The Top Teacher Must Haves Of The Year

Who knew masks would be a top teacher must have for this year? I definitely didn’t have that on my list of teacher must have supplies for 2020. And while many classrooms ask for donations of sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer, no one realized they’d be hard to come by and even more essential than usual. Had you Zoomed or taught online before this year? 2020 was a year with some unexpected teacher must haves. 

Teacher must have supplies

Let’s look at classroom must haves going forward — those that may seem dated by the end of next year (I’m sure hoping we can get rid of masks and share supplies again) and some favorites that will serve you for a long time!

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Masks

If you are teaching in person, there’s a good chance you need a mask. By this time you might have found your own favorite style, but I know I like a good mix of fun ones, like these teaching themed masks, these math themed masks, or these masks with handwriting letters. And there are lots of masks with books and even characters students will recognize, like these Dr. Suess themed masks. 

Cleaning and sanitizing

We often stock up on sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer. You’ll want these for school and home, and lots of both! 

With all the hand sanitizing and washing, treat yourself to a hand lotion you like. 

Organization

Is classroom organization your thing? These classroom organization tips may add some classroom must have supplies for organization to your list. 

Have you had to reorganize your room and how you handle supplies? I love these caddies for each student to have their own supplies and Ziplock bags in various sizes to put together kits of manipulatives, dice, game pieces, and the like for individual students. The good news is both will be handy even if things are back to “normal.” 

Destress tools

Some of our teacher must haves aren’t things but practices. Here’s a list of teacher self-care practices you can use starting now (I know, you’re busy, but don’t skip this one!)

We all have different things that help us destress. Like adult coloring books? Try this snarky teacher coloring book and some fresh colored pencils. 

Do you turn to chocolate in times of stress? Treat yourself!

Hydrotherapy? If a hot bath is your relax tool, how about some bath bombs to make them extra special. 

Too much Zoom time at a poorly set up desk? First get yourself set up better! Then maybe a back and neck massager. 

If ever there was a year for investing in self-care this is it!

Activities & games for home or school

Let’s make life easier, shall we? That’s really what teachers need. Many of these games and activities work both in home and school, wherever students are. 

• Phonics Homework for the Entire Year — a broad mix of phonics skills and activities perfect for use at home
• Phonics Cootie Catcher Bundles—I love to mix in fun all the time, but when things are uncertain, giving kids something to smile about while they learn is extra good. 
• Skip Counting Puzzles Bundle—These puzzles work great at home or school to help kids practice skip counting and get past some of the most common barriers. 
• Phonics Boom Cards—I love task cards, and this electronic version is fabulous!

Find more classroom must have games and activities or make it extra easy on yourself with a Top Notch Teaching Members Club membership for done for you games, activities, lesson plans, and classroom management tools at the ready. 

Planning

We’re heading into January, which is a big planning month no matter where you are in the school year. It’s a great time to take an overview of the year and start to break things down month by month and week by week. Flexible planning tools make all the difference, especially in a year like this year. 

Start with these free Daily Planning Templates:

Want to go into more detail, these are my must have lesson planning templates. Plan your year, quarter, month, week, and set up checklists of important to dos!

What’s your teacher must have item this year?