School Supplies?

I am not necessarily ready to go back to work, but it is the time of year that I yearn for routine. I know I could figure out how to incorporate routine into our summer days. But, I don't. We just take one day at a time and periodically stop to evaluate our progress on each wish list.

This summer my wish list had one major item. The kitchen wallpaper needed to come down (at least the part that my husband didn't rip down almost 2 years ago) and the wall be textured and painted or re-papered. I have one week of summer left. I haven't started!

But, none of that was the point of this post. The point of this post is school supplies. Today the girls and I are headed out to buy school supplies for the upcoming year. I am as bad as the kids. I L.O.V.E. new school supplies.

After 10 years of teaching, I have discovered that you should buy school supplies now while things are cheaper. It amazes me that 12 Crayola map colors cost $0.99 in August and $2.97 in October. I'm sure that is a true reflection of the cost of production, right? :)

So, this morning I pull out the school supplies lists and get on the computer to check out some of my favorite office supply store weekly ads. Yes, I am that person who will make a list of where things like crayons are 1 penny per box and make four stops around town.

Last year, we did well. We bought the school supplies from both kiddos list and managed to spend less than $20. Now, I know some of you are wondering, "how the heck did she do that?" This is where things get a little "icky". If you are an elementary teacher, you should probably tune out here...

So, no more elementary teacher readers now. Right? Yep. I knew they wouldn't stop reading. They want to know my secret too!

Here's the big, ugly, dark secret...I did not buy all the things in the quantities on the list. Specifically those items that are not traditionally school supplies. Sshhhh. I know. I am a teacher. I should know better. But, on the other hand. I am a teacher and have "heard" how some classrooms work.

I've randomly selected some lists from local schools. Here are some of my favorite things for school supplies lists for elementary kids this school year. Do a little mental calculations assuming 20 kids in each class bring this stuff.

box of gallon and quart zipper bags (and many other combinations at various schools)
bottle of alcohol
package of cotton balls
3-5 boxes of tissues (200 count)
2-3 packs of baby wipes
Ranch dressing--yes, it was on there!
3x3 post it notes
96 #2 pencils (yes, it clearly requested 96 pencils)
4 packages of dry erase markers
package of 100 sheets of multi-colored cardstock
2 (minimum 8oz) bottles of liquid hand sanitizer
3 packages of wide ruled paper
1-4 reams of printer paper

Some lists even had over 15 lines of items with a note at the bottom that said something about a $4-10 "supply fee" or "science fee" in addition to the other stuff.

I know every situation probably has an explanation. I am sure that none of these items are just carried forward from year to year without addressing if a surplus from the year before might be enough for the following year. I also know that some of these are purely for convenience. Yes, I know kids who have come home from school with a zipper bag of papers in the same backpack as an empty folder.

I've thought a lot about this over the last few years. Here are my thoughts (again, I have never taught elementary so I may be CLUELESS).

Allow students to keep their own tissues, hand sanitizer, pencils, etc. in their personal space. I know my personal children understand that they don't need 4 tissues at a time to blow their noses. They have also learned that when you are wasteful you get less than desirable consequences...like maybe those awesome brown paper towels for tissue? I also realize that some students are not mature enough to keep up with their own supplies and ration out their 96 pencils through out the year. But, isn't that a great skill to learn in elementary?

Or, if that is too much trouble.  Maybe some teacher somewhere should do a trial run at not having a school supply list.  Instead, request that each student pay a supply fee.  Then the teacher can use discount supply catalogues (and not pay sales tax) to order in bulk.  A classroom of 20 kids with a $25 fee would have $500. 

I did notice that some school lists specified that boys bring some items while girls bring others.  That is helpful in reducing the amount of items collected.  And, I did notice that it seems that fewer schools are requiring specific brands of items.

Yes, I do know that elementary teachers spend a fortune of their own money for classroom things. I also know that my kids have been blessed with amazing teachers who do amazing projects and their supplies are expensive. I am not criticizing a specific grade, teacher, or even school district. It is just the whole concept of massive amounts of EXPENSIVE items that are not found in the school supply section of the local department store and a nice note at the bottom that requests that you NOT label items (in some districts).

Anyone have any other ideas?