Now that school is out, I'm wondering...

[JulieDB]

Our school isn't out just yet but I am remembering what they did this year and it wasn't good.

I like to shop for school supplies throughout the summer because stores are air conditioned and our house isn't. And because the list our school gives is usually very specific as to some items, we have to go to every store we can think of looking for this stuff. There is always something such as Post It Notes that do not even come in the size required so we have to guess and get the closest thing.

I was very happy when they posted the school supply list on the school website early. I printed it off and began shopping. Had two bags full of school supplies including book covers, some of which I'd finally had to order online. Seems we have to do this every year!

But then a week before school, another list was posted! Totally different! There were some things the same but many were not on the first list and many that were on that first list were no longer needed! Like the book covers. Turns out the school went bookless for the most part this year. There was a science book she brought home but never used. The rest was all online. Grrr... I was NOT happy!

I agree about the pens going bad. Especially those cheap stick pens such as Bic. My parents used to stock up to the point of being hoarders on school supplies and that always happened. I also learned not to buy packs that are 10 cents because chances are they are marked down for that very reason. 2 years ago I bought a mammoth pack of gel pens at Costco. And then we lost them. I don't know how. I have a cupboard for school supplies but somebody took them out of there. They turned up almost a year later, of course after I bought more pens. I don't know how long they will last. I am hoping the gel won't dry up like regular ink. But the pens do seem to run out faster.

The big thing I need to look for is a new backpack! I do buy Jansport and they seem to last a couple of years at least but... This past year my daughter had a stuffed full backpack that was so heavy I can't help but wonder if it didn't contribute to her current back injury. She chose a white one with pink and tan print. Hopefully she will chose a darker one this year because the white does get dirty. And I feel that the seams might be strained from all that weight in it. Because we can't find the large ones in any stores, I always look online for the disconinuted colors and patterns because they are usually marked down. I don't like to buy all the school supplies at once because it lessens the financial impact that way.

I also will only buy the Mead reinforced paper. Yes it is expensive but it tends not to rip. I can't tell you how many packs of those reinforcers I had to buy for the cheap paper. And I have had some brands where the holes were cut so close to the edge it wouldn't go in the notebook from the start! Staples sells its own brand of reinforced paper but it is waaay too expensive. Last year I resorted to ordering the Mead online but then about two weeks before school came out, the reinforced stuff appeared in the stores. I got a lot because it seems not to be around at any other time.

[Paintbrush]

Our school isn't out just yet but I am remembering what they did this year and it wasn't good.

Oh my! I would be fuming. What would happen if you sent your child to school with all the stuff from the original list?

2 years ago I bought a mammoth pack of gel pens at Costco.

We go through gel pens like they're running out of style. Dh uses them all the time. He's almost a gel pen snob.

The big thing I need to look for is a new backpack!

We get our kids new backpacks every year. Actually, this past year my mother and I made bookbags instead for our girls out of old jeans. But they are young and don't have heavy books. That never would have worked for a teenager.

I'm wondering when the schools will start to get smart about things and go digital with textbooks.