The letters must go out and school products that I LOVE!!

   I had to go to school yesterday to print and send out my welcome letters to my new first graders. I hope they are getting excited about school. 

    I send home a parent survey so that when the students come to me I have some information about their child. Do you ask parents to provide any information about their child at the beginning of the year? 

   Here is a little peak into one thing I got started in my room after I mailed my letters. This is a sad curtain that I made out of a sheet. I need to either get a steamer or take them down to iron them. The picture doesn't show the right side that I still need to finish. I have decided that my bulletin boards will be black background and these large shelves will have grey curtains. 

   I read another blog recently where they shared their favorite back to school supplies (for teachers) so I decided to share mine. 

Last year I was introduced to Flair pens! I had a variety pack of colors, but there was only one purple in it. So I went on Amazon and found a box with just purple!! LOVE!! 

Another thing I was introduced to last year (thanks Cassie) was Planbook online.  I love having my lesson plan book online. You can easily add standards to a specific lesson or move a lesson from one day to the next. I use to use google docs to do my lesson planning, but I will be using Planbook.com again this year as I love it. Oh and did I mention it's only $12 a year. 

I will never be without my own laminator again. A few years ago I bought this laminator at Walmart for $19.96 (it's even less expensive now). I use it a lot and it is worth every penny. You can get the laminating pouches at Sams Club or Amazon (which is where I have found the best prices). 

This year I decided to order twistable crayons for all of my students as I realized that regular crayons have so much waste. Basically, the kids use them until the tip is dull and then they don't want to use them. Hoping these new crayons, although more expensive, will end up being worth it. 

   These are a few of the things that I can't start the school year without. Feel free to comment about the things that you can't be without. I love hearing what other products people like to use. 

~Erica