Whether you’re teaching Kindergartners or teenagers, there’s plenty of things you can put together to prepare for the coming year. Too often, lesson planning and other logistics will cause you to forget about the small things that can save you a ton of headaches. So, let me help you out with these awesome New Teacher Survival Kit Must-Haves. Once you’ve established those rules, you’ll need to reinforce them throughout the year. On top of that, you’ll need to have a handful of team building and motivational games the students can play. Of course, these games will depend on what level you’re teaching, but one example could be “Desert Survival,” where you break up the class into teams, provide a list of 20 survival objects, and have the team pick seven. At the end, you’ll give each time defend why they made their choices. You’ll want a student supply center. This can include all the usual supplies kids might need, like a stapler, pencil sharpener, glue sticks, a tape dispenser, rulers, paper, etc… and put it at the front of class. Make sure to have three or four trash cans in different places for easy trash removal. Also, make sure to have a homework drop off bin of some kind so your students know where to put their homework. But, between you and me, what would make a classroom really fun and exciting is to have these classroom buzzers. Kids love to push buttons and a literal buzzer will only make learning fun and way better than simply raising your hand. But, to really make sure you’re prepared, you’ll want to have this awesome Gerber Multi-tool. Of course, keep these items secured and out of your students’ reach. So, you’ll want to keep a small supply of healthy snacks for yourself, including trail mix, apples, and chips. Plus, if you’re feeling particularly flummoxed, you might just need some chocolate to get you through the day. But, why go through the hassle of getting all that stuff yourself, when you can just get the Hangry Kit? It has everything you need to keep up your energy and win each day. To get you through those times, make sure to have some CD’s, an iPod, DVD’s, or a podcast ready while you wrap up your work. It’ll help keep your sanity. You can also make it even easier on yourself and get a music subscription for your smartphone. Don’t settle for limits on your iPod. Get unlimited, never-ending music to keep you going in the later hours of the night. You’ll also want to keep a toothbrush and toothpaste, travel size deodorant, dry shampoo, waterless razor, and lint roller. Unless you’re always on top of things, chances are you might wake up late and have to rush to work on time. As a side note, you’ll want to keep these inside a good organizational box, like the Caboodle, to keep track of it. Of course, having tissue paper at the ready is a must, but aside from that, bring a couple of tubes of disinfectant wipes to clean hard surfaces and door knobs. You’ll also want to bring some personal facial towelettes. You never know when a kid will want to whisper something to you and then suddenly sneeze in your face. I would also be worried about my skin, though. When you’ve got recess duty and are in hot or cold weather, you’ll need lotion and sunscreen to protect from harmful UV rays or a bitter chill. Naturally, you should also have a variety of band-aids handy in case you or one of your students is hurt. To make sure you have everything you need, you should get a great first aid kit. This could look differently for different people. I like to put encouraging sticky notes on my desk, but maybe you’d use a stress ball or put in earplugs to drown out some of the noise. Whatever works for you and is appropriate for school, remember to bring it.
