When you were in school, it was Campbell’s soup labels. Now your kids’ school needs box tops from your cereal. Sometimes the school requests soda pop tabs for some charity. Or grocery bags, newspaper and toilet paper rolls for projects. Another day they need old T-shirts your kid can use for art class, and old socks to use for cleaning dry erase boards.
I mean, really, could the requests get weirder? Yes. They could. We interviewed several families about the unusual things schools have asked them to contribute:
“My son Mason is in kindergarten. They’re making 3D collages in class. His teacher has asked for empty toothpaste tubes, large buttons, pen inserts, and busted golf balls. It’s some recycling theme, or reusing things that might end up in a landfill, I think? We told Mason we’re proud of his work and we’ll hang the art on the fridge, but…” – Jake, 31.
“Well, actually they didn’t ask for the buttons. I wanted those myself; I trade them for things, like Little Debbie treats my dad won’t buy me. So I told my dad school needed them. Don’t tell him, please! These Zebra cakes are soooooo good.” – Mason, 5.
“They’ve been asking us to bring in batteries, toilet cleaner and matches. We don’t know why yet. We’ve placed bets that either there’s a Doc Brown-type inventing secret stuff in the custodian’s closet, or one of the teachers is a real-life Walter White.” – Briton, 34.
“Last week we were supposed to bring in coffee grounds, fruit pits, and orange rinds. The science teacher said it was for a composting experiment. But a lot of us have a theory that all this stuff is really for the feral goat we’ve seen near the school sometimes. The thing looks starved, and maybe rabid. So I threw in some old light bulbs, tin cans, table legs I found lying around my grandma’s barn, and a couple of ham sandwiches. I don’t know what goats eat, but I don’t want to get on that one’s bad side.” – Jenny, 32.
“Look, I’m a single mom. I have zero time to go on scavenger hunts for these schools wanting their random things. Around March last year, a teacher asked for ‘used paper clips.’ I let that rattle around my brain for about fifteen seconds before I had a breakdown, and then just filled a banana box with as much chaos as I could find. I dumped unmatched earring backs, Band-Aid wrappers, old calendars, tourist shot glasses, some feathers and acorns from the yard, and some old troll dolls the dog had chewed on as a puppy ALL in that box. I haven’t gotten a request to bring in anything since. I think I took care of all their needs.” – Chloe, 37.
