I am surprised that a KINDERGARTEN kid has to bring his/her own supplies. WOW! I thought that if any grade had its own stuff in the classroom, it would be kindergarten.

God, I still hate this thread...but here goes:

You know how dirty your kids are at home...try having 25 of them in one small space for 6.5 hours a day. It get really dirty. The cleaning supplies provided by the school is some sort of bleach concoction. Hell yeah I require my kids to bring Clorox wipes. It eliminates the 10 year olds from having to use a squirt bottle (think of the fun things they can squirt -- like each other's eyes!). You give everyone a wipe and say "clean your desk." Plus, then the classroom doesn't smell like bleach...which gives many kids (and teachers) headaches. I even request Fresh Scent -- because they smell the best.

I teach at a very small school where parents are required to volunteer 4 hours a month to their child's classrooms...so we are all pretty close to the parents...out supply list is funny...on the "Wish List" part (which is qualified by the following statement: "Teacher Wish List Items…buy none…buy one!" we even list Starbucks Gift Cards (qualified with "hey, it's a wish list, right?")...and our parents are so awesome that we actually get some!

Ya'll that are complaining would probably hate me.

You may not realize just how much Kindergarteners actually use, especially craft supplies. I loved how our elementary school did K supplies, there was a flat fee of $25 for all K students which covered *all* of their supplies for the year. Sure, the teachers did a wish list mid-year for extras (dry erase markers, hand sanitizers and wipes, class goodies like erasers and mini crayons, etc.) but you didn't have to worry about anything but a backpack and clothes.

WD: love the Starbucks "wish list" idea. A few of our teachers did that (even included things like Capri Suns or healthy treats for a class surprise periodically). Trust me, as a parent I'd prefer knowing that my child's teacher loved Starbucks or McDonalds or candles or whatever. There are only so many ornaments/candies/notepads/generic teacher gifts a teacher can stand!

I also was in elementary school during the 80's too. Wow, you had French in third grade? We didn't start foreign languages until 8th grade. For elementary school, we had to supply our own pencils, erasers, and folders/notebooks/composition books (whichever one the teacher preferred). But the school provided scissors, crayons, glue, rulers, bookcovers, and art supplies. Some student woulld bring their own crayons because the ones the school supplied were the basic 8-pack. A few of the teachers would ask for boxes of tissues on their supply lists, but they made a note that it was voluntary. We never had to bring our own personal supply of tissues, wipes, or plastic bags. Then again, I don't think disinfecting everything was as a big a thing in the 80's. I don't remember us ever having to wipe down our desk with any kind of disinfectant. If you spilled glue on your desk, you had to wipe as much of it off as you can with a damp paper towel. But other than that, our clean-up consisted of us throwing away scrap paper, putting away supplies, clearing our desks, and putting our chairs upside down on top of our desks so the janitors could clean.

I'm from Canada, and depending on the jursidiction, French can start anywhere between kindergarten and Grade 5.

Speaking of crayons, I don't think Crayola makes 8-packs anymore.

okay as a teacher I am now drooling. I should preface this by saying I teach at a very affluent school, but we have a list of materials we ask each student to get for the year which they recieve when they register in the summer. the team (math, science, social studies and English) make these lists and are very specific about what the kids will need for the year. We try not to add anything to these and they are pretty basic, paper, pencils, dry erase markers, folders for all classes, a binder for English, red pens, and a box of tissues for the science classroom, we do include a statement that some non-core classes may vary but all students need folders, pencils and paper for all classes. All the school provides us with from their budget are staples, 4 dry erase markers per year, paper for copies, butcher block paper for our boards. All other expenses teachers have come from their own pockets or money that the team has set aside. All 4 core teachers get about 400$ a year to spend total.

The only wish lists that we have the option of are the ones we fill out for the PTO/ Renesance during book fair week and that is only for the English teachers.

My cousin just finished kindergarten and she had to purchase all of her supplies as well for the year...but also, this is a school where kindergarten students receive a Grade Point Average! I was shocked when my aunt was telling me about it.

But anyway, back on subject, the school that I worked at previously required their students to bring all supplies in the beginning of the school year...the administration supplied the teachers with two packs of paper but also each student (per grade - Kindergarten - 6th) was required to bring a pack of paper! It cut back on the amount of paper that was actually purchased throughout the school year .... talking about cutbacks!

Amen preach it!! LOL. I teach reading in middle schoolers and they are dirty! Just the dirt that comes off one desk, I don't think most people would allow in their own homes. I'm with you on the Clorox wipes and anti-bacterial hand gel. Anything that helps keep you and the kids possibly "germ free" and cut back on sicknesses I'm all for. Plus, I like to keep my work area (even if it happens to be a cart since I don't have an actual room) clean.

~Marissa

Yikes, what a hornet's nest.

I went to Pittsburgh Public School for every single grade. And strangely, I can't remember ever getting a "list" persay. We always knew to get the basics. But it seemed like we got a lot of stuff reused or community...meaning there were scissors in the classroom, calculators were assigned to each kid by number (and if you lost/broke it, you paid for it), pencils could be borrowed from classmates or bought from teachers (this was rather common...either that or you "rented" it for the class at 10 cents, which you got back when said pencil was returned). Our arts and theatre were essentially student funded through special community performances and selling advertisements in programmes. It wasn't affluent, it wasn't comfortable, but I'm educated and it worked for many others like me.

And for you Columbus teachers:

There is a project with Keep Franklin County Beautiful called the Resale Store, or something similar. Basically, they have this huge warehouse with just really random, leftover office supplies in an effort to be environmentally and socially friendly/aware. Left over promotional pencils, left over stacks of paper from close companies, left over pens from drug companies, paint, etc etc etc. I don't know if they still give it free, or if the fee is nominal, but it is something to check out.

ETA: If I remember correctly, our DECA (marketing/business club) team set up a "school store" with help from the PTA. They ordered supplies and what have you as well as tshirts and other little nicknacks, and the DECA kids ran the store as a project/business model. Seems like win-win to me. Maybe not as a DECA group, but perhaps Student Government or NHS.

I remember that in my school district as well...

We had something like that too. I think it was run by my school's Future Business Leaders of America club. The sold pens, pencils, erasers, notepads, folders, binders, t-shirts, and sweats with the school logo. If I remember correctly, the school store was FBLA's way of fundraising for their big trip to DC.

WTH do they need stickers for? To put on the kids' work? I know my teachers bought their own stars and stickers for us when I was in school. If the teacher can't afford it, then fine, my kid doesn't get stickers. But don't make me buy my own so YOU can put it on the paper?!?

And Whitedaisy, yes, I'd probably hate you if you were my kid's teacher! ;) But I would just be sure to buy the CVS brand of wipes in the worst smell I could find. Then you could hate me back and we'd be even. :cool:

As a first and second grade teacher, I am shocked to see that Clorox wipes, Ziploc bags, and anti-bacterial soap are on school supply lists. We are not allowed to ask for any of these items; the teacher must supply them for the class. I probably spend upwards of $300 per year just on cleaning supplies that actually clean but are not dangerous to students. This is in addition to the $200 that I have spent on basic school supplies (folders, pencils, crayons, scissors, glue sticks) that some of my students won't bring.

The one non-school supply item that we do ask for is one box of Kleenex from each student. Depending on the fall allergy season, I generally have to start supplying these for my classroom by Winter break.

My pet peeve is when parents buy items that are not on the school supply list and send them to school. A first or second grade student does not need to have 3" binders, graph paper, and boxes of 64 crayons. Please stick to the items on the list; we don't have room to store all of the extra stuff that is sent.

*I will now step off my soapbox. Sorry for the rant*

Seeing as I started this thread, I want to re-iterate that I don't think TEACHERS should have to spend a dime out of their own pockets. This is the stuff that our taxes should be paying for.

ETA: Since I won't know who my son's teacher will be until the day before school starts, there is no way to get a list of supplies in advance. in fact, I don't think they've hired a teacher for his grade yet.

Are school supply lists a public school thing? I went to a private elementary school and I don't remember ever getting supply lists. Parents just knew to get general stuff like pencils, notebooks for every class, etc. If a teacher wanted something in particular she would just usually tell us later on in the year. When I was in 5th grade, each kid had to bring in snacks for the cupboard that the teacher would store and then give out to the class later. Again, it was parents' choice. The only requirements were that it wasn't candy and that it was kosher.