Parents are deeply invested in what goes on in your classroom. If you make an Amazon wish list and put things on there that you could use in your classroom, most likely those things will be purchased by a parent and delivered to your classroom. There are parents with a lot of flexibility who will have more time for volunteering and parents who have jobs that require them to be away from the classroom. Those who can’t spend time in your room will often spend money on your classroom. Be sure to value both. If you are in a school affected by poverty, make a Wish List and share it with your own friends and family. You will still be able to get some of the things you need for building your learning nest without having to spend your whole paycheck funding your classroom. When I was teaching children who were affected by poverty, I would often share on social media that I had a student who needed a new pair of shoes or a backpack or a school uniform. Someone with resources to share always came through for me.

Also, if you aren’t aware, the only person who will give you more for your classroom than a parent is a grandparent. Don’t leave them out of the equation. First they have plenty of time to go searching for what you need and typically can’t think of a single better thing on which to spend their money. I would routinely send out a “fishing” email to my parent/grandparent list. It would say that I was going to need 6 screwdrivers, 6 screws, 4 blocks of wood and an inclined plane for an upcoming lesson. I was just wondering if anyone had those things I might borrow. About an hour later, a grandpa waltzed into the school carrying a bag from Home Depot with every single thing on the list.  In another instance, I sent out an email asking if anyone had a butter churn we could borrow for a lesson I was planning. One grandparent wrote back, “I’m currently bidding on one on ebay. Please don’t bid against me.”

One morning I woke up and realized that it was October and I had already gone through the substantial number of pencils I had bought at the Back-to-School sales. I just posted a plea on social media that if anyone works at a bank or real estate office that has a surplus of pencils, I was in desperate need and I would come pick them up if they could give me some. About four times during that day, the secretary called my room to tell me that I had a delivery. Parents of children I taught a decade ago brought me pencils. Friends I had in high school brought me pencils. The lady I sold my house to the previous year brought me pencils. Y’all, it was raining pencils. Children use pencils. Children abuse pencils. Children lose pencils. Don’t become frustrated or angry, just give them a dang pencil. If you run out of all your pencils in your stash, allow other people to be blessed by helping you and your classroom. Money is tight, if not nonexistent in most schools. If you don’t have family and friends who are able to help you out with the expenses involved in operating a classroom, I highly recommend applying for grants such as donorschoose, teach.com, and inspirationforinstruction.com. There are dozens of local, state and national grants to help fund classrooms. To not apply is to let the money go unspent.