Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's that time of year again that every parent dreads. How do you plan on doing your school shopping this year? You cutting back? Spending more? Or somewhere in between?
My son's school has uniforms which I actually like. So I guess I better get online and order some. I will probably spend the same as I spent last year which was about $250. Get him a couple pair of shoes and underclothes and I am done.
We just finished, sort of. The final items on the list are not sold in regular stores. For one teacher the item they are requesting is a special order item/art supplies. The kind that if the teacher purchased a case of this paper, it would cost her $50, but instead all 25 families in her classroom will need to pay $15 each. If the teacher would've just asked for $5 per student even, I would've gladly paid it. I typically buy extra supplies so that when the teacher requests them mid-year, I can help out. Not this year, for this teacher.
The other teacher is a genius. She is asking for a size and type of notebook that DOES NOT EXIST. Personally, I think she got distracted while writing the item down and wants two separate items. I bought both. They do NOT make a 100 page spiral composition notebook, wide ruled. They make it in college ruled (though I only found TWO in the store). I think she means she wants composition notebooks (which come in 100 page) and spiral notebooks, which do not. I bought both. If I'm wrong, the kids will get the wrong ones for playing school. This teacher also should not bother sending home a request for additional supplies, mid year.
I think teachers should use LOGICAL thinking and go to the stores themselves (radical thought) and attempt to buy the items they are putting on the list. If they cannot find them, they should realize NEITHER CAN WE! Or, they should write down WHERE TO BUY these items!
Last year, my son's teacher had a special type of pen on the list. Each child was supposed to have 2. It took me a week to track them down... I was able to get a box of 15 for $17 at an office supply store. At the meet & greet, I brought this up. Other parents thought it was funny I bothered... they just got the color pen she requested, ignored the rest of the description. The teacher apologized, but then had the NERVE to ask me to donate the other 13. Ummmm.... no. I told her where she could pick them up though (no one else in the class brought in the right type - felt tip vs ballpoint). I ignored the letter sent home asking for $2 from each student to help her purchase "additional supplies" for the classroom that first week. In addition to purchasing every item (correct and the name brand she requested) on her list, I had also bought several extra glues, pencils and two reams of copy paper, and I volunteer. Let some other parent carry their own weight for a change.
Wow... this really turned into a rant, didn't it?
I can be a reasonable person. But after hours of trying to accomodate teachers without a lick of sense, I get a "little" frustrated.
BTW, I have spent $75 so far for the two kids total. I have the special paper on order and so that'll be another $15 when it comes in. I have not started buying school supplies/clothes yet. As we now live in an area where the weather is mild well into October, I'll probably buy them each a couple pairs of new shoes (dress & athletic, though my daughter will probably ask for more), and 3-4 new shirts. Because of growth spurts, I stopped trying to buy my kids new wardrobes, just for school, and instead buy them some new things for school, but save the whole new wardrobe for growth spurts.
I know a mom, who is listed as my friend on FB, that recently posted that she spent $1800 on school supplies for her THREE kids. No, not a typo. A moron.
My older two went to a private school for elementary school and they did the smartest thing. They asked each family for $30. then they ordered all the school supplies themselves. Don't know why every teacher doesn't do this. It was easier, and cheaper, for everyone involved. It was really nice not to have to buy from a list and tote all the supplies to school on the first day. I realize it was a little more work for the teacher but it sure was nice for all the parents.
I really wish schools would just have each teacher buy in bulk what they want and then have parents pay them for the stuff. I know I used to love shopping for school when I was a kid. We would pick out what we wanted. But now teachers give you a list with exact names, sizes and colors of what you should buy. It's no longer fun and it is a major hassle. If I don't find it wherever I am shopping, it doesn't get purchased. I am not making trips to different stores just to find the exact thing they want.
So needless to say I was shocked last year when I got a paper sent home that was a form for if I wanted to buy my kids school supplies already picked out by the teacher for next year! But I wasn't expected this in April and I didn't have the $75 to order it by the deadline. I am redevestated by this now that you brought up school shopping! Thanks a lot!
I will probably only spend $150 between my 2 kids. But I'm sorry, I just can't afford to go crazy and buy tons of stuff. The joy of being poor.
I get almost all of my kids' clothes at the end of the previous season when they are marked way down. They both have closets full of winter clothes waiting for them. School supplies - I have to get what is required, so no way to cut back really.
Our schools haven't even came out with their lists yet! I dread when they do, because there won't be a store in town that you will be able to get into! There were a few grades that we just paid $15.00 the first day of school - that was great! I know we will have lists this year, though.
As far as school clothes shopping, I have started a little, but it shouldn't be too bad, because I am the type person that does a little here and there throughout the year. I know too many people that spend a fortune on tons of clothes at the beginning of the year, only to find that the kids outgrown half of them before they get a chance to wear them. In my daughter's case that is a good thing, because all of those expensive clothes that her cousin did not even wear gets passed down to her!!!
We just finished, sort of. The final items on the list are not sold in regular stores. For one teacher the item they are requesting is a special order item/art supplies. The kind that if the teacher purchased a case of this paper, it would cost her $50, but instead all 25 families in her classroom will need to pay $15 each. If the teacher would've just asked for $5 per student even, I would've gladly paid it. I typically buy extra supplies so that when the teacher requests them mid-year, I can help out. Not this year, for this teacher.
The other teacher is a genius. She is asking for a size and type of notebook that DOES NOT EXIST. Personally, I think she got distracted while writing the item down and wants two separate items. I bought both. They do NOT make a 100 page spiral composition notebook, wide ruled. They make it in college ruled (though I only found TWO in the store). I think she means she wants composition notebooks (which come in 100 page) and spiral notebooks, which do not. I bought both. If I'm wrong, the kids will get the wrong ones for playing school. This teacher also should not bother sending home a request for additional supplies, mid year.
I think teachers should use LOGICAL thinking and go to the stores themselves (radical thought) and attempt to buy the items they are putting on the list. If they cannot find them, they should realize NEITHER CAN WE! Or, they should write down WHERE TO BUY these items!
Last year, my son's teacher had a special type of pen on the list. Each child was supposed to have 2. It took me a week to track them down... I was able to get a box of 15 for $17 at an office supply store. At the meet & greet, I brought this up. Other parents thought it was funny I bothered... they just got the color pen she requested, ignored the rest of the description. The teacher apologized, but then had the NERVE to ask me to donate the other 13. Ummmm.... no. I told her where she could pick them up though (no one else in the class brought in the right type - felt tip vs ballpoint). I ignored the letter sent home asking for $2 from each student to help her purchase "additional supplies" for the classroom that first week. In addition to purchasing every item (correct and the name brand she requested) on her list, I had also bought several extra glues, pencils and two reams of copy paper, and I volunteer. Let some other parent carry their own weight for a change.
Wow... this really turned into a rant, didn't it?
I can be a reasonable person. But after hours of trying to accomodate teachers without a lick of sense, I get a "little" frustrated.
BTW, I have spent $75 so far for the two kids total. I have the special paper on order and so that'll be another $15 when it comes in. I have not started buying school supplies/clothes yet. As we now live in an area where the weather is mild well into October, I'll probably buy them each a couple pairs of new shoes (dress & athletic, though my daughter will probably ask for more), and 3-4 new shirts. Because of growth spurts, I stopped trying to buy my kids new wardrobes, just for school, and instead buy them some new things for school, but save the whole new wardrobe for growth spurts.
I know a mom, who is listed as my friend on FB, that recently posted that she spent $1800 on school supplies for her THREE kids. No, not a typo. A moron.
The pen thing sounds like something I would stress over and then be the only parent who bothered to try to get it right. I do have a lot of teacher friends and relatives, and asking them to pay for stuff out of their own pockets is not right either, which is probably what happened when you refused to pay the extra $2. They really should have the complete list ahead of time so you can get everything you need and not be surprised later. I think i got our list when I registered for kinder in February! I even had to send him with kleenex, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer!
We don't do back to school shopping. The kids buy whatever they need (want) throughout the year, bit by bit, and seem to bypass back to school shopping.
My kids are in uniforms, too. The first year I thought they were terribly expensive, until I bought their wardrobe and it was quite a bit less than what I spent in public school. So I have to buy shoes, socks and undies. And we have more fun buying school supplies, since we aren't going from store to store to buy school clothes.
Another plus in my kids' school is that they actually use the items on the school supply list. In public school, we downloaded the list, purchased the items and then they didn't use all the supplies and needed to get different ones.
I always loved the beginning of school as a kid. Such an exciting time. Other than the school-mandated haircut for my son, back-to-school shopping is now almost a fun experience for us.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am redevestated by this now that you brought up school shopping! Thanks a lot! 
! I dread when they do, because there won't be a store in town that you will be able to get into! There were a few grades that we just paid $15.00 the first day of school - that was great
! I know we will have lists this year, though
.
I do have a lot of teacher friends and relatives, and asking them to pay for stuff out of their own pockets is not right either, which is probably what happened when you refused to pay the extra $2. They really should have the complete list ahead of time so you can get everything you need and not be surprised later. I think i got our list when I registered for kinder in February! I even had to send him with kleenex, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer!
.
