Tissues, paper towels and disinfecting wipes are now a common school supply item, alongside scissors, glue and crayons.
There seems to be a growing trend to add classroom cleaning supplies to the back to school supply list.
I thought it was odd, when our oldest hit kindergarten, to see tissues on her school supply list. I seem to remember horrible, scratchy tissues supplied by the school when I was a child. But, I dutifully send them in.
A few years later, wet wipes & anti-bacterial lotion appeared on the list, too. Huh?
Now that my girls attend a Montessori school, I would actually find it much more appropriate. Life skills lessons are an every day part of the curriculum, especially in the preschool classrooms. It is the children who dust, wipe tables & place chairs.
They are assigned daily & weekly chores—and excited about completing them! I was once told to be late for school pickup because it was my daughter’s turn to vacuum the classroom, and she had to wait for everyone to leave.
But, at a public school, with a staff of janitors & a taxpayer-funded budget, I don’t think it’s right to expect parents to fulfill their needs. On the other hand, if the needs aren’t being met, I do appreciate the teachers still attempting to control germs in the classroom.
Sixty percent of teachers surveyed by Seventh Generation said they request parents donate disinfecting wipes to the classroom. I guess, then, I’m torn. What does your school supply list look like? How do you feel about sending cleaning supplies with their crayons?
Tell us in the comments for your chance to win a green cleaning supply gift pack from Seventh Generation!
This back to school kit from Seventh Generation features environmentally friendly paper products, made from recycled materials, and cleaning supplies that feature natural ingredients, like thyme, to disinfect. It has everything you need, whether you’re fulfulling a school supply list or just trying to keep kids healthy at home.
To enter, leave a comment here, and tell us your opinion on school supply lists & cleaning supplies! You can earn additional entries by:
- Subscribing to our site
- Following Seventh Generation and Back to School Resource on Twitter
- Writing about this giveaway (blog, forum, public Facebook note)
- Tweeting about this giveaway: Win a Back to School cleaning kit from @SeventhGen & @BTSresource! {link}
For your extra entries to be counted, be sure to leave an additional comment directing us to your entry. Only one additional entry per method (i.e. While multiple tweets are appreciated it, only one will count as a drawing entry.) The contest runs until 9/7/10 at 11:59pm est. One winner will be notified by email on 9/8/10 and receive a Seventh Generation cleaning, including a back pack, tissues, paper towels, disinfecting wipes & spray. Winner will have 48 hours to complete the claim form or a new winner will be chosen.
I received a Seventh Generation cleaning kit from My Blog Spark for hosting this giveaway, but all opinions are 100% mine.
I am now following you on both my personal (indysuz13) and work (daynurseryindy) Twitter accounts and I signed up for your newsletter to my personal email. My daughter has moved up to Intermediate School this year (5th grade) and the girls were asked to bring in a bottle of hand sanitizer and the boys were asked to bring in a container of disinfectant wipes. I am happy to provide these items and other misc supplies requested by the teacher (ie tissues, zip lock bags etc) because I trust our school will make good use of these resources and, as a PTO member, know how tight our budget is.
My opinion on both are that you need too many things!
I have a 6th, 4th, and 2nd grader:
I understand what you mean, but the school provides those horrible brown paper towels that don’t absorb and scratchy tissues. I think the teachers are looking to provide an alternative that is effective and they don’t have the funding to buy, say, Bounty or Kleenex.
I would rather my teachers spent their extra money on books or learning supplies rather than nice paper towels.
The hand sanitizer is the same – it’s a great way to keep kids from spreading germs but it isn’t provided by the school. Soap and water is provided by the school, but kids are notorious for being bad hand washers!
Great question, I will have to bring this up for my Feedback Friday next week!
I already follow you on Twitter…tweet tweet!
I understand the need for the scool supply listd but I think they’re getting a little out of hand.
Quite honestly,I would /did donate cleaning supplies, etc. for my kids classroom. I don’t mind at all-if I can help out a teacher …no problem
email subscriber
I am glad that schools are now having kids bring in supplies for cleaning and sanitizers. When I went to school we didn’t and the amount of kids sick was out of hand and now we take precautions which is great
I follow you and seventh gen on Twitter
Tweeted here http://mobile.twitter.com/littlekiwismom
I think it’s too much to expect parents to supply everything. But I agree that with so many financial cuts in education, maybe they don’t have the resources anymore!
I subscribe to your site!
I tweeted about your giveaway!
http://twitter.com/kristinkanester/status/23249286962
We are really blessed to live in a school district that provides everything– kids are not expected to supply cleaning or school supplies. Sometimes I do wish they would make an effort to be more eco-friendly, but I understand they do this to keep costs down for everyone.
Thanks for entering me!
Subscribed via Google Reader
Now following Seventh Generation and BTSResource on Twitter (ourseasonsofjoy)
I prefer natural, non-toxic, biodegradeable cleaning supplies, especially now that I have a child. I found that my current natural bathtub cleaning product is better than the toxic one plus I’m not coughing and hacking when I use it! I do feel that the back-to-school supply lists are very extensive. I feel for everyone that has a limited budget. If all the kids in a classroom using cleaning products, they should be natural products. If they weren’t non-toxic, that would be a lot of fumes for kids to breathe.
I follow you both on twitter @dearandrea