lol, will do.

they hate me, i'm sure. our ACT 504's are so detailed...they're like, "why bother with all this when she's only in first grade?"

well, duh! it's to get it set up NOW, so that's it's just a habit when she gets far enough for it to matter...

we get school supply lists as well in canada. this year, only my grade 2 child came home with one at the end of june so her stuff is complete (minus the kleenex box haha) and i'll wait til september for the other two.

i don't know how things work in the USA but if a family isn't very well-to-do, we've a warehouse where we actually stock much of that stuff (kleenexes included) and the schools will supply it for the needy family who asks.

i refuse to send boxes of kleenex when i know, specificially, that schools have budgets set aside for this stuff and i will not provide supplies for them so that they can use that money on staff parties, or whatnot.

my children bring their own soft package of kleenex in their knapsacks when they have a cold. or most likely, like robin says, use their sleeves.

My son's school requests generally the same items. However they add hand santizer which I don't mind sendin with him at all. One year they requested a 500 pk of copy paper. I called the school an informed them that I flat out refused to supply it since it's a public school an they have funds for such things.

Th sad thing here smiles, is that the schools DONT have the money in order to budget even for their own needs (the teachers I mean) any more. Every time someone generously donates money to the schools, the government LOWERS what it gives to the school. I can actually see a day in the very nar future that public schools are no longer public, except in name only. They will be completely funded by the parents and benefactors.

I fail to see how putting a text book on a cd will detract from their reading skills...???

It's very simply. By having it on a CD, the children will listen to it instead of reading it. One of the major fundemantal tools that help children get better (and adults too) with reading is by doing it, and doing so in several different styles and formats. This helps them to be able to not only read the language but to learn from the written word as well.

You misunderstand......
The text book is put on the cd verbatim.....nothing more then a giant pdf file....not books on tape..no audio.....

Often, at least with the books my son has had, the cd's and dvd's offered things in addition to what was in the textbook, supplemental learning activities, etc. But the textbook was the primary source of information and they had to read that in order to do well.

i refuse the hand sanitizer. i don't provide it and my children aren't allowed to use it.

it's really not good for the skin, and since it kills the 99.9 percent...the leftover .1 percent is the strongest bacteria which is left to breed.

that, and it makes my skin bleed. literally.

awwwwww, so glad these days are over for me.

I agree with you there Lulu. I always refused the sanitizer myself. I heard a lecture once about two years ago, concerning how Americans are killing so many bacteria they are actually making themselves more sick because they are killing off the ones our bodies need for basic health. This sounds funny, but when you stop to think about it, it makes sense. Fr example, dead skin: How many people realize that there are "germs" out there that their only purpose is to break down and get rid of dead skin cells?

The school my son goes to uses it in place of washin hands after usin the bathroom. You wouldn't believe how many kids don't wash their hands or don't know how to properly wash their hands after usin the bathroom. I taught my boys at the same time they were bein potty trained to wash their hands afterwards. But unbelievably you got alot of parents who don't do this. Thus the need for hand sanitizer.

oh my! school supplies. we are dealing with that now at home...my oldest is starting middle school, so its all a brand new game for us here...

there were more fees than before, uniforms (he's never had to wear those in elementary), PE class, but so far the zipper binder, paper, divider list, etc. was reasonable,

im thinking though on the first day of school a list is going to come home from each of the 6 classes with more specific items....

getting older is more complex.....

If he has algebra, be prepared to buy a (I think) T-83 or T-84 calculator. It was REQUIRED in my son's school and costs well over $100. Look on Ebay, though, there were some decent savings there. Also, if you do need one, check with your son's teacher, they can often loan one out for the school year (which is what we did). We had to sign a contract agreeing to reimburse the school for $140 if it was damaged or broken.

for this reason, exactly, it's in my daughters' ACT 504s that they must wash hands versus using hand sanitizer.

Myself, I only use hand sanitizer when soap, water and lotion aren't available. Otherwise, I hate the stuff.

glad to see the rpice hasnt gone up too much since I graduated. Same ccalculater was 89.00 in 1991, and my school did not offer to loan one. We HAD to buy it.

I'm lucky, I live in a fairly well-supported school district in fairly well-off area (I live in the "ghetto" of said area but it's a small price to pay for a good school district). But, funding is being cut left and right this year, so I don't know if we'll have that option anymore. I may have to scrape the funds up.

suz: thanks for the heads up on the calculator and the possible loan from the school, we did something similar with his trumpet last year.....

Many schools and agency's do have assistance programs for low income families.

Talk to your school counselor, local Inner Faith Council, Jaycee's, Scouting Councils, Masonic Temple's, United Way, Salvation Army, and even Food Banks.

If your child qualifys for federally funded school lunches they also get federal bucks to buy their school supplies and pay their fees.

Also children that need glasses can get assistance from the Lions Club.

Children needing school physical's can talk to a social worker at the county health offices for free clinincs or health fairs.

I will remind all parents to get their flu & pneumonia & other vacines or boosters shots at the local county clinic or health department. This is accutely necessary if you have a medically fragile child.

I remind you that it is against federal law to require a child's family to pay for any mandated expenses above what is required for all children just because of a special need related to a disability. Schools are suppose to actively project their special needs student budgets and their failure to do so is not your problem when federal funds are out there. Protection and Advocacy at your state level can help you interceed legally if they refuse to at no cost to your family. Protection and Advocacy is usually funded under the Mental Health and Mental Retardation wing of your States budget. All States have a Developeental Disabilities Council that can be of great assistance.