I Really Do Need That Yellow Binder

Last summer, a video circulated on social media of a lady known as One Funny Mother, and it’s making the rounds again. In the video, a woman circles what looks like Target, ranting about people who complain about buying supplies off of teachers’ lists. I’ve never met her, but I love her.

As a mom, I know that back-to-school shopping gets expensive. When my kids were in elementary school, I spent around $50 per kid for school supplies. The amount went up when they hit middle school and had multiple teachers asking for stuff. When it was time for high school, there were things like large capacity flash drives and engineering-grade calculators that jacked my totals above the triple digit watermark. Multiply that by three kids, and add in the uniforms and backpacks and other things my progeny deemed necessary, and it made me clutch my pearls at the checkout.

As a teacher, though, I am unapologetic about my supply list. I put a lot of thought and energy into planning for the school year, and I am very circumspect about putting together my supply list. When I put a 1" binder with five dividers on my supply list, it’s because I want to help your kids stay organized and learn how to manage their paperwork. We have a section for all the vocabulary terms they’ll be…