Teacher Week: Must Haves!

Today's theme from Abby's blog is teacher must-haves- here are 10 of things that I use a lot in my classroom!

1. Craft Supplies- a have a huge cupboard of the most random collection of craft supplies. Somehow just about every item has come in handy at one point or another- glue guns, buttons, ribbon, beads, googly eyes...

2. Ziplock Baggies- I never would have thought that I would use baggies as much as I do- holding flashcards, crayons, random collections that kids find in their desks, teeth that fall out, ice for a bruised knee, left over snacks...

3. Staple Remover- gone are the days of broken fingernails and ripped papers- I adore this type of stapler remover- it makes bulletin board take down so much easier!

4. Spoons and Forks- like a mentioned earlier, my kids eat their lunch in our room with me. I don't think a day goes by without some child needing a spoon or a fork.

5. Laptop- a drag my laptop back and forth from my house to my classroom everyday. I use it all the time to look up ideas, type up worksheets and tests, and about everything else under the sun. I only wish that I had a projector or a smartboard to hook it up to...ah, to dream...

6. Love and Patience- I really don't think any explanation is really needed, but at times I need to remind myself to use these two things continuously in my classroom.

7. Warm Winter Coat- recess duty is really not on my top ten favorite things to do, but nonetheless, as part of my job, I am required to have recess duty once a week during the day, about twice a month before school, and every six weeks or so for a week after school. I live in Michigan and our playground is on an open field- it is cold!!! One of the best purchases I made was a warm winter coat for recess duty.


8. Poppin Pattern Bulletin Board Accessories- I adore these patterns and think that they instantly can make anything look great!

9. Pencils- a have this awesome pencil holder in my classroom, (which I thought for sure I had a picture of, but after looking for a good half hour for it, gave up) but it takes hundreds of pencils to fill it up. And those pencils are usually gone by Thanksgiving time. Sometimes I want get stubborn and refuse to pass out anymore pencils, but really- they need pencils to do their work- therefore, pencils are a must.

10. Candy- yes, I know- candy rots kids' teeth, but it is one of the best motivators that I have found. It is actually quite amazing what a kid will do for a piece of candy- I'm not talking about a huge candy bar or really even a bite size one, I'm talking about one lifesaver or A smartie- really it is quite amazing. Of course, some of that candy is for me. ;)