Where Did the Supplies Go?
Posted by Jen Bragg on 13 Apr 2009 | Posted in: Classroom Management, Organization and Supplies, Teachers and Teaching
It’s spring allergy season here in Greensboro, and that brings sniffles, sneezes, and the need for tissues. Tissues are an important supply in the classroom, too. As you know, when you put 20+ kids in a small space, they’re going to share germs and get sick. Add to that the fact that kids aren’t immune to allergy season and you’ll probably agree that tissues are something of a necessity. At the beginning of the school year, it seemed impossible to find space to store all the tissues parents kindly supplied to my classroom. But by this time of the year, storage was no longer an issue. Our tissue supply was gone. I’d ask for more donations in my newsletter but almost always resorted to picking up a few extra boxes on my personal shopping trips. And let’s face it—tissues aren’t the only thing in short supply at this time of year. Working hard all year does have a downside. Crayons have broken and are harder to use. Scissors have mysteriously disappeared. Glue sticks have either been used down to their plastic cores or dried up. “Sharing” becomes a recurring theme, and there may be times when creative alternatives are needed to complete activities.
So how does your classroom compare? Are you having trouble keeping your classroom stocked with the necessities for student learning activities? What materials (other than paper and pencils) do you consider vital for your classroom? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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20 Responses to “Where Did the Supplies Go?”
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More Comments Pages: [1] 2 » Show All Comments
Our school district is very concerned about food allergies so we are not permitted to have a child bring in snack for the whole class. Each parent is asked to send in a snack for their child each day. Children may bring in a water bottle too. Teachers encourage parents to send in nutritious snacks. This works really well and takes the responsibility off the teachers.
Do any of you have a corporate sponsor for your classroom? In the past, I have sought a corporate sponsor through the students from my classroom. If someone’s dad or mom works for a big company like Bic or WalMart, they might be able to ask their company or store to be your class’s sponsor for the year. They could either supply the items on the list or provide you with a monthly allowance to purchase what is needed. Works either way.
Also, I have found items for my classroom through my local Freecycle group. Some items were things like bookshelves and reems of paper that someone posted to the site. Other things were papercups, napkins, and books that I requested. It is a good place to go because you can make requests and it is also helping to keep things out of landfills.
I ask local businesses for donations of tissues and such. When they donate I put a “donated by Dr.So And So” or “Given to us by Business Name” on a sticker and attatch it to the item. Free for us and Free advertising for that business.
One way I keep my classroom stocked is by submitting proposals for materials to DonorsChoose.org. If I submit them early in the year and request the materials I always run out of, proposals are usually funded by December and then I can save the materials to use whenever they are needed. And the best part is that I don’t have to buy them or ask my parents to send the supplies.
Thanks for sharing ways you supply your room with supplies needed. Parents are very good about sending in supplies at the beginning of the year and just a few will consistently answer your need for supplies through your newsletter or web news when the year’s supply has dwindled. I am always thankful for any supplies that I receive.
Have a wonderful Spring!
Brenda
During parent teacher conferences and other activities in which parents attend school functions. I have a paper tree titled the “giving tree” with post-its of thing we require. The parents will remove the post-it and return with the supply. It has been very successful. Some teachers keep it out all year long.
I teach kindergarten and agree with all of you. We are not permitted to ask parents for supplies so most of it comes out of my pocket. We eat lunch very early and i teach Full Day Kindergarten so they need a snack. My parents are very generous sending in snacks and I use the money that the PTO gives me to buy tissues, hand sanitizer, etc.
We do a lot of work with whiteboards, dry erase timed math fact folders, and dry erase cursive practice folders. Our 2nd grade team finds it necessary for the students to have a good supply of skinny black dry erase markers. We are trying to use these on things in joint with clear sheet protectors to save our copies and copy paper….especially since we have had huge budget cuts! There are so many things the kids can use the dry erase markers for, but they are so expensive to buy out of pocket for your room!
My associate and I have included in our weekly/monthly newsletters a section for our WISH LIST. Parents now look for it to know what our current needs might be. It is very rare that I need to paper products, computer/printer supplies, cutlery, cleaners, etc. We also ask for a list of parents who are not able to volunteer in class but want to find ways to help in other ways. Then when we have a specific need (for supplies, or help from home) we know who doesn’t mind being called.
At the beginning of the year we ask for supplies but only get about half. We ran out of tissues, paper towels, chlorox wipes, dry erase markers and crayons a long time ago. I am constantly picking these items up. They are just part of my weekly grocery list. I have asked for donations but have not gotten much.
I also had a large supply of tissues and paper towels
donated at the beginning of the school year. But
as many of you mentioned, the recent round of runny noses and colds also deleted my supply. I’ve asked
for donations on my newsletter, but have gotten used to buying them at the store myself. My worry for now is that we have been told by our school administration, that school supply lists for the upcoming school year must be very limited due to the economy. With three children of my own to supply for, I am worried about suppling the majority of the the tissues, paper towels, etc. out of my own pocket.
I am a home child care provider. I care for 6 families. I rarely ask for supplies. But just last month we had the runny nose and sneezing outbreak. And we sure did go through tissues. But my wonderful families brought several boxes in without even being asked. It is nice having families the chip in when necessary.