Every year the same thing happens...I print off the school supplies lists, I fight the crowd, I search for just the right size of glue stick, I make sure I have just the right amount of pencils. I get frazzled over what they mean by "scribbler"...40 pages? 72 pages? Lined? Half-lined? Do you know how many versions of "scribblers" are out there?! Ridiculous. And don't get me started on those bloody duotangs. Must have 10, but they all have to be different colours. Whatever.
I send a crap-load of school supplies to school with the kids in September, and half of them come home (un-used) in June. The only reasonable explanation for the school's desire for that much school supplies is that the Dept. of Education owns Staples stocks. Is it even possible for a child to go through 40+ pencils in 190 (or so) school days? That's...wait a minute....calculator....uh....that's like a pencil a week (or so). Unless they are gnawing on them like beavers I don't see how they need that many?
In June, I dropped off a boat-load of old (but unused) school supplies that have built up over the years. Of course, they never match the new list for the new year, so there they sit...waiting to be used. Then there's the supplies that come back half-used, which are pretty much useless for next year too.
I always say I'm NOT going to buy everything on the list. Screw the list, I'll make my own!! Yeah, except I always feel like I'm the evil, bad mommy who's setting her kids up for failure because they won't have what the other kids have....so, I buy it all.
But not this year! Screw you Staples...you didn't get me this time!
I bought a reasonable amount of the supplies listed. I got every thing on the list, just not as much as requested. If Jeremy runs out loose-leaf he can let me know and I'll buy another pack in January. Same goes for the pencils, highlighters, and markers. I only got a 10 pack of markers because I couldn't find the 12 pack....oooooohhhh....I hope Grace doesn't need those two colours!! *Biting nails*
The funniest part of my shopping trip was listening to a Mom explain to her daughter that she would INDEED be labelling all the supplies, whether the school liked it or not! Right on Mommy! I, too, do the same thing! Little Johnny is not getting my extra supplies! And before anyone gives me the "It's so the kids can practice their name" excuse...I don't care! My youngest is ten, if she can't spell her name yet I've done something really, really wrong!
I always bitch about the cost of school supplies too. But that also changed this year. So, I spent $140 this year. Yes...ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTY DOLLARS...for two kids, and remember that this is way less that it would have been if I'd picked up everything listed. Holy crap. $140! And that's not including lunch bags, kitbags, or new sneakers. But then I did the math...$140 divided by 10 school months...that's...wait for it...$14 per month. Ok, not so bad. Maybe I'll ease off of the bitchin'. Probably not though.
My biggest, very biggest, frustration is why on earth does each school have a different list for the same grades?! Like certain schools have cool stuff like USB sticks, and others want floppy discs. Huh? One lady was buying pastels for her kid. My kids don't have pastels on their lists!!! It's not even because we live in the hood...trust me, their schools are awesome. Seriously. But I often wonder how they decide what's on these magical lists? Is it the teacher that decides or the school or the school board? Why isn't there a standard? I'm sure it has something to do with funding and the teachers themselves, but how fair is it that one kid gets to use pastels and mine don't?! Sure, there are bigger issues than pastels, but I want MY kids to use them too!
Halifax Regional School Board...crushing my pastel painting dreams. So I added them to my list anyway.
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