Thursday, August 7, 2014

Things That Annoy Me Thursday: Back To School Shopping

"Mommy! Can I get this pencil case? It has flowers. NO! Wait. This one! This one is GREEN. NO! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! I found a FROZEN PENCIL CASE!"

Natalie practically fell over from excitement. She lifted her prize in the air the same way that boy lifted the underpants in the air in Sixteen Candles.

"Let's just...relax. And take deep breaths," I said, taking the pencil case.

We were back to school shopping. It's always an adventure walking into a store with a long list. With a child. Who wants everything with sparkles, glitter, pink...

Sometimes I wish the list would be more specific. Her list asked for two folders. Well, could they have something on them? Or do they have to be plain? Natalie picked out Grumpy Cat folders. Hopefully that's allowed.

Notebooks were also requested.

What color?

Sparkles? Because Natalie wanted one with sparkles.

"Look at all this GLUE!" Natalie gasped, sticking her hand down into the pile of Elmer's Glue. "All in one place!"

"We need glue STICKS. Elmer's," I added. Sometimes the list is specific and mentions a brand. I make sure to get that brand. It irks me when people get the cheap stuff.

For instance, don't get Cra-Z-Art crayons if the list asks for Crayola. They aren't the same. Cra-Z-Art breaks. I know, because I got some for Natalie for house crayons. I barely touched the crayon, and it snapped in two. Pay the extra twenty cents.

Plus, in elementary school, crayons and pencils are usually dumped in a communal pile. If I paid for Crayola, it bugs me to know that my kid gets the cheaper stuff sometimes. Now, if I could write her name on everything, I wouldn't care what brand people got. But since everyone shares, please, get the brand on the list.

Please and thank you. (I noticed on the PreK list that it was actually specified "NO ROSE ART BRAND!")

I'm happy to report that I have everything on the list now. For Natalie.

Tommy? Well, in middle school they don't always come out with a specific list since they go to different teachers. So you have to wait for that teacher to pass out their syllabus.

So I'll be back in the store soon.

(It's Target though, so it's okay. I love Target.)

26 comments:

  1. Did you manage to leave Target with JUST school supplies?!?? Cause I'd you did...I'd be impressed.

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  2. My daughter starts second grade and they asked for a size of post it that no one seems to have. I agree on being specific - 3 packages of pencils - HOW MANY DO YOU WANT? 3 pkgs of 50 or of 8?

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  3. I'll be ordering pretty much everything online. The only specific things here are the school books, for the rest the teachers don't care which pencils, notebooks or the rest you have, as long you have something!

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  4. my kid starts grade 1 and as of now, the school hasn't sent me anything indicating that i need to buy supplies :(

    -kathy
    Vodka and Soda

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  5. Gabbie's list requested boxes of 12 markers. The boxes of 10 were 97 cents and the one box of 12 available was 7 dollars! I was like, no.

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  6. I miss school supply shopping! With son in high school, there isn't much he needs and some of it can be recycled from last year, like binders and bookbags.

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  7. Sorry, but I do not envy you.

    At all.

    Mine is 16 so can pretty much get her own stuff, but we still go with her just to make sure she gets the right sizes and all that crap.

    But she's past the point of caring about colors and such.

    And this year...her daddy is taking her. He told me last night.

    I was high-kicking in the kitchen after I heard that like you wouldn't believe.

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  8. Our elementary school list was super specific which made it easy to know what to get - the only problem is that sometimes you had to go to 3 different stores to find the exact stuff - I always ordered the pre-packaged stuff since my boys aren't really into shopping!

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  9. I'm not a fan of the supplies being shared. In first grade my daughter's class did that and many parents didn't send their kids with supplies. Not because of lack of money but because they felt it was public school and they should supply their kids with supplies. So, by March letters were sent home asking for more supplies.

    Last year, my daughter's teacher asked for 3 boxes of crayons, 6 folders, 15 glue sticks. I thought it was for sharing again. But what she did was put the supplies into individual storage containers with the student's names on them. As they ran out of supplies or folders tore, they just went to their containers to replace. I thought that was a great idea because kids forget they're out of crayons.

    This year, we're on the hunt for erasable pens and an 8 pocket non envelope style folder. Not as easy to find as you'd think.

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  10. Ack, do I have to do this? Do I need school supplies for kindergarten?? I honestly have no idea and I hope they tell us!
    And I hope they're specific! No crappy crayons.

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  11. This is hilarious! So right about those crayons... It's worth the extra twenty cents!

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  12. I always loved back to school shopping, and now as an adult I do love office supplies still!

    I agree, don't cheap out.

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  13. Since I don't have kids, I've never really thought about back to school shopping from the parents' perspective. That could get really annoying!

    I'm totally with you on the name brand stuff. Why is Rose Art even still a thing?

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  14. I get a kick out of the lists posted in local stores for nearby schools. I don't remember that from when we were young--we just got the list at school. My cousin has FOUR kids in four different schools, so she has to sit down and combine the lists. Otherwise, she's picking out a package of pencils, only to have to go back and get another package of pencils for the next child.

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  15. I just take the kids to Dollar Tree. :) We got backpacks at Target though.

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  16. I completely agree! We try to buy crayons for the entire class or glue, or something. This year it was glue sticks. Hope the other moms buy good stuff in your kids classes!

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  17. Wait.. What?! You have to BUY supplies to share with all the kids in the class?! That's insane. We don't do that here in UK, although I DO have to buy school uniform and PE kits etc with school logos on.

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  18. Back to school shopping is rather like my own private torture room in hell.
    just no.
    I'd rather throw myself on a live grenade.

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  19. Back to school shopping frustrates me. One year I stood in line at Staples for over 2 hours. It was like a crazed frenzy in there. Here's my biggest gripe though...if you know back to school shopping g is going to be like that because the schools pass out their lists one day before school starts, staff up for it. No one has time to wait like that. And most of the time the kids don't need the stuff the first day anyway, even though they make it seem like you do.

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  20. OMG! We just did out back to school shopping at Target last weekend and it sounded a lot like your trip. My two wanted the fancy folders and scissors when the list specifically specified "red." Ugh! Fighting over a 20 cent folder isn't my idea of fun but at least we had the fight in Target. I will pay extra (or even double) to avoid Walmart. Oh, and I totally agree...break the bank and buy Crayola.

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  21. I can't stand back to school shopping, either. And share your love for RoseArt supplies. Crayola all the way!

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  22. As an Art teacher, I will be the first to shout it from the mountains: ROSE ART AND CRA-Z ART SUCK BALLS! I'm a die hard Crayola fan but Prang are also nice (not as nice as Crayola, nothing will be them for elementary school age kids). Prang are soy based so you have to watch allergies.

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  23. Yes a lot of things I buy the off brand, but for crayons, they are so not created equal. Crayola all the way!

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  24. Good luck with finishing the back to school shopping. I've got the boys' uniforms done and am waiting for them to arrive. Next up is the school desk supplies and clothes shopping with a 13-year-old girl. I hope my pocketbook survives.

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  25. I had many of the same questions myself! And on top of that I had to buy locker accessories!! I wasn't ready for that!!

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