Top 5 School Supplies

Do you provide parents with a supply list?

What's on it?

How do you decide what to put on it?

Today I am going to share my supply list that I give to parents and explain a little bit about how I use each item and why it made my top 5 list! 

I ask for 4 boxes of Crayola Crayons. If parents hit Wal-mart at the right time of the year you can get these for 50 cents each. I need 4 sets for each child because we switch them out quarterly. Do you like coloring with broken crayons?

Yeah, me neither. 

Why Crayola? I like to think of myself as a school supply expert. I have tried out every kind of crayon, glue stick, marker, and pencil on the market and plain and simple these are the best. They last the longest and they color nicely. Yucky cheap waxy crayons are yucky to color with. How's that for expert vocabulary?

These binders are really important. I put everything in this one inch binder (kind of like a portfolio) and it goes home with the kiddos at the end of the year. If I purchase them it can get kind of pricey but if a parent only has to buy one it's not so bad. If you shop the sales you can get them for a couple bucks.

It's a beautiful sight isn't it? Having enough glue sticks to never worry about glue sticks makes a teacher's heart happy. Lost a lid? Dried out? Let's not stress about it and just grab another. I'm not promoting wasteful use of glue sticks...just keeping it real.

We go through a lot of markers and let's be honest. They don't last that long in Kindergarten. They are one of our FAVORITE writing utensils but they get a lot of abuse. Having a set per kid keeps our centers stocked with markers all year long.

Not cute ones, not ear buds, not big fancy expensive kind. Just the simple over the head headphones that cost $3-$5 bucks. I had just about had it with head phones last year so I added this one to the list. If every kid has their own pair I don't have to manage head phones all day long (which is what I was doing last year). Also if they have their own they won't share as many "germs" if you get my drift.

All in all my list will cost parents less the $10. That's a win in my book! I buy the students a folder that I turn into my BEE books (parent communication folder/homework folder) along with a money/notes zipper pouch which uses up most of my supply money ($50).  With these simple supplies I am good to go all year long. I also have these items on my list that are appreciated but not required.

• dry erase markers
• Clorox wipes
• Kleenex
• Colored Pencils
• Ticonderoga Pencils (this brand only)

If you want to read more about why I ask for Ticonderoga pencils you can read all about that HERE.

I was actually able to take that off of my "required" list because of the way we use pencils in the classroom. I don't go through nearly as many and I have a huge stock pile of pencils.

So that's it! I really try to keep the cost down because I know what August feels like as a parent. There are so many purchases that have to be made I don't think sending a kid to kindergarten should break the bank! It is also stressful to go find specific colors of folders, composition books, and pens (I've seen it all with 3 kids of my own). Easy peasy will get the job done.

If you are interested in how I introduce our materials and get the first week of school going check out this Kindergarten Survival lesson plan. The first week is all about routines and procedures and I walk you through each one HERE. 

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