Broken Crayons and Dried Up Markers (and a few chewed pencils, too)

Nancy R. DeHaan
MACSA Executive Director (and recovering preschool teacher)

I love school supplies! I can live without dozens of pairs of shoes (with or without matching handbags), I can wear the winter coat for “one more year”, but I can’t start the school year with last year’s supplies! I LOVE to shop for markers, pens, pencils and new pads of paper! Somehow, I feel better starting the school year new and fresh – with none of last year’s wear and tear on my supplies!

This time of year I can tell – without even looking at the calendar – that the school year is almost over. I can see and hear it in the excited voices of the students and teachers – and in the “what am I going to do all summer” faces of the parents! But . . . it’s not the calendar; it’s not the students, teachers or parents. I can tell it’s almost the end of the school year by looking in the students’ pencil boxes – and in my center desk drawer!

The school supplies that were purchased during the summer started the year all lined up and ready to work in pencil boxes and desk drawers – like an army of soldiers ready to do battle! And now . . . many battles have been fought (some won, some lost) – and it’s hard to find a crayon that isn’t broken and/or missing its paper! And markers with caps – the caps were long gone by Christmas! The nub of a pencil hiding in the corner of the drawer can still do the job, but it is showing the toll that the school year has taken. The pencils, markers and crayons all have the marks of a school year almost over – they look well used, worn and weary!

Teacher - are you feeling used up, worn and weary? Do you feel a little broken, dried up and chewed? Even the best of school years can take its toll – draining us of our energy and creativity.

The solution – visit your local discount store or office supply store and buy a new box of crayons, a few new markers and a package of new pencils! Line your new “recruits” up in your desk drawer and prepare to finish the school year strong! Suggest that your classroom parents do the same – and pick a day in the next week and designate it as the “Beginning of the End" Day and recapture some of the excitement and enthusiasm that marked the beginning of the school year.

And next year . . . buy extra supplies in August – and hide them (remember where, so you can find them in May) and bring out the “new” things when you are feeling as weary as your school supplies look - but try to wait until after Christmas!

Please forward this to a friend or colleague who could use some encouragement today - better yet, stop by the classroom with a brand new marker!