Today is the first day of school for my daughter. The first day of first grade. Awww….

I’ve been keeping a running tally of what it costs to get a little one ready for school. I’m very lucky in that my ex mother in law loves to buy my daughter clothes, so I got 4 outfits and 2 pairs of shoes for free. Her other grandma also brought over some school supplies, like crayons and folders and whatnot. But even with that I still spent a grand total of $196.

The breakdown…

Backpack - $10

Lunch box - $8

Supplies - $22

Clothes - $56

Lunch money - $100

About the lunch money: I don’t know if they do this everywhere but at my daughter’s school they have a debit card type thing and the parent loads the card online. The bad part is that they charge a fee each time you load it. So I put enough on there to, hopefully, last all year. She normally takes her lunch, but buys a drink everyday. And I let her buy lunch on special days.

I know I got off cheap in the clothing department. Just sneakers alone can cost $56. My ex mother in law spent at least $200 I’m sure. So “Thank you Grandma!”. Also, I didn’t buy her any pants since it’s still too hot for pants and I want to wait til she needs them. The last thing I want is for her to out grow her clothes before she even gets a chance to wear them! So I’m sure she will need more clothing before the year is done.

But one thing is clear… our schools need more money. The supply list shows how desperate the teachers are for supplies. Things like tissues and paper towels should be paid for by the school, in my opinion. I shouldn’t have to supply printer paper, windex, hand sanitizer, and zip lock bags. It’s really sad that our schools are so underfunded. Don’t get me wrong, if the teacher needs these things then I’m happy to provide them. I got every single thing on the list. It’s just terrible to watch these people who are doing one of the most important jobs in society struggling to get the things they need.

Pic by: alberto.quaglia