1st day of school

Yesterday was the first day of school for my kids , and what a hectic day it was !  

I wonder why the schools give us a huge list of supplies to purchase way before school starts and when the kids come home from their first day ,  we find a list of supplies sent home which does not match the first list we were given ??? the list just keeps getting longer and longer as they get older .

I often wonder if schools are getting some kind of kickback from these stores because I have a ton of supplies they have made me buy and my kids have  never had to  use them  . Its never bothered me as much but now that the economy is what it is I hate to see such waste . This year one of the items is pencils ... all 80 of them !! am I supplying for the entire class ??? No way is my son alone going to use 80 pencils in 1 year . And what happens to all the supplies they bring in and they don`t use ??? they throw it out , bring it home etc.. etc..  Maybe they should just sell them off with the PTA  then maybe schools would have the money they are always saying they don`t have enough of.