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The Now: Choosing the Best Student-Focused Gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week

Red one-room schoolhouse with children in vintage clothing outside in autumn

Sure, teachers can dream of creating the absolutely “perfect” classroom at the beginning of each semester.

But let’s be honest.

School supplies can be very expensive.

School reimbursements for teacher supplies are basically a joke…receiving about $50 for a $500 investment per year, really(?!)…

Yet school supplies are basic tools required for even the most basic well-functioning classroom.

Given that even though you may create a classroom wish list every summer and spend much of your summer actually trying to figure out what all will need during the upcoming school year…and searching high and low for the best options and discounts…

Creating the perfect classroom requires both time and money.

So teachers must set classroom priorities…starting with the most basic essentials – pens, paper and hand sanitizer – that every classroom. Only after these bare necessities are met, can we move on further down the list.

The following list is a list of school supplies that teachers need the most…set up in three categories:

  • Bare-bone essentials
  • Boredom busters
  • Boxes and bins.
Open notebook with handwritten note, black fountain pen, coffee cup, and design books on wooden desk
A notebook with handwritten notes and a pen on a wooden desk next to a cup of coffee

Bare-Bone Essentials

Essentials: Classroom essentials are like a small collection of supplies and furniture but are also the foundation for a thriving learning environment. These supplies foster organization and creativity to facilitate different teaching styles—these tools empower you and your students. Classroom essentials are the most commonly used supplies that teachers and students need on a daily basis to function effectively in a learning environment.  Essential supplies like shelves, bins, and organizers will help you keep your classrooms neat and orderly so students can easily find what they need and focus on learning.  Here’s a list of classroom essentials:

Paper

  • Cardstock: perfect for bulletin boards, word walls and displaying student work
  • Chart Paper and Easels: Chart paper is essential for anchor charts and group brainstorming.Brand Pick: Post-It easel pads or Pacon chart paper.Tip: Use flip chart markers for bold, visible writing… Anchor chart paper –anchor charts…Post-It easel pads 
  • Clipboards
  • Composition notebooks for interactive and reading / writing notebooks. convenient to store because there are no spirals to tangle.
  • Construction Paper – Tru-Ray construction paper—fades less than competitors under fluorescent lights
  • Copy paper
  • Dividers
  • Drawing paper
  • Dry erase pockets: turn any paper into a reusable whiteboard. Usage: Put a worksheet inside, and students can write on it with a marker. Benefit: Saves paper and allows for repeated practice.  Shop Dry Erase Pockets on: Dry Erase Pockets | Reusable Sheets
  • Envelopes
  • Folders
  • Index cards
  • Mini dry erase boards 
  • Mini dry-erase paddle boards
  • Notebook filler paper
  • Page protectors
  • Whiteboard

Pencils/Pens

Adhesives

  • Colored duct tape
  • Double-sided adhesive roller: use to make word wall content, posters, and student work stand out – just add a cardstock backing…double-sided adhesive roller to attach cardstock to task cards before laminating…to put together classroom bulletin boards
  • Glue sticks: Elmer’s Disappearing Purple glue sticks
  • Liquid glue
  • multi-colored duct tape to label drawers, color-code areas of the classroom and make signs
  • Museum putty to adhere posters and other items to the walls of your classroom…QuakeHOLD Museum Putty 
  • Nameplates for lockers and cubbies
  • Paper clips
  • Rubber bands
  • Stapler
  • Staples
  • Tape/Tape Dispenser: two-sided, electrical, painter, magnetic, velcro, packing, duct, washi
  • Velcro: to stick posters to the wall…markers to whiteboards…pens to desks so they don’t get lost..
  • Washi tape: to decorate the cover of a notebook, on the floor to function as a plot diagram or to help students understand a concept like iambic pentameter….create a table for organizing assignments and agenda items by class

Art Supplies The best quality school supplies typically come fromCrayola, Prang, Faber-Castell

Messy classroom with scattered supplies and papers

Cleaning and hygiene supplies

Children playing on playground equipment, skipping rope, kicking a soccer ball, and lining up for swings at school recess
Kids enjoying various playground games during school recess outdoors

The “Fun” Stuff

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Manipulatives/Visual Aids

Teddy Ruxpin doll wearing purple overalls sitting on a wooden bench with toys and books in background
A Teddy Ruxpin doll sits on a wooden bench in a colorful children’s playroom

Comfort Creators: These items are those items that attempt to make the classroom more of a home. Not every classroom needs them. Not every teacher likes them. But they can really make a difference in your daily school life.

  • Comfort Item: Choose one certain thing to be a classroom “mascot.” This should be something small that reminds you of home and makes you feel comfortable. Even more points if the “mascot” also has a special story that you can share it with your class.
  • Family Photo: Having a family photo in your room can help put you in a better mood when you about to pull your hair out.
  • Lamps: Lamps can help create a calm environment for independent reading or writing time. Two great options are these three-way floor lamps and these desk lamps.
  • Mirrors.
  • Plants:
  • Rugs: Rugs help define a space for a particular use, such as the class reading nook.
  • Seating: Flexible seating – standing desks, bean bags, wobble chairs – can help create a mort comfortable classroom..
Classroom supply room with labeled storage bins and a worktable with a laminator
A well-organized classroom supply room with labeled bins and worktable

‘Organizational supplies

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