School Supplies Cost & Question

[readyin07]

Just got my list today for my big kindergartener! How much do your supplies normally cost?
I get why they do it, but everything has to be a specific name brand (crayola, fiskar, ziploc, Dixon..). 4 separate boxes of ziploc, 36 glue sticks, box of baby wipes, specific alcohol free sanitizer...I have to believe it will cost $50ish  if I can catch sales on most things. This is fine, but our school is 52percent on free and reduced lunch. What happens for those kids? Do they make allowances and tell those families they an opt out? That sounds like a lot for a low income family. If I can find any deals I am going to get some extra since I have time to bargain shop.

[aussiecrush]

We start August 13th, the school shopping already started but we don't have our supplies list yet.

[bugandbibs]

Part of why they ask for so much is that they know some families won't be able to provide the full list. Name brand items truly are better when it comes to school supplies- they last longer and preform better. Costco is a good place to go if you don't want to try and shop sales.

One thing I always do is get this list for the next grade and try an shop the clearance sales. It doesn't always work perfectly, but if the list changes we can either use it at home or donate the excess to a charity drive.

[karmasabiotch]

The supply list is optional. The items here in K-1 are shared. I think I spent about $75 at the start of the school year but every time we turned around there was a new list of items to send in. It never stops. All year.

[karmasabiotch]

Also churches, Optimists, Wonwbs Clubs, etc. help out by sending in items.

My office usually gets filled with donations of items and backpacks for kids/teens that need back to school items. We even get hair studios donating back to school hair cuts. The community where I work is amazing.

[lulu13]

I order them through innisbrook so I don't have to spend 3 days and my sanity looking for each item on their lists. DS (4th grade) is $108 and DD (6th grade) is $163 this year.

[Redpoppy]

Our school supply list is optional and all supplies are communal once brought in, at least for elementary. They also request brand names. Walmart and Target usually have good deals at the start of the year, like glue sticks for 25 cents. The teacher puts out wish lists for additional items at open house, she had things like playdoh, magnetic tape, watercolors, etc that are also used around the classroom. The biggest monthly requests were for their cooking day and the majority of the parents regularly contributed (they are emailed requests so you can see who responds). I skipped some months because the lists where fulfilled too fast.

It is very very rare to be required to bring something in at our school. They don't even go on field trips because the PTO must cover the cost since they can't require parents to pay. PTO covers a second grade field trip only.

[eb777888]

We also got a very extensive SS list. We can either donate $100 or get the supplies from the list. I haven't bought them yet but.... it's a LONG list, lol. I'm just going to buy the supplies and hope I save a few bucks but I'm sure it will be at least $80.

[tacokick]

Jul 13, 2014 0:40:30 GMT -5 @pnkbride said:

Jul 13, 2014 0:35:42 GMT -5 @crackhabit said:

WHAT THE FUCK OMG NO

yep. Their last day was May 29, and they start back August 6. My daughter is a teacher and she starts back August 1.

That's awful!

[Patsy Stone]

My daughter's school has it set up so you can order supplies online by grade and they will be delivered in a personalized box on the first day of school. For kindergarten, it was $37.

[tacokick]

Jul 13, 2014 0:00:51 GMT -5 readyin07 said:

Just got my list today for my big kindergartener! How much do your supplies normally cost?
I get why they do it, but everything has to be a specific name brand (crayola, fiskar, ziploc, Dixon..). 4 separate boxes of ziploc, 36 glue sticks, box of baby wipes, specific alcohol free sanitizer...I have to believe it will cost $50ish  if I can catch sales on most things. This is fine, but our school is 52percent on free and reduced lunch. What happens for those kids? Do they make allowances and tell those families they an opt out? That sounds like a lot for a low income family. If I can find any deals I am going to get some extra since I have time to bargain shop.

When I taught I bought all the supplies for the kids who didn't bring them with my own money. I was glad some kids brought their own and some parents even bought and donated extras but I spent hundreds each fall on basic supplies.

[readyin07]

Yep I wish it wasn't too early but it is not his uniforms are already on the way too!!

[mie]

I just bought supplies for two kids today, K and 3rd grade and it cost about $65, but that wasn't everything needed b/c the older one can reuse some things from last year and I still need to purchase headphones.

[prettyinpink]

I'm a teacher. Our kids come back the 13th of August. I work at a school that is 90% free and reduced lunch. I can only hope that my wish list I submitted to the principal gets filled. I've already started buying things I know I didn't put on the list but will need.

[nannersp]

I was so surprised when we started kindergarten last year and there was NO list of supplies to buy because the PTO pays for them all with the fundraising they do throughout the year. And we go to a public school in a crappy Los Angeles school district! (But with an amazing PTO and many involved parents.)

We're provided a list of the types of items we should have on-hand at home, but that's it.

Oh, and school starts here Aug. 14. They do that so the older kids don't go on Winter Break and then come back to take finals/tests for material they've likely forgotten.

[karmasabiotch]

MI passed a state law that public schools can't start until after Labor Day. I think it was to try to increase in state tourism. We get out mid June.

[trixiedicksnatch]

We do all the school supply shopping for the kids and the lists aren't name brand specific but obviously some brands are higher quality so that's what we buy.

The lists are aimed at just providing for that child (not like group share) but I have several teacher friends and they have told me that they end up having to buy a ton of supplies out of pocket for the children who don't have supplies

I don't know why the PTA doesn't help at all.

Out school year always start before Labor Day and then there's a four day weekend. The school board votes on it every year and its been the same since my mom was in school

[allaboutme]

I went and got all DD school stuff today, she starts on Aug 13. I think I spent around 85.00 (2nd grade) I also bought extra to donate to whomever... I'm going to go Costco and pick up a few more things too.

[sweetiesparkles]

We are private school in WI and start last Monday in August. We also get out last Friday in May.

[statlerwaldorf]

Dd's list was rather short, so I'm glad for that. There are some organizations that have back to school events and give out free school supplies to struggling families.

[redheadk]

Jul 13, 2014 0:00:51 GMT -5 readyin07 said:

Churches, various clubs (like Lions Club, Rotary Club, etc), and local charities donate supplies for those kids but, honestly, the individual teacher ends up with it on her shoulders in the end. She either provides it herself or makes do with what they have.

[themysteriouswife]

Aug. 1 start for us. We have about $150 worth of supplies. She has her regular ed and her gifted ed supply lists. Pulse we have to take nearly $50 cash the first day. It covers workbooks.

[themysteriouswife]

Oh and we have a $10 specials fee. Ske goes to a charter.

[redheadk]

Also, Walmart tends to have the best prices overall. I hate Walmart and generally do not shop there but I did go to Walmart for school supplies. My school was up to 80% free and reduced lunch by my last year, I just bought all of their supplies myself.

[april37]

I think I spend about $50-60 on school supplies. The name brands really do work better and last longer in most cases. I work in education and have seen this 1st hand. As for Ziploc, our school collects the Box Tops for Education so they want those brands to be able to clip the box tops.

[joenali]

Our PTA funds school supplies. At he end of the year I put in an order for what I will need for the following year and we get our order at the beginning of the year. All supplies are classroom communal. Parents don't have to buy school supplies.

[kristie]

Yeah, I have been starting to look at DDs supply list. We are supposed to have everything by August 6. It is a pretty big list with things like 18 glue sticks, multiple packs of crayons, playdoh, headphones, and whatever a rest mat is. I figure I will be lucky to get everything for 75, then we pay a 50 dollar fee.

[frontbutt]

At our school, it's optional (especially for a low income family), but some families buy extra to donate so those kids can have what they need.

[vanillacourage]

36 glue sticks?! That I would be irritated with, because they're obviously asking you to bring in way, way more than your child will actually use.

[Jalapeñomel]

Jul 13, 2014 9:42:29 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

36 glue sticks?! That I would be irritated with, because they're obviously asking you to bring in way, way more than your child will actually use.

I think that's the point! Maybe 36 is a bit excessive though.