School Supplies Demystified

Ok, I admit it. I have been school supply shopping. I just can't pass up 22 cent crayolas. I love new school supplies. It smells like mommy's freedom. LOL Sometimes, the things on the list make me go hmmm. The ladies over at the two peas in a bucket have demystified the school supply list. They have answered why the heck is the teacher asking for that. So, I thought I would cut and paste the answers here for your reading enjoyment. Those ladies over there crack me up and cleared up all school supply questions for me.

1. That mean teacher wants an 8 ct. box of crayons and the bigger box is on sale.
+++ We ask for the 8 count to help teach kids their colors and avoid arguing over what color of red the teacher wants. This also allows kids to match up a color they were using the day before without sifting through 87 shades of red.
+++ Buy several of the bigger box, pull out the 8 basic colors from each, and make one larger box of the 8 basics.
2. Can you believe the mean teacher wants me to send in dry erase markers?
+++ Yes I can! Teachers long discovered that for under $10.00 you can get a shower board cut into individual dry erase boards for each student in the class. This is a great way for kids to practice essential skills in a fun and exciting way. Your kid will be using them, not me.
3. Red pens. Please, my kid is not buying the teacher her favorite grading pen.
+++ Nope. Your kid is buying a pen for him or her to grade her own review work and make corrections as we go. They are also used for editing or second chance answers on questions they got wrong the first time through.
4. Please, does she even know how much Ticonderoga pencils cost?
+++ Yes she does. Do you know how much time is wasted in a day when your kid brings nothing but cheap pencils that do not sharpen? I will make you a deal. You send your kid with 10 sharpened pencils each and every single day and I will not request a brand.
5. Copy paper? Really?
+++ sadly, yes. Some schools only provide teachers with a set amount of paper per school year. If you want something creative, like readers theatre that requires lots of copies, that allotment needs supplemented.
6. Baby wipes? My kid can wipe his butt just fine.
+++ Yes, and your kid can also get glue all over them every single time they use a glue stick. 1 minute to clean up with a wipe, or 15 minutes to take the whole class to wash their hands. You choose.
7. Seriously, are you eating glue sticks as a daily snack?
+++ Nope. Kids go through them. Right now they are super cheap. Buy some, be happy. It is ok. We are not eating them I swear, but kids do lose the caps and they dry out. They also break, etc... Oh, a thought about glue sticks....please don't send in the el cheapo glue sticks..many of them simply do not work well at all. Elmers rocks, Target brand does not hold. Sometimes brand name is better! It's no fun for a kid to see his project fall apart within minutes of creating it.....
8. Good ol' liquid glue was good enough for me.
+++ We have carpet. Kids, liquid glue, carpet = bad.
9. What the heck, no Trapper Keepers???
+++ That is right. Desks are small, books are big, kids are slobs.
+++ Not to mention the slick plastic makes a great surf board for the teacher to break her neck on when little Johnny left it on the floor because it would not fit in said desk. Leave it at home, surf is not up dude.
10. The teacher is anal. She wants specific colored folders.
+++ Yes I am, but that is besides the point. I am teaching your child how to be organized. Each color will have an assigned purpose. When I say get out your stay at school folder, I can see if your kid is the only one without a yellow folder. The next day when I tell them to get said paper out of their stay at school folder I can remind them that it is the yellow one. If a child does not have a yellow folder lord knows where the heck that paper is now.
11. 4 million index cards, really?
+++ Another skill I am teaching. How to study by making flash cards. Nifty huh? You can thank me when he sails through college.
12. Fine Point Sharpie
+++ Ahh, an essential for outlining artwork and putting together a pleasing presentation. We outline all colored work in black marker, we use it to trace over letters on posters, etc.... You will kiss me come Science Fair time when your kid knows how to properly measure out, letter, and label a presentation board.
13. large glue sticks vs. small glue sticks. My school asks for something like 8 or 10 of the large ones in 1st grade. Why?
+++Because they last longer. If you want to buy the smaller ones because they are way cheaper, that's fine, but be prepared to either bring more to start out with, or buy some later on in the year when your child runs out. The kids that actually bring the large ones (or buy the school supply pack) never run out of glue sticks before the end of the year.
14. Ziploc bags. What is the teacher going to bring her lunch every single day?
+++When I taught first grade we always asked for ziploc bags to sort math manipulatives, hold magnetic letters, etc...
15. What is a pack when speaking of pencils, pens, etc.... The teacher did not specify.
+++ That teacher may not get what she wants exactly, but if I was buying I would buy what was on sale at the time. For instance today I saw 2 packs of glue sticks for 22 cents and glue sticks in a pack of 5 for $2.28. I would buy what I thought my child would need to get through the year. The point is to buy enough to get through, not one pencil for the entire year.
16. Highlighters?
+++I know with older kids, highlighters are used in Language Arts for highlighting different parts of an essay when learning how to write one. We use them to highlight sight words, important info in notes we took, etc....
17. Post it Notes, why in the world?
+++Students use these these to mark vocabulary or passages in text that they do not understand or need more help with. They also use these in class to write down questions that they still may have at the end of the lesson so that the I can address them. Post its are also used to make big class graphs.
18. Clorox Wipes?
+++Do you know how many kids sit and pick their noses before using the computer? Do you want your child using a computer keyboard that is germed up with snot & boogers? Better yet, I have witnessed little girls in their cute little skirts touching themselves, then on to the computer! Those Clorox wipes looking better to you now? How about little Johnny sitting at the community table and sneezing all over it? Should it be left for the next kid to use & contaminate themselves? Those Clorox wipes are a life saver. You wouldn't believe half of the gross stuff I've seen in the school setting.
19. Why do just the boys or just the girls need something?
+++ This is for the mom who asked why if the kids are using the dry erase markers, do the boys only need to bring them. Because there are more than 1 in a pack. Usually they come in packs of 3. The teacher did not feel that all kids would use 3 markers each, therefore she assigned boys one thing and girls another. Sort of like a potluck. You bring a side, I will bring a dessert.
20. What the heck are they doing with register tape?
+++ Kids are using it to make time lines, write sentences on and then cut them up and organize them, etc....
21. Why can't they ask for stuff that you can get all at one store?
+++Oddly enough we are not privy to what will go on sale or where it will be stocked. We turn in our lists at the end of the previous school year not during the time that the stores put things on sale.