Principessa is going into first grade which means that with less than one week until we meet her teacher for the very first time, we have acquired quite an assortment of school supplies. Her list was online, which was a huge help. I printed it, took mental notes, and off we went..armed and dangerous on the hunt for things like already sharpened Ticonderoga Pencils, washable Crayola markers, yellow highlighters, pink highlighters, and extra large glue sticks.
The three ring binder, different colored folders with paper fasteners, Clorox wipes and the ever necessary facial tissues and hand sanitizer were also relatively easy to find.
The tricky item was…. a box. An item that I have still not made sense of. A 15″ by 8″ “school box.”
At first glance I thought they were asking for a pencil box. As we looked for pencil boxes though, I quickly realized that the traditional pencil boxes are much smaller…and that I had no earthly idea what I was looking for.
Here I was…a teacher, with no idea of what this thing was on the list.
The thing about a supply list is that usually it is put together by a grade level team. I have been a part of such teams. And the truth is that we put things on lists for very specific reasons. Maybe we know of a project we are going to do that is going to require something, or maybe time and experience have taught us that binders are better than folders. Whatever the reason, we create our lists. What we forget sometimes is that Target or Office Depot or Staples do not think like we do. Nor does most of the rest of the world’s population. And so there end up being items on our lists that are either impossible to find per our specific instructions.
I feel bad being “the parent” that emails the teacher before school even starts. But I also want to make sure that Principessa is prepared and does not feel bad because she is missing supplies.
In trying to figure out what this box was, I started brainstorming possible uses for said box.
- organizing the zillions of pink bevel erasers, highlighters, glue sticks, and pencils
- organizing stickers and stampers for use in the classroom
- for use as a cubby by individual students
- for future diorama projects (please no!!)
- to be decorated and used as hats (this is first grade after all)
- for use by the teacher to put all the notes from worried parents about this, that, and everything in between
- to organize bandaids that will undoubtedly be in high demand to fix minor scrapes, bumps, and bruises
Or maybe..there as a typo on the supply list and I am over thinking a simple pencil box?
xo
Elena
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, now you’ve got me curious – what could that be for?
I am totally bewildered by it…. and did email the teacher. I apologized for bothering her during the summer but do not want Principessa to show up unprepared. I will let you know what I find out!
I have no insight to said box, but reading posts like this scare me about shopping for school supplies once the time comes!
Now I’m curious too how that ‘mysterious box’ might looks like…hmmm…hope you’ll post a picture once you do
I’m sure it’s a typo. And if not, it’s probably ok to figure out later.