Every teacher has his or her favorite go-to items. I always enjoy hearing about what other teachers carry with them (literally…not figuratively because that’s a whole different blog post for another day). I’m a traveling teacher, a.k.a. I walk between my office and my outside mobile classroom at least five times a day, so I have to plan for success.
First of all, the goods. I’m not a teacher who carries a plethora of bags, color-coordinated, monogrammed, and all that jazz (no judgment if you are that teacher…in fact, I admire your organization and style)…I’m a backpack girl, and mine is a sturdy model with ergonomic design, padded straps, laptop storage, and plenty of pockets (because who doesn’t love pockets?!) to fit my ever-growing stash of multi-colored sharpie pens.
You see, I’ve tried the study, expandable rolling crate (one of the wheels broke off in an unfortunate hallway traffic jam). I’ve also tried going all minimalist with just a pencil case (that lasted a whole week). Regular bags don’t work (everything falls to the bottom), and a purse is too small, so that brings me to my beloved black Adidas backpack. Not one, not two, but three roomy pockets, and pockets within pockets within pockets. #loveatfirstsight.
This black beauty (some might call it a black hole) is like my life jacket. Everything, I mean everything of necessity can be found in here. Here are my top 15 items.
- Black stamp pad + two stamps: #lovethis & belly button bunny. I use these for quick paper check-in and silent high-fives during work time.
- Burt’s Bees “Refreshing” Lip Balm with pink grapefruit.
- Stress Relief Lotion.
- Metallic, flexible headband
- White out tape
- Thank you cards and stickers: glitter smiley faces, Star Wars, and Dr. Seuss
- Recording headphones to get down with Screencast-O-Matic and Pandora
- Glasses case, cleaner, cleaning cloth
- Tissues and hand sanitizer
- Exactly 32 pens and highlighters of various colors, shapes, sizes. I use them all.
- My “ideas” notepads (two of them…I have a lot of ideas)
- External hard drive in bright orange
- My self-made planner, printed for around $3.00 at Staples
- Chocolate. More specifically, Newman’s Own dark chocolate peppermint cups.
- Inspiration: The book If by Amy Carmichael. It reminds me that attitude and perspective are everything.
So, what’s in your teaching bag? And, more importantly, why is it there?
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