4 Back-to-School Supplies Your Child’s Teacher Will Appreciate

As a former elementary school teacher, I can think of many times when a classroom full of students equipped with a few inexpensive extras would have made activities — and the learning that comes with them — run more smoothly. Give your kid’s teacher a helping hand by sending your little one off to school prepared with these recommended extras.

A Personal Pair of Scissors

Scissors are called for a lot more often than you might realize— cut-and-paste worksheets, inexpensive cut-out puzzles and game pieces and working with creative media all require that everyone in the classroom has a pair of scissors to work with; when each student has their own, those activities go a lot more quickly. This might not be an option if your school’s safety regulations forbid it, but if they don’t, it’s helpful to send your child to school with their own pair.

Non-Toxic Glue Stick (or Tape)

With cutting comes pasting. Buying, storing and replacing a classroom’s-worth of glue on the average teaching budget can be a huge strain, considering how often glue sticks dry out. Do your child’s teacher a favor by sending them to school with their own non-toxic glue stick for them to use when the occasion arises.

Colored Pencils

Colored pencils are perfect for a variety of creative classroom activities, not to mention editing work and highlighting. Providing your child with an inexpensive set of colored pencils gives them the opportunity to learn responsibility for their own supplies throughout the year, as well as allowing the teacher do activities (like map-making) that require all students to have a variety of colors at their disposal.

A Pencil Sharpener (or Replacement Lead)

You’d be surprised at how much activity time is cut down when every student in the room needs to sharpen their pencil at the same time. Give your child a pencil sharpener (with a container for shavings) — or extra lead if they use a mechanical pencil — so that they can freshen up their writing supplies at their desk without unnecessary fuss.

Head Back to School

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