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10 Bright Stars
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| Posted: Jan 20 2009 at 12:41pm | IP Logged
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I was wondering how much, on average, you spend monthly on school supplies incluing crafts supplies etc. I usually just spend at the beginning of the year for the curriculum and the neccesary books and then I don't purchase anything all year except for book report books, or cool homeschooling "how to" books for me. I dont' really purchase anything in the way of crafting supplies. I do occassionaly spend for pencils, paper and notebooks that need replacing.
I have noticed that a lot of other mom's have very well stocked school rooms with all sorts of neat puzzles, activity trays, crafting items, books galore etc. I know we are all on different budgets etc. but I wonder if I should be providing more on crafty things for the kids, especially since they are bored and it is wintertime? I really want to get the twins (aged 3) doing more hands on type things each day, but I wonder what are some economical ways to go about this!  I had thought about cutting up my husband's extensive National Geographic collection into little continent type books for them, or nature books, but he might not like that. (They are just sitting on the shelf collecting dust though since our kids aren't into them like he was as a kid. )
Tips? Thoughts on budgeting for school? How much would be an average? I figured no one would know or want to divulge possibly how much they spend on school supplies monthly, but I assumed a monthly "budget" would be o.k. to share since you may or may not actually spend that. KWIM? I also don't know if this is the right place to post this???
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 20 2009 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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I don't have a set budget.. it depends on what we have and what I need to get.. but I do try and get the cheap crayons and notebooks and glue and pencils from wal-mart at the back to school sales. I figure a box of crayons a week should be enough 
Oh I also try and have watercolor paper (for special) and watercolors on hand. (I just pulled those out for a birthday party activity.. noticing I need a few new boxes of watercolors )
But mostly that stuff I buy once a year and what I get depends on what I have and how much money I have available... from overtime money, extra paychecks or tax returns etc.. "extra" money.. not out of the monthly budget. Though several of those are plannable.. and then it just depends on the actual amount I have and what else needs funds.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 20 2009 at 3:15pm | IP Logged
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Let's see...some things I purchase at the beginning of the year - things I know I'll want to have on hand:
*wool for felting and stuffing
*wool felt
*embroidery thread
*wooden clothespin doll bodies
*chenille stems
*paint
*sculpey
*glue in every flavor and color
*yarn/string/twine
*beeswax
*a variety of papers - watercolor, tissue, doilies, cardstock
*a plethora of holy cards
*wooden shapes (flat 2-D stars, squares, circles), popsicle sticks
*stencils
*stamps and stamp pads
*markers, color pencils, oil pastels, beeswax crayons
...ok - I just typed out the contents of my craft shelf and I realize you were looking for "how you spend" habits and not "what's on your shelf"...  Anyway, I think where I was going with that list is to show that some things I purchase intentionally at the beginning of the year (or usually just add to existing supplies) to have on hand. Most of our crafts can be completed with what I keep on hand. If there is a special craft, I purchase for it out of my weekly allowance. My dh gives me a set figure for the week. Everything we do for the week comes out of that pot of money. If there are craft supplies I need, I'm likely to wait for a Michael's coupon and purchase with that.
I do make craft item/school supply purchases throughout the year (I confess it's a weakness). If it's a big purchase, I bring it up to dh who grills me as to its necessity (weeding out process ) and then he adds a special savings line for it in our budget. Most smallish ($40 or less) purchases (which aren't happening with too much frequency...just when I find inspiration and need something) come out of my weekly allowance.
Does that help at all, Kim?
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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juststartn
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| Posted: Jan 20 2009 at 3:21pm | IP Logged
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My dc draw. A LOT. So we have tons of crayons and paper and colored pencils on hand.
I really don't buy much thru the year for them. The only times that they get anything like that is at Christmas.
Rachel
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10 Bright Stars
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| Posted: Jan 20 2009 at 3:36pm | IP Logged
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Yes, all very helpful! Having a list of what's on the shelf is nice to have too! I just wonder if my kids get enough fun, crafty things, or if I need to spend more $$/supply resources in this area??? I had thought about looking at the local thrift stores for items that might be amusing for the kids since I am on a very tight budget! But, I also just sort of wondered if I should be setting aside money each month specifically for school purchases, and then wondered what ARE good things to purchase for smaller children.
My older children have a microscope and telescope for example. (one of each that my oldest boy hoards) They all have art sets, the oldest have really nice watercolor sets and papers that they rarely use. They have a radio to listen to books on tape. I don't have any puzzles since the kids lose the pieces. I do buy a lot of crayons and white board markers since these are always mysteriously lost. We do buy a lot of paper throughout the year. I guess I just see a lot of cool crafts projects on people's blogs and wonder how pricey this sort of thing can get? I had wanted to start lapbooking some 5 In A Row books for example, but when I attempt to start a project like this, inevitably I do not have the most basic of tools on hand to start and I would have to drive an hour to get supplies! So, there is gas involved, time away from the family, a high bill from the craft store I would have to explain in detail to husband, and then the supplies are often found by younger children and wasted. (As far as not making it to their intended purpose. ) All of this makes me shy away from more "hands on" educational pursuits. Perhaps this is a whole new thought on the whole budgeting question! 
My twins are a little over 3 now and are very hyper. I had thought doing more schoolish things with them would spark their little minds, get them settled in a routine etc., so that got me thinking about how little ones usually require more hands on arts and crafts, and they are girls, which I have found LOVE these sorts of things, but I just wonder how to do this economically. As I mentioned, the budget is tight, as I am sure it is for everyone these days, but I would still love for the kids to have fun things to fiddle with/create each day!
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 20 2009 at 4:03pm | IP Logged
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well.. start with egg cartons.. make great catapillars for instance.. and you can color them with crayons or glue on construction paper.. you can make make pencil holders with cans.. etc.. look at what you have for inspiration rather than finding something and then trying to hunt up supplies.
Like I have a bunch of old file folders.. the tabs are impossible.. so I don't use them as folders.. but the body of them are decent.. I use them as card stock.
I have fabric (fleece and felt are great for littles because they don't fray out) and yarn.. snag things as they come through.. we've gotten balloons with the weight wrapped in a gold mylar type of "tissue".. and I'll save those for special crafts.. like when I made the St. Lucy candle wreath.. I rolled white paper into candles and cut flames out of that and glued them into the end of the candles.. gave a very real look to them. Or the year my children decided they were having a 4th of July parade.. must have been about 4.5 yrs ago.. so my 5 older children plus 4 neighborhood children.. and the bigger boys carried flags.. and some of the others rode thier bikes with decorations on them.. and one little girl wanted to do something but there wasn't a flag and she wasn't good at riding a bike.. so I went into my closet and I took an old piece of white sheet.. tied it over one shoulder (toga style) and made a torch with a cone of white paper and some of that gold tissue.. and a crown and a book to carry and she was a great little Statue of Liberty.
Anyway.. just saying that every thing I save isn't a free for all.. but rather some are put back for when we need something special.
But all sorta of canister and boxes can be used to make things.. leaves and sticks and string (a flat stick with a stick mast and a leaf sail makes a great little boat for puddles)..
Remember the second step in recycling is "reuse".. look at all the things that you could reuse in crafts.. and find crafts to go with that.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 20 2009 at 4:23pm | IP Logged
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I hear ya on the driving thing and carting the kids all over creation thing only to spend a small fortune at the craft store!!!!!
As far as how much, I think that'd be hard to define. I'm a big believer in offering littles lots of fun, purposeful handwork and crafting activities. But...I'm also a bigger believer in you do what you can do. It's my preference to craft with the seasons - whether those are the natural seasons or the liturgical seasons.
I love beautiful crafts with natural materials. Maybe what you're looking for is a good craft book to gather some ideas and inspiration and make plans, Kim?
Natural Season Crafting
My favorite, favorite is Crafts Through the Year by Thomas and Petra Berger because so many of the crafts coordinate with the seasons and use materials from nature readily found in my backyard or in a park. Do you have that one? If not, maybe you could check your library.
Liturgical Season Crafting
Limiting my list of favorite books here is exceedingly more difficult, but I'm betting a handful of them already live on your shelves. I think if I *had* to pick one that is currently in print as a favorite I'd say....ouch this is hard to pick....The Year and Our Children by Mary Reed Newland. But, truthfully, the forums are my biggest inspiration for liturgical crafting!
Perhaps we could each share a favorite source for crafting inspiration...other than this forum which is my go-to place for ideas!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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snowbabiesmom
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| Posted: Jan 26 2009 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
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Three year olds love to sort.. If you have buttons, they can sort them into cups.. Sort mittens, sort socks....
Stringing.... They love to string things... large wooden beads that are colored are great... save money and make your own strips of patterns for them to copy... like: like red, blue red blue, ( AB pattern) or ABC patterns and have them show you before moving on to the next strip. If you don't have beads, you can use large noodles ( you can dye them onto different colors) or cut up paper towel rolls that you paint to string.
Stringing letters is fabulous. THey can start by just stringing the letters.. then you can have them string only the red letters or only the blue letters.. eventually they will string their name and then maybe spelling words when they are in grade levels.
Paper plates make fun crafts, If you buy a few puzzles, only allow one out at a time.
Also another fun thing to do is to transfer water with things like basters or measuring spoons.
Whatever you chose, to keep it orderly... You pull out the activity for the day. ie, at my house, Wednesdays are the stringing day, Thursdays are puzzle day, Friday is craft day.
Just some ideas!
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Jan 27 2009 at 12:18pm | IP Logged
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I *try* to spend minmal money on crafty stuff but still provide enough of a variety and simplicity to encourage creativity - if that makes sense (I think too much can limit creativity in making a child think these are the ONLY possibilities, but several options are good in getting the juices flowing for ideas)....
Whenever I visit a thrift store (and this year is easier in that we live 20 minutes from everything with a van that can't drive very long at a time), I will check for supplies - old drawing pads are the primary thing I find, in addition to some kit-type things.
We use Target dollar racks to pick up finger paints, watercolors and others (I have a love/hate relationship with those dollar racks!). I would say we end up spending less than $5 a month on average on supplies - when I had daycare in my home and a LOT more children in/out, I still think it came to less $10 a month because of the thrift store, Target and dollar store combination.
Bigger purchases, like candlemaking and such are planned purchases and I try to buy thsoe only 3 times a yer (just before Advent, Lent, and school starting - we don't buy anything during Advent and Lent). And I try to keep that as low as possible - with the multiple children, it was about $100 each time, but we have TONS of supplies leftover now!
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Jan 27 2009 at 1:21pm | IP Logged
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I probably spend $40 per month on extra things I need, sometimes extra books, sometimes stickers to enhance the timelines, sometimes craft supplies. One thing I do not do is buy random open ended craft supplies. When I do, they just get wasted.
However, I will buy specific projects like yarn and needles and plan to teach a child to knit. Then the knitting supplies are kept for the child to continue from time to time, but not for other projects.
Other add-ins I also always buy with a purpose. If I don't have a specific plan for when and how they will be used, they just clutter up the shelves. And when I do have a plan, it makes it easier to budget the money, I've found. HTH!
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LucyP
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| Posted: Jan 28 2009 at 3:18am | IP Logged
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I don't have a set budget. I don't buy a lot. We don'tbuy lots of different paints - just watercolours and acrylics on sale. Wool for feltig is cheap and th children love it, so I do that. My son who is five does a lot of self-directed model making from junk, so that is very cheap! I find the hard part is when I end up buying supplies for the home ed group - I just spent £15 on beeswax candlemaking supplies, out of which we will get two candles!
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10 Bright Stars
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| Posted: Jan 28 2009 at 6:50am | IP Logged
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A thought on art/craft supplie budgeting:I just made a huge list for my husband of supplies I "wish" for the younger set to use during school hours. I just found a really neat collection of old teacher magazines at a thrift store that are filled with good ideas for little crafts to do with the kids and some even go along with good story books etc. Anyway, the lengthly list is a wish list of supplies, but craft supplies are so pricey.
Yesterday my husband went to the store and purchased a few of the items, which ended up being about $45! That was just for a few of the items, crayons, finger paints etc. so it will have to be a slow collection of items over time to start stocking an art supply cabinet. I really just want to start having more fun things to occupy the twins each day and my 5 year old. A recent (or perhaps it was an older post) post by Elizabeth confirmed that the younger kids can get lost with the needs of school of the older kids and how we can really miss out on these beautiful years! (I am paraphrasing her thoughts. ) That is really the case around here, and I thought I would set up a little "messes welcome" area on my "husband's side" of the basement near the wash sink. My daughter and I cleaned out a nice little area yesterday since we took off the day for a "sledding day" for the older boys. We are going to try to carefully husband the supplies since we have to budget carefully these days, and we are going to have a rotation each day with the older children who happen to be inclinded in the way of art/crafts etc to help the little kids do various projects. That way they get to do the fun things too, and at the same time, I can be right there on the other side of the basement helping the older children with their lessons, or helping the twins with a little B4FIAR lesson craft that I hope to start with them soon too! One of my sons has already taught my 5 year old daughter how to do oragami and they have made several cute little things together.
We plan on calling our little area "The John Paul II Cultural Center" Isn't that a hoot? If you saw the little area, you would have to laugh since it is sort of a mess on the "manly" side of the basement, but I thought I would hang a picture of our late Holy Father in that area, and then string so that we can hang their work to dry etc. on clothespins. I was always the type to shy away from crafts since the mess in a kitchen area or school room made me squirm inside, but this will be perfect!! And, the sink is right there! I can even bathe the twins if it gets really messy!
But, as far as budgeting goes, I think we will have to just spend a little each month and try to take good care of what we do purchase. (harder than you think around here!) I think my list was of about 55 things!! Mostly a wish list, and it is SO nice to just have husband go and purchase it. I think he enjoyed coming home with the bag of goodies and being in on the fun!
An idea of school budgeting is to set aside part of your tax refund for the big summer spending spree that usually occurs. We are going to try to set aside some of our refund this year for that purpose. We are also going to try to start setting aside a certain amount each month into savings so that time of year won't be filled with financial stress; instead we can just relax and enjoy the planning!
I also have been forced to revisit my "trial" shelves of the school room. You know, the curriculums you purchasd that you thought wouldn't work for some reason, but in the new light of day, seem just right! I did this last summer before school started out of neccesity, and I was amazed to find things I had completely forgotten about that were not good fits for the boys, but ended up being just perfect for our 7 year old girl this year and things like that. So, it is a good budgeting idea to take a "new look" at those brand new "cast-offs" of yesteryear.
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: How much do you spend monthly- supplies
