Back-to-school blitz

~ Editor's note: The shopping was done at a local discount store. When name brands weren't specified, the least expensive product was chosen.

Whatever you do, DON'T buy a backpack with wheels on it.

In the world of back-to-school supply lists, it's like committing classroom treason.

Purchasing trapper keepers and failing to put your child's name on supplies are similar violations.

By now, most parents have realized the list of items they're responsible for purchasing seems to grow a little each fall.

It's a matter of schools having fewer resources, say local school officials, so parents pick up the slack.

The average list for local schools this year has between 24 and 30 items, ranging from soap and paper towels to snacks and dry erase boards.

The demands are becoming more brand-name specific as well, from "twistable" Crayola Crayons to Elmer's Glue and Sharpie markers.

The lists vary depending on the child's age, whether they attend a parochial or public school and whether the school's budget supplies teachers with red ink pens and other basics.

Here's a comparison from four local schools -- elementary versus junior high and public school versus parochial -- and a look at what it takes to conquer each list.

Parochial elementary school

The total: 20 items total on list with a cost of $79.99

How we shopped: Backpacks ranged from $10 to $40, so an average of $25 was used. Non-marking P.E. shoes ranged from $15 to $40, so an average of $27.5 was used for this list and others that specified.

Public elementary school

The total: 21 items total on list with a cost of $60.80

How we shopped: This list included the continuing cost of supplying snack crackers each month for the duration of the school year, so the cracker cost ($2) was multiplied by 10.

Public junior high school

The total: 29 items total on list with a cost of $52.87

How we shopped: When a specific count (for example, number of pages in a notebook or number of crayons in a pack) was not given, we chose the smallest amount available.

Parochial junior high school

The total: 19 items total on list with a cost of $69.45

How we shopped: This list called for a 9-by-11-inch dry erase board. At the store we visited (as well as two others in Cape Girardeau County) the boards came in 8.5-by-11-inch sizes at a cost of $4.24 each. When a specific count (for example, number of pages in a notebook or number of crayons in a pack) was not given, we chose the smallest amount available.

cmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128

Back to school shopping tips

For waging war on the back to school shopping monster, here are a few tips that may prevent loss of limb -- yours, your child's or the sale person's.

Sales tax holiday

Take advantage of this weekend's sales tax holiday. The average savings on our example lists was $4.60 -- enough for a bottle of extra-strength headache medicine. Think about it.

Deciphering the code

Do not waste time trying to match every detail, because sometimes the details are wrong. For example, there's no point searching frantically for a 9-by-11-inch dry erase board, a single red ink pen or an 8-ounce bottle of Elmer's glue. You can scour at least three local school supply stores and never come up with a 9-by-11-inch dry erase board (the boards come in an 8.5-by-11-inch size). You can't buy just one red ink pen and Elmer's glue comes in 7.6-ounce bottles. The teacher is just messing with you. Or guessed at the size; one of those two.

Shop in peace

Stores are great about piling everything you could possibly need for school in one place, and that is very handy. It's also usually very crowded. So here's a hint: You can pick up many basic items -- from pens and pencils to paper and folders -- in the store's usual office supplies section. That part of town is typically pretty quiet these days, though the selection won't be complete (for example, you can't find Ziploc bags, plastic nap mats and calculators all in the same aisle there).