Back-to-school shoppers clogging store aisles

Bells for new year to sound next week

Oh, how they wished they had done it sooner.

Gina Schumann, of Lecompton, reads over a school supply list with her children, from left, Kassidy, 2, Dylan, 8, and Wyatt, 11, at Wal-Mart. Friday saw parents finishing up - or just getting started on - their back-to-school shopping. Lawrence schools start Wednesday and Thursday.

Moms, dads and kids from across the region flooded school supplies aisles at Wal-Mart on Friday, battling the crowds as they hunted for notebooks, rulers and glue.

“You wonder why you didn’t do this at the end of the year to avoid these crowds,” said Gina Schumann, a Lecompton mother.

It’s the end-of-summer routine shared by many schoolchildren who face the start of a new school year. Lawrence schools start Wednesday and Thursday.

Schumann pushed a cart with children Wyatt, 11, Dylan, 8, Jessye, 5, and Kassidy, 2, milling around her.

Kassidy, in pigtails, sat in the child’s seat, bending a pink folder over her head. The crew moved at a snail’s pace down the aisle picking out items, Schumann referring to a long list of needed supplies.

“We’ll get through this somehow,” she said.

For the kids, it’s a fun shopping bonanza. For parents, back-to-school shopping can be stressful.

“You always think there’ll be something left over (from the previous year),” said Angie Barnett, of Perry. “There never is. They always need something new.”

Nearby stood Jackie Moyer, 8, who scanned the racks while her dad, Tom Moyer, looked on. He, like the other moms and dads, wielded the trusty supply list.

Paul Hunt, Director of Resources at the Ballard community Center, left, helps Melissa Wood, Lawrence, right, with forms for school supplies. The Ballard Center offers school supplies at no cost based on income and other needs.

“I’m excited about getting a new teacher at school,” Jackie said.

Lori Markley, a Baldwin mother, had to sift between 12 different options for folders with her daughters Cassidy and McKinley.

“When I was a kid, you could get a red folder,” Markley said. Now “you can get Sponge Bob. You can get all kinds of characters.”

Parents and kids also stopped by Ballard Community Center, 708 Elm St., on Thursday and Friday to pick up supplies. The center offers free items to families who qualify. About 250 children benefited, said Chip Blaser, the center’s vice president.

There was a back-to-school buzz at the center as well.

“They all seemed excited to get their supplies and start up and see their friends,” Blaser said.