Kindergarten supply list

[mytwosons]

We won't get our list until the first day of school. So, I'll be running to Target to buy everything, when I like to get things taken care of in advance. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme, but enough to irk me.

[lizajane]

yes, but you get to go WITHOUT your kid! because you can go DURING school!!! to me, it is worth waiting just to get to go alone, during the day so i don't have to get the energy to go at night. i am so excited to be able to run errands during the day again. schuyler is the wild one, so i can go with just dylan and it will be sooooooo easy. especially because dylan will be 4 this winter, and for us, 4 has been a magic number. (schuyler is now stubborn and talks back... but i will take it over the sheer chaos we had before he turned 4...)

[s7714]

That would be annoying. I'm guessing they must not be needing those supplies for a number of days unless they seriously expect everyone to buy them that night???

[egoldber]

Can you call or e-mail the teacher and ask for a list now?

[kransden]

I would buy the stuff on sale. All kindergarteners need:
glue sticks (4 min)
glue (2 min)
tissues
scissors
crayons
pencils (most)
big erasers
wipes
hand sanitizer
ziploc bags
extra pack of clothes jic

So buy it now while it is cheap!

[mytwosons]

Can you call or e-mail the teacher and ask for a list now?

Well, this brings up another bitch....we still don't have teacher assignments. Maybe my bitch should have been about how everything is so last minute for this school.

Liza, our first day is shortened, and parents stay the entire time. I imagine we'll hit Target after lunch. But your right, as the mom of a child on the spectrum and ADHD, shopping by myself is going to be much more relaxing!

[mytwosons]

I would buy the stuff on sale. All kindergarteners need:
glue sticks (4 min)
glue (2 min)
tissues
scissors
crayons
pencils (most)
big erasers
wipes
hand sanitizer
ziploc bags
extra pack of clothes jic

So buy it now while it is cheap!

Thank you! It's my first, so I just don't know these things. I've heard all teachers in the school have different lists, but I have thought about just buying stuff and then returning (or keeping for home) the extra stuff.

[egoldber]

We don't get teacher assignments until the week before school starts either. Sarah's school has a website and they post the supply lists there. The list is the same for all the classes in each grade. It makes it so convenient.

[mom2binsd]

When we registered DD (starting full day K next week) in May we could order a supply kit...we picked it up last week...had everything on that list someone posted plus a few other items, plus her napmat and also printed stickers with her name/grade/school so everything is labeled and ready to go in her new backpack...it seemed like almost everyone was ordering it and it was fun for DD to go pick it up it came in a big box like a suitcase. The PTO helps distribute it and I think it was through Staples-maybe not the cheapest but so convenient.

I can't believe that the school doesn't have a website with the list...often local Target's/Staples etc. will have supply lists for schools closeby posted in the store.

Oh...and some friends with older kids mentioned if you can avoid a character backpack...seems that usually within a month or two Dora,Barbie, Hello Kitty or someone else is deemed babyish and you're out looking for a new one...we went with butterflies from the Gap.

[kransden]

That is something that really ticks me off. Lots of schools do teacher assignments right after school lets out, but don't tell the parents until the week before. Supposedly they do that to keep the complaints down.

[manda]

This was our kindergarten list:

1 backpack
1 box 24 count crayons
10 #2 pencils
1 disinfectant wipes
4 glue sticks
1 hand sanitizer
1 box quart and 1 box gallon size zip top bags
2 rolls paper towels
2 boxes kleenex
1 white t-shirt that the kids paint and wear on their field trips
1 box band-aids
1 hand soap

Also, they requested but did not make mandatory:
printer/copier paper
wet wipes
craft supplies (any that we have at home not being used)
games, puzzles, building toys, small stuffed animals (any at home not being used)
additional boxes of kleenex, zip top bags, and hand sanitizer

My sister's DD (also kinder at the same school as my DD) had to bring a small plastic pencil box and a pack of 8 crayons (in addition to the 24 ct).

[lorinick]

I would buy the stuff on sale. All kindergarteners need:
glue sticks (4 min)
glue (2 min)
tissues
scissors
crayons
pencils (most)
big erasers
wipes
hand sanitizer
ziploc bags
extra pack of clothes jic

So buy it now while it is cheap!
Don't forget washable markers, pencil box my list was huge for K. Everything mentioned plus a fun saver camera, baby wipes, clorox wipes, lg and Sm. baggies. I can't remember all the stuff. This year our school sent out a basic list. I know the teacher will ask for for than is on it. Tissues and hand santitizer, baggies weren't on it. They ask for those every year.

[kransden]

My dd's kindergarten class used the items communally, so they didn't need boxes or want markers. Lots of schools do of course. Her teacher was very old school and only used those big pencils too. I haven't ever seen anyone else do that though.

One thing I forgot! You'll need a backpack, BUT get one that will hold a folder!!! Some people will buy their kinder one of the smaller backpacks, but it is too small to hold a folder without it being crumpled. It is a PITA!

If your child is going to bring their lunch, backpacks with the clip-on lunch boxes are really nice too especially for the kinders. Less lost lunches that way :).

[snowbunnies300]

Here's our list from a small town. Just love the last line of the list. :32:

A large pack pack - not on wheels!
1 large box of Kleenex
1 ELMER'S glue stick
6 - #2 pencils
1 yellow highlighter
1 large rubber eraser
2 boxes 24 CRAYOLA crayons (no larger, please)*
1 Box thin line CRAYOLA washable markers * (8-10 count)
1 small bottle of white ELMER'S glue (4 oz) *
$18 for cloth resting mat and additional needed supplies. YOu may pay for this on the 1st day (orientation).
*Please check brand names - others (ie RoseArt) will be returned.

Yes that's right start them young with brand names folks. We all want children to identify at a young age who has what.

[cmo]

*Please check brand names - others (ie RoseArt) will be returned.

Yes that's right start them young with brand names folks. We all want children to identify at a young age who has what.

In the school's defense, there is a difference in quality in these items! My sister is a kindergarten teacher (and I've subbed myself), and she made me PROMISE to never buy Roseart. The pencil tips break easily, the crayons do too, and the ink is gloppy/runs out quickly. In her words, for a class of 20 kids, 'they're more trouble than they're worth'!

[egoldber]

If your child is going to bring their lunch, backpacks with the clip-on lunch boxes are really nice too especially for the kinders. Less lost lunches that way

I LOVE these! One of the best inventions ever as far as I'm concerned!


Lots of schools do teacher assignments right after school lets out, but don't tell the parents until the week before. Supposedly they do that to keep the complaints down.

Well I can believe it about the complaints. Every birthday party or event I've been to this summer from Sarah's class, all the parents can talk about it is who we think we might get/who should be avoided/who are you requesting for second grade. And in fairness to the school, I learned that just last week a teacher quit so the school is now shuffling classroom teachers again with 3 weeks left to go before school starts.

[rlu]

Well, this brings up another bitch....we still don't have teacher assignments.

I noticed the sign at the school DS will attend for K in 2009 had this - "teacher assignments posted 8/22 after 5pm" and "first day of school 8/25". I bet the school admin runs to their car after posting those lists. Of course, I can laugh, I know and like DS's pre-k teacher...

[rlu]

In the school's defense, there is a difference in quality in these items! My sister is a kindergarten teacher (and I've subbed myself), and she made me PROMISE to never buy Roseart. The pencil tips break easily, the crayons do too, and the ink is gloppy/runs out quickly. In her words, for a class of 20 kids, 'they're more trouble than they're worth'!

also, if the supplies are kept communally, no arguments over who gets the crayola vs other crayons.

Thanks for the headsup on Roseart quality - we've just been using crayola and freebie (from restaurants) crayons thus far. DS doesn't color too much - he prefers cutting (loves to use the scissors), painting and writing/drawing with regular pencils.

[mom2binsd]

I also worked in the schools...posting class lists too early is setting yourself up for disaster....if too many kids move in they might need to add a class then everything gets changed....the calls start coming in with complaints and requests for changes....at one school a bunch of parents flipped out when they heard a special needs child was going to be in class (nice!)...my old school in Utah they had to stop taking teacher requests as the principal and secretary couldn't get through church without being bombarded and literally stalked around the neighborhood! They tried this year at DD's school and low and behold her K teacher is not the teacher posted..her teacher took another position in the district so teaching the teachers name was all for nothing....and she keeps asking why it isn't Mrs.Kraft.

When we went to school we didn't know until we went to school the first day...the lists were posted by grade, and I don't remember being scarred for life.

[jenmcadams]

...posting class lists too early is setting yourself up for disaster....if too many kids move in they might need to add a class then everything gets changed....the calls start coming in with complaints and requests for changes....

I'm lucky that at my DD's school the population doesn't change much and they are able to tell you your teacher assignment at registration which is normally 7-10 days before the first day of school. But most of my friends with kids at other schools didn't find out until Mon 8/11 at the Meet and Greet Ice Cream Social and school started on 8/12. Besides trying to avoid the inevitable complaints, mobility of the student population, last minute resignations and constant reshuffling to maintain balance (across things like academic ability, behaviour issues, etc.) are all reasons schools wait to tell you.

I also know that it's becoming more common for school's not to take specific teacher requests. At our school, the principal sends home a long note in the Spring explaining how they do class assignments -- basically involves doing a first pass based on academic ability (so there aren't too many high or too many low kids in any one class), then they take into account the child's current teacher's recommendations (personality issues, kids who should/shouldn't be together for any reason, etc.), finally parents are allowed to fill out a long form where you can talk about your child's learning style, what things they respond best (and worst) to, etc., but you aren't allowed to request a specific teacher. My DD's a pretty easy going kid, but we had heard some nightmare stories about one of the three 1st grade teachers at her school (the word on the street from almost everyone who had her was that she yelled a lot and was just generally not very kind or nurturing)...needless to say, I didn't want Abbie to get that teacher and probably made Abbie sound more sensitive than she is on the form. I felt bad though for parents who weren't "in the know" and would have thought (like I did) that their child doesn't have any special needs and would be fine with anyone. A friend of mine whose DD is very much like my DD had actually ran into me the day the forms were due and strongly encouraged me to go fill it out b/c of the experience her DD was having in the "yeller's" class. We lucked out and my DD got an incredibly nurturing sweetheart of a teacher and things are going well after two days. I do have to admit though that I nervously waited all summer to find out her teacher :)

[egoldber]

At Sarah's school they technically don't take teacher requests. But you can write a letter giving input and they will take that into account, at least thats what we are told LOL!! I wrote a letter basically outlining who I wanted to avoid getting and then found out she was teaching third grade, not second grade this year (because of the aforementioned unexpected resignation). Oops!!

[kijip]

*Please check brand names - others (ie RoseArt) will be returned.

Yes that's right start them young with brand names folks. We all want children to identify at a young age who has what.
Generally I would agree with you. However, I just ended up buying much of the school supplies for 900 K-12 students (not with all my own money) and I have to agree on the quality of some things. I opted that even in volumes of 300 or more that a few more cents were worth the quality. I had some cheap colored pencils and they were falling apart as the boxes were being unpacked to stuff into backpacks. I will say that I found Crayola to mostly be on sale for the same price or in some cases less than RoseArt and various store brands. Crayola Markers were 69-88 cents depending on how nice the manager was to me, RoseArt ones were $1.99??! Made the decision easy, especially when buying as many as I did! Crayola colored pencils were 80 cents, vs. 69 cents for the cheaptastic falling apart brand.

[s7714]

In the school's defense, there is a difference in quality in these items! My sister is a kindergarten teacher (and I've subbed myself), and she made me PROMISE to never buy Roseart. The pencil tips break easily, the crayons do too, and the ink is gloppy/runs out quickly. In her words, for a class of 20 kids, 'they're more trouble than they're worth'!

I agree. Especially on the washability factor of Crayola vs. other brands like RoseArt. Crayola washables ALWAYS wash out. Haven't been so lucky with other brands even if they claim to be washable. Now I just wish my DDs school asked for washable versions only, but they don't, so I know I'm gonna be seeing many a stain in our future! (They do specifically request Crayola, but haven't gone as far to say others will be returned!)

I do have to admit however, that I'll give in and buy the cheaper RoseArt markers to use at home on occasion since my younger DD is still in the phase where she's prone to leaving caps off!

[Dcclerk]

So good to know about the Crayola v. Roseart dilemna. Apparently, I will be returning my cheaper-by-$.50 colored pencils.

Added to our list is the following:

Expo low odor dry erase markers
Crayola twistable crayons
Big erasers