Getting a Jump Start on Back to School

I gasped a great obnoxious gasp when I turned the corner in Target and came face-to-face with the freshly displayed glue sticks, composition books, pencils, crayons and erasers.  Yes.  The moment all teachers and students dread (and parents most likely welcome) -  I was in the back to school supply aisle.  Mothers had supply lists in hand while their children walked up and down each row finding just the right stylish notebooks to tackle yet another year.

Ugh.

And then my mother: "You know, you teachers are ridiculous with the amount of supplies you ask for and with all of the different colored notebooks and folders.  Do you know how hard it is to find all of that?"  She rolls her eyes and huffs annoyingly.

Yes, in fact we do.  But there is a reason behind our madness. 

First, the school only supplies us with a limited number of supplies throughout the year.  Come March we are flat out of tissues and the glue sticks have gone dry.  We are asking for supplies to last us almost 10 months.

Secondly, the color-coded systems may seem inconvenient now, but when I have to organize 30 plus students with what they have in their desks and in their bookbags, it is easier to say, "Take out your blue homework folder," and do a quick scan to make sure that yes, indeed the blue homework folder is going into the bookbag.  If Janie has a kitty cat folder and Justin has Pokemon and Larz has Spongebob, I go nuts.  And so do you in the long run.  In fact, I guarantee you will send me an email that goes something like this:

"Mrs. Polin, I am so sorry that Jacob won't have his homework.  He forgot his homework folder.  Can you please make sure he brings it home with him tomorrow?" 

So although annoying, please understand the sanity behind it.

Don't get me wrong; I love what I do.   But going back brings on just as big a rush of anxiety and worry for us teachers as it does for the kids.

So, what was I to do in the middle of Target but to face these aisles head on?  I glanced down into my cart, moved over my swimsuit cover up, Phillies zip-up and two beach hats to make room for, gulp, the supplies.  I piled in 40 red, blue, green, yellow and purple composition books and cringed when I could already hear the "But I wanted red!" cries on the first day of school. 

When I got to the register the poor guy behind the counter cocked his head with wide eyes when I replied, "There's 40."  His look of disbelief made me feel obligated to further explain the insanity, "Because I'm a teacher."  I grin.  And you thought just parents faced the back to school madness...

Some things to think about when you are confronted with the seemingly endless supplies of glue sticks and crayons:

1.  Get a head start if you can.  Many schools have sent home their supply lists already.  The crowds are minimal right now and the shelves are stocked. 

2.  Overbuy.  Try to buy extras of everything.  That pretty red folder will not make it until June.  Keep all extras at home; we really don't have room to store everything in the classroom.  When Marley comes home with a ripped folder, you can easily and quickly swap it out.  It will also save you the agony of trying to find a yellow pocket folder in January when they are few and far between.

3.  Stick to the lists provided.   In many districts teachers work together to compile a list to send home.  Anything extra is not needed or may already be provided.  Please also note any special comments made on the lists themselves.  For example, if there is a note that asks to refrain from sending in a trapper keeper, please do so.  They most likely don't fit in the student desks.

4.  Have some fun with it!  Build it up and make it an exciting time for the kids.  It will get them excited about the fresh start of a new school year.

When sending your children to school on the first day it is also helpful to already have their materials opened and organized.  Take the scissors out of the plastic and have the pencils sharpened and in a pencil case.  Many of us allot about 45 minutes that first day just opening supplies which can become quite tedious for all involved!

Happy Back-to-School Shopping!