8 AWESOME GIFTS FOR NEW TEACHERS

Today at work we threw a surprise party for my sister Momo for both her 30th birthday and to congratulate her for getting her first teaching job. Unfortunately I have no pictures because I was too bust setting up and then trying to keep everyone quiet, lest we lose the surprise aspect of the party. lol

Naturally, I wanted to give my sister a gift that was both useful and meaningful so I put together a gift basket (or rather several gift bags) of items that I find essential as a teacher. I've decided to share that list with you, both for people looking for good gifts for teachers, and for teachers themselves on the look out for some tools to add to their arsenal.

Note: this post contains affiliate links, which means I receive small commission if you decide to purchase anything through Amazon using my links. I only recommend items I've purchased and used myself, so trust that everything I post is legit, and I haven't received anything free or been asked to post any of these items : )

So without further ado:

Paper Mate Flair Pens

 

An absolute must for any teacher! Perfect for color coding, annotating, or just grading with something other than red! I use these babies EVERY day in my classroom and I love, love, love them. They write beautifully, the colors are vibrant, they don't bleed through, and they seem to last a long time. I’ve had mine for a couple of years and haven’t had to replace them yet.




Seville Mesh Desk Organizer

I love this organizer so much I bought a second one for my co-teacher so she could revel in its magic (and so our desks could match). I actually got mine at Costco but it seems they no longer carry it so Amazon to the rescue! I really like that it has both horizontal pull out drawers which are great for loose papers, and vertical dividers for file folders and notebooks.



Officemate Deluxe Rotary Organizer

Is there a single teacher who doesn’t have one of these spinny dervish organizer things on their desk? They’re super useful and this one I found is even better than my own. In fact it was the highlight of the party and everyone was asking where they could get one. It's no surprise. I mean it’s got a built in tape dispenser and Post-it compartment. How cool is that?



What Teachers Make:
In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World

I picked this one up on a whim since I love Taylor Mali’s poem What Teachers Make. If you haven't seen the video, check it out here:

I think every teacher needs a little motivation, especially when you're first starting out. Mali understands what really matters as a teacher and always gets me pumped.




Lined Easel Pads

These are great for making anchor charts, and the fact that they’re lined makes my OCD heart happy. No crooked anchor charts!



Sharpie Flip Chart Markers

Because you need good markers to make good charts : )



PaperPro One Finger Stapler

I LOVE this stapler... and apparently so do other people since it's always going missing from my desk. It's super easy to use, which is great for those times when the copier decides it doesn't want to staple your 100 packets and you have to do it by hand.


Adorable Sticky Notes

Because OMG how cute!

Bees Page Tabs

Chick Page Tabs

Animal Sticky Notes



Honorable Mentions

These items I didn’t buy because we’d already picked them up during summer sales, or she has easy access to them from supplies at work. I’m posting them anyway, in case you found this post while looking for teacher gift ideas and need a bit more. Any teacher would be happy to receive these.


Pencils: Teachers can never, ever, EVER have enough pencils.

Dry Erase Markers: Go for a variety of colors instead of the boring old black, red, blue and green. I like choosing two main colors each month to punch up our daily agenda.

Dry Erase Board Cleaner: Please, don't use anything else to clean a white board. You eventually ruin the finish and the board is never the same.

Sharpies: A mix of round and fine tip is best, to provide versatility, as well as multiple colors.

Highlighters: The old standard yellow can be great, but multi-colored highlighters are amazing for annotating text and coding evidence. I bought 20 5-packs of highlights this summer!

Post-Its: Another supply teachers use and need ALL THE TIME.

Tool Kit: You'd be surprised how often this comes in handy. Make sure whatever you get has a hammer, needle nose pliers, measuring tape, and a ratcheting screwdriver with multiple bit types and sizes. A level is a great one too, especially if the teacher is your life is a bit OCD.

Sewing Kit: If you're anything like me, then chances are kids come running to you when they have wardrobe issues. Not only can you fix it for them with basic sewing supplies, but it gives you an opportunity to teach them a valuable life skill.

Paper Trimmer: I HIGHLY recommend getting a sliding blade trimmer versus a guillotine style. I have yet to meet a guillotine cutter that's aligned at a correct 90 degree angle.

Microwave: This can literally change a teacher's life. It opens up a new world of options for lunch and snacks, plus it can save that cup of coffee you forgot about an hour earlier.