View Single Post
  #83  
Old September 5th 08, 04:22 PM posted to misc.kids
NL
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 444
Default school supplies!

Nikki schrieb:
Banty wrote:

Where I *did* have complaints and had sympathy with other parents'
complaints
was the short lead times that schools and activities like Scouts
sometimes give
parents. If a child comes home even as far ahead as a Monday night
with a
homework project due Friday that calls for a different size milk
carton than
usually bought in that household, that can mean an extra grocery trip
which
impacts the household evenings where meals have to be served,
activities have to
be attended, bedtimes observed, etc. etc. There seemed to be an
assumption of
an SAH parent who can run errands any given day.


Hear Hear! My school is very reasonable on costs and projects etc. I
don't really have complaints about it but this one is very difficult
sometimes. And to echo one of your other posts our issue last year was
a shoe box. My son needed a shoe box. Well my house doesn't have shoe
boxes in it. So I load up all 4 kids and go trudging down to K-Mart to
find a shoe box - on a week night - when I have about 3 hours between
off work and bedtime to manage what needs to be managed for 4 small
kids. You can imagine how happy they all are to go shopping in the
freezing cold dark winter night when they are either hungry (before
supper) or tired (after supper).


What is it with shoeboxes anyway? Last year we had the teacher telling
the kids on monday that they need a shoebox on wednesday for an art
project. Well, there isn't even a shoe shop where I live anymore. I
finally scored a box in a sporting goods store. Then when I bring it in
on Wednesday and tell the teacher that next time could she please give
us a weeks warning she goes "Oh, I went and got some boxes yesterday
anyway, just in case, you needn't have worried" well, why can't she go
and get all the stupid boxes if she's going to go and get some as backup
anyway, or at least let us know that it's not a huge deal if we can't
find a shoebox.

Another really nice thing was last year at the first parent teacher
meeting thing (all parents and teachers of the grade meet in the evening
to talk about the school year, requirements, what's going on in class,
etc.) anyway, at some point she brings up the cost of water (we don't
have fountains, the school buys bottled water and each kid pays x-amount
towards it), and also that she wants to go to the theater with the kids
9€ and there's a theater coming to the school 5€, and she'd like to buy
this special maths exercise book for 8€,... And then one woman chips in
and says "Why don't we all give you 40€, that way we should be ok for
most of the rest of the schoolyear." Uhm, sure, why don't I spend my
last money on school activities instead of buying food... It was the end
of the month and I went to the teacher to ask if it's ok if I give her
the money next month, she looks at me in total bewilderment clearly not
understanding why I ask, I explain that it's the end of the month,
still, blank look, I explain that I don't have that much money left to
just spend, finally she says "Yeah, whatever, just bring it in as soon
as you can."
And I think that's what ****es me off most really, that it's assumed we
all have unlimited time to go and look for supplies and that we have
unlimited funds and can just hand over cash at very short notice.

cu
nicole