Most ridiculous item on school supply list?

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yo'ma

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 8:26 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

If you have questions about the supplies, reach out to your kids' teachers! See if it's something they requested -- if so, they usually have a good reason. If it's not, it's likely they don't really need it and it's a recycled list from another year or generic administration decisions because there was no teacher input.

This is where a lot of the problem lies. I learned this the hard way. Now my dd is 21, but when she was going into 1st grade, I was so good and got her everything on her supply list and I did it before the rush because I didn't got anywhere for the summer. What happens the first week of school? Another supply list from the teacher. I was fuming!! She said the other one was more generic and we really need these things. Obviously some things were the same, but plenty was a waste. For the next year, I got the bare minimum and then I left the school so that didn't make a difference anymore.

urban gypsy

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 9:26 am

perquacky wrote:

Every teacher wants a separate 3-ring binder for their class. How many binders is my daughter supposed to lug around? I buy her 2--one for limudei kodesh and one for secular studies--and a few notebooks. She figures out herself what goes where.

This year we bought TEN (10) binders of very specific colours for my daughter in 4th grade. After running around to 4 stores to find all the colors I was ready to shoot myself. And then we found out it was a mistake on the list Can't Believe It

Next year I am buying bare minimum supplies and will buy more if needed

dankbar

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 9:44 am

chanchy123 wrote:

Wow, I would find that very intrusive. But I guess to each their own.

What ends up happening over a 10 day yom tov that you need 100% good behavior 100% of the time, which is impossible, parents need to lie a bit. It is supposed to be helpful but if your child listened to you only 5 of ten times, what are you going to do? Write the truth, and he gets punished after yom tov for misbehavior at home or his prize is withheld even if 3/4 of the chart, he did fulfill well.

I was a teacher. One mom would call me every day, to ask me on her child's behavior in school, and then she would get punished at home for her misbehavior at school. Girl was so angry, she would come hit me with a broomstick, that she is getting severe punishments at home because of me, if I even uttered a half a word to her mom. You know what, I stopped telling mom the truth. I felt awful for the child. You take care of her at home & I will handle her in school.

This 5 year old, brilliant, talented girl started showing signs of depression, as she was being squashed at home, with extreme measures.
The mom called me home, with girl on line, to apologize to teacher for stealing a rubber glove when everyone was out of classroom already. She told girl to apologize to teacher in school next day & return it.She didn't. I had no clue. When she got home & didn't follow thru, she got thrown out of the house for hours. Next day, when she still came home with it, mom called me hysterically, because if she won't apologize, she will get thrown out again, when her husband gets home & hears that she didn't rectify yet.

amother

Magenta

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 9:48 am

Beingreal wrote:

16 sharpened pencils....really?

My kids go to the same school as your kids. 16 seems to be reasonable. I don't see what the problem is with this especially since they gave out so many school supplies at the meeting greet, pencils included.

dankbar

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 9:56 am

When I was in first grade, we needed to show teacher 3 pointy pencils daily, that would be fair, but why do you need to bring 20 at a time? Is it supposed to last for whole year, so you can lose it or supply for entire class when someone else doesn't have their supplies? That is not teaching responsibility for yourself or your seat neighbor.

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 10:39 am

amother [ Magenta ] wrote:

I missed this component Smile

16 pencils is way, way, way down from what it was even 2 years ago. I can show you old lists Wink

The school B"H has been able to procure a nice amount of supplies to give out to parents and to teachers to help subsidize how many supplies the kids actually do go through. I hope that is able to continue; we will have to see.

I had a theory about pencils, BTW. When I first came, it was like 24 in the first grade. And it then it went to 30 something. Then something like 48. It got crazy...and I realized that parents thought the amount was insane and would rebel and send even fewer than what was asked for once upon a time so the teachers ran out too early and thought they were really using 30 something pencils per student a year, so we needed to raise the amount to the 40s, when probably they weren't even collecting in the 20s for the kids. That's my theory Smile

Last year, we made it across the board that every class only brought in 8 because we had SOOOOO many pencils saved in the school. We used quite a bit, so we let it rise up to a little more of a balanced, reasonable number (like 16). The meet and greet pencils are not the finest quality (break easily when trying to sharpen) but they're fine for supplemental and no one will say anything if it's the only pencils you bring.

I started buying supplies by the case and just buy a few random supplies each year and rotating which cases I buy. This year, I bought highlighters and colored pencils because I was running out. Last year was pencils and dry erase markers which lasted me through this year....I'll have to buy dry erase markers again next year, but NO pencils or pens (probably for a few years!!) or colored pencils. I think I also ran out of my thick markers stash and very few of my kids want thin markers. I actually ran out of paper now but did re-stock notebooks when yeshiva shopping. I also have more crayons than I will need next year too. I have a half used case of glue sticks but I'm not sure if they will be still usable by next year or not. I also have too many bottles of regular glue since no one seems to use those Smile

I hardly buy scissors, since we can re-use and get at the meet and greet, but I did buy bigger pairs for my MS/HS kids since we don't get those free. Somehow it balances out.
And yes, I reuse binders. And folders. I have a LOT of folders in unused condition it seems with one specific child's name. It's a little funny that they all seem to belong to him (and he needs none) Wink

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 10:43 am

dankbar wrote:

Different teachers do things differently, but I think my kid's first grade classroom is set up that something like 8 or so pencils are in his pencil box, and the rest are pooled to replenish during the year for whomever needs. IIRC, this teacher divided up the extra pooled supplies at the end of the year among the class and let the kids bring home the extras, so we didn't really lose out.

DREAMING

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 1:19 pm

Dankbar - that family that punished a five year old like that needs real help

dankbar

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 7:10 pm

DREAMING wrote:

Dankbar - that family that punished a five year old like that needs real help

You better believe it! I couldn't sleep at night, worrying how she will grow up! How I can help her! I tried guiding the mom, spoke to principal! By now she is grown up! I hope she is doing well!

amother

Linen

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 7:46 pm

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

Why in the world do you get supplies for teachers?! Expo markers and erasers?? The teachers or the school should buy their own supplies!

So, what supplies do YOU purchase for use at work. Do you purchase your own pens and paper? Your own computer?

Yes, the schools should supply these things. But if they don't -- and often they don't because they're giving too many people tuition breaks, and because people pay their tuition bills last -- the costs should not come out of the teachers' pockets.

gamanit

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 9:23 pm

dankbar wrote:

My 6 yr old son
Needs 10 sharpened pencils.

$14 for a new siddur, when they all got a new one as a gift last year by their chumash seuda when they started davening in siddur.

The siddur from last year is usually for use at home on Shabbos (since many kids wouldn't bring the siddur back to cheder after Shabbos)

chanatron1000

Wed, Sep 04 2019, 9:31 pm

Pencils are an outdated technology. Students should be encouraged to use erasable pens instead. (They are more expensive to purchase, but they don't need to be sharpened. Pencils need to be sharpened often, and the tip breaks off while sharpening, so you can lose inches in minutes.)

Sleepymama

Thu, Sep 05 2019, 2:00 am

We never had a list of school supplies growing up. Before the school year we would buy what we thought we needed. Every year I would use a different system -one year a big binder with dividers, another year lots of notebooks and a separate folder for handouts etc. I remember it was fun to choose what I wanted to write in each year. Same with whatever I put in my pencil case. We got to choose what we wanted to bring. One girl was into highlighting so she had a bunch of different highlighters, another girl liked to color coordinate with colored pens, some girls could care less and just used whatever they had. It was very relaxed and open. Why are the schools micromanaging every detail of our kid's lives????

teachkids

Thu, Sep 05 2019, 5:57 am

chanatron1000 wrote:

Erasable pens don't write or erase well.
Mechanical pencils are a great alternative to regular pencils.
Either way, kids lose their writing utensils as often as they break

Iymnok

Thu, Sep 05 2019, 6:03 am

chanatron1000 wrote:

The pens don’t erase well and could stain. The mechanical pencils are great once a child is old enough to not break or lose it. I consider that to be about 3rd grade. I send 3 sharpened pencils, a sharpener and a mechanical pencil. The remaining pencils are saved with our other extra supplies at home.

gigglemom

Thu, Sep 05 2019, 6:54 am

amother [ Aubergine ] wrote:

A good attitude
A smile
Where do I get those? All the stores that I checked were out of them or never got them in.

This made my day! I'm laughing so hard rn!! I'm a teacher and I never ask the parents for weird things. Whatever I can, I buy and my boss pays for it. She siad tuition costs enough money as is and she's not gonna torture those poor parents with 5 bucks for extra pacifiers (I teach tiny kids), or smocks and bibs. She just has to replace them every few years and it's worth it for happy parents (and teachers. Having to remind a mother 1000 times to send something is awkward and annoying)

gigglemom

Thu, Sep 05 2019, 7:03 am

busymother wrote:

My pet peeve is smocks and change of clothing... such a waste!

Change of clothes is so important!!!!!! Sometimes something spills on a kid. She spills her soup, has an accident if she's still young, and we don't want her to be humiliated and change her. Also in the winter if even water spills on her we don't want her to catch a cold! What about if she hurts herself and tears her socks? Kids have feelings and like to be clean and look good.

gigglemom

Thu, Sep 05 2019, 7:07 am

busymother wrote:

No reason the school can’t save smocks from year to year.
Change of clothing as well. My kids never needed their change of clothing and at the end of the year I got back clothing that didn’t fit anymore. Why can’t the school keep a change or two of each size? They could probably get from their lost and found.
That’s just my personal opinion.

Putting a kid's underwear on a different kid is gross. Besides, no we do not keep people's clothes. We make sure it's labeled at the beginning of the year. And if it isn't it gets donated at the end of the year after 30 days. All parents know this.

gigglemom

Thu, Sep 05 2019, 7:11 am

Librarian wrote:

The comments about the smocks and the change of clothing for pre-schoolers blow my mind. If you don't mind your child potentially sitting in clothes he may have urinated in or thrown up on, by all means, don't send in a change of clothes! And if you don't mind that your child's clothing will get stained with (even washable) paint, by all means don't send in a smock! This is your child! Yuch!

But I as a teacher mind seeing a child humiliated. There was a child who came with torn shoes and we took him to buy new ones. Kids need to feel confident and feel pretty. I agree with you tho. You don't care about your child? So technically why should the teacher? Poor child. You're right about that!

ra_mom

Thu, Sep 05 2019, 7:39 am

gigglemom wrote:

Please tell me that pacifiers don't get shared.

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