'Tuck' money to school for Y3 DS. Suggestions for 'purse' please!

[teslagirl]

Up to 50p per day. I have 2 DSs, Y3 and Y5 in a Junior school. Til last July, they used backpacks which hung on their pegs. Not great for security but no issues with theft and DS1 could access his wallet in it before going to the tuckshop at breaktime. Now the school have issued bookbags to all the DCs but they appear to go into a big plastic 'bin' every morning once the DCs have extracted letters, last night's homework etc, thus no more access to it during the day.

An actual wallet is just too big for a 7 year old's pocket, so what I think I need is a small magnetic-strip closable 'change' purse for them- though I'm still not happy about the danger of loss and the upset it'll cause if DS loses it playing football or whilst changing for PE! Right now they're using small zip-lock bags in trouser pockets.

Any ideas?

And before anyone asks me to contact the school for a solution I can tell you their answer now- it'll be along the lines of children needing take responsibility for their stuff etc- AND I've had to speak to both DSs teachers individually at least twice since term began 5 days ago so I'm dead keen NOT to come across as 'helicopter mummy' any more than is strictly necessary!

I saw a spiderman purse in H&M that has a keyring style clasp (IYSWIM) that would allow you to fix it to a belt loop.

Thanks, but I guess I'd prefer something that doesn't advertise the fact they have money on them and tbh, I doubt the school would accept something ON a belt loop!

do they have zip pockets in their coats that the money could go in?

can you sew some velcro on their pocket edges, so the pockets will seal up?

or i saw a little boy with zip pockets on his school trousers the other day,

or make them a little fabric purse each that seals with velcro,just small enough for a few pence. you could stitch their names on so it could be handed back in if it got lost, or attach a piece of velcro onto the outside of the purse and sew some into their pockets so that it did't fall out.

Can they not leave something in their drawers? It would be available to them during the day but they wouldn't have to cart a purse around all day.

It would be something they took out of their book bags at the beginning of the day, took money from at breaktime and then brought home in the evening. A bit of a routine change but not too difficult.

I got DS1 a little zip purse from Sainsburys for this and it works fine.

We always used one of those tiny brown 'dinner money' envelopes, with name and class number on the envelope. The envelope was then either kept in a trouser pocket (seemed to work fine) or coat pocket, in his drawer in the classroom or in his book bag (they had access during the day).

Are no backpacks allowed then? Seems odd, my children used fairly small backpacks to carry coats, drinks bottles etc.

Does he take a packed lunch? Could a small purse or plastic bag with money in be kept inside the lunch bag/box?

Right now there's a 'no backpack' policy as the PTA have supplied all new bookbags and PE kit bags in House colours! Whilst I can see exactly why- clutter everywhere in school (Lord KNOWS how they coped at capacity, 360 DCs against the 280 they now have I don't know!)- I'm not 100% sure it's been completely thought through. Previously, DS1 sometimes used to go into school with a lunch-box, wallet, water bottle, PE kit bag, swimming kit bag, music folder, pencil case and last night's homework- oh, and invariably with his jumper shoved IN the backpack. Now the jumper is wedged in the backpack- along with a precariously upright half empty water bottle amongst the homework books. The rest is clutched in arms, falling everywhere!

The school do seem to divest the DCs of everything as they walk in, as in bookbags in a plastic bin, lunch boxes in a plastic crate, which they can't access. I may have to question DS2 about whether he could leave a small purse in his tray. I think he may panic about forgetting it! We send dinner money in in small brown paper envelopes but I'd like a solution that involves a sturdier receptacle that is reusable and won't end up a soggy mess in the bottom of the washing machine!