[yusen]

Ok,, My children will be home soon,, I called the school that they will attend to ask for the list of school items that they will need,, Oh my what a list it was indeed,
1 folder with 2 pockets and binder in 5 different colors.
2 dry eraser markers
calculator
recorder
the list goes on and on,,,,can someone let me know what the children need a recorder for?, and did anyon else have a list of specific items to buy??
Signed... A Mom that went to school with 1 folder and pencil and some paper!!

[gdaisy]

As a school teacher... all those things are a necessity! I would like to make a suggestion though.. If the item could become used up or worn out during the school year buy extra now during the sales or you could be paying more for those items later. What kind of recorder are they asking you to buy? If it is a musical one it is for music like a clarinet!

Happy shopping!!

[DianeScraps]

I totally went through that shock last year! Our list was out of control! Even funnier my mom works in the school district and nothing that was on the list was something that couldn't be 'requistioned' !?!??!

I have been totally bargain shopping it this year! Staples coupons and sales are my friend!

[yusen]

Well all I can think is,, it is a small hand held voice recorder,, I will have to call back on Monday,, I did buy extra's becasue some of the supplies were almost gone,,,.

[DianeScraps]

I would bet it is the instrument

[BrandyHagz]

Yusen,

If it just says "Recorder" then its the musical instrament - the little plastic job we all played in elementary...

Otherwise, it'd say 'Voice recorder' or, as in my case here, 'Digital Voice Recorder with at least three hours of record time'

WHAT!? HE IS IN SIXTH GRADE NOT COLLEGE!

[DianeScraps]

WoW - I wouldn't have expected that.

But on the other hand the school supplies PDAs for the third graders and my dd's school

[LisArno]

The recorder is the musical instrument type - typically plastic, inexpensive, and for hygeine reasons, you'll be glad you had to buy your own. I'm a teacher and our students learn the recorder in the 4th grade.

The dry eraser markers are also good. Sounds like the students will have mini white boards at their desks and will do some work on those - math, spelling,... Much better than chalk!

[momraine]

In our schools because funding has been cut the kids have to provide just about everything. The dry erase markers are used by the teacher (no more chalk boards) and the red pens as well. The lists are very long. I look for sales all year around to get a lot of the stuff and definataly buy extras, because you often have to send more before the year is out. Also you will want stuff for homework. We keep a plastic box called the homework box. It has crayons, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, glue scissors, calculater (for older kids) and paper and a dictionary and other stuff. We even have to bring stuff like tissues, zip lock bags and other stuff. One of the large office supply depots will deliver stuff for free, and since I was short on time this summer, I got a lot of stuff from them (four kids added up to a bunch of stuff!) our district even specifies brand names and sizes for each thing, it's very, very exact what they want. We have flute a phones instead of recorders, but our last school had recorders, but we ordered them from the school the first week of school. Of course now we are in junior high and playing real insruments and I miss the 15.00 recorder I complained about back in first grade! LOL

[yusen]

I will try not to sound to Dumb here,,but,, what does the recorder look like,, ,?,, I am picturing a flute??,,Thank goodness it isnt a real tape recorder,, My Husband was saying ,,well,, if the kids act up in school the teachers must want the parents to know about it first hand,, I kept insisting he was wrong,, but I left it alone, because I was uncertain myself>

[BrandyHagz]

Here is a recorder

The come in all kinds of different colors now...Jerrett had a zerbra one last year

[BrandyHagz]

Yusen,

One more thing - In my search to find a picture to post - I found one for sale online for $1.99 - so if you're in the market, send me a PM and I'll send you the URL.

[PolishMom]

Yusen -

Welcome to Parenthood!! Gotta to love those lists. They are wide and varied. All 3 of my children needed recorders for 4th grade. We bought the ones offered for sale by the the school for about $4. But, they certainly were worth $4. None of them made it through the entire school year before being broken, let alone being able to be used for the next child.

The new thing on our middle schoolers list? A 64MB flash drive!!! Now, these aren't cheap, and I have a ADHD 12 year old who I KNOW is going to lose it in the first month of school. My 4th grader needs 3 types of Post-It notes and they are not cheap either!

As a suggestion, we keep a "school box" in the basement that I fill with extra supplies for whenever they are needed throughout the school year. So, when crayons are on sale for 10 cents a box, I buy about 6 extra boxes and throw them into the "school box". The kids all know where the extra supplies are and don't have to bug me when their crayons need replacing. Plus, I don't have to buy crayons at $1.25/box out of season.


Heather

PS...........You are going to LOVE the first day of school. It is amazing that the smells and sounds of school just come flooding back to you.........glue, chalk, paper, it's one of the greatest smells of childhood.

[momraine]

I think I am going to take your school box suggestion. I had bought extra's of some stuff, but I put it into our homework box, but I need to not do that because it gets used. Our homework box is actually a file box, it works well because we can take it to dance class or a church meeting and the kids can do homework there if need be. I was shocked at the amount of homework my first grader had last year. For the flash drive, my sil had one that was attached to a string that went around her neck. (just make sure the string is attached to the actual drive and not just the lid! LOL) Some also have a hole where you can add a chain of your own. You know the kind we used to carry keys on around our necks? That might buy you an extra week or so. LOL, if it's long enough he may even be able to plug it into the computer without taking it off and then he can't forget it. LOL When my sister lived with us she came home with a note saying she needed a scientific calculator, which my husband (the electrical engineer) said was nicer than what he used at work! In fact that's where it is now, when she was done with this several hundred dollar thing he demanded it back and took it to work.
Anyway, I have school supplies for my kids I have and my soon to be one, but now we are back to waiting mode because they moved him to a new place and so his gardianship has to be changed before we can proceed.
Lorraine

[lastpaige]

Oh my goodness, I'm so glad we home educate!