Monday, July 29, 2013

Bouquets of Newly Sharpened Pencils (GIVEAWAY)

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." - (You've Got Mail, 1998)

I don't know about you but I love back to school shopping for school supplies.  I do...I love it!  Yes, this is one time I am not being sarcastic.   Maybe it's because I am a teacher or maybe it's because I loved to color as a young girl and I get truly excited about a pack of new crayons. 

 
I realize sometimes the lists of things requested can seem a little over the top, but I promise you...there is a rhyme and reason behind every item and 90% of teachers will put them all to good use. 

To the mom in Wal-mart the other night:  I wasn't eavesdropping (you were just being a little loud and dramatic), but I overheard some of your complaints.  I would ask that you re-read my preceding paragraph...rhyme and reason, mam...rhyme and reason.  The pencils requested will last much longer than the cheap ones...they sharpen easier and have much softer and more supple erasers for better clean-up.  Ditto on the Fiskars.  Few things are more irritating to a child than to be attempting to cut something with scissors that won't cut.  Go ahead.  Splurge.  Get the Fiskars.  Your child will appreciate this.  Finally, a box of Kleenex and a tub of antibacterial wipes may just keep your child (and others) from getting sick.  $5 for the both of them is much cheaper than the going rate for a visit to the doctor.  Finally, madame, I understood from your comment this is your first foray into being a school mom, as you mentioned to someone your daughter is entering kindergarten (this is when you remarked something to the effect of "Gah...you mean I have twelve more years of this?").  Try to chill a bit.  Enjoy.  Cherish.  These next thirteen years will go by in the blink of an eye.  I promise you that. 


Myself?  Sometimes, I get a little too carried away with the process and end up with a lot of stuff not on my child's list.  This year, though, I have been sooo good (so far, at least).  At Target the other night, I almost succumbed to all the cute Dr. Seuss items in the $1 bins, but I resisted.  After all, I teach at the middle school level and my son is entering the 3rd grade.  He's an adult now, you know.

A GIVEAWAY...

One week from today, folks in my district will be returning to school.  Yikes!  Can it really be the end of our summer break?  In celebration of going back-to-school I thought it would be fun to have a little giveaway.  Anyone may enter and entering is easyYou have three chances to win...1.  Leave a comment here and share with us your favorite school supply or back to school memory  -mine still has to be a box of new crayons- and 2.  Follow my little blog and leave a comment letting me know that you do.  3.  Share my Facebook post about this and leave a comment letting me know that you did.

And just what will you win?  Well, I'm not exactly sure yet...but I'm leaning toward a goodie bag packed with back-to-school fun (with a gift card or two thrown in for good measure)!!!  You will love it!  Your kids will love it!

The contest will end at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 3.  A winner will be picked at random and annouced the following Monday.





P.S.  You do not need a Google account to leave a comment.  Just use the anonymous option and make sure to leave your name (and perhaps email address) in the comment...just some way for me to contact you should you win.

P.S.S.  If you do have a Google account and want to follow, just look on the right of the screen under "Wanna follow?".



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that line from You've Got Mail! Always enjoy reading your posts. Kim Frye

Tire Swing Mom said...

Thank you, Kim.

Anonymous said...

One of many memorable back to school shopping sprees came with my first year in Middle School. I purchased notebooks for my students and created SWOOSH books. It was an organizational tool. I was a little nervous about how they would be accepted by the students and wasn't for sure that they would even use them. However, to my surprise most of my students liked them and used them the whole year. I was one happy teacher.

Tire Swing Mom said...

Ms. Jean, Ren had such a great year with you - thanks in big part to those Students-Working-On-Organization-Skills-Happily (SWOOSH) books!!! I always said if I were ever a self-contained classroom teacher again I would absolutely follow your lead.

Anonymous said...

I loved shopping for new clothes. My mother always made it a big deal. Sometimes we would go to a big shopping mall out of state. We would go to a nice place to eat and come home with bags of new clothes that I had chosen. Mom guided me because my fashion sense was not always the best. (I remember one purple dress that I absolutely LOVED. When I see pictures of that time, I can't believe I thought I looked glamorous.)Members of my family still comment on my lack of style. Guess I still need Mom to shop with me.

Sonya@Beyond the Screen Door said...

Hi, Tyla! Thanks so much for a chance to win! Brand new crayons & markers would have to be my favorite school supply as a kid. My grown girls now claim a love for cute office supplies which is just a grown up version of school supplies. :)

Sonya@Beyond the Screen Door said...

I'm a follower. And You've Got Mail is still one of my favorite movies. I love her apartment!

Tire Swing Mom said...

Anonymous from June 29 @ 6:47: I'm afraid you and I are very different...I hated shopping for new clothes. LOL If you happen to check back in, please leave another comment and let me know who you are, my friend.

Tire Swing Mom said...

Sonya, You are one of my favorite followers. Guess what? I am finally getting around to redoing John-Heath's room (inspired by "Grayson's room"). And it's only been like, what, 3 years? haha

Meredith said...

I remember the Trapper Keeper & the crayons with the built in sharpener. I'm a school supply junkie. I could buy school supplies year round. :)

Susie said...

OH, it had to be the pencils that were not the ordinary yellow ones! Yes, we did have those back in the day, Tyla!