Do you buy off "the list"? UPDATE- POST 90 - Page 2

[JollyGG]

Originally Posted by ChristaN

- we qualify for free lunch with just my income except dds won't eat the school lunches, so I don't know if there is any good reason to apply.

I would suggest applying. I remember getting lots of forms and information from school. And when activities had prices it often gave a price, a lower price for student's on reduced lunch, and said that the fee would be waived for students on the free lunch program.

Off hand I can't think of any specific examples. But I know I saw it several times throughout the school year. I know after school care, and out of school day care was one. I think some optional activities and events also had it.

Plus some programs and school get different reimbursement rates for stuff based on the number of students on free and reduced lunch programs. So signing up may entitle your school to money they would otherwise miss out on.

[obiandelismom]

Our school doesn't even give us a list - they give us a BILL for $80 - $125 (depending on the grade) and say "thank you - we have all your child's supplies covered!" : I hate it, because I love shopping for school supplies, and because I *know* I could do better than 80 bucks!

[ChristaN]

Originally Posted by obiandelismom

Our school doesn't even give us a list - they give us a BILL for $80 - $125 (depending on the grade) and say "thank you - we have all your child's supplies covered!" : I hate it, because I love shopping for school supplies, and because I *know* I could do better than 80 bucks!

Yeah, middle school has a supplies fee on top of the school supplies list. My middle schooler is the one for whom I was considering applying for free lunch for b/c I believe that she gets the supplies fee waived. According to their website, dd's instructional fees for 7th grade will be about $60 depending on which classes she in enrolled in.

[Ellien C]

If you qualify - absolutely take the benefit! That's what it's there for. I don't mean you should make your kid eat the school lunch but you should take every other advantage you can with the free lunch qualification. That includes getting your school supplies if possible and having the field trip fee waived.

[shelbean91]

As a teacher- I'd recommend holding off until after you meet the teacher. There are some 'grade level' lists that go out that I could care less about. There are specific things I like my students to have that aren't on the list- but I generally don't care about brand. With the younger grades, they are usually 'community' supplies and they don't want the kids fighting over stuff. When dd was in kinder, the teacher wanted the 8 pack of crayolas- fine, except the 24 packs were CHEAPER. So, I bought the 8 pack for school, and about 8 - 24 packs for home.

As a parent, I also like to have the lists separated into 'for the student' and 'for the class' so I know if I need to put my kid's name on the stuff and/or if it's for the class, it's not generally needed day 1, and I can send it in later when money's not so tight (I don't get paid over the summer).

[mtiger]

Originally Posted by JollyGG

I would suggest applying. I remember getting lots of forms and information from school. And when activities had prices it often gave a price, a lower price for student's on reduced lunch, and said that the fee would be waived for students on the free lunch program.

Off hand I can't think of any specific examples. But I know I saw it several times throughout the school year. I know after school care, and out of school day care was one. I think some optional activities and events also had it.

Plus some programs and school get different reimbursement rates for stuff based on the number of students on free and reduced lunch programs. So signing up may entitle your school to money they would otherwise miss out on.

Most of y'all are a few years out, but AP exam fees are waived if you're on reduced lunch. That is a HUGE benefit if your kiddo's taking more than one.

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by shelbean91

As a teacher- I'd recommend holding off until after you meet the teacher.

I know who his teacher is and have met her (she was in our last IEP meeting and I took Owen up to her room a handful of times in the spring to see her). So I *know* her but I don't have a clue what she thinks about the school supply stuff. Maybe I'll just email her....

[1growingsprout]

IMO kindy kids really do need the larger glue sticks.... i would get them and just get over the cost issue. If you wait a few weeks they will be on sale anyway.... Espcially if you child has an IEP and development issues the larger glue sticks will be much easier to handle and use...

[shelbean91]

Email her. If she's got a reason, you may not mind. Ifnot, buy what you want.

[SunshineJ]

Wait a minute - y'all get your child's school supplies back at the end of the school year?? That makes me slightly annoyed with our current district (and another reason I'm glad we're moving!). DS had a huge list of things he needed to get for kindy + a list for the specific kindy class he was in + a list of supplies for the art class. Many of these were consumable, and I never expected or really wanted to see them back. However, some of them were not what most would consider consumables (like those darn scissors - I swear I don't have a scissor obsession, but really, the ones I ended up getting him were pretty cool!). We got nothing back at the end of the year. When I asked him about it earlier today he told me the teacher said that they keep them for the kids the next year. And the exact same non-consumable items are on the list for 1st grade as well.

OP you think this adds up just wait until they tell you that you're also responsible for bringing in snacks for the class, start pushing all the fundraisers, etc.

[ijasm]

It depends really, I don't buy everything according to the list. I would stick to the list, in terms of what items to get, but I probably wouldn't care about the brand. If I can find something that works as well as the stated brand for a cheaper price, I'd go ahead and get it. If you don't understand why the teacher is asking for certain item, I'd suggest calling the teacher up and inquiring instead of wasting money when the items that you have doubts buying end up not being used.

[1xmom]

I don't mind buying "off the list", but it annoys me when after the school year, four of the six spiral notebooks come back w/maybe 10 pages written on them. It is such a waste, and she brought home a notebook FULL of loose leaf paper, not even touched. I also agree with talking w/the teacher, although last year my dd has a substitute for the first 3 mos. and she was soooo strict w/the list. She even called kids out if they didn't have everything. My dd, however, is very compliant (to a fault imo) and she would worry me to death if I didn't abide strictly by the list.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by SunshineJ

However, some of them were not what most would consider consumables (like those darn scissors - I swear I don't have a scissor obsession, but really, the ones I ended up getting him were pretty cool!). We got nothing back at the end of the year. When I asked him about it earlier today he told me the teacher said that they keep them for the kids the next year. And the exact same non-consumable items are on the list for 1st grade as well.

If I had a child who wasn't easily embarrassed, I'd be tempted to send him to 1st grade with a note telling the teacher that she can find his scissors and whatever else they just kept in the kindy room for him.

[jennydecki]

Our school not only has "the list" but also has prepackaged boxes that conform exactly to the list so we can just buy those instead of spending the time to shop.

I tend not to get along well with teachers (and nurses...someday maybe I'll understand why those personalities tend to not like my personality lol) so I do my best to stay in the background and not make a fuss unless necessary.

I consider it the price of going to school. My parents and grandparents still cannot get over the fact that public school isn't free!! When I told them it wasn't free AND I had to buy an a**load of supplies they nearly had FITS.

[AllyRae]

We buy off the list and Brandon's school is *really* specific. And then everything gets put into one community pot. So, if everyone else puts big glue sticks in the pot and one kid puts little glue sticks in the pot, the kid with the little glue stick complains. : So, we buy the stuff exactly on the list, even though some things, like chlorox wipes, make me cringe as I'm putting them in the cart. :

[LynnS6]

I buy off the list, but our lists don't specify brands. I'm a bit surprised they do. Sometimes the list is pretty specific as to TYPE of thing, but not brand. So the 3rd grade list says: "24 #2 pencils - not fancy" for example, because they don't want kids fighting over the fancy ones.

Watch the ads religiously at Office Depot, Office Max and Staples (and any other office supply store). They usually have a couple of loss leaders every week, starting about now. Yes, it's a pain to keep going back but I usually stock up when I go. So, if rulers are on sale for 5 cents each, I buy as many as they allow. Usually I donate what we don't need either to ds' school (where a lot of kids can't afford supplies) or to the school kits that our church makes up for Lutheran World Relief. Though, I think I still have glue left from last year.

[mommyto3girls]

As a teacher I also agree with buying off the list for basic supplies, certain brands of crayons, pencils, scissors, glue etc just work better. scissors that bend the paper frustrate little ones, the cheaper crayons don't color as well, pooled items cause issues if they aren't the same etc.

For the momma wondering about applying for free lunch. It does help the school even if your children won't use it. Also your middle schooler should get fee's waved, her "required" calculator should be free, a PE uniform if required, and if either should forget their lunch from home it would allow them to easily get the school lunch (or at least milk, juice, fruit, depending on the school I don't blame them for not wanting lunch!)

[mommy2maya]

I buy from the list.

The bigger glue sticks are way easier for kindy kids to handle, plus it makes it quicker to use as well. As for getting the cheaper ones, we got a ton one year, and was all excited. Til they sucked. badly. They were all dry and gummy, and didn't glue very well. So, all that cheap glue was an expensive waste.

Anyway, our teachers always send home the pencil boxes at the end of the year- at the end of kindy for my odd, the teacher divvied up the rest of the pooled stuff and sent it home as well.

[Britishmum]

Is this stuff for just your kid, or for the entire class?

Wow, we were spoiled in the UK. The schools supplied all this stuff. I"m amazed that people here are saying they spend $50 per child. I homeschool so I need all this kind of stuff, but don't spend anywhere near $150 for my three kids. I reckon I spend maybe $70-80, total, and end up with a lot left over. In fact, I donated a ton of watercolors, crayons etc to a back to school collection last year, because I'd so overbought the year before in the sales, and still had enough for the following year. So my budget is probably more like $50 for the three kids per year, and we are very generous with our own supplies.

In fact, I think I still have enough crayons for another year, and several boxes of markers, and a pile of notebooks, and as for scissors..........we still have the ones we bought our first year homeschooling. Why on earth don't schools keep the original scissors and have a class box for year on year? That way they'd only have to replenish them once every few years.

[ChristaN]

Originally Posted by mommyto3girls

For the momma wondering about applying for free lunch. It does help the school even if your children won't use it. Also your middle schooler should get fee's waved, her "required" calculator should be free, a PE uniform if required, and if either should forget their lunch from home it would allow them to easily get the school lunch (or at least milk, juice, fruit, depending on the school I don't blame them for not wanting lunch!)

I had heard that about fees, so intended to apply for my middle schooler. We are vegan, though, and dd#1 has some significant food allergies, so she literally cannot eat anything from the school lunch menu.

I wonder, though, in terms of it helping the school... a lot of parents I know look at the free and reduced #s for schools to decide on enrollment at the school. Does it not hurt the school in a way to have their free/reduced #s up as well in terms of people judging the school to be a "poor" school based on those #s?