My Favorite Elementary Purchases

      I can’t believe it’s July already! While you’re taking time this summer to relax and get your curriculum ready, you should also take some time to think about things you may need to purchase for your classroom.

Here are some of my personal favorite purchases I’ve made for my room:

1. Sit Spots

      These have been a lifesaver for me! During my first week of school, I would bring kids into the room and tell them to form a circle. It was a struggle to say the least. I found these on Amazon, and they have been amazing!

      My room is fully carpeted, so there was a little bit of concern about the Velcro affecting the carpet. In my experience, even after students fidgeting with and pulling the circles up, there was no damage to the carpet! My students now know to come in and find a dot so we can start class right away.

      As an added bonus, these dots are perfect for spacing students out in your classroom to make sure they are socially distanced!

2. Teachers Pay Teachers Resources

      If you haven’t explored Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT), do yourself a favor and check it out! There were so many times during my first year of teaching where I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I wasn’t sure how to go about doing it.

      TPT has some fantastic lesson plans, including project ideas for upper elementary. They also have a lot of free resources! (Also, That Music Teacher has a TPT store! Check it out here.)

3. Recorders & Recorder Belts

      My school has always done Recorder Karate, and I have to say - it’s been a lot of fun! I love seeing my kids get motivated to learn the music and work hard toward earning that next belt. The great thing about it is that the supplies are relatively inexpensive!

      These are the recorders I purchased for my students. We have a class set, plus we buy new ones for students in third grade.

4. Classroom Set of Whiteboards

      I often try to incorporate writing practice into my lessons, so having a set of whiteboards for each student makes planning so much easier! I use them to practice writing rhythms, drawing what the music makes them imagine, and all sorts of other things.

      Just make sure that you also buy a set (or two) of markers to go along with them. (I quickly regretted not checking to make sure my markers worked at the beginning of the year…)

5. Puppets!

      Puppets bring another level of immersion into the music classroom. For example, the puppet at the link provided would help bring the Freddie the Frog books to life for your students.

      There are so many different puppets out there and an endless amount of lesson ideas to go with them. My personal favorite is to use a bumblebee puppet to show the steady beat during “Bee Bee Bumblebee.”

      There are so many valuable resources out there for elementary music teachers, and it can feel overwhelming knowing what to get for your classroom. I hope this list helped you have an idea of where to start!

What are you most excited about purchasing for your room? Let us know!

This post may contain affiliate links. I will receive a small commission on any purchases through these links, but there is no cost passed on to you! Affiliate links help keep the lights on!

This article was submitted by Rachel Ammons, contributing author for ThatMusicTeacher.com. Interested in becoming a contributing author? Email resume and writing sample to [email protected].