How Much Do You Spend on School Supplies?

The cost of one child’s school supplies ranged between $35 and $50 for elementary and middle school grades.

Patch randomly selected three schools and purchased the cheapest version of each item in the amount requested from Walmart.

The schools selected were half-day kindergarten at , first grade at and seventh grade at . High school lists were not available, because each hour has their own supply list.

Totals without tax are also included for those taking advantage of the .

Beasley Principal Andrea Deane said the lists are a conservative estimate of the year's school supplies. Teachers in each grade level meet and start planning the lists in the spring. 

"They take a lot of time to consider exactly what parents need to purchase," she said. "They look at supplies that haven't been used from the previous year and what kids took back home."

Parents most often question items like Ziploc bags on the suggested lists. Deane said with more hands-on curriculum materials such as pattern blocks and money, students need the bags to organize their own materials. 

"They need to be organized for the students so they don't waste class time in dividing up the materials each day," she said. "Also, parents question dry erase markers. Each student has a dry erase board to conserve paper and parents think they're buying the markers for the teachers."

Teachers also focus on individual student versus classroom supplies, Deane said. 

Where do you purchase school supplies for your children? Do you bring them along? Purchase name-brand or extra supplies?

Beasley Elementary School
Half-Day Kindergarten Supply List

4 Two-pocket folders  

 $.60

1 Backpack

$8.88

1 Large paint shirt for art class                        

 $3

1 Box Crayola markers 

$.97

1 Package dry erase markers 

$2.50

1 Box crayons (24 count) 

 $.50

8-10 Glue sticks      

 $2

1 Bottle liquid glue  

 $.50

1 Pair children’s scissors     

$1.97

1 Old sock

Free

2 Bottles anti-bacterial liquid hand soap

$1.76

1 Box of 2-gallon size Ziploc bags     

$2.76

1 Box of baggies (any size but snack size)  

$1.97

2 Rolls paper towels  

$1

3 Boxes of tissues 

$2.58

1 Container of disinfecting wipes 

$4.63

Total:  

$35.62

Total with tax: 

$38.09

$6 Party money

$44.09

Forder Elementary School
First Grade Supply List

1 Backpack  

$4.88

No. 2 Pencils  

$1.12

Liquid Glue

$.50

5 Big Glue Sticks 

$5.88

4 Erasers  

$4.50

Scissors

$2.67

2 Boxes Crayons 

$1

1 Box colored pencils  

$.97

1 Package markers  

$1.97

4 Pack fat dry erase markers 

$2.50

3 Spiral notebooks (100+ pages) 

$7

1 Poly Plastic two-pocket folders 

$1

Small School Box 

$.57

2 Boxes Kleenex  

$1.72

1 Roll paper towels

$.50

1 Pair ear buds 

$9.88

Total:

$46.66

Total with tax:   

$49.92                                        

Oakville Middle School
Seventh and eighth grade supplies

1 3-inch zippered binder with three rings   

$15.47

8 Dividers for each class

$1.44

White, loose leave paper 

$.82

Black or Blue ballpoint pens

$.97

No. 2 pencils   

$1.12

Red grading pens 

$5.34

Highlighters   

$1.74

Locker Pouch  

$.97

Colored Pencils

$.97

Thin Markers 

$1.97

Ruler with Metric

$.47

Glue stick

$.50

Scissors

$2.97

Combination lock

$3.37

Total: 

$38.12

Total with tax:

$40.76 

Patch will donate the supplies to the schools selected.