I"m shocked how much teachers have to buy for public schools. Putting that aside, my kid's teacher this year was new and had nothing. Our school is 1/2 farms. She put out request for some things like am amazon book list, and some maker-space items. I was rasied farms but am not now so i amazoned some of the books to her and purged my legos to make her a maker-bin of them. She was so happy. During the year she's send requests for more this or that and I'd either amazon a box to her with enough for 1/2 of the kids or I"d send stuff.

Anonymous wrote:

OK, I'm just going to put it out there, OP.

My children, now teens and tweens, always found the walls of their classroom WAY, WAY too distracting. There's always too much on there. It's visually confusing and not aesthetically pleasing at all. For my child with ADHD, it was worse than that - he couldn't find anything that the teacher said was on the walls, because every surface was covered by posters and pictures and admonitions! It made functioning in the class harder than it should have been.

So by all means, ask the Principal, ask the PTA, and inquire as to whether you have a sister school who can help. I was a PTA board member for years at my children's elementary and we donated to our lower-income sister school. Your administration should not be leaving you in the lurch like this.

But please also think about the beauty and calm of empty surfaces. Your students will thank you.

+1 Less is more. DH and I walked into our kid's parent teacher conference and before she even opened her mouth, we knew what that problem was going to be. I got dizzy just being in the room; it was really overwhelming!

OK, I'm just going to put it out there, OP.

My children, now teens and tweens, always found the walls of their classroom WAY, WAY too distracting. There's always too much on there. It's visually confusing and not aesthetically pleasing at all. For my child with ADHD, it was worse than that - he couldn't find anything that the teacher said was on the walls, because every surface was covered by posters and pictures and admonitions! It made functioning in the class harder than it should have been.

So by all means, ask the Principal, ask the PTA, and inquire as to whether you have a sister school who can help. I was a PTA board member for years at my children's elementary and we donated to our lower-income sister school. Your administration should not be leaving you in the lurch like this.

But please also think about the beauty and calm of empty surfaces. Your students will thank you.

Damn, this is making me sad. I'm not local but I'm going to see if any of my local teachers need anything. I have tons of random art supplies I'll never use.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m just in tears, since I’m not currently getting paid, I do not have any extra funds. My coworkers are talking about buying legos for back to schooo night, wallets for their class cash, prizes for the treasure box. I can’t even afford a bookshelf to my books on! I don’t have decorations, posters, supply carts, organizers, clipboards….I don’t have anything and I don’t know what to do. I mean I always knew teachers had to spend some of their own money, but I never realized how much. It’s a low income school so we also have to make sure to have extra supplies on hand for the kids who do not bring anything. We also cannot ask parents to donate. I’m just so discouraged and have cried all day.

Teacher here. Definitely ask for things on your neighborhood list serve and Facebook-people want to help out. You really don’t need as much as you think you do. Your kids can help you to decorate the room—this builds classroom community and helps them feel ownership. My kids decorated their own name tags on sentence strips. You don’t need fancy organizers or carts.
At this time of the year, Target dollar spot has cheap organization bins if you really want some. Your principal should be able to get you furniture if you need it as well as supplies for kids who need them.

If you are at a Title 1 school—check out First Book. They provide free books to classrooms.

Kids don’t need a pinterest classroom. They need a loving adult who will provide them with structure and routine. You will be great!

Also, I put up cute “Under Construction “ signs to let kids know that we were building our room together.

I’m also a teacher and agree 100% with this post.

Great idea!!

When my cousin started out I donated gently used books, board games, and puzzles I had grown out of. Once you have room parents, they will happy to organize and help fill your classroom, but I know it's hard until then.

I would happily donate gently used or new items to you to help you start the school year.

Someone on one of my FB groups made an Amazon wish list and broadcast it. Try that!

I had the same problem my first year. My classroom was bare and I was shocked to find out I was expected to pay for decorations, supplies, and resources. I’m sorry it’s this way!

A couple of ideas:
- Ask other teachers if they have extra posters or supplies. An older teacher gifted me some of her posters and I now do the same for newer teachers.
- Consider low-cost but high-impact decorations. A new teacher at our school used tulle she got on clearance at a fabric store. She draped it on a wall and it was really effective.
- Does your school provide you with a mentor teacher, or is there someone there you feel comfortable reaching out to? Maybe there is a small budget you can tap to get some supplies. (I was told there isn’t my first year. Maybe you’ll have better luck? It’s worth asking if you haven’t already.)

I remember this stress and I’m sorry you are feeling it now. It will come together!

My neighborhood BuyNothing group often donates to our local elementary teachers - kids books, storage bins, office supplies, random mixed up Legos, etc. I was able to get my son’s teacher several costumes for her Historical Figure Wax Museum project so that she can loan costumes to kids who may not be able to make or buy one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m just in tears, since I’m not currently getting paid, I do not have any extra funds. My coworkers are talking about buying legos for back to schooo night, wallets for their class cash, prizes for the treasure box. I can’t even afford a bookshelf to my books on! I don’t have decorations, posters, supply carts, organizers, clipboards….I don’t have anything and I don’t know what to do. I mean I always knew teachers had to spend some of their own money, but I never realized how much. It’s a low income school so we also have to make sure to have extra supplies on hand for the kids who do not bring anything. We also cannot ask parents to donate. I’m just so discouraged and have cried all day.

Teacher here. Definitely ask for things on your neighborhood list serve and Facebook-people want to help out. You really don’t need as much as you think you do. Your kids can help you to decorate the room—this builds classroom community and helps them feel ownership. My kids decorated their own name tags on sentence strips. You don’t need fancy organizers or carts.
At this time of the year, Target dollar spot has cheap organization bins if you really want some. Your principal should be able to get you furniture if you need it as well as supplies for kids who need them.

If you are at a Title 1 school—check out First Book. They provide free books to classrooms.

Kids don’t need a pinterest classroom. They need a loving adult who will provide them with structure and routine. You will be great!

Also, I put up cute “Under Construction “ signs to let kids know that we were building our room together.

I’m also a teacher and agree 100% with this post.

Are you local? I have books and legos I would love to donate. If so, please reply and I will post an email for you to contact me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m just in tears, since I’m not currently getting paid, I do not have any extra funds. My coworkers are talking about buying legos for back to schooo night, wallets for their class cash, prizes for the treasure box. I can’t even afford a bookshelf to my books on! I don’t have decorations, posters, supply carts, organizers, clipboards….I don’t have anything and I don’t know what to do. I mean I always knew teachers had to spend some of their own money, but I never realized how much. It’s a low income school so we also have to make sure to have extra supplies on hand for the kids who do not bring anything. We also cannot ask parents to donate. I’m just so discouraged and have cried all day.

Teacher here. Definitely ask for things on your neighborhood list serve and Facebook-people want to help out. You really don’t need as much as you think you do. Your kids can help you to decorate the room—this builds classroom community and helps them feel ownership. My kids decorated their own name tags on sentence strips. You don’t need fancy organizers or carts.
At this time of the year, Target dollar spot has cheap organization bins if you really want some. Your principal should be able to get you furniture if you need it as well as supplies for kids who need them.

If you are at a Title 1 school—check out First Book. They provide free books to classrooms.

Kids don’t need a pinterest classroom. They need a loving adult who will provide them with structure and routine. You will be great!

Also, I put up cute “Under Construction “ signs to let kids know that we were building our room together.

There's a Facebook group specifically for free stuff for Loudoun teachers. There may be one local to you as well. Definitely join Buy Nothing and post an ask.

Also who says you cannot ask parents? How poor is the school? 70% farms? Or 90%? In the former case s
You could likely hold off on a few things and put it on a “class wishlist” sheet if your back to school night is before school or super early in the year.

I had a friend who found herself in these shoes. She set up a gofundme and met her goal. She was very specific about what she needed and her friends stepped up.