target, which has awesome sales in late summer. If there's a really great deal, we buy extras and put the items in a large box for homework and school projects. It also gives us a head-start on next year's list.
Here's my third-grader's list...
60 #2 pencils with erasers, sharpened, Ticonderoga Brand (no mechanical pencils or erasable pens)
1 Pair Fiscar 6” student scissors
2 Boxes large/jumbo Kleenex (150-200 count each)
1 Containers anti-bacterial wipes
1 Tub Clorox wipes (For Library/Computer Lab to be used for cleaning desks/keyboards. No aloe or diaper wipes)
1 Box (48) crayons
2 Sharpie black permanent markers
2 Hi-Lighters (any color)
1 Metric/standard wooden ruler (no flexibles)
1 Box (24) colored pencils, sharpened
5 Laminated sturdy pocket folders - plain
4 Composition notebooks (black speckled)
5 Red pens
1 4 oz. Bottle Elmer’s white school glue (no colored glue)
1 Pencil box (approximately 8” x 5 ��”)
1 Large glue stick
1 Large pink eraser
3 Wide-ruled spiral notebooks
2 Packages Post-It notes (lined, 4” x 4”)
Most of the stuff was really inexpensive, with the exception of the post-it notes. I suspect that his supplies were about $40 this year. My sixth-grader's list was just as long and a bit more expensive, as she needed binders for each one of her core classes. I think we paid about $2.50 each for those. She also needed a special locker organizer, because the middle school lockers are extremely narrow, two combination locks, and two PE uniforms.
It's the activity fees and pledges that typically take my breath away. (The elementary school requests $125 per kid, and we give the same to the middle school, plus fees for any special activities like after-school sports, theater, and music.) But, I don't typically complain, unless I'm really convinced there is egregious waste. As I said before, I think our schools are top-notch, and I feel good supporting them in any way I can.
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