Material Must-Haves!

Happy Wednesday! Danielle here. This is a list of my top five Material Must-Haves in any early childhood classroom.  These materials make my life so much easier and ultimately save my class and school money.  
Note: we do not receive any commission for these recommendations, they’re just products we love, and links to places we found them at a good value.

Reusable Dry Erase Pockets
These are the best!  Forget having to laminate EVERYTHING your students use, just slip a sheet of paper in one of these and they’re ready to go. Organize them by student or by topic, just slide the new sheets in front of the old (or use double-sided). Sturdier than a sheet protector, more portable and versatile than a dry-erase board.

In addition to student use, I like to pin them up (with the grommet at the top) to use for erasable class signs like "There are __ days until Thanksgiving!"  I also use them in place of a folder sometimes, to store sheets or activity-prep materials together, easily see what's inside, and label it without using up a post-it every time I change the contents. Also sold (sometimes more cheaply) as shop tickets.

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Multicolor

Monochromatic

 Dry-erase markers

Plasticine 
There are myriad classroom uses for plasticine - also known as plastelina or modeling clay.  I use it in art activities, as a play-dough substitute for sensory exploration, as a base for little popsicle puppets when I’m telling a story...  I just love this stuff and use it ALL the time. 

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We like Discount School Supply

Tri-Fold Boards
These things are brilliant.  I use them primarily to create matching boards or story boards for hands-on storytelling - the kids love to explore and retell the story themselves after we've done it as a class.  All you need is a bit of velcro (to attach cutouts of characters, props, and scenery), and clear tape or contact paper to protect the board, and you have your very own in-class theater.
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They can also work as visual aids in other lessons, kind of like a felt board or magnetic board but with a little more teacher control over where kids can attach things. Use a smaller size board and try them with velcro'ed cutouts of numbers and mathematical operations for basic math problems, or with cutouts of letters or letter pairs for spelling, or word cutouts for assembling sentences! Fold them up between uses to protect the board and keep tiny hands away.

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They are sold in various sizes, so keep an eye on what size you're ordering!
Check craft or office supply stores, or Amazon
Small 14"x22" Board
Large 3'x4' Board

Kid Tent
We use this awesome tent in our Quiet Corner.  If the students ever need a break they can take a turn relaxing inside.  We added a large stuffed animal chair inside for extra coziness, along with a number of sensory balls and bottles.  My students just love this little cozy haven.

Simple: $30 tent, no assembly needed, just twist and fold to flatten and put away

Splurge: $60 tent, requires assembly, larger, no floor, more durable

Yum Yum Yum!

Rice Cooker
I love cooking with my students!  Cooking is tons of fun (plus, yum!) and it touches on so many different subjects:

• Science: We mix ingredients and see how they react to each other.
• Sensory Exploration: Cooking involves touching, tasting, smelling, and seeing.
• Math: We use math to measure ingredients.
• Literacy: I write the recipe on a  large sheet of chart paper so the students can practice reading the ingredients and measurements.​

This plug-in rice cooker allows me to make a plethora of things easily during the school day. Set it and forget it! I have used it to make rice, pasta, faro, quinoa, various soups, matzah balls, frittata, hard-boiled eggs, a wide variety of steamed vegetables, and even turned fresh fruit into homemade jam! It’s versatile, inexpensive, easy to use and easy to clean but fairly safe from small hands - my favorite thing and a  classroom MUST-HAVE!

What are your favorite multi-purpose classroom materials? Let us know in the comments!

To have Bitty City Players put our favorite materials to use for you, contact us to arrange a class or workshop! ​