I just received the ‘requisites list’ for all of my children ahead of the school year. I have children starting in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 5 this year and the three long lists of necessary school supplies have left me feeling a little faint.
The Kindergarten list is short and a bit cute. Along with the necessary stationery, they also need wet wipes and “a spare pair of underpants in a plastic bag, to be kept in their school bag”.
I wet myself in Kindergarten. I really do not wish this fate on my daughter.
“I want my daughter to slip in seamlessly.”
By Year 1 the list is getting a little longer. They need the necessary stationery as well as paper towels (no wet wipes for this lot) and a paint shirt. “One of mum or dad’s old t-shirts makes a great paint shirt”, apparently.
Just don’t give them one of Daddy’s ‘good’ shirts. Or there will be hell to pay.
Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Big W. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.
Then, in Year 5, they basically need to bring the entire Big W stationery section to school, as well as a “USB memory stick, 2GB essential” and ear phones, “not for use while the teacher is yelling”.
I made that last part up. Teachers don’t yell anymore. Not like back in my day…
But the rest of each of the lists are pretty similar and seem easy enough to find. I’m not a fan of the fact that some schools asks for actual brands of certain items like you’re a bad parent if you buy your children anything other than a Bostick glue stick. Thankfully they are usually on special, and come in different colours which the kids find amusing.
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So this is my son's list - Year 1 - WA public school:
- 10 whiteboard markers
- 8 glue sticks (the big ones)
- 12 hb pencils
- 6 red pencils
- 2 rubbers
- 2 wooden rulers
- 16gb USB stick
- headphones
- 8 scrapbooks
- 6 plastic button folders
- 1 calculator (yes and we wonder why our kids have issues with maths)
- PVA glue
- 1 packet wind up crayons
- oil crayons
- 2 boxes coloured pencils
- 3 different types of black permanent markers Artline brand - 1 each
- masking tape
- 1 packet post-it
- 1 box tissues
- 1 paper towel roll...
- and I thinks there's more...
All that to be replenished as the year goes on.. and after talking to some parents if there's left overs they don't give it back !
+ $60 contributions for the year
+ $20 library fund
+ up to $195 in optional activities (carnivals etc...)
+ school issued hat $10 each
+ mandatory school issued polo shirt
$30 each
... but who's counting lol
So as far as I'm concerned he will have a pencil case with his own supply and he will learn to look after his things as we did when we were kids .. when we used to get in trouble if we kept loosing stuff and mum had to keep buying stuff !
I am a mother of 4, though the youngest is a toddler. The others are beginning years 4, 6 and 9. One thing I have found over the years is do not expect that what is required in one particular grade previously will be required again. Sometimes the requisites lists are COMPLETLEY different, and the items I've stocked up on in advance are rendered useless. My children have attended 3 schools (including the high school), and one thing I can say is they always ask them to have way more books than they ever use...not to mention 40 lead pencils. Not sure how a child can sharpen down a pencil a week. In my day we had a couple each year. Do ensure you clearly label their pens, textas and pencils for clear identification. One of my sons has vision problems so in addition to writing his name on his pens, I cut coloured sticky paper into strips and wrap them around his pens so he can easily identify his own. In classes where the teachers have children share their pencils between students, I ask that they make provisions that my child use their own supplies. Herpies (the common cold sore virus, which can be passed on even when there is no cold sore present) is with you for life once you get it. I keep a box with leftnover contact, glue sticks, sharpeners and any other odds and ends I have spare of, and at the end of the year, I add the books which came home unused, and tear the used pages out of any which were BARELY used and add them too. I tear out unused pages of all the others and put them in a box for my kids to use as scrap paper. I find my kids will invariably come home half way through the year with half their colours missing and they need a new set. I keep the old ones in a big tin in case we can replace the lost ones from here, but I also buy cheap pencils and textas as I find the expensive ones are all too often 'borrowed and not returned' before they run out anyway. Oh, and eachnof my school ch ildren have always been asked to buy the really big pencil cases for their pencils and paintbrush and non-flexible rulers on their lists. :)