School Supplies

About a month ago I recieved this school supply list in the mail...

Dear Grade 3-5 Parents,
We are looking forward to your arrival at school on 31 August. Your classroom will be ready for you by then and we hope that you will settle in quickly and happily. We would like to inform you that you will need the following school supplies:
Soft-sided back-pack to contain all school materials (ideally it should be possible to hang this up
with the coats). Please mark clearly with the child’s name.
Pencil-case containing 5 pencils (HB), ruler, eraser, pencil sharpener,
A box of coloured pencils
A box of thin coloured markers
A glue stick
Lunch-box and drink bottle (not glass!). Please pack all lunch items in reusable containers. A
school lunch is available at a cost. Please see attached information.
Sports shoes (with light-colored soles, for Physical Education) and cloth bag. Your child’s sport
shoes need to be kept in a cloth bag that can be hung up. This should be clearly marked with the
child’s name
A pair of soft “slip-on” indoor shoes
A box of tissues to share

German class
Pencil: Stabilo’s move easy ergo OR Pelikan griffix Bleistift
Ink Pen: Stabilo’s move easy or Pelikan griffix Tintenschreiber

Today I recieved a lesson on what school supplies I actually needed, and what some of these items actually are! One of our neighbors offered to take us to the Real (pronounced Reale) which is like Walmart! There we found everything we needed!  It is funny to have to need lessons on pencils and pens but I needed one! I couldnt figure out these name brand pens! Basically they are refilable pens because Germans don't throw away anything but they are also ergonomically designed for a childs hand! They are pretty fancy!
We also needed a lesson in lunch boxes! After purchasing the matching LL Bean bags before we left Michigan, I have now learned that German children take a plastic box similar to a pencil box to school! So out we wnt to look for these!  They seem so small and boring but again this is what everyone else has! The funny thing is there food must all go in this box without any plastic wrap or baggies! Weird but change is good right? Trying to figure out what I will even pack the kids without the foods they are so use too!
Finally the "house slippers"...what? I couldn't even begin to figure out what these could be! Are they Croc's, Keds, Sandals? No they are quite literally slippers with treads on the bottom! So cute! It is so different but they never wear their street shoes at school! They change into these on arrival to school and than at gym time they have special shoes just for that class! So many shoes that we will never see at home again!
Everything else I was able to purchase with no difficulty! The shopping trip was a huge success! I loved seeing a new store, and a big store!  I loved being able to do that with the kiddo's and for the kiddo's! Another success!