On Friday I decided to start Michael's school supply shopping. Yes, it is only July, but we are literally out of town EVERY WEEKEND between now and the start of school and I do not want to be doing it the night before school. I've been at Target the night before school starts, never again. I want Michael's start of Kindergarten to be as stress free as possible, so I figured what could go wrong on a random Friday in July.
First of all, I forgot the list I managed to pull it up on my iphone, to discover that Michael's kindergarten school supply list consisted of-
Backpack (large enough for a binder to fit in); glue sticks;
box of Crayola crayons.
I wanted him to pick out his own backpack, so I made a special trip to the store to purchase glue sticks, and crayons. I felt like moron. Possibly looking at the list BEFORE going shopping might have been a good call. And then I walked into the school supply aisle.
And called Doug.
"Doug the list says crayons. How many crayons? The big box? The small box? And how many boxes? And glue sticks? Do you know how many different kinds of glue sticks there are? Who the hell wrote this list? Could they be less specific?" He was at work. And he didn't yell at me. Yes, I know, he deserves some kind of husband award. Instead, he brought me flowers that night.
And lets not go into the 20 donated items they ask for. Am I supposed to get one? All 20? A couple? "Kleenex." A BOX? BOXES? WHAT DO YOU WANT?
HELP.
I ended up spending 6 dollars on 2 boxes of crayons, a box of glue sticks, and a box of markers from the donate list and I left the store with such a pit in my stomach and a desire to burst into tears. I cannot even buy SCHOOL SUPPLIES. And I'm not one of these MY BABY IS GOING TO KINDERGARTEN MOMS. I'm too busy worrying it is all going to fall apart again.
I sense the transition to Kindergarten is not going to be as easy peasy as I had hoped. And perhaps I am just a tad stressed about it? I've also given up sleeping. Which is my normal reaction to stress, but that could be due to a number of things I'm stressed out about at this given moment.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
If it helps, I am reasonably certain that you are not the first parent to break down over buying school supplies. Nor will you be the last. Heck, I’m sure I’ll do the same when my time comes too.
Wow, that’s quite a list.
We have to buy books and school supplies for first grade, and there are VERY SPECIFIC instructions re: both. In a language that I am not entirely comfortable with, so I seriously had a friend whose daughter just finished first grade sit with me over coffee to tell me the difference between types of notebooks.
Wednesday is the day we shop. *cry*
You’ll be OK, sweetie. I know it matters a lot to you.
It’s kindergarten.
As long as he makes it on the first day with some sort of food and drink to sustain him, he’ll survive.
Hell, you got most of what you need already!
yes! YES! I just spent a half hour complaining to my husband about the instruction to purchase two packs of glue sticks. Two packs of two? Two packs of six? Two packs of twelve? The purple kind or the gel kind? What do you want?!?! And what gets me is that some of the things on our list have super specific instructions, like 2 packages of 10 classic colored fat tipped Crayola markers and then some stuff is like 2 packs of glue sticks. WTF, teachers?
We’ve had tons of notes come home from my boys’ daycare that were way lacking in clarity. It’s irritating as all hell.
O.K. BREATHE! As a teacher, I can try to simplify this for you:
Crayons: probably nothing more than 24. Either the 16 or the 24 is fine. Regular crayons, not the fat ones, ALWAYS go for Crayola, the other brands stink. Washable or unwashable is up to you, however I feel the washable are not always THAT washable, and I am pretty sure that crayon on things in the classroom is the last of their worries.
Glue sticks- NOT liquid glue sticks… you know the kind, that has a sponge tip or roller ball tip… NO- too messy, never works right, usually leaks. Just the typical glue stick with paste-like glue. The purple kind is fine, the white kind is fine… I would go for the fatter size if possible is easier for little hands to grab and spread. I would go with at least 2 or 3, even well taken care of, glue sticks don’t last very long.
Donations: in my classroom I was asking for only donations of things like Kleenex and baby wipes from EVERY child (1-2 packs or boxes per child), and then I provide a list of “wish-list things” I would love to have. All the other basic supplies (markers, scissors, etc. are provided by the school) If in your school the supplies on the donation list are things that are not provided by the school, the more you can donate the better. It may be that the things that you are asked to buy (crayons and glue sticks) are going to be Michael’s, while the donation items will be put into a common place for EVERYONE. The key: donations are not mandatory, but they wouldn’t be asking for it if they didn’t need them. I appreciate parents who come to see me, or send me an email, a day or two after school starts and ask what is still needed. Sometimes EVERY parent sends in the same item, but NO ONE picks the most needed. You may even donate a few Target gift cards to be used by the teacher to purchase supplies as they come up needed. Those always rock.
I know that every parent can’t help out with Math Centers, or craft time in the classroom, but the donations are even more necessary sometimes. I would take a courteous parent that checks in with me 2 or 3 times a year to see if they can do, or provide anything ANY DAY.
I saw a lady in the school supply aisle just the other day and looked at her with pity. School does not start for over a month…..this year I sucked it up and bought the PTA supplies at $40 each. Yeah, it’s got lots of stuff in it. But the one that gets me every year is “5 Pocket folders with brads;in yellow, red, green, blue and orange”
It’s a combination that DOES NOT EXIST!!!
We’ve got another super-specific supply list for J’s kindergarten. Down to the brand name. And it’s LONG. She needs 10 glue sticks all sent in at the beginning of the year. What they heck? They go to school for 9 months and they need 10 glue sticks?!? Do they eat them for snacks?!?
I’m sorry friend. I know the only think that will help is time.
Um…kindergartens generally require very little from parents, which is funny, when you get the 1st grade list of doom. Like, by $120, I missed you. Anyway, 24 is a good number of crayons. Basically the teacher collects them and put them out at random times.
Also, an item or two off the list of donate please, is good. Truth is, if the teacher needs things later, she will send home another letter. On Kleenex, like 3-4 boxes is good.
I will let you in on a little secret. I love buying school supplies. Every Sunday Staples and Target have sales. You can come with me next time and we will get through it together
Big changes are coming. I can’t seem to make myself start thinking of what I need to do to get Zoe (and myself) ready for Kindergarten.
Our list is almost exactly the same. We also need to get “2 folders with pockets” and “1 notebook… not spiral”. The supplies list is so ridiculously vague and simple… that it makes it hard to figure.
As a former Kindergarten teacher, I remember the dreaded lists. I always preferred the box of 8 big crayons for the kids because their fine motor skills aren’t that great and they tend to break the smaller crayons at the beginning of the year. And then they cry. That’s where the tissues come in!
I liked using bottles of Elmer’s glue because the glue sticks never worked for any period of time. But whatever method of gluing they use, kids use A LOT OF GLUE! That’s why you need extras:)
You can never have too many boxes of tissues in kindergarten. The kids all have allergies or colds. Trust me, there is always snot coming out of someone’s nose. Really, I could have filled the room with boxes of tissues and still not have had enough!
Having a soon to be 5th grader I find that I like the nonspecific lists best — generally (but not always) it means anything in that category at Target is fine. The first grade list was the worst (it was our first year in the public schools), it had a color of folder that didn’t actually exist that year but I went to Target, Staples, Office Depot AND CVS before I admitted defeat. Convinced I had just flunked being a mom with kid in school and confessed to the teacher at back to school day that I was missing a school supply she told me the colors didn’t actually matter. If I had only been more jaded I could have had 3 more hour of summer.