I'm buying back to school supplies now. We have the bag, zebra purse style lunchbox and underwear and socks covered. I can't buy it all at once. Next week it's small class supplies and shoes.
THIS article talks about how much of their own money teachers put into their classrooms and I know it's true. When I taught art k-6 I wasn't welcome, I was a requirement they had to meet and they gave me ZERO budget. The only supplies they had were some paint that was so old and stinky the bottles bulged and some crappy paper. Like newsprint. I am resourceful, so they got a good art program anyway. But, it's something to think about. You know, like, asking the teacher what they might need that you already have or donating a few bucks to her class fund. I saw someone threw out two reams of printer paper yesterday. I took them for Lis to draw on, but, I sure would have appreciated those when I taught school. I still wonder what some of those parents would have said about the supplies that were donated to their kids from hard core prisoners at the prison here? Those guys cared, the school board didn't. Don't you love back to school times? I do. Lis is excited. She has a nice teacher this year and her crush is back on the school bus route.
11 comments:
I remember loving to buy them, then for my kids too. Of course we had "paste", big fat flat sided crayons and Prang paints. Prang paints are soo expensive. I had to buy them for my kids so many times, they would use them 1x or not at all! Made me so mad. We would always save them over. We didn't have backpacks back in the day, we had satchels. Or just carried our books, ugh! We had to have a ruler, do they still have to have a ruler? I love school supplies. Everything just smells good. Remember laying out your 1st day of school outfit? Mine was never new, but we always got new shoes, and I'd lay in bed and look at my new shoes till I fell asleep. So excited to wear my beautiful new shoes. We had to wear dresses or skirts too. Till 8th grade! Not even pants. No jeans. Gaw!! As soon as we could wear jeans it was crazy! So much better, leveled the playing field for all. Jeans were better old, so it was cool. New top+old jeans = new outfit & gee-odd my big clogs. Loved those things!! LOL
rox
Yes, the smells are nice. I almost said that. Plastic ruler, 2 fer a buck at DG. Pink of course. Now they have to have a water bottle too. Designer water bottles, what nonsense. But, I'll get it if it's important to her. She says she doesn't need clothes. She told me I buy her so much nice yard sale stuff, she's fine. I might get 2 pairs new jeans though.
I love back to school sales, but sadly, my kids are grown. So I buy for a local charity that gives new supplies to needy kids, and also buy for my friend, who teaches underprivileged kids. All kids should experience the thrill opening up a new box of crayons!
That's such a nice thing to do. Good for you.
Anon: Did you ever get the big 64 count Crayolas, with the sharpener on the back? Gah! The rich kids got them. If you did, I was jealous of you. Gold, silver, bronze, Oh gawd, how I lusted for them. I was doing good to have the 16 or 32 count. 32 was pretty good, for us. Do they still have the big fat flat sided ones for little kids? Those were great, lasted forever. Crayons smell so good and the fresh, never used points are so cool. You try to color on the sides so not to mess up the points. LOL. Coloring a coloring book never gets old.
rox
Geesh Pat, thats nothing! My kid is starting high school, in fact TWO high schools next month. One is regular and the other one is a science, technology and math school. We are required to purchase a $130 calculator for the tech school. They do have assistance for it, but I'm less poor than the poor people and don't want to "I'm poor" some really poor kid out of one. Luckily though it will be good for the entire 4 years. SHE saved up for her $200 Doc Martin boots. I figure the clothes & supplies will be about $300-$400 this year. (thats without the fucking calculator, I paid for that back in May.) Now me, I don't give a shit, I'll shop at Goodwill for myself, dye my own hair. etc. It sucked being the poor kid when I was young. I can't do that to her and as long as she stays honor roll, she gets pretty much everything she needs/wants. She's earning her own money now too. I have a really great kid.
Don't get me started on the price of art supplies. Trying to be the good mom, I was the one buying the 64 count crayons & all the coloring books when The Kid was 3 y.o. When she was around 4 I started realizing all the crayons were getting broken ... all the time! Snapped in half. But give the kid a pencil & scrap paper and she'd go crazy. By the age of 5 or 6 it was on to the expensive colored pencil sets, the good sketch books, paint sets, made in Germany ink pens. By then we knew there was talent and it paid off with her BFA. Finally asked her a couple years ago why she always broke the crayons. Because you can't draw with them! And she hated staying within the lines, too confining!
DD, in a couple months I'll send you the link for her newest gig, after it hits the air.
I absolutely hate the start of school. I do not like giving up my kids for 7.5 hours a day. The teachers see them more than I do. 90% of the teachers are actors & actresses. They're bullshitting their way through each day, just trying to get a paycheck. "Here's your textbook, here's the worksheets I've copied, get a good grade or I'll blame it on you at conferences." Very few teachers put any effort in their lessons. They bitch cause they don't make enough money. Oh yes, I do love the great teachers. I can count them on one hand. I am one.
Teacher's should be paid more. It gets my goat. What do you teach anon?
Broken crayons are a joy. That'sa well used crayon there.
Shelly, CJ, man, I know it will get rougher the older she gets. Will I have to start saving after december for back to school?
Are you going to be able to buy her some modest clothes? Wish you would put a Lissa button connected to paypal so we could chip in.
DD, you would have loved teaching art in my school district. It's a small system, only about 1600 students total, but art is stressed in all grade levels from kindergarten thru middle school. At the high school level it's an elective with several different classes offered. The grade school art teacher since The Kid was in first grade is wonderful. He comes up with projects that even the most unartistic kid can excell at. When the kids were in middle school, they started an Adopt An Artist program where a certain artist was featured for the year. I'll send you a link for the program.
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