First Year Teacher: 15 Items You Need to Buy Now

As a new teacher, your classroom is a blank canvas. You will bring your own personality and pizazz to the room. I bet you’ve been dreaming for a while about how your classroom will look – the awesome teacher resources and equipment that will stock the cupboards, the comfortable pillows in the reading corner, the overflowing bookshelves…

While you’ve been busy dreaming about your perfect classroom, I’ve put together a handy list of the things you probably haven’t thought of.

15 Essential Classroom Items New Teachers Really Need

1. Antibacterial wipes – because germs
2. Hand sanitizer – again, germs
3. Tissues – dare I say, germs?!
4. Hand lotion – all of that hand sanitizer will dry your hands out!
5. Pens and pencils – some schools supply these, some ask parents to supply, and some schools ask teachers to supply. Either way, unless you’re happy using the cheap brands that barely leave any color on the page, bring your own. And bring an ample supply to share with students.
6. Pencil sharpener – no need for anything fancy, a basic sharpener will suffice.
7. Timer – preferably a visual timer so that students can see the time passing.
8. Laminator – whip up some simple centers to use over and over again.
9. Clock with numbers (not Roman Numerals) – not only will you refer to this constantly throughout the day, but your students will too. Teach your students to check the clock before asking you how long until lunch.
10. Sticky Velcro – Velcro is one of the handiest items to have in a classroom. Use it to attach displays to walls (if you’re allowed to!), create center activities, attache whiteboard markers to whiteboards, and so much more.
11. Sticky Notes – these are super handy! Use sticky notes as reminders for yourself, recognition of great work (instant certificate!), reminders for students, and more.
12. Dice – having a variety of dice in your classroom is a great, easy way to engage students in a short game. Great for movement/brain breaks.
13. Containers and folders – organization is key to a successful classroom. Everything needs to have a home.
14. Labels – slap labels on those containers to make them easy to find and easy to pack up. Also, how many times a day do you want to hold up a notebook and ask who it belongs to? Slap a label on it, problem solved!
15. Chocolate – do I need to explain this one?!

Wait, Where’s the Fancy Stuff?

Sure, there’s a lot more that you’ll need for your classroom. And once you have everything you NEED, there will still be heaps more that you WANT. It’s important that you bring your own styles to the classroom, show off your personality, and let your students get to know you. But remember, you don’t need to have the perfect classroom from day one. Involve your students in the process, ask them what they’d like to see in their classroom. Because if they don’t like it, they won’t use it. And while you like to talk about ‘your’ classroom, remember: it’s also your students’. If you are looking for some of that ‘fancy stuff’ though, then make back to school easy with schedules, fidgets and sitting wedges from NationalAutismResources.com

Did I miss your most essential, must-have item? Drop a comment below to let me know!