5 Must-Have Classroom Supplies for New Teachers

If you are setting up a classroom for the first time, you might not be aware of some of the must-have classroom supplies you will need.  Sure, you know about the furniture, books, curriculum resources, and I’ll bet you even have a plan for your color scheme or decor.  But do you have any idea how much you will need these simple items?

1. Labels
2. Packing Tape
3. Sticky Tack
4. Magnets and/or 3M Hooks
5. Velcro Dots

Keep reading to see how I use each of these in my classroom!

The 5 Must-Have Classroom Supplies for New Teachers

Labels

I use labels EVERYWHERE in my classroom.  Seriously, I should buy stock in Avery, I spend so much money on their products!  Each year, I need to stock up on several different types for different purposes in my room:

Avery 5160 Rectangle Labels for NAMES- I print student names on the labels and use them to label their binders, folders, mailboxes, book buckets, etc.

 

Big rectangle labels- I print labels for the students’ crayon boxes, pirate coin boxes, and various folders.

 

 

One-inch Colored Dot Labels are used for organizing my teacher library (organized by topics I teach), and also for marking student nametags and folders with their guided reading group color.

 

 

 

One-inch White Round labels are used for my classroom library- each book is labeled with a picture that matches the corresponding label on the tub or basket. (For the big basket labels, I just use cardstock in those wonderful Target Dollar Spot clear vinyl pockets…..I hope they have those in stock again before the new school year!  I need a few more!)

 

 

 

And lastly, two-inch round labels are used at the end of the year to send a quick welcome message to my incoming students next year.  Our school sends out postcards a week before school starts as a way to announce class lists.

 

Packing Tape

Clear packing tape is terrific for quickly “laminating” things you can’t put through a laminator.  And it is great for repairing books, folders, and binders to help them last through the year.  Scotch brand is good, but I prefer the Duck Brand EZ Start Crystal Clear tape.  It’s SO much easier to work with!

Sticky Tack

Easy to use to hang things around the room and rarely takes any paint off with it.  Totally re-usable… just take the dried out bits, mush them up and roll them in your palm for a few minutes and VOILA! Warm, soft putty, ready to go!

 

Magnets & 3M Hooks

These are pretty self-explanatory, but it depends on the surfaces in your room how many of each you will need.  I have a long, magnetic whiteboard in the front of my classroom that I use as a bulletin board, so EVERYTHING has magnets on the back.  I buy the round magnets in bulk, rolls of magnet tape, and lots of heavy-duty magnet clips to hang charts.

 

Velcro Dots

Velcro is essential for anywhere you want to have interactive pieces that need to be changed out frequently and your surface is NOT magnetic.  Since much of my current classroom is magnetic, I use Velcro dots on my calendar wall the most.  My calendar pieces are month-specific, so I go through a LOT of them!  I even use a strip of Velcro to hang the names of the months.

 

Interested in my monthly calendar sets? Check them out HERE.

Velcro is also terrific for file folder games, interactive charts, and adding removable labels to Math Center baskets, STEM bins or Morning Tubs.

All of these things are available on Amazon, of course, but I prefer to slowly stock up on my weekly trips to Walmart or Target.  I find if I throw one or two items in on each trip, it doesn’t seem like such a huge expense all at once.

 

Thanks for stopping by!