Must Have Supplies To Request For Your Preschool Classroom

Are you a teacher looking for ideas to create your back-to-school supply list? You’re in the right place!

I get asked often which supplies I ask for, so I created a printable for you to share exactly what I ask for each year.

You may have more, or fewer supplies on your list depending on where you live and what grade you teach.

Back To School Supplies List For Pre K

The following is the basic list of back to school supplies for pre k I ask for each school year. If you do collect supplies, check out my open house bundle that makes the process so much easier!

• 2 boxes Crayola Crayons
• 1 box Kleenex
• 1 red plastic pocket folder
• 1 blue plastic pocket folder
• 1 box Washable Crayola thick classic markers
• 2 .77 oz regular Elmers Glue sticks
• 2 Chubby Beginner wood pencils (no characters or “fancy” pencils)
• 1 8 ct Crayola Washable Watercolors Paints
• 1 pair 5″ Fiskars blunt scissors

These are just the basics, you can choose to add additional supplies such as baby wipes or play dough. You can even change your list each year to meet your current needs.

Certain states and programs may not allow teachers to request supplies. Each state is different when it comes to school supplies, some states do not allow teachers to ask parents for anything at all. Other states have no restrictions about asking parents for supplies.

It’s important to also note that some federally funded early childhood programs do not allow teachers to ask parents for supplies.

Other teachers may work in private programs where a supply fee is collected from parents upon enrollment.

Always check with your school administrator first before asking parents for school supplies just to be safe.

Printable Back To School Supply  Checklist

Keeping track of who brought which school supplies can be a challenge for all teachers, and it’s impossible to do without a good checklist. Just fill in the free printable below with your own student’s names and the items they brought. You can customize this printable back to school pre k supply checklist to meet your individual needs.

To get the free printable supply checklist, go to the image above.

If you are allowed to ask parents for school supplies, it’s going to be in your best interest to add pictures to your list. You’ll increase your chances of getting the right brands when you include pictures on your list.

Another great way to get the supplies you need for your classroom is to work with a school supply company. Many schools share their supply lists for each grade level with a company, and the company packages the supplies in one big bundle that parents can pre-purchase for their child before the first day of school. Then, the supply bundles are delivered directly to the classrooms.

Easy-peasy and definitely my favorite way to get supplies! I only know of one such company here in my local area, but you can search for one near you.

And if you need more help setting up for the beginning of the year, don’t forget to grab our Back to School Bundle.  You will get our behavior management toolkit, plus editable signs, and charts to help you organize and manage your classroom.

More Teaching Tips from Pre-K Pages