Supplies Every Teacher Needs

What supplies does a new teacher need for her classroom? What would be a good gift for a student teacher or a new teacher graduate?

Whether you are a first year teacher or a veteran teacher, there are certain supplies that will make your teaching year so much easier. These would also be great gifts for student teachers and new teacher graduates!

I give my own personal opinions and preferences throughout the post. My feeling won’t be hurt if we don’t agree on each item. ?

If you want to do a little shopping, I have linked each picture to Amazon or the website where I purchase each of these items.

1. Planner

I know that lots of people are in love with a digital lesson planner. If that is you, I highly recommend Plan Book. It’s very inexpensive, super use friendly and allows you to create templates that will save you time.

If you are a bit old school like me, you might prefer to write your plans. It’s just the way that my mind works best! I LOVE Plum Paper planners. They are super cute, durable and less expensive than many other custom planners. The best part is that you get to customize the planner with your schedule so that you are not writing in the subjects and times every week.

2. Pencil Sharpener

Every teacher must have a quality pencil sharpener. Seriously, it is a MUST!

I love this pencil sharpener. It is the only one that held up for me. Others would only last a few months.

Even with a quality sharpener, make sure that you are only using it for traditional yellow pencils. The cute painted pencils, colored pencils and crayons will ruin the pencil sharpener pretty quick.

3. Stapler

I am a stapler snob. I believe that everyone should have a One-Touch Stapler. They work so much better than every other stapler out there!

The stapler doesn’t get clogged often, can be used with just one hand and does not require a muscle builder to put staples into surfaces as hard as a wall.

4. Paper Cutter

Having a good paper cutter will just save you time. You can cut through a stack of paper at one time. I could even cut through lamination with mine!

5. Personal Laminator

It was my third year teaching and I had a parent volunteering to cut lamination for me. Woot!

She asked me, “Why don’t you have your own laminator?” Ummmmm….why don’t I?! I guess I just assumed that they would be expensive. I was wrong. They are super affordable.

I have had my Scotch laminator for many years and it gets a crazy amount of use. It’s still going strong.

Having your own laminator gives you more flexibility. You can procrastinate more because you don’t have to rely on the school laminator. It’s life changing.

Don’t forget to get some decent laminating sleeves! I always order Scotch brand ones from Amazon.

6. Bag

You are going to need a durable bag for carrying things home and back to school. Plus, you’ll want it to be cute! Obviously!

Lots of teachers like Thirty-One bags. I really don’t. They are big and bulky to carry. Plus, totes make my shoulders hurt.

I much prefer to use a backpack for comfort. That doesn’t mean it can’t be cute. My very favorite backpacks are Vera Bradley. They have tons of pockets for my always growing pen collection and they come in lots of beautiful patterns. You can even have them customized with your name or monogram!

7. Astrobrights Paper

If pretty colored paper makes you smile, then you were meant to be a teacher!

But seriously, I use Astrobrights paper all the time! It’s great for color coding group work or differentiated work. It’s fantastic for centers, crafts and notes home.

Some schools may provide this, but most don’t.

8. Color Printer

Some teachers are lucky and their school allows them to print materials on their color printer. Most teachers are very limited. It is SOOO nice to have your own printer to use.

Everything does not NEED to be printed in color, but sometimes it’s just nice!

Something to check into is HP Instant Ink program. It’s a great way to get more affordable ink delivered to your door before you have a chance to run out. Use THIS link to get a free month of ink for free!