Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Schools In!

This is probably going to be one of those rambling post about much of nothing! Let me see....... where do I begin? School started back this week and this has made me a little bit sad. All of you know how much I like my children home with me. My son is an official 7th grader. I cannot believe my once arm-held bundle of joy is now trouncing the halls in the middle school! If we could just keep them smaller for just a little longer! *sigh* I know it's just as well that we can't. All of mine would still be toddlers and that would not be a good thing. *smile* Just think, we would then deprive ourselves of all those precious memories of their growing up years.

Speaking of school, what about all those forms we must fill out the first day of school? Not only that, I had to write a paragraph about my son this year. I'm serious. The teacher noted this was an actual homework assignment for the parents that the student would be graded for! Thankfully, it was an easy task to write about my son. After penning how wonderful and helpful he is, she should make him the star student. *smile* I realize her goal is to get a better understanding of the child she is entrusted to teach for the next few months. Hopefully, she will see the same child I do.

Along with the forms what do you think about the "Student Suppy List?" It gets longer every year doesn't it? When I was going to school...ahem....and it wasn't that long ago, we usually needed the basics, paper, pencils, composition books, notebook, and a bookbag was optional. Here is my son's list:


  1. 1 dozen pencils
  2. 1 pocket folder
  3. 3 packs of index cards
  4. 3 marble composition books
  5. colored pencils/crayons
  6. personal pencil sharpener
  7. 1 pack pens (no gels)
  8. multilple packs wide-ruled paper
  9. 2 highlighters
  10. Kleenex
  11. 1 full size bottle of hand sanitizer/soap
  12. paper towels
  13. calculator
  14. 1 can of tennis balls
  15. protractor
  16. compass
  17. clipboard
  18. 1" 3 ring binder
  19. large 3 ring binder with dividers for each class
  20. bag of candy (individually wrapped- no gum)

I am thankful I don't have to purchase the textbooks.............. at least not yet........................





11 comments:

Sharon said...

I bet every child gets an "A" for their parents' paper. ;-)

Denise said...

Love you my friend.

Blog is no more said...

Tennis balls!!?? What in the world for?

At least your list doesn't specify what color pocket folders you need for each class, mine did. Those colors were the first to sell out at Wal Mart!

Yea, I hear you about the paperwork to fill out, I have 2 kids in which to fill all that out. I was smart (imagine that!) this time, I filled out the general info one one page, stuck it in my copier and made a copy, then just filled out the name, and school of each. It was a lot less time consuming.

It makes me sad that my kids are back in school too, although at least for the first week, I do enjoy the quietness of my house; I can actually have a quiet time with my Lord without interuptions! After the second week, I watch the clock and wait for the time to go get them from school!

Have a great week!

Beth/Mom2TwoVikings said...

As a middle school teacher...LOL...I can see the point for most of those.

tennis balls - I still use these on the Vikings' high chair. Cut an X in them and put them over the chair and table legs - no more loud "screeching" every time someone gets up!

And, speaking of getting up - while not particularly fair to those students possibly in need - having each student with their own sharpeners, calculator, etc. means no cost to the teacher's pocket, no passing out and/or collecting 30+ pairs of scissors, protractors, etc. 6 times a day, and no one out of their seats to go get supplies, to sharpen pencils, etc.! Teacher heaven! LOL

I know I don't have to tell you this, Debbie, but these next 2-4 years are nearly as critical as the first 2-4! That's why I picked this age to get my masters in. It doesn't have to be a time that he (and you) must simply "survive". It is supposed to be a time of exploration of topics and things, to open his world up slowly and in a controlled manner and give him more and more responsibility in the same manner.

Keep him as close as he'll allow and love on him LOTS! *wink* And, stay in touch with school - constantly! LOL And, pray over him! You'll both do fine!

Karen said...

Oh my word.....CANDY????? In the 7th grade???? I know when the two older girls were in public school, their list was pretty long, too, but I don't recall tennis balls!
You know, in response to your comment about the water here, it's something that we've wondered about, too. At least once a month, we notice the water being a little brown. Big YUCK. When we called to complain, they said it was because of replacing pipes in our area. EVERY MONTH???? Then, we heard on the news that our county had some questionable things in our water. Hmmmm. So, we've been buying water. But, you still have to use it to shower, and if there are things in our water that are not good, then it's getting absorbed into our skin, isn't it? We've looked into a whole house filtration system, but that is cost prohibitive right now since we're trying to sell the house. Maybe in our next one.
I noticed you're in the south. We may not be that far apart. We're in NC.
I hope your son's 7th grade year is a great one!

Melanie said...

What a list of supplies!! I think I can figure out what everything is for except for the tennis balls. What in the world are those for??

As a former teacher I really like the idea of the parents writing a paragraph about their child. I'm sure she has to count it as a grade in order to get everyone to do it. But, I love that idea!! Once Hailey is in school and I go back to work I'm going to use that idea.

Hope your son has a wonderful year.

Dapoppins said...

blogger ate my comment.


and it was funny too!

Kelli said...

I will pray your son has a blessed school year, Debbie!

That is a long list! Whew!

Kelli

Debbie said...

Sharon, I sure hope all of them get "A's"... :)
Lady, yep, Beth knows exactly what those tennis balls are for. I have purchased those things for him since kindergarten. What I want to know is "why don't they keep them and use every year?!!"
Beth, you know I do! He gets kisses from mama all the time. The school is 5 minutes or less from my home. We live in the "country" and most of the children have grown up together. This makes letting him go there so much easier. I did homeschool my daughter for a little while. She wanted to go back to High School, so we allowed her to do so. I think Caleb likes public school(again, I think this is because we are a close community) and because he does so well academically. Praise the Lord!
Karen, about the candy, I know right! Candy! :)
The tennis balls are for the bottom of the chair legs. Again, what did they do with the ones from the previous years? These are on the list EVERY year!
About the water, I think I would get it tested. I have well water, but I also buy our drinking water. We shower and cook with the well water. Although we have lived on our property for 20 years, I am still not comfortable drinking it. It doesn't have an odor or color, in fact, it's very clear and good to taste, but since this is previous farmland, I have concerns. Pesticides and the likes.....
Melanie, you have probably read the previous answer for the tennis balls :)
I think the paragraph is a good idea, also. At least the teacher knows what to expect IF the parent is honest. LOL...
Dapoppins....I hate I missed it! I'm sure it was! :)

Debbie said...

Thanks, Kelli! I think we were posting about the same time!

Marilee said...

I love reading all your commentors contributions! So interesting to read about different view points.

I know SO well about the long school supply lists. I guess they must differ by region though - In the past 22 years of preparing kids for a new school year I have never once had tennis balls on any list! I have seen them used at one of our foster son's alternative schools, and on walkers, but that's about it. My only thought about replacing them every year is that maybe they get worn out? Or dirty? Could be that it's some kind of health regulation to replacle them annually...

I have also never been asked to buy candy on a school list. What do they use it for? To reward the kids? For games? For holiday celebrations?

Anyway, we've had all the paperwork and supply lists for FIVE teen boys for the past 4 school years - and a college daughter for the past 2 years in addition to that. It never gets any less time consuming but we've learned different ways to make it a tiny bit easier and to make the school clothes shopping more fun and less stressful.

Anyway, here I am rambling on in your comment section... sorry. This is my first blog comment in about 2 1/2 weeks, LOL!

I've read all your blogs previous to this one but in my excitement to read and catch up I haven't commented on the others yet.

I'll start with this: God is amazing and you are so blessed!!!

Love you my sister!
Marilee