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I live in Canada in the province of Ontario. I don't know if this is going on in the US or just here but the price of school supplies is ridiculous. Last year when my son was in grade 1 it cost me about 70.00. This year I'm well over that at about 85.00.
Why is it that when I was in school we hardly had to buy anything. Most of the supplies were provided by the school.
So I'm going to list what I was required to buy for grade 2 and welcome any opinions on whether this is normal or excessive:
1. 10 plastic duotangs with inside pockets (not easy to find, only found 3 at walmart then had to go to Staples for the rest these things cost around 2.50 for 1 of them and I couldn't even find anymore. Staples only had ones that were made of paper and even those were 1.50 + each....oh and they had to be specific colours white, yellow, green, turquoise, red navy and orange)
2. 10 freaking gluesticks....why 10 gluesticks....couldn't we be asked to by 2 and if he runs out buy more?
3. 1 pair of pointed scissors (when I was in school these were provided oh and so was the glue)
4. 1 box of kleenex 144 sheets
5. 1 box of large ziploc bags
6. 2 highlighters
7. 1 pack of post it notes
8. 30 sharpened hb pencils and they specify you can't buy dollar store ones
9. 1 pack of crayons
10. one pack of pencil crayons
11. 1 pencil case
12. 3 staedtler sharpeners
13. 4 staedtler erasers
14. 1 clear ruler
And I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I'm surprised they didn't ask me to provide a desk, a chair and a computer.
Last edited by KylieEve; 08-25-2010 at 12:20 AM..
Reason: .
Ziploc bags? I've never seen that one on a school supply list before.
I don't get the glue sticks thing these days either. I've seen some ask for 5, some ask for 10... why not just a good ol' fashioned bottle of Elmer's for under a dollar? Or that paste with a stick? That was fun. (Fun to eat, for some kids.)
That list looks pretty normal to me. When our kids were in elementary school they were required to have certain colored folders for each subject. It keep things more organized in the classroom. Staples had a sale on folders a couple weeks ago and I picked up a bunch of them for a penny each. The kids do go through the glue sticks quite quickly. Their teachers had a box in a cabinet with all the kids' extra supplies-in marked ziplock bags-so if a child ran out during the day they could replace everything quickly. 30 pencils might be a bit much but kids lose them or break them often. We picked up pencils and glue sticks at Target for a quarter/pack when they were on sale a few weeks ago too. I got notebooks at Walmart for 15 cents each. The point is, all of this stuff goes on sale off and on during August so watch the fliers (all of which are available online). Just wait for high school when you have to buy the $120 calculator--times 3 in our house.
You can buy all this stuff really cheap if you pay attention. Amazon had glue sticks 8 for $1. Crayons (24 pack) were 39c at Walgreens. Highlighters 59c for 4 at Staples. Just got to shop around. Your list should not even be close to $85.
You can buy all this stuff really cheap if you pay attention. Amazon had glue sticks 8 for $1. Crayons (24 pack) were 39c at Walgreens. Highlighters 59c for 4 at Staples. Just got to shop around. Your list should not even be close to $85.
I think I must just suck at shopping. I have 2 other young kids so I guess I just get too distracted to shop around. I guess I shouldn't assume Walmart is going to have the best prices. Amazon's not going to work for me they charge a ton in shipping to Canadians.
When I was in school all we had to buy was a pencil case and some crayons.
My mother teachers elementary school, and she says glue sticks are much less messy than regular glue. And the middle of July until about now is definitely the time to stock up. Glue sticks, pencils, crayons, markers, notebooks and notebook paper can be found from anywhere from 1 cent up to $2. That stuff goes way up the rest of the year. When I was planning my wedding a few years ago, I wanted to buy just a small notebook. This time of year, they are around 15 cents. In Feburary, closer to $3.
As for the list, a lot of schools don't have the money to provide items like they use to. That said, I don't think your list is that unusual. I attended elementary school in the early 1980s, and I had to bring several things you listed.
Looks similar to what I had to get my son for PreK last year. Just remove the pencils and folders and add paint, markers, paper towels, hand sanitizer and some other stuff.
I don't mind buying school supplies, but some things puzzle me. Like the scissors and rulers, if every kid brought in a pair last year and the year before and so on the must have a poop ton of them, so why keep requiring them?
You should be getting certain things back - like the scissors and rulers. If not - ask about it. When my son was little, anything left over at the end of the year the teacher did divide up and send back - and of course, that included things that weren't disposable that you shouldn't have to buy next year.
Take heart that as they get older it gets better - except for the calculator. That one is a killer. But at least you only have to buy it once.
I don't mind buying school supplies, but some things puzzle me. Like the scissors and rulers, if every kid brought in a pair last year and the year before and so on the must have a poop ton of them, so why keep requiring them?
Maybe things have changed, but we were required to bring scissors and a ruler, too, but they were ours to keep and use. So at the end of the year, everything went back home. In fact, everything was ours to use. I used to keep my things (glue, markers, pencils, etc.) in a pencil box.
Like I said, my mother teachers, but I've never thought to ask her: Are these items all considered community items? Do students turn them in to the teacher on the first day?
You should be getting certain things back - like the scissors and rulers. If not - ask about it. When my son was little, anything left over at the end of the year the teacher did divide up and send back - and of course, that included things that weren't disposable that you shouldn't have to buy next year.
Take heart that as they get older it gets better - except for the calculator. That one is a killer. But at least you only have to buy it once.
They didn't give anything back, just put it in the supply closet for next year I suppose.
I never minded though, it really was a great school IMO.
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Or that paste with a stick? That was fun. (Fun to eat, for some kids.)