10 Winter MUST-HAVES for Teachers!

10 Winter Must-Haves for Teachers

WINTER IS HERE! 

Well, if you love skiing & sledding then you LOVE the winter months, right? Who doesn’t love this time of year? Umm… well…chances are, most of your winter days will include so much time spent inside a warm, stale-aired classroom, antsy, runny-nosed, chapped-lipped students, not on the slopes or sipping a hot cocoa in the ski lodge.

How will you survive this time of the school year? What are some key Winter Must-Haves for Classroom Teachers? Let me help you learn to LOVE the winter season!

Don’t just SURVIVE. I’m here to help you THRIVE and give you a great way to prep to love winter, especially after the winter holidays are over. Have some winter fun in your classroom this year!

Below is a list of things, and even a winter literacy activity or two, that I’ve used, loved, and I highly recommend! I know these teacher winter must-have items might just help you as much as they helped me cope with the changing seasons too!

These suggestions, and great things I’ve found, have been so helpful to my classroom community during the winter months—-I know you will find them useful too!

Teacher’s Winter Must-haves:

First, hit up the Dollar Store, Target Dollar Spot or Amazon for these supplies that you KNOW you and your kiddos will EVENTUALLY need this winter:

   Lip Balm – The mild flavors takes you back to warm summer days – Winter sun SPF & soothing – the BEST ever!

   Hand lotion – Feels so luxe – dry elbows, ashy hands and knees! It’s my fave!

   Tissues – Soft & soothing for your nose! 

  Mittens – great for phone-screen use & cheap enough to have an extra pair! 

  Fabric Softener sheets (hypoallergenic!) & they take STATIC CLING out of anything (including the hapless hair on your winter head!—-so handy & your kids will think you’re some sort of a magician!)

Budget-friendly yet still cute – beanies & stocking caps (for those cold recess days when there’s always someone who needs a hat {you know, it’s the same one who always has those bad ear infections} 

  Snow boots for you! (Think about those times when it starts snowing during the day and you have to slosh your way to the car with those cute shoes you wore to work this morning, don’t even think about it!) Just pull out those winter boots that you stashed away under your desk in early January, you know, the ones that your mother and I reminded you about?

These cozy boots are the perfect way to warmly get your feet to your home! Don’t want to spend a lot? Try getting some at Ebay, Target, or ask for a DSW gift card for a Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or Festivus gift!

Yes, Hot Chocolate is a classroom must-have: 

Buy an old crockpot at a thrift store. ‘WHY?’ You ask?…because one cold winter day will surely come, it’s the day you don’t really feel like covering those math standards ONE MORE TIME. The day will come when the kids will be too antsy to learn because the snow is falling. 

   That’s JUST the day to put some chocolate milk into that crockpot and heat that baby up! You can also bring in cans of soup and heat those up too! Glorious hot soup & hot chocolate for you, for the kids, & for your teacher bestie down the hall! (if you want a new crockpot, this one is great!) 

  If the snow comes and the kids go home early, it’s a great time to take the hot chocolate home with you and add some Bailey’s to it! Relax + enjoy…you’ve earned it! Now that’s a definite winter must-have for any classroom teacher! 

  Feeling sickly this morning? Maybe it was too much Baileys – lol? I know it may be totally psychosomatic, or the placebo effect, but AIRBORNE always gives me a lift and gets me past whatever ‘classroom crud’ goes around in the winter! They have several flavors but you will find that “very berry” will rock your taste buds! 

  Pick up a used copy of this adorable (and hilarious) book that kids love and relate to VERY well! For a used copy, it’s only 1 cent! It’s called Mrs. Toggle’s Zipper. If you’ve ever struggled with a winter coat zipper, this one’s always one of the favorite books with a winter themes and related to snow days ! 

  Got a bigger book budget than 1 cent? Of course not, you’re a teacher! J But in case you do want to splurge for about 10$, here’s another fun winter read-aloud for those days when you need a bit of laughter with your adorable kids! Go ahead, live LARGE and get the hardback version, it will last longer and the pages won’t rip! You students will have so much fun with this book!

  Keep a set of cheapie (thrift stores/Dollar store) puzzles in your class – again for the days when kids can’t go outside for recess. The puzzles will keeps those little hands and minds busy & maybe even a low prep quick way your sanity too! 

Don’t forget to have an extra WATER bottle for yourself this winter! It’s just as import to hydrate this time of year too! 

Winter Classrooms on the Cheap

Thanks for checking out this list of Winter Must-Haves for Classroom Teachers! It doesn’t take a WHOLE LOT of money to make winter in your classroom better, just a little planning ahead!

I would DEARLY love to hear your ideas too! Please share them in the comments  below! I know you’re a BUSY teacher, so taking the time to share your thoughts means A LOT to me! I hope you have an awesome winter this year—in school and out!

(This post contains some Amazon affiliate links, but the opinions are my own and I’d never recommend anything I don’t truly love! and they are not extra cost to you dear teacher!)