School Supplies

Anyone who has taught school for any amount of time, knows what a pain it can be when students can't keep up with their school supplies.  In my kindergarten classroom, one of my primary goals is to teach my students to be responsible for not only their actions, but for their supplies.  I have had 25 students in my classroom at one time…hearing "I can't find a yellow crayon!" 25 times can drive you nuts!  It makes my life much easier if everyone knows what to do if they need a particular crayon or have found a pencil.  I'm going to share some of the ideas that work for me in my classroom.  TRY these!  These ideas have made my life soooooo much easier.  After all, we all want to ENJOY KINDERGARTEN right?

Personal versus Community Supplies

I have read many discussions on this topic.  I actually do a combination of both in my classroom.  I am very particular about my things.  As a teenager I once let someone borrow my paperback copy of October Sky to read and when it was returned with dog-eared pages and a cracked spine, I was upset.  As a student I would have hated if I had to share that chewed up pencil with coughing kid next to me, while mine remained in pristine condition.  However, I realize there is a time and place for community supplies.

    

I also believe that children in kindergarten should all receive the same supplies.  I purchase all the supplies with my supply money from our county supply warehouse.  We aren't allowed to ask for students to send in items.  We can have a "wish list" but can't require students to bring any supplies in!  So, this works out well for me.

Chair Pockets

I thought I had prepared for everything on that VERY first day of teaching kindergarten.  I had…everything EXCEPT how my students would house their supplies.  I ended up passing out gallon Ziploc bags to each child to put their supplies in and they kept them on the tables!  WOWZA!  That drove me nuts!  By the end of the week I had measured chairs, bought fabric, and texted my close family friend begging for her to whip me up some chair pockets!  These were a lifesaver!  These are made out of blue jean fabric and cost about $75 to make 30.  Each student has their own to keep their supplies in.  At the end of the semester I wash them in the school washer to freshen them up!  I have had these chair pockets for eight years and they are starting to wear thin.  I will be sewing some replacements next month.

Pencils

My first year of teaching kindergarten my toilets in the classroom bathrooms (yes, I know I'm SUPER lucky to be in a new classroom) kept clogging.  The custodian wasn't happy to see me daily to plunge the toilets.  He swore my kids were flushing pencils down the toilet and clogging them on purpose.  I am a loving but firm teacher and I knew my kids weren't doing that…so I ended up putting their initials on their pencil with a Sharpie!  When it came time to finally snake the toilets and he pulled out 9 pencils, none of them were pencils I used in my classroom!  I'm a school supply snob…Ticondroga Laddies are my favorite!  Apparently, the teacher(s) who taught my class while I was on maternity leave the year before had little to no control.   This has not been a problem since that year.  Initials on the pencils have been great...when we find one on the floor the children love figuring out who it belongs to.  

Crayons

I always start the year with 8 pack Crayola crayons.  Half of my kinder kids have trouble keeping up with coats and lunch boxes come December, they definitely can't keep up with more than 8 crayons, especially in August.  In October and January I give them a new box of 8 crayons.  In March I give them a pack of 16 crayons.  Before they get a new box of crayons, they have to make a decision, do they want to take their old crayons home or do they want to donate them to our class community supply tubs?  I pass no judgement and tell them if they don't have any at home they can take them home.  Some do take them home.  Others head back to the counter to sort their crayons into the donation center.  

I love that the students are responsible for keeping these drawers organized.
After all, this is one way to teach sorting and classifying! ;)

You can find these drawers at Wal-Mart.
I used my cameo to cut vinyl labels.

The crayons that end up here are free game for anyone to use.  If the students are working on something a need a color they have lost, they can head back to the counter and help themselves to whatever color they need.  No questions asked.  If they break a crayon (lets face it, it happens to all of us), they can help themselves to a new one and toss the broken in the bucket for the art teacher.  They know to do this without asking me…no more "I need a red crayon!  I can't find a crayon!"  The students also know if they find a blue crayon on the floor, to walk back and put it in the correct drawer.  No more "Who lost a blue crayon?!"  This crayon solution changed my life!  :)  Now I would like to tell you they do this without reminders, but that would be a lie.  They need taught this procedure at the beginning of the year just like anything else.  Usually I look at them and say something like, "You can solve this problem without me!!!  If you have forgotten how, ask a friend!"  Usually five other kinders are jumping up to escort them to the back counter.  Later in the year if they seem to forget I simply say, "Go shopping!"  and they head back to the donation center to shop.  I use to do this exact procedure with a catch up all tub.  That ended up driving me nuts for a few reasons...they would waste time sitting there digging through the tub for a red in a sea of purple and orange crayons.  Seriously, how was it ALWAYS full of purple and orange crayons?  This ended up wasting more time and they still couldn't find a good red crayon to use.  With the crayon drawers there is no excuse to be standing idle at the counter.  Get what you need and move on!

Do your students have a hard time staying organized?