Last Tuesday, the TeacherWriter blog was about getting your classroom organized.  Today, it’s time to start your shopping list. Many of the things on this list may already be in your classroom. If so, wonderful. Many schools allow the teachers to give the students a supply list to purchase before school starts. If that’s your school, terrific. The less money you need to spend, the better.

Use this Teacher School Supply Checklist to ensure you have all the things you need.

Don’t forget bigger ticket items as well. My classroom CD player broke last year, so I need a new one. You may need a DVD player, as some schools still have VCRs in the rooms. Try to get the school to buy them. If they won’t purchase them for you, because of the current budget climate, you can choose to do without, buy it yourself, or ask for parent donations of these items. Many parents that are unable to help out in the classroom are happy to donate items.

Last tip: Wait for the teacher sales. Typically, in July and August, school supplies are at an annual low price. Teachers even get special sale rates beyond that. You just have to watch the ads for them, or call the store managers to find out when the teacher sales are happening.

Next Tuesday, I’ll have 5 articles on classroom management for you. You can subscribe to my RSS feed, or follow me on Twitter so you don’t miss any of the teaching tips.