One of my favorite back-to-school activities is getting the supplies. Back in the day, my elementary school supply list included new crayons, water color paints and a “Big Chief tablet” among other items. I loved the potential of the unsharpened pencils and empty notebooks, the promise of a school year’s worth of learning ahead of us. But I can remember resenting my parents’ choice not to buy certain items on the list if they didn’t think they were necessary. I didn’t like it either when they ignored the specified size or quantity of an item and bought what they thought was a better deal.
I always thought I could do better. But this year, my son ended up with an orange folder instead of a yellow one. The list specified sturdy plastic folders in red, yellow, blue and green. The store we were at didn’t have sturdy yellow folders so I told him orange was close enough. I didn’t want to go to another store to look for one when we’d already gotten everything else – except the one item I never could find. I looked at several stores for the Elmer’s X-treme glue stick the art teacher requested, but never found one. I was planning to ask about this at the open house. I completely forgot. It wasn’t until after the open house was over that I also realized I forgot to include the most perplexing item on the school supplies list: 1 old clean sock.
School hasn’t started yet, so there’s still a chance to rectify two out of my three failures. Perhaps I should order that glue stick for “bigger, tougher projects” online and scrounge up an old clean sock. Imagine the potential!
This brings back so many memories! Memories of my 4 sons before the beginning of the school year AND the Big Chief Tablet which has not come to my mind in many years:)
I hadn’t thought about Big Chief tablets in many years either, but it all came back once I started doing the back-to-school shopping as a parent.
School supply lists are not what they used to be, that is for sure.
True. I helped another family collect their school supplies too and the list for a third grader seemed excessive: six notebooks, two composition books, five folders, 24 pencils… as well as colored pencils, crayons and markers…
hi.I’ve just found your site from Oyungerel.T. I’m Battsetseg. Your Mongolian student.I’m glad that I have found your blog. I will contact u next time. c ya
Hi, Battsegtseg, it’s good to hear from you again.
Do stay in touch.
love, Anita