Classroom Essentials

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I spend many hours in the classroom. I arrive about an hour before we are required to in order to decompress and get materials ready for the day. Most mornings we have some type of meeting (department, content, grade, etc.) so that means the day before I stay after school to get prepared. In addition, our building-wide meetings are done after school on certain days of the week, which are dependent on certain weeks of the month. As you can imagine, this further complicates my borderline-OCD preparation schedule...

Bottom line: I AM BASICALLY A CLASSROOM HOBBIT.

Because of the long days that are involved in teaching it is imperative that you have a selection of essentials stashed away to keep you going through the trials and tribulations that plague the every day teacher.

Not a teacher? Don't worry, you're not wasting your time reading this post - these "must have" items can definitely be applied to women (sorry dudes!) that work anywhere besides home.

Details below...

1. Fashion Tape: always handy to have around in case a botton pops off while reaching to get an anchor chart down from the wall (#truestory)

2. Emergen-C: when students have the sniffles and they want to hug you - always opt for the "air high-five" it's what all the cool teachers do

3. Concealer

4. Umbrella: a lot can happen in ten hours, right Tom Skilling?

5. Perfume Rollerball: when it's after PE and your classroom Febreeze ain't cutting it - I swear their stench is absorbed by my clothing

6. Aleve

7. Lifesavers: for a happy little pick-me-up...the red ones make me smile

8. Cerave Ointment: having dry hands is the worst, especially when every time you grade a paper you also get a paper cut

9. Mini Pretzels: simple snack for students that are always hungry and really need to eat something (UTZ brand is peanut, tree nut, and egg-free)

10. Gum: to keep me from eating the snacks I buy for certain students

11. #givemechocolate: it happens to the best of us

12. Larabars: usually eaten in lieu of a lunch, which I never remember to pack (not that I would have time to eat it...)

13. First Aid Kit: mainly for me, but also good to have if students just need a "bandaid" for their invisible paper cut (I do have a full-time nurse at my current school though - score!)

14. Safety Pins: remember when those buttons popped off? yeah, that tape needs a little extra support

15. Mirror

16. Long Cardigan: to help you deal with the frigid and varying temperatures of your room (always opt for a long length one to be kept in your room!)

Are there any items that you MUST keep with you either in your desk or in the classroom? Help me add to my own apocalyptic list! Share in the comments below :)