These are a few of my favorite things that keep me sane during the school year 😉
A Few of my Favorite Teacher Things
A Teacher Essential
The day that I purchased my very own little laminator was a turning point in my teaching career! I have found that students take ANYTHING that is laminated more seriously! So, I laminate my station signs, mini-posters, lab directions pages, manipulatives, and lots of other things. I really think that the smell and feel of warm plastic-coated paper is just engrained in us! If you don’t have one already, grab one to start out this school year– you won’t regret it! And don’t worry, you can purchased laminating pouches in high quantities for relatively cheap, like these.
A Science Lab Essential
If your classroom doesn’t already have some from some previous (brilliant!) science teacher, grab a big stack of colored foodservice trays like these. Use them to set out stations around your classroom. Prep them with lab materials the day before a lab for quick set-up on the day of. Hand out a tray with materials to partner pairs to use at their table. I suggest buying at least enough to split your biggest class into pairs (I have 15 so there are extras!).
The Planner That Works for Me
Every single school year I buy a Blue Sky Weekly/Monthly Planner. It begins with July and ends with June. Perfect for the school year. There is a monthly calendar spread where I write in all of my district’s days off, professional days, etc. and where I pencil in generally what I’m planning to teach that month. There is a weekly calendar for each week of that month. This is where I write more details about lessons for each day, notes from meetings and about students, and ideas!
This planner goes with me back and forth from home to school every day and by the end of the school year, this thing is chock full. I keep my planner from each year so that I can go back and peek at what I was doing/thinking/teaching the previous year!
Don’t Forget to Drink Your Aqua
My good friend who is a teacher also remembers that during one of her first education classes, her professor said, “My most important advice to new teachers is this: DRINK WATER!”. I always think about that because man have I had so many days filled with labs and prep and duties and grading and meetings that I have quite literally forgotten to drink water for the entire day. That leaves you feeling tired, irritable, and with a bad headache. I have tried many different water bottles over the years and I finally found THE ONE. This Camelbak Chute Mag water bottle is 50 oz (1.5 liters) so if you drink 2 bottles-worth of water each day, you feel accomplished in that department. The profile is slim so it fits in my teacher bag and the cap doesn’t leak.
The Perfect Portable Gadget for Someone Who Gets Hangry
This little BlendJet Portable Blender is powerful and SO easy to use and clean. It makes it so easy to make a protein smoothie during my morning prep period! It charges with a USB cable, works for about 15 to 20 blends before it needs another charge, and it self-cleans when you blend just soap and warm water.
A Few of my Favorite Family Things
Consolidated Cleaning Products
Branch Basics (affiliate link) is a non-toxic cleaning concentrate that can be combined with varying amounts of water to create every product you need for your entire home. I’m obsessed with this stuff. And I have ONE cleaning product under my sink (the concentrate) with a set of glass bottles in which I make All-Purpose Cleaner (for kitchen counters), window cleaner, laundry detergent, and bathroom cleaner (I have one of these bottles under the sink in each bathroom). Every cleaner works SO well to remove crud, spots, and stains and there are NO TOXINS. If you want to minimalize your cleaning products — this is it.
Do Your Oils!
I have two young kids (3 years and 6 months at the moment). Having to take off from work to care for them when they are sick is a big stress for me. Now this may sound a little hokey to some but bear with me! My three year old son is in preschool and has avoided falling ill to some serious stuff going around this Fall and I have to attribute it to these Kid Safe Plant Therapy (affiliate link) oils.
Every night we “do his oils,” which means we roll Immune Boom down his spine and on the bottoms of his feet, we roll Germ Destroyer behind his ears and on his chest, and we roll Nighty-Night on the tops of his feet. If he has a little sniffle, we roll Sniffle Stopper under his nose like a mustache! I also diffuse Germ Destroyer in our living room each afternoon for when Martin gets home from school. So far, I have to report that he’s dodged croup and another bad bug this season while his preschool friends have had many sick days in a row and even trips to the ER. I’m hooked and hoping this will help prevent me having to use my family sick days this school year!
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