Am I the only one who is ticked about the "school supply" lists?

[shgiloal]

I have about had it with the school supply lists. My dd will be a 4th grader and they asked girls to bring quart ziplocks and snack ziplocks and boys bring the antibacterial wipes. Wouldn't you know that I have a stash of Clorox wipes that I got for 50 cents a piece. The ziplocks cost me $4! Not to mention the fees. I have a 1st grader and 4th grader with $45 fees each and my 7th grader owes $77. I need to take out a loan for the fees alone! LOL! My dd even has to bring 2 rolls of paper towels and 2 boxes of Kleenex. Errrrrr! When I was little we were responsible for providing our own little handy desk size box of kleenex and you replaced it when you needed to. I think it is crazy to buy supplies for the whole class. I even 2nd guess myself about the sizes and brands. Should I get the nice big box of Puffs or the generic Walmart ones? Will the teacher think I am cheap? I felt bad enough refusing to buy FIskars scissors when I have a ton of generic nice new ones in my school supply tub. KNow what I mean?

[faeryedark]

Originally Posted by klipin4deals I really don't mind sending in the stuff that I know my kid will use through out the year. Like 5 glue sticks. I've seen how much first graders glue things, and the amount of glue they use to do it! I can see how she would use every bit of 5 sticks! But even my dd was shocked when she found out that she would have to share her pretty Disney princess pencils with the whole class (I didn't know she would have to either when I allowed her to take them into her class). She got so mad that a few days into the school year she went to the community pencil box and took all 12 of "her" pencils back! And she did it right in front of me (I was picking her up at the end of the day) and I didn't say a word. This year we agreed to send one package of 8 standard regular pencils and she could take some of her fancier pencils and keep them in her desk. What irritates me to no end is why does the school insist that the supplies be a specific brand. Why MUST the glue be Elmers? How come ONLY Kleenex 120 count tissues? Why do the markers HAVE TO BE Crayola?? We are going to be daring this year-- I am going to send Roseart markers. Just don't tell anyone they were from me!

OH No! See, i don't care if they demand a certain brand (well, okay, Rose Art crayons are crap IMO so, I won't buy those) Otherwise, they 'll get what I buy (on sale, with coupons etc.) and they'll like it or they won't get. That's just the way it is...and if they want to view me as the Supreme Queen "B" mom... so, be it.
I mean I'm nice about it. Well, as nice as I can be when telling them ""It's glue, as long as it does what it's meant for I don't care what company's name is on it.

[katrina23]

derketchup, Thanks bunches, but I couldn't determine what FRPA stood for....could you help me out? BTW, you've been repped.

[katrina23]

Originally Posted by faeryedark OH No! See, i don't care if they demand a certain brand (well, okay, Rose Art crayons are crap IMO so, I won't buy those) Otherwise, they 'll get what I buy (on sale, with coupons etc.) and they'll like it or they won't get. That's just the way it is...and if they want to view me as the Supreme Queen "B" mom... so, be it. I mean I'm nice about it. Well, as nice as I can be when telling them ""It's glue, as long as it does what it's meant for I don't care what company's name is on it.

Funny you should mention the RoseArt crayons are crap....a friend of my daughters said to his Nana, "Nana, these RoseArt colors just aren't as good as those Crapola ones!"

[faeryedark]

Originally Posted by shgiloal I have about had it with the school supply lists. My dd will be a 4th grader and they asked girls to bring quart ziplocks and snack ziplocks and boys bring the antibacterial wipes. Wouldn't you know that I have a stash of Clorox wipes that I got for 50 cents a piece. The ziplocks cost me $4! Not to mention the fees. I have a 1st grader and 4th grader with $45 fees each and my 7th grader owes $77. I need to take out a loan for the fees alone! LOL! My dd even has to bring 2 rolls of paper towels and 2 boxes of Kleenex. Errrrrr! When I was little we were responsible for providing our own little handy desk size box of kleenex and you replaced it when you needed to. I think it is crazy to buy supplies for the whole class. I even 2nd guess myself about the sizes and brands. Should I get the nice big box of Puffs or the generic Walmart ones? Will the teacher think I am cheap? I felt bad enough refusing to buy FIskars scissors when I have a ton of generic nice new ones in my school supply tub. KNow what I mean?

You shouldn't feel bad. As long as said item gets the job done, that's what matters. So, you're frugal? That's more money for YOUR family and whatever charities etc. you feel the need to give to.
That ton of scissors you have will serve multiple children, not just a very few.
There are children in less wealthy countries that would love to have scissors, pencils, paste, paper etc. and wouldn't give a care to the brand name. If those things aid in them learning,then, that's what matters.

[derketchup]

Originally Posted by katrina23 derketchup, Thanks bunches, but I couldn't determine what FRPA stood for....could you help me out? BTW, you've been repped.

That's because I left out the E (sorry!). It's FERPA.

[katrina23]

Originally Posted by klipin4deals ....What irritates me to no end is why does the school insist that the supplies be a specific brand. Why MUST the glue be Elmers? How come ONLY Kleenex 120 count tissues? Why do the markers HAVE TO BE Crayola?? We are going to be daring this year-- I am going to send Roseart markers. Just don't tell anyone they were from me!

When my DD entered kindergarten, we couldn't find the specified brand of glue anywhere, so my SIL found it where she lived, 7 hours away, and brought it when she came to visit. My child was the only one in her class with the nice sponge-tip ITOYA glue. From then on, I bought whatever worked for me.

[katrina23]

Originally Posted by derketchup That's because I left out the E (sorry!). It's FERPA.

Thanks, derketchup. According to the proposed rules posted March 24, 2008 by the US Dept. of Ed., volunteers who perform functions that would normally be performed by school employees are subject to FERPA, and the school is responsible for their compliance (or non-compliance.) Thanks for the info.

[PinkElephant]

I live in CA, so our K-12 school (traditional) started after Labor Day. I could understand the tissues, additional crayons, and fifth grader's did a very special yearlong project with specific notebook, dividers, etc.

But ever since I was a little kid myself, it used to make me so mad that all the back to school stuff went on sale, and since it was a state secret as to who your teacher would be, lists were not available til the first week of school. Some teachers wanted a pencil case, another would forbid it. There was no winning, LOL.

Unless the kids are being served iced mochachinno lattes to boost their calcium and fight afternoon haze, I would think that the most a teacher would drink would be a pot every couple of days. That's ten a month. A single 100 pack should last a single teacher all year.

Just like a gift registry, when someone has supplied that item, it should be crossed off. Otherwise, they go in the trash, get used to clean glass, or worse, go home with staff.

I don't begrudge staff their much needed breaks, but all those wasted dollars could've gotten each kid an ice cream treat/classroom subscribtion to Ranger Rick or otherwise used wisely

As for the dirt cheap deals some of the big box stores have been offering, I'd gladly max out on them, especially with assurances that they wouldn't be trashed or abused.

[PinkElephant]

Originally Posted by shgiloal I have about had it with the school supply lists. My dd will be a 4th grader and they asked girls to bring quart ziplocks and snack ziplocks and boys bring the antibacterial wipes. Wouldn't you know that I have a stash of Clorox wipes that I got for 50 cents a piece. The ziplocks cost me $4! Not to mention the fees. I have a 1st grader and 4th grader with $45 fees each and my 7th grader owes $77. I need to take out a loan for the fees alone! LOL! My dd even has to bring 2 rolls of paper towels and 2 boxes of Kleenex. Errrrrr! When I was little we were responsible for providing our own little handy desk size box of kleenex and you replaced it when you needed to. I think it is crazy to buy supplies for the whole class. I even 2nd guess myself about the sizes and brands. Should I get the nice big box of Puffs or the generic Walmart ones? Will the teacher think I am cheap? I felt bad enough refusing to buy FIskars scissors when I have a ton of generic nice new ones in my school supply tub. KNow what I mean?

I'd send the wipes and spring for the antibacterial puffs, anything to minimize the cold germs, LOL. Even wealthy school districts are no longer funding extra curriculars, where is our $$$ going? Before you say gas, this was going on long before gas prices skyrocketed. :-/