matrips Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Just wondering if I'm being unreasonably annoyed... One dd was biting her her pencils and ruining them, along with the erasers. If I gave her cap erasers, she was picking them apart. I started charging a dollar for each new pencil or eraser (yes, quite a markup I know!), and she is holding on to things much better. (The girl who lost every pencil has held on to the same one for over a week now). Though the end/tip of the cap erasers (the nice pink ones), seem to come off or get worn through. And going through at least one per child each week. Reasonable, yes or no? It's not the cost; I just don't want them to needlessly destroy the things I give them. Regular wear and tear, fine. So just trying to get a feel for normal pencil and eraser usage. I used to give them the nice big pink pearl erasers also, but they'd poke holes in them with their pencils and pens and when I ran out, I didn't buy more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 well, they can use bitten pencils and holey erasers. Mine do go through them, though. That said, I would probably start charging too if they kept messing them up. Biting is gross. I suppose it isn't that horrible if you are the only one using it. We have a pencil cup and a to be sharpened cup. Everyone just grabs a pencil from the cup, if the point breaks, they put it in the other cup and grab another sharpened pencil. Every couple of days someone sharpens all the pencils and puts them all back in the other cup. The pencils don't leave our schooling area typically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Bazillion. I've decided I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. Seriously, 100 per year? Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mona Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 We go through a lot, too. 50-100. Who knows. It depends on the pencil, too. I noticed the erasers were falling off one box of pencils. They looked like they hadn't been crimped on well enough. :glare: My dd picks apart eraser toppers, too. Drives me nuts. But, I need to pick my battles wisely and the small investment in pencils and erasers aren't gonna break the bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Oh yeah. Also a problem here. I also charge children a markup to buy pencils, erasers, and the like from me after they empty out their cache. They do take care of them better if I do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I use mechanical pencils and click erasers (I cannot use the eraser on a normal wooden pencil, and especially not those red cap style). I bought a box of 12 pencils several months ago. I think about half of those are wandering the house somewhere, but we usually have plenty of pencils where needed. :) So far, these all still have erasers on them, but when they die, I pull out the click erasers. Love my click erasers. They erase so cleanly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 All of our pencils have those cap erasers, which are junk. My kids like the original erasers on pencils and so do I. We have so many millions of pencils, though, so I guess I don't really care at this point. We don't go through the actual pencils, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Ds received 2 pencils and 12 pencil crayons in his stocking last year. They are Lyra Ferby pencils. We use them daily and they are still in almost-new condition (though a bit shorter). They should last us another year or two at least. He knows they are special pencils and treats them well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Here's a pencil that's pretty and no fun to bite: http://www.amazon.com/International-Arrivals-Graphite-24-Count-128-45/dp/B0033354T8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_op_2 We love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I really think "they" did something to them to make them fall apart, break, not work, etc like they used to. We'd go through way too many, the leads would break if you breathed on them. I even used them and they'd break and I'd sharpen and they would never sharpen evenly no matter what. I used several different types of sharpeners and it didn't matter. I finally quit using pencils a few months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 The erasers on the ends of the pencils are pretty crummy. I get my kids the large pink erasers, and one lasts easily for more than a school year. Pencils - I don't count. We stock up at the beginning of the school year when pencils are cheap. DS prefers mechanical pencils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdkidsmom Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 The pencils in my house just mysteriously disappear. I feel like pencils are always on my list of supplies to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I feel like I'm constantly having to buy pencils. I bought a huge 144 pack of the cap erasers and hopefully that'll last us a year. :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Lots! My kids also chew both pencils and erasers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camelfeet Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 lots and lots and lots. Every few weeks I invade everyone's privacy and scour drawers, behind dressers and under furniture and I usually end up finding a few dozen. At the beginning of the year I usually pick up 50/60. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TianXiaXueXiao Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 We have switched to mechanical pencils because my daughter likes to sharpen her pencils way too often. She will take a brand new pencil down to one inch in length within moments of receiving it. She also picks apart her erasers and stabs them with a pencil until they are just little crumbs. I make her use the crumbs until they are too small to do anything. I was hoping that mechanical pencils would be safe, by my two year-old enjoys clicking out the lead and breaking it off, so I have to keep them far from her reach or they will be useless as well. I go to the dollar store frequently to keep my supply closet stocked with cheap, mechanical pencils and erasers. I also have my own special stash of pencils and erasers that I keep hidden in my desk and purse. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 We have switched to mechanical pencils because my daughter likes to sharpen her pencils way too often. She will take a brand new pencil down to one inch in length within moments of receiving it. She also picks apart her erasers and stabs them with a pencil until they are just little crumbs. I make her use the crumbs until they are too small to do anything. I was hoping that mechanical pencils would be safe, by my two year-old enjoys clicking out the lead and breaking it off, so I have to keep them far from her reach or they will be useless as well. I go to the dollar store frequently to keep my supply closet stocked with cheap, mechanical pencils and erasers. I also have my own special stash of pencils and erasers that I keep hidden in my desk and purse. ;) This. Exactly. Down to the hidden stash : ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 We go through a ton of pencils, mostly because of loss and cheap quality. I cannot find a good quality pencil. I used to like Ticonderoga, but they seem to have changed. Erasers are a problem too. My son seems to like them for a snack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 My toddler snapped the eraser off the end of every pencil for a while, which was really irritating. Anyway one kid actually dutifully treasured a mechanical pencil I got him (with 0.7 mm "extra durable" lead), but he eventually wore it out. It wasn't his fault! It just broke eventually. And we have tons of these disposable mechanical pencils with crummy lead that snap that we were given as a gift. I've switched back to regular pencils for now. I don't know, I buy giant boxes of pencils during school supply sales, so it doesn't bother me. I just continuously locate pencils around the house and bring them back to the fold. But buy those white erasers. Those things won't die. I have one (okay, I haven't used it continuously) from when I was 12, and others I swear must be leftover from college. And they don't get hard and smeary like the pink ones. Awesome. You must have them. My kids poke holes in them occasionally but they don't fall apart. They're not that expensive at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 The pencils in my house just mysteriously disappear. I feel like pencils are always on my list of supplies to buy. :iagree: We never use up pencils, they just disappear. I think the carpet comes alive at night and eats them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 If we run out, I send the children to find them. And they always run around like mad and somehow appear with like a dozen apiece that had mysterious ended up all over the place in every nook and cranny. We legitimately go through a lot too though and the erasers are always nubs after just a few days of use. I dunno... I make my kids pay when they ruin nice stuff and I make them keep track of all kinds of things, but I can't imagine caring about this. I just keep a ton on hand and let them abuse them however they like. They're crazy cheap. Also, my boys don't happen to chew them, but appreciate that chewing things arises from a sensory processing need (yes, even for kids who don't have sensory processing "issues") and isn't some effort to sabotage pencils. I would rather they chew a cheap pencil than walk around with wet sleeves, honestly, though I'm even more likely to just hand them some gum if they need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Enough to supply all the kids in a small country. I have no idea where all the pencils and erasers go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Pencils are a price of doing business, and we run through maybe 4-5 boxes of Dixon Ticonderoga #2s a year (60ish a year). Once they get down to the 2-3" range, they're gone. I do not tolerate crayon-y dull pencils! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Lots and lots. (And I think erasers make a tasty snack,....Love to chew on the things too, but I restrain myself.) The boys don't chew them (see, I restrain myself and don't set an example of beaver-ness!) but they sharpen them to death. Ask me how many reams of drawing paper we go through! That's about the only thing I've had to stand up on and supply a set quota for a day. If I didn't, I'd be at the craft store every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 The pink cap erasers and big erasers don't last in my house. My kids are rough on the cap erasers and older poke holes on the big pink ones. Now they use two white polymer erasers each per year. They use less than a dozen pencils a year. They have their own pencil boxes and their own rations of pencils and erasers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I think the problem for me was that I want my kids to write a lot and draw, and generally feel free to be creative - but that means they take pencils in the car, write in their bed, make forts in the living room to draw in, and make little booklets to write in at the park. I realized that I could clamp down on pencils, but that wouldn't help me achieve my goal of having them writing whenever they felt like it. Now, I just buy tons of pencils and don't worry about it. If I find a pencil on the floor, I put it in "Mommy's Drawer" and direct the kids there when they need one. I bought about a dozen pink pearl erasers for $4 total at the beginning of the year, too. Now, if only I could become this relaxed about colored pencils. Sigh. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 We have plenty of pencils, but I just went out to buy more cap-erasers. They seem to fall off, or the new pencils wear out their erasers quickly. A part of this is because we are at the age of "know how to write, but got a lot of stuff to fix." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 We used to go through a ton, but this year, I've been putting them away after they finish school. I think since we started doing this, we have only gone through two pencils each. We use mechanical pencils and those white erasers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbcooker Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Our pencils have no erasers after 5 minutes of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingmama Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Our pencils also get eaten by the carpet or something. Doesn't help that my son likes to use them as airplanes. I kid you not, I found 6 pencils in the front passenger floor this afternoon. We don't use the cap erasers. Big, fat pink erasers for us. The caps are yuck. As for the eating of pencils, have you considered giving her gum to chew on instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 (I've posted this before) I'm pretty sure that my kids think that every new pencil comes with a free tasty treat on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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