You know, this school supply thing makes me CRAZY. We have lived in other states, and Florida is the worst for what they ask the parents to provide each year, and then the worst part is that when your child actually NEEDS something, the teacher gives them something other than what you purchased for your child because your items were "pooled" for the class and given to some other child. Well, I have an issue with that. My husband and I made sure to buy nice things for our children, and good quality, and when my son who has sensory issues and a difficult time even HOLDING a pencil needs another pencil, he should get one of the ones that WE have bought for him, not some 3" long nasty mostly used one out of a box that has been chewed and has the earaser all worn or chewed off. (really gross) We bought him and his sister nice headphones for the school computers, as they asked, (not earbuds, but the kind that fit over your ear since he freaks out when anything goes in his ears), and when my daughters teacher went to give her a set for the 1st time, SHE got a red set of ear buds instead of the pink headpones that we had purchased for her. Another child was wearing her headphones. They keep the same set all year, so that other child had already written her name on the headphones. I was a little miffed.
So last year I decided to try the Florida virtual school, which is actually still considered public school, but you do it all at home. (kind of like homeschooling, except you still have a teacher assigned who you have one online "class" with every week, and you have to take all state testing and have an attendance requirement and that type of thing) Anyway, it IS public school and we (my kids) were still considered still enrolled in their county's school system. I was totally amazed and astonished by all of the supplied, textbooks, and workbooks that were sent to us by the k12 virtual school that our county's school board paid for. They sent science kits and all supplies, they sent story books, they sent graph paper, paper to learn to write in cursive, they sent all of the parent/ "learning coach books, all of the extra worksheets, and the kids both got to pick "specials. They could choose from art or music, and they supplied all of the books, CD's, DVD's, and even the instruments! They sent some clay and paper for other art projects even though art was not their "special", and this upcoming school year they can take a language. I even got pens, regular pencils, highliters, and red pencils to correct papers. I don't understand HOW THEY can afford to send all of that but the year before that my son needed a piece of paper in late April, and his teacher told him he owed her 5cents!! The only stuff we had to send back at the end of the school year was the hard cover text books and the hard cover reading books. Not any of the music stuff or science stuff, and we have rock and mineral kits, safety goggles, compasses, beakers, thermomiters, oh, and a BUNCH of math blocks too. SO many math blocks. (base 10, sorting, etc) It's CRAZY!!! SO, I do understand that the teachers spend their own money, but the district isn't spending the money well in the first place if they can afford to do this but can't afford to pay for toilet paper or paper towels in the classrooms. Just my opinion!
