School supplies Q

W&J'sMommy

What are you asked to buy at the start of school/what is the aproximite cost?

DS will be in Kindergarten this fall and we got the school supply list at parent preview night.  I was really surprised at the things we have to supply (that the school always provided when I was a kid).  8 boxes crayons, markers, 12 pencils, 15 glue sticks, scissors, highlighters, etc.  The PTA is doing a fundraiser where you can buy a kit of all the supplies for $49!  I know I can get everything for less but I was just surprised.

So is this standard nowadays?

littlemermaid

We have to buy all the supplies that the kids will need but only for our own child.  So one crayon box, 2 glue sticks..etc.    Our school does not do the kit but many schools in our area do.  The parents like the kit because then they don't have to worry about buying all the things on the list individually, they can just purchase the kit and it's waiting for their child on the first day of school.

blueshirt2003

It sounds like everyone will be sharing their supplies as a class. I'd definitely hit up the school supply sale in July/August. 

We had to buy for our child:

Pencils

24 ct Crayons

Eraser

Glue

Manila Paper

Construction Paper

2 boxes of Kleenex

Pencil Box

10 ct Washable Markers 

And I think that's all.  

shopgirl78

that sounds a bit like our list--not out of the ordinary.  I'd say I spent $25-30 dollars without the back pack.  I also shop during back to school days

lizloo85

We only shopped for our child. Just one or two of the items you listed. Surprisingly, tissue and other things of that nature were not on the list. On the newsletter for the class each week, there is a "wish list" that list items that the class needs. I have brought in paper towels, tissue and hand sanitizer as a voluntary basis. 

It just seems if every kid brings in 12 boxes of crayons.... that will be a lot of crayons!!! Doesn't make sense to me. 

DandelionMom

That sounds like our list.  With school cut backs the school doesn't even supply kleenex anymore so we even send that in. 

You wouldn't believe how many crayons kindergarten kids go through. 

GinandTonic

I spent about 50 bucks without the backpack.  Most of it was communal (with brand specified for some things - crayons, glue sticks, etc) and included hand sanitizer, kleenex, etc.

C&C6202005

I teach in a very rural school district in MO.  My upper elementary students have to bring:

• 2 notebooks
• 1 box crayons/colored pencils
• GermX
• antibacterial wipes
• 1 pkg lined paper
• 4 folders
• 1 composition notebook
• 2 boxes of Kleenex (about halfway through the year I usually end up asking for more or buying some myself)
• 2 boxes of pencils

Altogether I would say cost would be around $30-40.

neverblushed

That's pretty standard for my kids' schools as well.  For kindergarten parents get hit up for standard stuff like crayons and glue sticks, but also for ziploc bags, hand sanitizer, liquid soap, paper towel rolls, and kleenex.  All the items are shared among the students.  As kids get older, the supplies tend to be more for the individual kid and less communal in nature.

And I agree, unless you want to support the PTA with your donation, just get the supplies at Target, Walmart, or Staples.  In August, you can probably get an 8 back of crayons for about twenty cents! 

heyitsme

It definitely depends on the school. And in our district, it varies widely. For K, DD attended one of the richest elementary schools in the district. And her "supply list" was chock-full of markers, crayons, tissues, etc. We moved over the summer and this year she goes to one of the "poorer" (in quotes because it's really not poor, so to speak) schools in the district and 100% of the school supplies were provided. No lists or anything... instead, I got a gc for her teacher to Office Max to use on whatever additional supplies she needed/wanted.

notkateanymore

We have a similar list, it had a few more things, and each kid had their own supply box for the whole year. We're at a private school, so we don't have to provide things like kleenex, etc. Our school does the supply fundraiser and it is SO much easier then doing it yourself. I highly suggest it. 

shouldbworkin

For KG -2nd grade, parents are asked to provide some items off of a list, not all.  there are great sales before school starts for all of that stuff.  They all share at our school, so no one has to buy everything on the list until they're older.  The teachers send "wish lists" e/o month with items they need refills on.  We haven't spent much on supplies at all yet, I probably wouldn't buy a $28 kit from the PTA unless I wanted to support them.

JnnLuvsU

Before I became a teacher, I worked at Office Depot for 6 years.  In my town, every elementary school has a different list, and to be honest, yours is very short.  I'd advise watching the ads every week, starting in July, because you can get most things on your list relatively cheap if you do it that way.

I teach high school, so it's a little different.  I offer extra credit for my students bringing kleenex and mechanical pencils (I teach math), and what they bring at the beginning of the year usually lasts all year.  However, I do require that they have paper with them.  I recommend a binder and a graphing calculator, but I don't require these things.  But we also don't do a lot of arts and crafts in Geometry class.