The Simplest High School Teacher Supply List

Parents and students around the nation are school supply shopping…and so are teachers! We are planning, prepping and shopping to make sure our classrooms are stocked up and ready to go for your kiddos. Check out the high school teacher supply list and learn how my partnership with Member’s Mark Brand 2-ply Facial Tissues is making shopping easy.

Back to School Means Prepping

I am headed into my 11th year of teaching! I love my job. In fact, I have been missing my classroom a little extra this summer and have spent more time this summer, planning, taking classes and really getting a handle on this upcoming year. As a teacher, I prep a lot, and as a science teacher, I prep even more! We have a lot to do and a lot of supplies to make sure we have on hand.

I will spend the first 4 days of school likely ordering a ton of lab supplies, planning lessons, making copies, attending 2 million meetings (ok, not really, but it feels like it), and organizing my classroom. I teach between 165-180 students each day and although we tell them they need to have pencils and paper, they do not get school supply lists and we work with what we get.

High School Teacher Supply List

What supplies do teachers really need? I get this question a lot. I tell my students that I need them to always have something to write with (pen or pencil works), something to write on (paper is preferable) and something to keep those papers in. However, for my own classroom, the things that students go through are a relatively short list.

Pencils

It never fails, at least 1 kid, every single class period, every single day will not have something to write with. I honestly have no clue HOW they lose their pencils all day or how the same kid never has anything to write with. I easily buy 300 pencils and usually midway through the year, we are getting low.

I do make my students trade me something in exchange for a pencil, but we still go through a ton of these and they are the number 1 item that I request if parents ask me what I need. We can always use more number 2 pencils…always!

Tissue

Schools are little germ factories. Kids are always coughing, sneezing and generally full of mucus. Thankfully, they actually use tissues and not their sleeves, but that means that I go through a box of tissues every 3-4 days. Yes, you read that correctly.

I purchase tissues in bulk and love that Sam’s Club carries the awesome Member’s Mark Brand 2-ply Facial Tissue. You can purchase both in store and online at Samsclub.com (everyday free shipping too). The 2-ply tissue is soft, strong and high quality and the boxes are cute. The tissues are also hypoallergenic, and free from ink, perfume, lotion and fragrances, which make it a perfect addition to my classroom. Tissues are a big deal and we have teachers constantly offering extra credit for these little boxes of joy.

Dry Erase Markers

Although many schools are moving toward more smart technology in the classroom, which reduces the amount of dry erase markers we are using in our classrooms to personally write with, dry erase markers are a hot commodity for so many engaging learning experiences!

We use them to check in on their learning with individual white boards, or to solve problems as a group on the table top or to have them record group data on the board. Students are not gentle with them and we go through a ton of them.

Stocking Up Saves Time & Money

I LOVE when parents and students send in those supplies that we tear through, but I never count on it. Instead, I make sure that I shop early and stock up on the essentials. This saves me a lot of time and since I typically purchase items in bulk, it also saves money. For about $40.00 every 8 weeks, I can usually get the necessities covered and I have found a sweet way to get exactly what I am looking for and be in and out of the store quickly!

Scan & Go is Sam’s Club’s awesome program that you can access while in store from the app. All you do is go in the store, scan the items as you are putting them in your cart, then when you are finished, you pay right from your phone and leave with your cart full of goodness. In addition to Scan & Go, Sam’s Club also offers online shopping with free shipping as well as Club Pick Up and subscriptions. If you’re purchasing supplies in bulk, Sam’s Club is the way to go to save money and time!