I Suck at Back to School

My kids are going back to school this week (!!!) and it's time for back to school shopping.

There is a service the PTO provides where you can pay and have the supplies delivered to the school in time for the first day, but I am not one of those moms who dread the back to school shopping. I actually enjoy it. I love cracking open a new pack of 50 cent markers or sharpening pencils or stocking up on more glue than a preschooler could use (or eat) in a year.

Of course, I get a little frustrated (OK, pissed as hell) when the list calls for the large glue sticks and the small ones are on sale or when I can't figure out the difference between a poly folder or a plastic folder. But when I get a little anxious I just throw a couple more large pink bevel erasers into the cart (you can never have too many large pink bevel erasers in the house) and it's like Xanax for me.

Mmmmm. I can feel my anxiety dropping just looking at these beauties.

I like to shop at the discounters (Wal-Mart and Target) for school supplies rather than the high-enders (Staples and Office Max) but you gotta move fast, because they get picked over faster.

I knew I'd be out of town the last few weeks and I was worried all the "good" stuff would be gone before I got back. I thought I'd go ahead and get the shopping done before I left. I'm never this on top of things. I'm always the mom looking for tropical colors markers the night before school starts. (There's always classic colors left, but no tropical colors.)

So when my kids and I ducked into Wal-Mart so I could pick up some gummy bears (only Haribo will do) for my plane ride and we were met at the door by the display with all of the local schools' shopping lists, I decided to be the "organized mom." I grabbed the list and started throwing discounted crayons into my cart with wild abandon.

After about five minutes of power shopping Adolpha realized that I was buying the supplies for Kindergarten and second grade! Durrr. We did those grades LAST year! I shook my rattled brain and emptied out the "baby" school supplies and got started again. Phew! That was close. I almost messed up. Organized mom almost became goof up mom!

Now that I was on the correct grade, I noticed that the first grade list seemed fairly normal, but there were a few odd ones. Remember, we did first grade a couple of years ago. I don't have a terrific memory, but there were a few things that seemed new to me. For instance, each child was required to bring a 2-pack of Expo dry erase markers in BLUE. The blue was capitalized like the teachers meant business and no substitutions would be accepted. The kids and I scoured the aisles, but could only find 2-packs in BLACK. The blue ones were included in a (not on sale) multi-pack with an eraser. Grrr. I decided to save that one for the high-ender stores (the Hubs was insisting on making a run to whichever one was offering backpacks for a penny - because apparently it's back to school time for him too and he needs a new backpack). Maybe they would have blue 2-packs.

Another thing I noticed was Band-Aids. Preferably Band-Aid brand, but most definitely latex-free. What the what? Am I outfitting the nurse's office now too? Calm down, I mumbled to myself. Maybe the teachers have decided they need Band-Aids in their rooms because they were sending kids down to the nurse too often for ridiculous shit. (You know I know all about that!) If a package of Band-Aids encourages more learning time then I'm for it. I threw in two packs of latex-free Band-Aids (both kids had them on their lists). But just the basic ones. No fancy characters or shapes and sizes. There's no need for that nonsense.

I got most of the stuff on Adolpha's list and then focused on Gomer's.

He's a third grader this year and shit's about to get real now. Sure, he still needed crayons and washable markers, but now he needed "big kid" supplies too. Like highlighters and red pens and loose leaf paper. I searched high and low for a good 20 minutes for index cards - LINED. Of course I could only find UN-lined index cards. The item on his list that really stymied me was: "two black felt-tipped markers - NOT Sharpies."

Hmmm ... I started searching. I could find red felt tipped markers, orange felt tipped markers, but no black. I could find a ton of Sharpies, but the teacher was pretty insistent on her feelings about Sharpie. Son of a bitch. I'd have to get those when I got the blue Expo 2-pack (which he also needed).

He needed a crap ton of colored 2-pocket, no prong, poly folders: red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange.

I did mention that I go to the discounter stores, right? They've got a lot of red, blue and green, but they don't get too many of the fancy colors. I dug around in the Trapper Keeper section and found a discarded yellow that someone had obviously hidden to come back for later (see ya, sucker), but purple and orange were really giving me a hard time.

I added those to my Staples list.

I made a run to Staples and bought an over priced purple folder (still couldn't find orange) and said "screw it" while I purchased black Expo markers (sorry teacher, I tried).

I got home and dumped all of my bags in the front hall with a huge sigh of relief and I went on my trip feeling like a super duper organized mom who gets shit done (except for that pesky orange folder). I was proud of myself for not waiting until the last minute when there's nothing left except protractors and rubber bands.

Last night I was in Target and I saw an orange folder. It was right beside Target's display of school supply lists. I grabbed a copy to check and see if there was anything besides the orange folder that I was missing. I noticed the list was different than the one I had grabbed at Wal-Mart. It wasn't nearly as long or as demanding - no black NON-SHARPIE felt tipped pens or LINED index cards or BLUE Expo markers.

How strange, I thought. Target is going to be in trouble, because they screwed up the list.

Don't ask me why I assumed Wal-Mart's list was correct and Target's wasn't. Probably because Wal-Mart's seemed so authoritative.

This morning I pulled out both lists and the bags of supplies so that the kids and I could go through and make sure we had everything since obviously there was some weird snafu with the two lists.

I was about half way through the Wal-Mart list when I saw the name of the school on the top of the paper.

I won't tell you the name of my kids school or this school, but let's just pretend my kids' school is called Woodland Elementary. The name at the top of the paper in my hand? Woodside Elementary. Are you fucking kidding me??

Yeah. I bought everything on the WRONG list. I drove all over town and killed myself looking for BLUE Expo markers and orange folders and my kids didn't need any of it. I'm an idiot.

Guess what is not on the Woodland Elementary school list? A purple folder or blue Expos or Band Aids or any of the other crazy stuff that I've been looking for.

Guess what I get to do today? If you guessed return a bunch of crap that I don't need you'd be right.

This will teach me for trying to be an organized mom who can multi-task and get ahead. I'll never make that mistake again. Next year, the night before school you'll find me pawing through the discarded glue sticks and tape dispensers offering to sell a kidney for the last green spiral notebook.

By the way, Gomer still needs a yellow plastic folder with two pockets and prongs. If you see one let me know, OK?

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54 comments:

Carrie - ASassyRedhead.com said...

Since acquiring a 15 year old daughter back in March, this will be my first time to have to do this.

And now I'm even less excited! I can't get into it for most of your reasons.

I might do ok though. Organized is no where to be found in my life, so I might just be ahead of the curve this time!

Maybe?

Unknown said...

That's what you get for trying to do things all "right" and organized and shit! Join the Notsosupermom club. Lotsa laziness (see, I can't even be bothered with "of") low expectations and last-minute running around but hey, it's pretty low-stress, so there's that. We have two more weeks until BTS here. I'm counting the minutes....

Nessa said...

Yeahhhh...a pack of pastel-colored printer paper has been my nemesis this year. Oh, and being the supermom that I am, got everything but A LUNCHBOX. Jeez...

kylee said...

I freaking HATE back to school shopping. Like, seriously - if I get the big glue sticks (when the small ones are on the list), surely I win??

the notorious b said...

I so totally miss the "prepackaged" supplies of elementary school. Enjoy this lazy perk while it's available then take the kids to Target to pick out some special MLP:FIM folders they like and some colorful pencils... and be done with it!
Junior High is a bitch.
Last year - we did the school supply shuffle on our own - only to find out after school started, that there is the "general" 6th grade list - then there is a separate list from each of his teachers... so AFTER school started, we had to go back and find MORE crap!
Enjoy the easy (efficient?) option while you can!

Karla said...

I'm the parent who only send their kids to school with the absolute basics the first week or two of school. I like waiting for the school supplies to go on clearance a few weeks after school starts and there's fewer crowds to fight with. All the 'extras' that the teachers ask for I usually hold off sending till after Christmas break as the initial supply they received when school began often runs low and things need to be restocked. It makes it easier and cheaper for me :)

Bethany said...

It's last minute or bust in this house. I just scheduled the kids' back to school physicals this morning. School starts in September. Their checkups are in October. It's before Christmas. A win in my book.

Erin said...

I have so many bones to pick with school supply shopping. I just did ours yesterday for the Pre-K and 2nd grader. Do you notice that school supplies don't seem to come home at the end of the year anymore? The 7-year old has the same teacher two years in a row. So I notice on her list that she needs a pair of scissors (Fiskar Scissors to be exact). So I ask her where her pair from last year went, because we already did this once. She says "But Mom, we share those. They just go into a big bin." Ok, fine. Then where are the 20 pairs of Scissors from last year exactly? The list also included a pair of headphones. After a brief moment of terror I confirmed that they weren't also sharing "Lice-phones" all year either. But where did those go? I refused to buy a second set of headphones, I'll email the teacher and find out where those went.

Next we moved on reusable water bottles. Do you think Walmart had any $1 cheapo water bottles? No. They instead had a whole wall of the coolest water bottles you have ever seen. The top shelf ranged from $4-$7. More than I want to spend, but I guess I can manage with those prices. The bottom shelf? $20+ each. My kids are short, guess which ones they latched on to?

After setting some stipulations for the water bottles (they couldn't have a cap that could be lost, they couldn't have a straw and oh yeah, they couldn't be 20 DOLLARS) the little one picked a perfectly reasonable bottle. However, it was the ONLY perfectly reasonable bottle that also met the guidelines and the 7-year old was NOT having the idea of having the same water bottle as her sister. Or even the same water bottle in a different color.

P.S. I don't know if for us locally, or everywhere but it's damn near impossible to buy JUST a white board eraser. You can either buy a 4 pack of Expo markers for $2.50 or a 4-pack of markers, eraser and useless spray cleaner for $5.69. This was also the time I got informed that those were for the teacher to write on the board. So, she needs 80 white board markers, 20 erasers and 20 bottles of spray cleaner for ONE school year? She must be the Michelangelo of the SmartBoard world.

Nette said...

I usually love back to school shopping - office supply stores are crack to me. However, this year I was like a crazed black friday shopper at Walmart battling over the last flat screen TV. I could not find a YELLOW 1 subject wide lined notebook. I was looking all over and couldn't find it. My husband was sitting there with the cart full of frozen foods melting all over the floor and I was tearing apart the displays looking for an effing YELLOW notebook. While my husband is saying "We've been in here too long, we need to leave!" (His mantra while shopping). I finally found the elusive yellow notebook in a separate bin in the very front of the store, but needless to say I needed a Xanax after that trip. Since when did this become stressful???

Erin said...

My list is done except for a BLACK two pocket, three pronged folder. I've never EVER seen black. Ran into another mom on the verge of tears looking for white. WHITE?

While I was shopping some girl had to get EIGHTY presharpened Ticonderoga pencils. Just so you know, that's about $40 in pencils ALONE.

signed, the mom who will be using a fat black sharpie to change yellow folders into black.

Erin said...

Oh, I also forgot to mention that last years list included 40 #2 yellow pencils - sharpened. Do you find sharpened pencils to BUY? No. So I get home to find all I have is a manual Lisa Frank pencil sharpener. After developing carpel tunnel and hickory smoked scent, the "pack rat" AKA my husband remembered he had an old school wall mount pencil sharpener. A sharpener he proceeded to mount in the garage between the tire change machine and the lawn mower, at roughly eye height. Good news though, I have killer biceps and dancer toes now.

Molly Pina said...

Just went supply shopping for my four kids yesterday and literally felt like I was having a nervous breakdown!! Having to go through 4 lists and checking off supplies and then of course I end up misplacing one of the supply sheets somewhere in the gdamn store and have to stop what I am doing and go searching for it.. By this time my hands are shaking and I am looking at the door like it is my gateway to salvation. I HATE this time of year more than getting a colonoscopy.

Unknown said...

I am so so so SO happy that my daughter's school doesn't have us buy ANYTHING for back to school! Just the whole lunchbox/backpack thing! woot!

Unknown said...

I finally said 'screw it' and bought a multi-pack at BJs that has TWO of every color (red, blue, purple, orange, yellow, and green). I probably over paid for them compared to Target (I just can't do Wal*Mart) but now I'm set for next year too.

Unknown said...

Wholesale stores...seriously. I just got 72 Ticonderoga pencils for $10. They are not sharpened but I have an electric sharpener and an 8 yr old who loves to use it. Child labor laws be damned!

NKL said...

I love the prepackaged supply list for elementary, and at our school the supplies sales is set up as a fundraiser so win-win. It may cost a bit more, but saves me running all over, fighting the crowds checking off the crazy items on the list. Middle school is a bit easier. Elementary lists are way longer than the upper grades, plus the kids will get separate supply lists from each teacher after they start school.

megsep said...

I am the mom that waits (and a teacher) and this year I am only getting the things I know they will need right away. My boys brought home so much crap from last year that never got used so I am not going to break my neck (or bank) getting the whole list. When they run out they can tell me and I will get more. As for the dry erase markers I don't care if it says just blue or just black I am getting what is on sale. Luckly my boys school doesn't share supplies and they don't have all these crazy items. They only one that bugs me are the antibacterial wipes! Why does each kid need 5! Are their desks not getting cleaned by the janitors? I mean we didn't have or need that when we were kids and ...OMG we survived! LOL

me said...

We don't go back until Sept, but I started shopping last week.
This year we need:
1 pk 200 sheets lined loose leaf (Wal Mart had 150 sheets)
1 pk 100 sheet 1 x 1 cm graphing loose leaf (Wal Mart had 80)
1 hilroy 80 page coil scribbler (umm - 100, 200 300 500 WTF NO 80!!)
2 red pens (only available in multi pak)
2 blue, 2 black and 6 DIFFERENT assorted color duo tang (yep - 3 colors at Wal Mart)
Crayola wide tip washable 8 pk markers (Foun 10, 12, 16, 24, 36)
NOW I remember why I bought the pre-pak last year. Because the very specific list drives me insane. Seriously.
I spent so many hours one year hunting down the correct type of exercise book for grade 2! But I wasn't going to be the Mom who can't follow the list and thus, the kid is labeled. Thankfully the headphones stay at the school with his name on it.
Maybe the Back to School Elf can find these elusive items and leave them in the class to freak the teacher out. A room full of elves should dial the list to normal.

hoho said...

You seriously named your son Gomer?

Wendy said...

I just have a preschooler and the list wasn't too bad. Although, I am worried about what is to come! But really, do schools not have pencil sharpeners anymore?????

Susan Thatcher said...

Wow. I remember when school districts provided supplies for the students. I remember when this whole "school supply" shopping started as a way to help out the teachers who found that, due to defunding, the burden of equipping students was increasingly falling to them and taking too much of a bite out of their budgets. Now look at how control-freaky and specific the shopping lists are. How much time does a teacher put into assembling YOUR ultra-specific shopping lists v. designing your kid's curriculum?
I don't have kids (I DO have an undergrad degree in Secondary Education, though)but I am dismayed at education in the US these days. Sorry if I offend Jen or her readers, but we deserve better than this. Children deserve better than this.

cabram015 said...

You don't come here often, do you?

Unknown said...

Hey, at least you all got supply lists ahead of time. School starts here on the 19th. Back-to-school night is the 15th, which is when we will find out who their teachers are, where the classrooms are, and what crazy shit those teachers have demanded that we supply this year. 4 flipping days before school starts! I love our school and district, but this is ridiculous. Thank God it's a pay-week, or my kids would be showing up totally empty-handed on Day One.

Jen said...

My favorite year so far has been Kindergarten - the supply list was sent to the homes in June, and we went and got your normal school supplies (pencils, notebooks, etc.) But then, when we showed up at unpack your backpack we were handed another list of "supplies" to bring back on the first day of school. This new list contained things like paper plates (100 of lunch size, and 100 of dessert size), napkins, baggies (2 sizes - gallon and sandwich), Kleenex, paper towels, toilet paper and Clorax Wipes. I have yet to figure out how one class of 30 kids was able to use up 6000 paper plates in one year! I was in the classroom quite a few times, and not once did I see them use a paper plate!

Dyanne @ I Want Backsies said...

I really resent when the list includes things like 40 #2 pencils and reams of notebook paper, because I know they're going to pool it all for those who don't (or can't) bring their own supplies. And I don't mind providing extra supplies to kids who can't afford their own, but don't TRICK me into providing it. JUST ASK ME NICELY.

And while we're on the subject of pooling, I ALSO resent that I pay the extra $$$ for Crayola and Fiskars, and other parents buy dollar store made in China crap. What does my kid then get stuck using? Mhm.

MamaCass said...

At the "Charter" school my daughter went to last year, 2nd grade teacher had to have $20 fucking dollar red gel pen...the bitch got bic and a big fuck off. This year at public school (we left that school because I saw myself going to jail beating up a Dad in the carpool line for his attempt at intimidation)the list seemed simple, until the Crayola 8 count colored pencils. No one in a 30 mile radius sells 8 count so I bought 12 and removed 4 wtf?? And now headphones! Yes headphones for 3rd grade NOT ear buds for $9.99 but $29.99 headphones!!

Margaret said...

OMG I was laughing HYSTERICALLY with you, of course, yeah right huh? Those f*&^% lists are going to be the death of me one day!!! I completely understand AND if that is not enough, then you get the additional things on the wish lists like toner cartridges, cleaning supplies, and on and on. AS a single mom I put out quite a bit to make sure my two have enough without having to go to the nth degree to get the red handled 5" Fiskars round ended scissors so my son can leave it in his desk at the end of the year!! I AM WITH YOU thanks for the laugh I SO needed it!

Margaret said...

Bigger is better fer sure!!!

solo$12 said...

I think I'm just gonna be lazy and order everything from Amazon this year....

Margaret said...

Great idea!!

Margaret said...

LOVE it!!! Yep dontcha love the sharpened pencils "requirement" hello? It is a classroom is it not? Don't they have one of those fancy pencil sharpeners in there? Even we in the 70's had one of those LOL!

Margaret said...

I love the picture I have of you Erin coloring that yellow dadgummed folder black!! Rock on Sister!

Kathy at kissing the frog said...

I thought this was just Catholic schools who had ridiculous lists. Three boxes of Kleenex each and hand sanitizer and copy paper - UGH! My oldest will be in fourth grade and he needed an 8 pocket accordion folder. Target had 7 and 9 and 15, but not 8. So I had to go to Office Max and spend $7 on an eight pocket folder.

Julie Sherman said...

I hated having to re-buy scissors and rulers and pencil boxes and markers and etc. every year. As a teacher, I would have my students keep the things, that ought to be able to carry over year-to-year, in their desks. You'd be surprised how many of these things grow legs and walk off never to be seen again! My youngest is a junior in high school. We won't know what supplies she needs until after the first two days of school! That will be long after all the back-to-school sales are over!

Anonymous said...

As a 5th grade teacher: we really don't care what you get!!! We have to make the lists with our teams (who I don't usually agree with about supplies) and usually with a day notice that it needs to be done. Oh, and this is usually in January of the previous year!

Don't worry, the OAM's will bring in double or triple of what we ask for and then we get to find a place to store the extra crap!

We had meet & greet/drop off your supplies today and I had to laugh at all the frazzled moms who were freaking out that they couldn't find the "right" stuff and the relief on their faces when I told them not to go get whatever it was.

Really, you are all free to come shop in my supplies of years past. I bet I have something for all of you!

2011 Decluttering and Organizing said...

Well, I may be able to top you... Younger son needed a new calculator since he lost his this summer.. Not any old calculator but a graphing calculator... Saw they were on sale at Target last week 40.00 off so they were only 90.00 instead of around 135.00... Went and fetched late Sat night.. While I was there- I decided to get the Ti-89 ( higher powered ) since he wil be in calculus next year etc and decided why buy another next year.. He came home today ( of course thing is unwrapped etc) and this will not do. He needs the ti-84.. So, back to Target we will go to get the new calculator ( not on sale anymore) plus I think we are now stuck with a 150.00 calculator we can't use.. DH ( who never returns any thing) thinks he's gonna get Target to change their ways.. I don't think so..

kari sanborn said...

Me too! I figure the teachers are good til Christmas with ziploc baggies, tissues, & hand sanitizer ;)

Megadelaide said...

Just so you know--if you want to be one of those people--they can't legally require you to get ANY school supplies. In fact, any suggested list should have disclaimer on it about your child being entitled to a free and appropriate public education. There was some lawsuit stuff and it was determined that it was not allowed for public schools to require supplies, just to suggest them. it started because of sports stuff, but now we aren't allowed to require kids to bring pens and paper. We can "suggest" it but we can't hold them accountable nowadays. This should be nationwide.

groovy unicorn said...

ok im going to make some things easier on you moms freaking out. if the list says an 8 pocket folder and all they have is a 9 pocket, just get the damn thing! the teacher wont know and if she does what is she really going to do? at least your kid has the required 8 pockets plus an extra. and the marker thing, NOBODY CARES about brand! just get cheap markers like EVERYONE ELSE and quit freaking out over the small things like blue v black dry erase markers, the teacher will use them regardless! and really, if you cant find yellow, use another color you haven't picked already and tell the teacher to get over it! your child will not color better because she has more expensive markers, nor will she write better with a $20 gel pen. your children are there for an education and regardless of what kind of notebook paper you buy she will get one of the same quality as the kid whose mom broke her back and wallet getting the name brand stuff. RELAX!

Jennifer said...

I did the exact same thing last year. Got the wrong list and bought a bunch of crap.. from target no less.

me and my friend were just talking about the "White Plastic Erasers" on our lists today.. WTH are those? We did find them.. as fas as I could tell, there's nothing plastic about them though. lol

Leann said...

I printed my school supply list right off of the school's website. My guy is only in kindergarten so the "mandatory" list was small (5 things). I'm waiting for the days when I can buy notebooks and folders.
As a teenager, school supply shopping was the best part - forget new clothes; I needed notebooks and pencils!
The one thing that surprised me last year (and still required this year) is the 1 Ream of White Paper requirement for all the students in school. I like the school though and they don't ask for brands or specific crazy colors of anything.

heather said...

And this post is EXACTLY why I am so glad my daughter is in private school where they do not ask for supplies! I have seen the school supply section at Target & I would be someones bitch in prison if I had to do that.

Anonymous said...

LOL! I adore you! This year - for first grade - I get to order, yes, order - because there are NONE to be found in the region we live in (which is incidentally in KC) a Primary Comp book! This is especially painful for me when I pass through isles and isles and isles teeming over with normal comp books (slight, only slight exaggeration)- just plain comp books - even special colored comp books - in fact I almost got a blue or red or yellow comp book, because at least it is a "primary" color and that may qualify...Anyway,I have to admit at being a little irked that that one on the list. So, thank you - once again, for your honest take on this stuff!

DB said...

I love school supply shopping, and hardly ever follow the specific directions from the list (I see the colors and quantities listed as suggestions). And I agree with those who posted above about holding off on some items until later in the school year. The kids don't need all 40 pencils that first day, nor does the classroom need 25 boxes of tissues on day #1 either.

The bad news for me is that my high school daughter doesn't need to go crazy with school supply shopping this year. "Just a notebook and a pen, mom" is what she told me. I guess this would be good news for most people!

Anne said...

My kids are all grown now, but I will never, ever forget the year I didn't buy the prepaid bag of supplies. I went to Walmart, got all of my stuff - except some folders. When I went to get them, two ladies were FIGHTING over one particular folder. It was a huge cussing, pulling and almost fist-fighting war. Never again did I buy from the list. It's just not worth it.

Pamperedjane said...

As a mother of 5, youngest now in 6th, we're the rebels of the pack - no following of lists here - we've learned through experience not to - it's high time we parents draw the line, holding our inappropriately-decorated, NON-#2, pencils in the air, shouting, "We're Mad As Hell and We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore!!!" Ok, I'm done =)

Unknown said...

FINALLY!!! I was so hoping at least one person would stand up for themselves and refuse to be bullied by those f**king lists .... like sheeple

Jamie Miles said...

OMGosh. You bought for the wrong list? I'd be looking for a rope to swing around the highest tree limb. I HATE back to school shopping as well. I never get those moms who post about being so gleeful about it. I waited to the last day and pulled the list off the schools web sites. And there was NO ONE in the store -- at least the school supply aisle. All the eager beavers had cleared out and I found everything I needed. It was pretty amazing.

momto4 said...

No teacher ever finishes all the pencils/crayons/glue sticks they ask for, so my kids don't take any of that crap at all. They get one box of crayons, 2 pencils (with some at home just in case they need it) and the bare neccessities for school. And this year the teachers will be told that unless they are willing to buy my kids school supplies, they can buy their school agendas. I'm tired of dropping $10-15 apiece each year for something they only use twice.

Schemer said...

I think those are the plastic, retractable erasers. It's just a long, skinny, white eraser, wrapped in a plastic tube like a pen, that you push up as it gets worn down.

http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Retractable-Assorted-Barrels-ZE21BP3-K6/dp/B001HA77OO/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1376447955&sr=1-1&keywords=erasers+retractable

tatooine84 said...

I went crazy trying to find one for my daughter last year, and couldn't. I managed to get in touch with someone who was friends with one of the teachers at the school who said don't bother. They cost about 10x as much and it's not really worth it. Call the school and tell them you can't find one and see what they say.

Anonymous said...

Can't believe you bought the wrong list, but it happens to the best of us. Next time grab the school supplies from bulkofficesupply.com. I guarantee you'll save.

Allison said...

My oldest started kindergarten this year and I was elated when the paperwork said, "please pay the office $20 and let us do the shopping." School supplies may cost less than that, but it was priceless to not have to deal with any specifics.

sarah said...

as a matter of fact, we run OUT OF glue sticks... and 2 pencils?? seriously? hope your kids don't ever need to erase or break the lead...

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