Teacher supplies must include things to make your classroom fun, engaging, innovative, functional, and inviting. We created a list of supplies that go beyond basic needs and help students with things like learning loss, social-emotional issues, and organization of items.
Games
Klutz Lego Gear Bots
These Klutz Lego Gear Bots stem kits come with axels, cams, cranks, and everything you need to build an awesome moving machine. Plus, this kit comes with the supplies to create different creatures for your machine. This project kit is great for a younger grade level and can most certainly be incorporated into any lesson.
Lego is absolutely the master at creating curriculum resources that not only keep kids engaged but keep them wanting to learn! STEM kits are the perfect addition to your classroom, even if you aren’t a science teacher.
KAQINU Kids Musical Instruments
Even with some of the best classroom technology available to teachers, nothing beats having a set of instruments in the classroom. The KAQINU musical instruments set on Amazon are a great way to institute little brain breaks in the classroom. Since Covid-19 has left many students forgetting how to focus for extended periods of time, this is the perfect management tool!
This awesome 21 piece set scores a 4.8 out of 5 stars rating from various consumers and is incredibly affordable! The various percussion instruments in this set would be a fun and creative way to get students out of their seats and find a popular song’s rhythm. Plus, the smooth surfaces make these easy to sanitize.
Looney Labs Mad Libs The Game
Teaching a grammar lesson, and you need something really engaging? Definitely check out the Looney Labs Mad Libs games! Mad Libs are so much fun and a great tool for the English curriculum to make for some engaging lessons that will leave sides sore from laughter.
These particular educational games are designed for up to eight players ages 10 and up. Ideally, this game is great for a fourth to sixth-grade level student.
Students will love learning about or brushing up on their parts of speech with this active play game. These games are inexpensive enough to purchase several for the class easily and can be used as a brain break, part of the lesson, or even an end-of-the-class exit ticket to show understanding.
Regal Games Double 6 Colored Dot Dominoes
I truly could not tell you how many times my most challenging students would finish an assignment (and finished it well) so they could get in on a game of dominoes. All of them wanted to beat the teacher, all of them played fair, and they all had a blast! Board games and Dominoes alike are excellent classroom management tools that help motivate many students to stay on task to have fun later.
These multifunctional dominoes can be used as one of the most versatile curriculum resources available. You can use these to teach basic math skills and find that the dominoes game has been modified for English lessons. This method of active play truly creates an engaging learning environment for any grade level.
Kitki Escape Evil Fun STEM Board Game
Your learning space will become an exciting place with this STEM geared board game! This board game is ideal for a classroom of kids that are ages eight and up and is a fun, innovative way to include science and engineering into any lesson.
This trivia-based game uses the concept of magic tricks that require kids to figure out different chemical reactions. Even more impressive is that this board game has received several notable awards, such as the Creative Child Game of the Year and the Tillywig Best Family Fun Award. The Kitki Escape Evil Fun STEM game is easy to fit into lesson plans to create engaging lessons.
Classroom Decorations
Fluorescent Light Filters
In any room, lighting is everything! These light filters are a great way to take away from the harsh fluorescent lighting in most classrooms to create a more inviting and calming learning environment.
There are tons of scientific studies out there, readily available online, that talk about how colors and varied types of lights affect attitudes and emotions. So why would we not take that same concept into the lights in our classrooms? You can find more light filters in our review article.
Fairy Lights
Some of the best classroom decorations are the ones that most people only bring out at Christmas. White lights are fairy lights that allow you to turn off the bright fluorescents and enjoy the warm glow of fairy lights. These warm white lights are 82 feet in length and are easily found on Amazon!
You may wonder, “why worry about lights”? I really enjoy having these fairy lights in my classroom because they served several purposes:
- They are aesthetically pleasing classroom decorations
- They provided just enough light when the big lights were off to show a movie or presentation.
- The dim lighting they provided appealed to students wanting to work on their computers silently and became a great classroom management tool.
- They make for awesome decorations in the classroom around Christmas time or to light up decorated bulletin boards.
These types of lights are perfect for any grade-level class. So don’t worryabout whether or not you think your classroom is too “child-like” if you are an upper-grade level teacher. Go for the look of having a comfortable classroom.
Floor Lamps
I know, again with the lights! One of the most important things to me is that when my students walked into my classroom, they instantly felt comfortable. I rarely would turn on the terrible school fluorescent lights because between the floor lamps, small lamps, and white lights, there was a warm glow that was instantly calming.
Floor lamps are a great way to create a unique design for your classroom that makes your learning environment feel more home-like. The warm light allows your students to feel instantly comfortable and safe with their environment, which increases learning.
Peel & Stick Wall Murals
Want to really make your learning environment stand out? Make sure you add a peel and stick mural to your personal classroom supplies list! Easily add a beach view or a skylight to your classroom wall to create a fun and one-of-a-kind learning environment for your students.
Maybe you want to go for something that makes your classroom feel more like a room at home by adding a different look, i.e., shiplap or Barnwood.
These peel and stick murals can be found extremely inexpensive and are great classroom decorations that are easy to apply and enjoyable to look at.
Motivational Posters for School
No classroom decorations list is complete without having some motivational posters on it! Teachers know how much they love motivational sayings, and these posters have come a long way since the days of cute cats saying nice things. I absolutely LOVE this set of motivational posters because they look bright, fresh, and modern. Plus, any of these can easily be put into inexpensive plastic frames and made to look even better!
These classroom decorations are versatile enough to be changed out frequently and allow students to enjoy a bright and colorful learning space inside the classroom or in the school hallway, all the while being encouraged.
Classroom Organization Supplies
3-Tier Rolling Utility Cart
Keeping all of your classroom school supplies can seem like a daunting task, especially when there are so many to keep up with! This Alvorog utility cart should be at the top of your classroom school supplies list simply because it will hold all of your classroom supplies. This nifty school supply cart has tons of different sections to keep all of your supplies neat and organized.
The bottom two tiers of this rolling cart are open and wonderful to organize a set of books, finished crafts, or larger supplies that you may need to keep organized. On the top tier of this cart is a lot of storage space for small supplies. Always losing your pens or dry erase markers? This rolling cart also has a set of cups attached to the side to store these types of items, organized and neat.
Keepers Mailbox
Going back to using paper again? Well, you will certainly need a way to keep track of all of it! This 30-slot classroom mailbox is a great way to create classroom storage that will help you stay organized and on track all year long. While this item may not be at the top of your teaching supplies list, it probably should be for several reasons.
- This is an amazing central space to store missed work
- The student will know and understand those classroom mailboxes are where all end-of-the-day work will be turned in.
- Keep multiple grade-level works in one spot (if you teach more than one grade in a single day).
- Have extension assignments all in one space (i.e., educational crafts, word searches, etc.)
Mindspace Office Desk Organizer
We all know that we teachers have lots and lots of teaching supplies. Moreover, we all know there is little space to keep our classroom supplies organized. This desk organizer is the perfect solution for any teacher to help keep track of small teaching supplies.
With multiple compartments, teachers can easily store and organize supplies such as paper clips, pens, push pins, etc. Plus, the larger compartments allow a teacher to store and access things such as their lesson planning and grade books quickly and easily.
Phone Charging Station
Classroom technology is not just limited to your class set of computers or teaching supplies. Many students have their own phones that they use and drain throughout the day.
While it seems counterproductive to have a phone charging station within the classroom, this was one of the BEST purchases I’d ever made. My classroom charging station instantly became an excellent classroom management tool and contributed to classroom organization (no plugging their own cords into the wall and causing tripping).
Hanging Folder Chart for Classroom Storage
Even though the Covid-19 pandemic pushed schools across the U.S. and the world to go totally digital, when schools start back as “normal” next year, teachers may be ready to bring back the art of using paper. During the course of a normal school year, no matter what grade level I taught, one would always see a hanging folder chart in my classroom.
While you can use these for many things, I used them to have them work for each day of the week in the folders. This was a great way for students who were absent to walk over, get their missing work, and not have to ask me where it is. Sometimes the most simple things will be the best classroom supplies you will ever get for your class!
Final Thoughts on Teacher & Classroom Supplies
Creating a post-pandemic school supply list goes beyond the basic needs of tissues, anti-bacterial wipes, and classroom sets of pens and pencils. These teacher supplies look directly into the environment that students feel most comfortable learning in. The supplies listed here will allow you to create an amazing space that is engaging, comfortable, safe, and functional so that you can have the very best school year possible.
