‘Twas the day before kindergarten and fresh haircuts were done.
A certain 5 and a half year old looks handsome and ready to make new friends.
Last minute labeling was done.
And last minute pencil sharpening was exciting.
Homework was completed just in time.
(Poster board with pictures from his summer vacation).
School supplies were all loaded into his school bag (not pictured here).
I do have to tell you that the school supplies for kindergarten are insane!
o 1 school bag (easy to close, big enough to carry books, duotangs, pocket folders)
o 1 lunch box
o 1 good pair of running shoes with non-skid soles (for indoor use and gym)
o 1 smock with long sleeves for painting with elastic wrists
o 2 white erasers
o 1 box of sharpened coloring pencils ALL identified (minimum 24) (PLEASE Prismacolour, Laurentian or Crayola coloring pencils only)
o 12 sharpened HB2 lead pencils ALL identified
o 1 good metal sharpener with container
o 1 large zipped pencil case (no box please) - big enough for easy access to all coloring pencils, pencils, and erasers
o 3 glue sticks (40grams each) PRITT or LEPAGE only
o 1 big box of kleenex
o 1 box of medium Ziploc bags
o 1 box of large Ziploc bags
o 2 wallet size pictures of your child (birthday bulletin board)
o 2 packages of stickers - students love to see that we are using them for incentives
o 2 strong pocket folders with 2 pockets (top loading pockets are preferable and much easier when papers are longer)
o 1 regular sized binder (1" or 1 ½" for worksheets - no zips necessary)
o 1 package of dividers for the binder
o 1 bottle of antibacterial soap with pump
o 1 bottle of hand sanitizer
o 1 box of antibacterial wipes (ex Wet Ones, Clorox, Mr Clean, etc…)
o 1 small coloring book (nothing violent) for rainy days (lunch program and recess)
o 1 pillow case
o 1 big recyclable grocery bag for art projects
o 1 large ziploc bag with a change of clothes (underwear, pants, socks, shirt - does not have to be uniform colors)
o 1 $30.00 merchandise/gift card to cover the processing cost of digital pictures since regular films or disposable cameras are being discontinued. PLEASE WAIT TO BUY THE CARD UNTIL THE TEACHERS INDICATE THEIR CHOICE OF STORES WHERE THEY SEND THE PICTURES TO BE PROCESSED
Some of these items are ABSURD! The main one is the 30$ gift card for digital printing. There are 20 students in the class. That’s 600$!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 30$ divided by .08 cent prints (one of our local stores now has 8 cent prints ALL the time… that’s 375 pictures per kid. Is the teacher really going to be printing 7500 photos?? To me this is an unnecessary item. I can’t believe I have to supply Sean’s reward stickers for his work! And a coloring book for rainy days for recess & lunch.
In any case, Sean’s all ready for school tomorrow! He’s got his backpack packed, his school outfit laid out and ready to go, and he’s super excited. Mommy on the other hand is nervous, excited, emotional and will probably cry tomorrow. I can’t believe he’s starting Kindergarten. It’s a whole new chapter of our life starting.
