I was in a WalMart this past week and saw the stacks and stacks of school supplies. Already the parents and their kids were clogging the aisles making decisions about back-packs, pen styles and whether or not little Brittany needed the Neon markers in addition to the primary colored ones. Of course, she did!
Moms with the glassy-eyed look of a wearied warrior perused preprinted schools lists that will invariably be incorrect. This will result in another trip to the store, with a panicked second grader, on the evening of the first day of school. First graders don't get it - yet.
Do not venture into WalMart or Target in August if it can be avoided.
Buying school supplies with my kids was fun, in a masochistic kind of way. I walked a fine line between trying to stay within budget and yet allow them to make "cool" choices. Those were the Transformer years and Star Wars and the New Kids on the Block, each vying for their market share. My daughter's Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox would probably be worth something on e-bay today. My kids had a little of their own money at the time and if they wanted something that was unreasonably beyond our budget constraints they had to purchase it themselves. Funny how that reigned in a lot of impulse buys. I do remember my son loved mechanical pencils, even in elementary school. It was more expensive but we let him start the school year off with one. If he lost it he was back to a yellow #2 until the Christmas break.
I can remember my own school supply days choosing folders in a variety of colors, new pencils and art paper. It was such a fresh start each year and even though I made the appropriate groans about returning to school, I loved the social interaction and the routine. Of course, that typically lasted a week before I was counting the days until the first holiday. The big choices I recall were if your folders came with or without pockets. The plain ones were 7 cents each and Mom stocked up for four kids at three schools so getting folders with pockets was a big deal. And, crayons. I longed for the box of 64 Crayola Crayons with the the built-in sharpener but can only recall getting it one time. It has since become a recurring theme in some online surveys and memes I have completed. Blue-green was my favorite color and could only be found in that box of 64.
When I was in the 7th grade, and in love with Davy Jones from the Monkees I believe, I had a canvas notebook that was in bright colors and lots of paisley. It had a matching spiral notebook as well and I loved it!! I saved that special notebook for just the right occasion and still had most of it left at the end of the school year. That was also the year I remember Mom writing the subject on the front of each folder I had for class, in broad tip Magic Marker. Her handwriting was beautiful and I can still remember how neatly the words, Science, Algebra, and Speech looked on the front of each.
Don't ask me why, but when I was in line behind a family at WalMart the other day, and they were purchasing four of each color of folders, the orange ones triggered the memories that prompted this post. My Science folder was orange.
I had to control my desire to hit the school supply aisle!!
3 comments:
how cute!!! school starts here 8/13; such a short summer; they just got out 6/13, but they are getting more breaks through the year of longer duration; so kids are hitting the store for school supplies
I always let the kids get what they wanted within reason; I figured anything to have them be excited about going back after the long summer break; my daughter was always glad to go back; my son always reluctant to go back
good entry Donna!
betty
i just went to target to get my 'classroom supplies'. i also loved going back to school shopping when i was a kid and now i am so lucky i get to buy stuff for about 20 kids.
that sure is a lot of shoes. i think i own 7 pairs and some winter boots.
New school supplies was a big deal! Surely you need some for some reason or another?
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