Are you ready to survive the school year? Compiled by a bunch of veteran teachers, here’s a list of items you should not start school without!
Here’s our Practical Teacher Survival Kit…the first 30 were featured last year…check out the list for new additions!
- Some kind of crate or storage box to keep everything in
- Advil or other headache medicine
- Ice Pack (so kids don’t have to leave your class to go to the office)
- Band-Aids (for the same reason)
- Throat Lozenges (remember, you talk a lot throughout the day and those kids are germ-mongers)
- Tampons (for you and students)
- Deodorant (it’s not just the kids who can get “funky”)
- Hair bands or hair clip
- Chocolate (need I say more?)
- A lightweight sweater (for those times when you can’t control the A/C)
- Safety pins (in case of wardrobe malfunction)
- Gas-X (for “those” times)
- Chewable Pepto-Bismol
- Tums
- Flashlight (emergencies)
- Screwdriver (the kind that can be switched from phillips to flat-head)
- Box of Kleenex
- Jar of coins (for those days when you or a student forgets lunch or lunch money)
- Granola bars
- Hand sanitizer (keep out of view of students, unless you are willing to share)
- Water
- Hand lotion
- Brush and hairspray
- Latex gloves (for taking care of student emergencies)
- Blister band-aids or moleskin
- Mouthwash, Listerine strips, or Altoids
- Chapstick or other lip stuff (I like Burt’s Bees)
- Travel toothbrush and toothpaste
- Candy, stickers (for primary), homework passes or other reward for students who surprise you by being/doing something great!
- A binder or file full of filler activities (for those times when you are caught off-guard with an extra five minutes in class)
- Floss or individual flossers
- Toothpicks
- Microwave popcorn (a great snack when you can’t leave your desk for lunch)
- Tea (Green tea is good for the soul, and apparently helps curb hunger)
- Cup a Soup…good for when you forget your lunch, or when a student does
- Glitter Germ-X! Have everyone, including the teacher, shake hands with everyone. Notice how the “germs” spread!
- Fresh fruit or veggies (of course, they perish, so don’t keep them forever
) - Dried fruit (an alternative to the fresh version)
- Disposable heat compress for a sore back or neck (i.e. Thermacare Wraps)
- A few $15 Starbucks gift cards (for when you forget a colleague’s birthday)
Have other ideas? Let’s keep on adding! I would love to hear your recommendations.
