Kids' School Supplies

[AGDee]

I distinctly remember as a kid that all we took to school was facial tissue. I spent over $40 on my kids' school supplies to provide everything for them for this year. I didn't buy the Children's Dictionary yet. I want to know how common this is. My daughter's teacher specified we had to have folders in the following colors: orange, yellow, red, blue, green and purple. My son had to have yellow highlighters. The children's dictionary thing really blows my mind. Shouldn't a school have dictionaries for the kids to use? They used the school supplied ones in 2nd grade and my daughter didn't have to have one in 3rd grade. In total, we had to buy:

4 packs of looseleaf paper
12 folders
48 pencils
erasable pens
daughter needed highlighters in 3 colors
son needed only yellow highlighters
two rulers
two pairs of scissors
two packs of crayons
two packs of markers
pink erasers
4 glue sticks
children's dictionary
LIQUID SOAP!

I thought my taxes were paying for things like soap. I swear our teachers had a classroom supply of markers, crayons, etc.

Can some teachers provide any insight? Is this common?

Dee