5 Teacher Supply Must-Haves

As July wraps up, most teachers are already buying or making lists of things they need for their classroom for the new year. Office supplies? Uh...YES, please :). Over the years I have ~~hoarded~~ collected many different teaching tools or supplies and feel that the ones listed below are absolutely essential.

1. Personal Laminator / Laminating Pouches

Y'all...I don't know how I lived my life before buying my own personal laminator. I guess I liked spending my time always waiting for the school's laminator to heat up...or for someone to order new lamination.

Teacher confession time: I may have 3 laminators. If you are a teacher and you don't own one of these yet, buy one! You will not be disappointed. The laminator pictured is the one I use the most. It heats up quickly and is a great size for storage. If you are interested in buying it - check it out HERE on Amazon.

Cheap Teacher Tip: The Scotch brand laminating pouches are wonderful, but they are expensive. Save yourself some money and order a large pack of off-brand pouches from Amazon. The 3 mil and 5 mil thickness are both great. I've tried and tested the following pouches and give them 5 stars. Click on the pictures to go to the Amazon link.

2. Colorful Pens

I don't know about you...but colorful pens make writing so much better. Anecdotal notes become pleasing to the eye. Tackling that calendar? Look how organized it is with your colors! ~~Doodling~~ Taking notes during a staff meeting? Perfect!

Flair pens are in most Teacher bags. I love Flair pens, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I found some pens that I like EVEN MORE than the glorious Flairs.

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens

These pens are amazing. They don't smudge or bleed. The tip is very fine for those itty-bitty spaces. You can buy the 20 pack (it comes with the awesome case that turns into a stand) HERE or the mega 36 pack HERE.

3. Sheet Protectors

Don't have time to laminate? Throw it in a sheet protector! Let's get real people...we don't always have time to laminate, but you know better than giving your students a page without some kind of sticky hand barrier.

I love to put games in sheet protectors! I can quickly store the set of games in a binder or in a folder. Students can also use dry erase makers right on the sheet protector. If you get the glossy ones, they wipe off beautifully!

These are heavy duty and last a long time! Pick some of these up HERE.

4. Mr. Sketch Markers

Anchor charts NEED Mr. Sketch Markers. They are vibrant and bold. I also love to walk around and put a dot on papers of the ON TASK students. They sniff that little dot like they won a Grand Prize!

Pick some up HERE.

5. Staple Gun

I spent 8 years of my teaching career in a portable. This portable had wood paneling on the walls. Boring, brown, wood paneling. As a teacher who likes the room to be bright and colorful, I had to cover up most of the walls. I learned that the quickest way to get your anchor charts and cute bulletin boards up is with a staple gun. Sure your normal Swingline will work just fine...but a staple gun gets everything done in a snap!

This is the one that I've had for 10 years of teaching. It is basic, but gets the job done!