School Supplies Gone Mad!

My son started first grade this year and his supplies cost around $37 and it included kleenex, zip lock bags and other stuff. Our school PTA orders the supplies through schoolkidz.com. They share most of the supplies in class like the pencils, crayons, glue etc. I didn't think it was too bad.

the last year that i went to school was about 3 years ago and i bought supplies and made sure i had everything i needed .. i spent well over $100 it's crazy .. but i was also in high school,.. i recently went shopping with a friend to get school supplies for her two children, one of which was starting kindergarten, they made a list of what to buy and put specific brands.. like the brand actually matters .. what happends if you go to buy some of the stuff and they dont happen to have that brand they are looking for .. they expect you to run all over the place looking for a specific brand when u can get the exact same thing on a shelf right in front of you with a different brand name slapped on the front. like c'mon people , red is red, blue is blue, and yellow is yellow .. a pencil is a pencil and a marker is a marker .. no matter the brand they all work the same

I totally agree with you on this. My daughters are in college now but we went through it too and now my niece and nephew are dealing with it. It use to be so hard to try to get everything on their lists especially after just school clothes shopping which was another nightmare. I use to feel the same about kleenex and such because I know how much people who own homes were paying for school taxes. Now the lists are so extensive that they send them to area stores that are taped up near the supplies for each grade level. And as they get older it does not get any easier. Brand name clothes become do or die for the teen because they want to fit in and the lists get more expensive with items like Scientific calculators. I am glad you brought this up. It has gotten way out of hand and I think it is time parents start complaining that some of this stuff should come out of what is collected for school tax. Public schools are getting too costly just between the supplies and clothes alone. I would also consider homeschooling today if my kids were younger.

I home school my son, so the only school supplies we need are very few. What I didn't like when my kids where in school was I would buy the supplies and then they would have to put it all in a "pool" for every kid in the class to use??!!! WHY!? I can understand not every parent may not be able to afford the supplies but some parents just wouldn't spend the money on the supplies they would just rely on the "pool" which makes it harder on the parents who do buy them. I remember when I was a kid we had just a few things we needed an that was it we put our name on our stuff it stayed in our desk and we took it home at the end of the year. Another thing that I used to get chaped about was the activities the teachers would plan my kids would come home and say "my teacher said I need 30 cupcakes because we are having a party tomorrow" WHAT!?? If the teacher is gonna plan a party they should buy the stuff for it! They make a lot of money I see the cars they drive around way nicer than mine or any middle class person would drive. I know every teacher out there is gonna throw a fit about what I said but tough knock down my rating I don't care.

Good day... I can remember my good old school days when my books and other school supplies roughly cost 30 dollars and that is when I'm already in high school can't recall much from my elementary years.

I hear you. It is getting rediculous. Thank Goodness my daughter is only in SK so we didn't need many items. A back pack, a lunch bag, indoor and outdoor shoes, a bag with extra clothes in it and like you said, kleenex! I'm sorry but shouldn't the schools be suppling the supplies? Not only do we pay taxes for the schools but now we have to stock them. It's getting a little rediculous. If the school needs supplies then they should have a fund raiser. A bake sale or craft show or something so they can buy the supplies. It's not fair for us to have to do it.

Thank goodness my child isn't in school yet. I am not ready to have to buy all those school supplies. One of my cousin's kids had to have a calculater that was over $100 plus the rest of her supplies and my cousin doesn't work right now. I don't know how some families do it. And if you are buying the school supplies for the classroom then why does it matter if it is name brand? That's crazy.

My brother has two kids and he goes through the same thing every year. Kleenex, windex, hand soap, bandaids, as well as the normal paper, pencils, folders, spiral notebooks, composition books, markers, map colors and much more. It seems to be more and more every year. None of it is returned at the end of the year and many times there are notes sent home sayint that their short on Kleenex or something and need more sent in. I'd like to know how one class of 20 students can go through 20 rolls of paper towels or 20 boxes of bandaids. Sometimes I think that the teachers simply hold on to the leftovers and use them the next year...kind of like hoarding them year to year. [b]~~AT PEACE WITHIN~~ **STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS**[/b]

I have four school aged children. I spent about $60 for all four of them for school supplies this year. That included two boxes of kleenex, hand sanitizer, and one new backpack. I work closely with the teachers at my childrens' school, and know that most, if not all, put a whole lot of their own money into supplying the classroom. The teachers ask for extra supplies because some children in the class simply can't afford anything at all, and will come to school with nothing. If the parents of other kids don't pitch in, the teacher ends up paying for everything out of pocket. I don't understand why the teacher demands name brand everything, except for the fact that they usually hold up better over the course of the year. Teachers really appreciate parents who go the extra mile and help out with supplies and help in the classroom. The teacher is the one person who spends the most time with your child during the year, and it is a great idea to do as much as you can to make their job easier. When they have less to do and worry about, they can spend more time teaching and loving your child. BTW--homeschooling is actually very expensive. Not only do you have all of the supplies you need for every class (art, normal writing, etc),you also have to buy all of the textbooks needed for every class and every grade. You also have to do field trips, PE ( a swim class? martial arts? dance?), music (piano or band lessons), homeschool groups, etc. Homeschooling isn't done to save money--it's done because you have a deep seating conviction to do it for the sake of your kids. I don't homeschool, but I deeply admire the people who do it for the right reasons.

My son's 3rd grade supply list cost me about $7. He barely had to have anything. The school or the teacher supplies everything else. I did have to send either some gallon zipper bags or paper towels. The gallon bags last year were for the papers and books for their book reports. Here is his list: 24 pencils 4 glue sticks 5 2 pocket folders 2 ink pen 2 boxes of tissues 1 roll or paper towels or 1 box zippered bags

12 sharpened pencils for a first grader...my first grader had to bring 30!!! We bought some supplies on sale last year so we didn't buy all of them this year I really don't have a clue as to what we spent. However I have a copy of the supply list for each grade. My son will be going into kindergarten next year and my daughter into grade 2. So being the thrifty mom I am I am planning on picking up all that I can when it goes on sale this year for next year.

I definately know just how you feel. I spent a whopping 108 on my middle schooler and 2nd grader... which included kleenex and snacks and a whole ream of copy paper. It's ridiculous I tell ya! When I was small i'd get the basics, folders, paper, pencils etc... we didn't need all the excess supplies.

I was thinking the same thing! They only wanted tyconderoga pencils at my daughters school! My daughter is in 1st grade too and we had to get crayola crayons, pens and color pencils. We also had to get dry erase markers, erasers, kleenex, 10 glue sticks and baby wipes. There was more too. You are right, what about parents that can't afford all that. But, what do you do when they keep cutting all the funding to our schools. I don't know about your town, but where I live they now are charging $300 per kid per year just to ride the bus. The high school kids have to pay $1 per way and $50 per sport now. It is just awful!

Hello, parents. I remember when I was a fifth grade, I did have the school supply list, and my parents were in your situations, too. And I do remember my parents having to spend few dozen dollars just to afford my school supply when I was in fifth grade and in middle school. But let me suggest you one thing.... you DON'T need to buy everything in your children's school supply list.. trust me on this one. Because if you think about it, the teachers really don't have the time to check if their students brought all the supplies that were listed on their school supply list... so you really don't need to bother spending that much money for your children's school supplies. Besides, I can see that some of the teachers are kind of starting to get lazier... some of my teachers were actually lazy (literally, REALLY) when I was a high school graduate just few months ago. So that's really my suggestion to you. If you didn't fully supply your children with the supplies that were listed on their school supply list, that's OK, there's a REASON behind it, and teachers should understand, and just let it pass by. I hope this helps :)

Well, since I am in college, my list are pretty short. Just pencils, pens, paper, a backpack, a dictionary, some notebooks, binders, Post-Its, and highlighters. Anything that can get me through classes mostly.

We are very fortunate to have a Government that gives out everything to schoolchildren. We do not have to buy textbooks as it is being rented out free to all school children. School uniforms, shoes, exercise books and all school supplies are being given free to school children here. Besides free meal and free after school tuition. The hardcore poor families are given cash every year for transportation and for other purchases. With all these incentives not many excel in their studies. I don't know where else in the world school children are so pampered with all the free incentives, probably only in Malaysia.

It wasn't so bad when mine were in school, other than that they didn't have the sales back then like they have now - you know the 5-10 cent sales. But I see what my daughter buys for her daughter - 3rd grade now. The parents practically have to stock the rooms with everything. And I'm sorry but I really don't think that a class of 25 kids and each brings in a box of kleenex, that that room will go through all 25 boxes in the less than 9 months the kids are there!! And to require name brands! I'd be complaning! I can't afford name brands for my own kids, why is it required that I provide it for others! I'd be in that principals office if it became an issue. I'd send in my generic and if it was sent back, I'd just make sure my kid had a supply in her back pack, document the issue and let them come to me. And especially for the supplies like markers nad crayons - Makes you wonder if the schools are not in kahoots with Crayola! When mine were little we shopped at Pick and Save and whatever brand they had - and all was well, my kids had what htey needed and all was worked fine. I venture to say they say "name brands" with the excuse of allergies and things, but I think it is just more for status. I've yet to hear a story about a kid being allergic to generic crayons, but not Crayola brand!

You have no idea, guess what my little sisters school supply list looked like? Okay she is only in second grade and they asked for 18 glue sticks, a binder (specific kind), post it tags, and some other things. When I heard she had to bring in 18 glue sticks I was shocked, what does she need all that glue for? Is she going to come home one day with glue stuck to her? Her list was long as well, I don't remember everything but yest it was ridiculous, especially how they are getting so specific on certain items. What does it matter that it is this brand or that it has that many pages in the notebook, or that it is wide ruled or the length of the binder? Keep in mind she is in second grade!!! My other sister is in high school and her list was also long. One year when I was in school I had to buy a calculator that cost over $20.00 just for that one calculator and guess what? We never used it, the school told us to use the calculators that the class had. So what did we buy that calculator for that cost over $20.00 I still can't get over the fact that she had to bring in 18 gluesticks! I really think that they had us buy the supplies for all of the teachers. I don't know what else they would have us buy 18 gluesticks in for? It bothers me though because of all of the parents that have low income, how are they suppose to buy all of these things...we have trouble each year and we always spend at least $50.00 in school supplies alone. At least $50.00 probably well over that.

I have been having the same problem.I am a single mom and I want my daughter to have the best chance at school but I don't think these teachers have a right to send home a list of what they want my daughter to have for class.They want a certain size binder,certain paper,notebook,pencils,pens.What the heck then they expect their reports to be typed out and printed,what happened to teaching the children to write legibly.It seems to me that these lists more help the teachers then it does our children,yet she is given a hard time and told she will get a zero for the day if she doesn't have everything that they have on their list.The common tasks are a pain to throughout the year I have to buy all the materials for her to do these elaborate projects or she gets a failing grade it isn't fair at all.Then all these projects are supposed to be saved so in senior year she can do a portfolio.This to is ridiculous,she has to do this portfolio and present it in front of people and everything or she can't graduate yet there isn't any grade on it. I think they are putting way too much pressure on these kids and what about the kids that can't keep up they just drop out of school now,I know of three kids myself that dropped out of school last year because they felt it was a waste of time for them because they would not be able to keep a certain grade point average and then the school takes all their privileges away from them no school dance or sports or anything. Jas

I could not agree with you more!!! We have 4 children in grade school and every year we usually spend around $250...the list that we get for them are unreal. At the end of last year I went through all there stuff we still had and kept as much as I could to use this year. Also, last year we spent more on their backpacks and got really good quality ones, that were one solid color and they are using them this year...that saved over $100. With the prices of everything now this has really helped...and yes I have considered homeschooling...I would save on supplies, uniforms and gas!