Pre-Packaged School Supplies sold by PTA

Ava and Bella will start K this August, and when we went to register them yesterday we were given the option of purchasing a pre-packaged box with all of their necessary school supplies in it. It would be waiting for them on the first day of school and was $28.

I have their supply list, but haven't priced the items yet. The lady representing the PTA said that it isn't a fundraiser, that they do it mainly as a convenience for the parents. I can totally see the convenience factor, but can't help but thinking that as a kid, I loved buying all that stuff. Granted, with my two, it may be more frustrating than anything because they will have to have certain things and won't necessarily be able to pick.

Anyone purchased these before?

 

I purchase them every year! I didn't one year & I so regretted it when I was running around fighting crowds while trying to find all the supplies that they needed. It's so nice just to pay for them, then on the first day of school they are given their supplies & that's it. And, for us anyway, I have found it to be cheaper.

 

It really depends. Ours are done by the high school booster clubs. They wanted about $22 per packet. With the sales, I got the same stuff for around $6 per kid. So, instead of $44 total, it was about $12 total. Then I also stocked up with extras that I have on hand.

Our packets were general for the grade. It did not take into account the 2 or 3 things that the teacher wanted special that weren't on the general list. So there still would have been store time for those items.

Marissa

 

Last year my mom thought she was doing us a favor and bought quite a few things off the list.
Well we ended up having to go all over the place trying to find the rest and it was such a pain!!
I had planned on buying the PTO packet so I was a little annoyed and I am pretty sure I ended up paying more in the long run (even with what my mom bought).
The things on the list go in to a shared bin and the itmes are so specific there really isnt anything fun for the kids to pick out anymore.
I will most certainly be purchasing the PTO package this year!! :good:

 

we pay a supply fee and that covers all of the school supplies my 2 need. if we had a choice between buying pre-packaged supplies or going to a store to get them myself i would definitely buy them pre-packaged. i am all about simplifying anything i can and the convenience of it would be more than worth it, even if i had to pay a little more.

 

I have never bought the pre-packaged supplies from the PTA. ardon: Honestly, I would not. I really don't think it's any kind of deal, money wise. I prefer to buy my own so I know I get the brands that I like and that I feel work best. :good:

 

I buy the package every year. I bought on my own the first year DS was in school and our school's list is so specific ("Mead Primary Notebooks without picture-area" or "Only Ticonderoga Sharpened #2 pencils") that I spent weeks hunting everything on the list. I gave up and in actuality I figured it out and they're only making maybe $5 off of me. To save me the time and aggravation, I'll pay it.

 

I have noticed that sometimes the supplies are not as well made though. Our prek list is very specific (crayola products and so on)

 

I lived in one school district that did this and I LOVED it! It was so simple and just as thrilling for the children to go pick up their supplies (in this case, we picked them up about a week before the first day of school). We also lived in a district with VERY specific supply requests. I didn't have to hunt for any of the crazy stuff they wanted. I found the quality to be excellent because the brands requested were so specific. For this school, it was a fund raiser and they were up front about the fact that the school was profiting $5 on every school kit. I was happy to contribute that $5 for the convenience of not having to get the supplies.

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Our list is very specific as well...down to the brand name (Crayola, Fiskars, etc.)None of the items seem hard to find, so I may try pricing it first. This is a whole new world!

 

We buy ours from the PTA as well, at cost. It totally takes the stress out trying to find just the right journal, the right binder, or whatever. Also, on the "Meet the Teacher Day" all the supplies are already in their classroom, and the kids find the spots where they need to go to get familiar with the classroom. I do, however, pick up extra supplies at the back to school sale, to replenish.

 

Our school doesn't offer that, but when the girls went to K in Louisiana, they did. I sure LOVED the convenience of not having to hunt down the supplies (which many times are already cleared off the shelf by the time I get to buying them).

 

^this! OMGoodness, this!
I did the exact same thing. Took Berkley in K to pick out her stuff because I loved to when I was little. . . BIG mistake. Total time killer and we couldn't find the exact items

 

We don't have to buy school supplies. The school provides them.

 

I have done both. Our school offered the packaged kit for the first time this school year. I bought two kits for my 2nd grade twins for about $28.00 each. It also is not a fundraiser for our school. The supplies were to be brand name items. Most were, but some items were not what I would have thought were brand names. I can't remember now what items were not, but I was slightly disappointed when we received them. The kids were okay with them, but not really excited. My son received a white plastic folder in his, while his sister got a colored one. I gave them the choice for next Fall and they immediately said they wanted to pick out their own supplies. Where I live, stores like Target and Walmart carry school supplies very cheaply. Like 25C bottles of Elmers Glue, 1.00 boxes of Markers, 50c boxes of Crayons etc. Target even posts the school supply lists for the area districts, so they have the specific items on hand if we shop early enough. Also, another thing to keep in mind that another poster mentioned is that sometimes some of the supplies are turned into the teacher and are used by everyone in the class - not kept at your childs desk for their own personal use. I have three to buy for and we can usually pick up all supplies at two stores, along with backpacks and some clothes. Sometimes there is an odd item we look for when we are out and about. Although, I must admit I did enjoy the convenience of the kits. Hope this helps!