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Managing Student Supplies on Back to School Night

Back to School season is upon us and that means it’s time to get organized and ready to start the school year on the right foot. My school hosts an annual back to school night for students to meet their teachers parents to unload all of the brand new school supplies before the first day of school. I love back to school night, but it can be a little tricky to manage all the things. Fortunately, Avery’s peel and stick labels helped me create a few simple systems to manage student supplies  for families to handle independently so I could focus on answering important questions and starting to build those oh-so-important family relationships. 

Thank you to Avery for sponsoring this blog post. I received payment, trade and/or products from Avery in exchange for promoting. However, all opinions stated are my own. I only promote brands and products that I love and I truly adore Avery peel and stick labels in the classroom. 

This post also contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. I receive a small commission whenever someone makes a purchase through one of these links, which helps to support the blog.

bin filled with Crayola watercolor paint boxes labeled with student names and text below that reads "student supply organization for back to school prep"

All About My Back to School Night

After a crazy and delightfully hectic month of moving and helping to set up multiple classrooms for back to school, last night I focused my attention back to my own classroom and the kindergarten students who will be learning with me this year. My school holds an annual “Sneak Peek” back to school night in which students and families are invited into the classroom before the first day of school. They bring all of their school supplies, meet the teacher, and get acclimated for the new school year. It is a wonderful, but busy evening at school.

I planned for 16 families to drop by the classroom last night and the room was buzzing with excitement. Kindergarten parents have a lot of questions because everything is new to them. Drop off, dismissal, homework, our schedule, etc. In the midst of answering all those questions, it’s my job to help all of the students unpack their school supplies.

vintage circus theme kindergarten classroom with colorful lanterns, student desks and bright bins on the shelves

The Problem: Hard-to-Read Writing

Many parents write their child’s name on everything with a permanent marker. Which is great for me, but often not-so-great for the children in the class who find a stray glue stick on the floor and haven’t figured out how to read the print/cursive mix of parent penmanship.

It’s a waste of time for the children to bring every lost-and-found school supply to me just because they can’t discern the handwriting (and it doesn’t really foster independence either). Fortunately, Avery labels are the perfect tool for solving this problem!

Avery 8160 Labels to the Rescue

As I prep for Sneak Peek, I print a column of labels bearing each students name on Avery 8160 labels and cut to separate each name column into strips. I place a strip of the appropriate name labels on each student’s desk and then I wait. 

When the students arrive in the classroom and find their desks, they have a great time peeling and sticking their name labels onto all of their supplies. And I take peace in knowing that the large, kid-friendly font will help all of the students to recognize each other’s name throughout the school year.

black plastic classroom bin containing boxes of watercolor paints lableed with student names. Two sheets of printed labels lay beside the bin read to peel and stick for the next student.

I created my labels using the Avery 8160 template in Microsoft Word, using the font KG Miss Kindergarten. You can also create your own labels using Avery Design and Print.

Storing and Managing School Supplies

My classroom school supply lists requests that all families supply four boxes of crayons and four large glue sticks. These items usually get us through the duration of the school year. I tuck one of the glue sticks and one box of crayons into each child’s pencil case and the rest get stored for later in the year.

bag of school supplies on a table in a classroom. Supplies are placed in a ziploc bag and labeled with the name of the student

In addition to the strip of printed 8160 labels, each child also receives a quart-size zipper bag bearing their name in the same kid-friendly font. I create these bags ahead of time and use Avery 5163 labels. (These are my all-time favorite labels. I use them all the time in my classroom.) The extra three glue sticks and boxes of crayons fit perfectly into the quart-size bag. Once filled, all of the bags get tucked under my classroom easel for easy access during the school year.

 
large storage bins under a classroom easel. Each bin is filled with clear plastic bags containing school supplies for each student in the class that are clearly labeled.

For the first few months of school, I personally hand out new supplies as they are needed. As the year progresses, the children learn to responsibly help themselves to supplies when something runs out. The Avery labels make everything so easy for them to read!

clear plastic zipper bag sitting on a classroom table containing individual student school supplies. Each supply and the bag itself are labeled with the name of the student

Some supplies go into student desks, others get tucked away under the easel, or placed into table boxes, and still others go into separate corners of the classroom. We stick Avery 8160 labels onto just about everything (except paint shirts and scissors).

crayola markers labeled with student names in a red plastic table caddy on a classroom desk

And there you have it… a fast and simple way to organize all of your classroom school supplies. Printed labels make classroom supply organization a breeze so you can focus on the important stuff. 

Organize All of Your Other Supplies

If your student classroom supplies are organized and you’re ready to tackle your teacher supplies, I know just what you need: Classroom Supply Labels from the Kinder Craze store! The set contains two different sizes of labels for you to print, prep and stick to label all the things. 

Wishing you a smooth and organized start to the year ahead!

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Maria Gavin

Maria is a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, with 13 years of teaching experience. Her love and passion for all things early childhood is now fulfilled as a mom to two amazing kids. She loves sharing practical and creative tips and ideas that are perfect for young learners – in the classroom or at home!

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7 Responses

  1. At our open house, I put a brown paper grocery bag at each student’s desk with their name on it. I asked them to put all their supplies in the bag before they left. I was able to label the things I wanted names on, and store the supplies that are shared! It was the diets time I tried this and it worked great for me!

  2. We end up sharing all supplies so no need for names on every supply, we label pencil cases, journals, homework folders and agenda books.

    1. I usually store scissors, markers, glue bottles and bingo dotters in the table boxes – things we use often but are too messy for the students to keep in their desks full time

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Hi, I'm Maria.

I’m a former kindergarten teacher turned work-from-home mom. I still love sharing ideas and resources to make teaching easier, so you can focus on what really matters in the classroom. When I’m not working on the blog, you’ll find me chasing kids around the house with a cold cup of coffee in my hand (some things never change even once you’re out of the classroom!)

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