You don’t need to buy all of Target or Staples in order to be ready for your first year of teaching. There are like a million things teachers will tell you that they need in their classroom in order to survive. It’s not true. There’s just a few staple things that you need to get your classroom up and running.
Things for your students to use
There are a few things that your students are going to NEED in your classroom in order to learn. A lot of these things can/should be provided by your school. I would absolutely check with your school to see what they have and can provide you with. If you get lucky enough to pick the things that the school is getting for you, I’d pick from my suggestions. They’re my favorite things and have been tested by over 500 students and are still going strong!
- You are definitely going to need a pencil sharpener! I highly suggest the X-Acto sharpener. It has even sharpened a few pens!
- Even if your students don’t use binders, you’re going to find that they are looking to hole punch stuff. (I also use this hole punch all the time!) My favorite is this one from Swingline. In fact, I have one at home and one at school. It’s a very smooth punch, and will punch a good chunk of pages at once.
- Staplers are always a must. There are plenty of cheap staplers out there, but I’ve found that the plastic ones are pretty terrible. I prefer the metal ones, that are fairly heavy duty. The Swingline staplers are the best. (I have the chrome to find it easily in my room, but the matte black is antimicrobial.) I actually inherited one that I use in my classroom that’s going strong, and I have a second one at home.
- You are also going to need somewhere for your students to turn in work. I like to use just one bin from the dollar store to collect all of my work from all of my classes. You can read more about my teacher organization system here.
There are going to be tools that are teacher specific. Things that you don’t want the kids touching, or in some cases even knowing that you have. Here is my list of things YOU will need for your first year of teaching!
Things for you to use
- If you are putting together bulletin boards, you are going to need a staple remover. I am a firm believer in the straight staple remover, not the claw. The claw is really great for removing staples from paper, but the bulletin board straight remover is so essential.
- If you like caffeine, I’d suggest getting either an electric kettle, or a coffee machine for your room, if you’re allowed to have one. I love my electric kettle (I use it for science stuff as well). If you can spring for the big ticket, I definitely suggest getting the Keurig Mini Plus – it’s so great! You will grow tired throughout the day and caffeine can be just the kick you need to get through the day!
- Some type of planning method. When it comes to writing your curriculum and lesson plans you need a method that works well for you. You can take my free masterclass all about writing curriculum if you’re interested in seeing more of what I do for my plans.
- Emergency Kit: you need a small stash in your desk of things that can’t live without. For me, that is a mini deodorant, mouthwash, a mini hairbrush, chocolate, and Advil for the inevitable headaches. Your kit may be a bit different from mine, but I suggest you build one. You never know what you’ll need in a pinch.
I really think this is just the bare minimum that you need to get your classroom moving. No, it won’t necessarily be pretty. And that’s okay. Your students need YOU, not the room. If you FEEL the need to decorate, there are a million DIY options (just check out Pinterest) that you can figure out with some colored paper. I personally get a lot of seasonal decor from Dollar Tree and the Target Dollar Spot (I’m not afraid of glitter). I usually decorate in the front of the room, where kids spend most of their time looking with this kind of stuff. Secret: I also use gift wrap (usually from Dollar Tree) on my bulletin boards instead of bulletin board paper. I like it because it’s MUCH cheaper, but also because I change rooms, or at least my decoration taste most years.
You may find that you personally need more to feel organized. The amount of money I spent on my classroom during my first year of teaching is horrifying. I’m here to tell you that you DON’T have to do it. You can just handle the basics listed here, and add a little bit to your room each year. If you find that you need things outside of this list, I would try to see what other teachers are looking to get rid of, or check out garage sales (especially for books).
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