It is hard to believe that in two and a half weeks, my boys will both be back at school. This summer went by way to quickly, mostly due to my youngest being gone with his dad the entire month of July. I have procrastinated this year and didn’t buy the pre-packaged school supply kit so I get to go get their supplies.
It never fails that one of the kids end up bringing home a cough, cold, or virus within the first few weeks of class. As you are picking up school supplies, please keep in mind that most of the supplies such as hand sanitizer, paper towels, and kleenex go very quickly and by the time winter gets here kids are coming to school with colds, upper respiratory infections, or other illnesses.
Do you remember your own days at school when you had to blow your nose in those rough paper towels or carrying around several sheets of the thin toilet paper? Just thinking about it now makes my nose feel raw. Wouldn’t it be better to bring your own classroom supplies for cold & flu season?
Once cold and flu season shows up hits, kids are walking around sniffling, sneezing, and coughing spreading germs with their others. We get it that you can’t keep your child home for every sniffle or a cough, especially, if your child has been diagnosed with allergies. But teachers would love it if parents sent in extra supplies several months into the school as cold and flu season starts to ramp up. Not only will teachers be appreciative of the extra supplies, but I also promise that the students will appreciate it too.
Whether you stock up on supplies now or later in the year, we came up with a checklist of the teacher requested classroom supplies for cold and flu season.
Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer is a liquid-based substance that can be used to kill germs, both bacterial and viral, on the hands when soap and water aren’t available. In most classes beyond elementary, sinks aren’t available in the classroom for students to wash their hands after blowing their nose or coughing into their hands.
Having access to a bottle of hand sanitizer in the classroom readily available for kids to use on their hands throughout the year. It will help keep the kids from spreading unnecessary germs and potentially decrease classroom illnesses. Hand sanitizer can be pricey but we promise it is worth and teachers will appreciate it too.
Kleenex
Once kids graduate from elementary school, kleenexes become a luxury item during cold and flu season. Students are often forced to use those rough brown paper towels or a wad of thin, scratchy toilet paper. While it might be embarrassing for your child to take stash a box of kleenex in their backpack to share with classmates, everyone will appreciate using kleenex instead of the alternative choices.
Disinfectant Spray
Have you ever stepped into a classroom after the kids have been outside or after recess? Let me tell you, a room full of sweaty kids smells awful. To me, it smells like an old dirty sock or the inside of your shoe at the end of the day.
Your child’s teacher will jump for joy for a can of disinfectant spray even at the beginning of the school year. He/She can even use it to disinfect the classroom during cold and flu season too. The disinfectant spray is perfect for spraying down doorknobs and other objects around the classroom that students frequently touch.
Disinfectant Wipes
I’ve been shopping at Aldi for a majority of my grocery shopping and I couldn’t believe it when I found a huge container of the disinfectant wipes for less than $4.00 (thinking it was closer to $3 but I didn’t buy them on my last trip).
Disinfectant wipes are a great way for students to help teachers disinfect the classroom including, desks and chairs, at the end of the day on a weekly basis or a daily basis during cold and flu season.
Air Purifier
If a handful of parents were to give a small number of funds, either to the teacher or a designated room mom, to purchase an air purifier. An air purifier can greatly improve the air quality in the classroom. Air purifiers help remove airborne pollutants like mold, pollen, dust, bacteria, and even pet dander.
Take it a step further and purchase an air purifier that has a UV light to kill, I recommend the GermGaurdian AC4825 (aff link), off cold and flu germs. While an air purifier isn’t a guarantee that you won’t get sick, it does help filter some of the junk floating around in the air. Thus, potentially reducing your risk of contamination.
It is crazy how quickly summer flew by this year. My kids head back to the classroom soon and we are doing last minute prep to get everything they need for school.
While buying my kid’s supplies, I got to thinking of all the germs that come along with the kids in the classroom. During the school year, kids are in close proximity of each other and germs start running rampant. This mom wanted to arm teachers with a bit of ammunition to help reduce some of those icky germs from spreading.
We always send in tissues, lysol wipes, and hand sanitizer. Germs are awful, especially during flu season!
I’ve heard rumors that the flu is starting early this year too. Uggg If the rumor is true, then teachers need these supplies in their classroom stat.
I always bring these items to the teachers! I figure they could always use them. I’ll send them several times throughout the year.
Keeping the classroom free from germs isn’t an easy task but having these supplies available can reduce the number of germs floating around.
As a former teacher, I was so grateful to the parents who would do all they can to keep my room as germ-free as possible.
Yes, it makes life easier for everyone. The fewer germs there are floating around the better.
I think you have it covered and unfortunately it still won’t be enough to keep kids from bringing home germs, colds and the flu. Your ideas are good for all teachers and classes to follow.
Yes, it is tough keeping germs at bay as parents can’t always afford to keep their kids home from school until they have an illness that is confirmed by a doctor. I’m not looking forward to flu season this year, as I’ve heard rumors that it is already circulating. 🙁
This is a great list! When I was a teacher, I had all my students wash their hands several times a day to cut down on illness. It helped a lot, (we had fewer sick students in Room 20) than the other classrooms. Every kid brought in a box of tissues at the beginning of the year, but it was never enough to last the whole year. I would have loved it if even a few parents had sent in several boxes as well as disinfectant wipes!
Frequent handwashing makes a huge difference and helps wash away icky germs. Having enough supplies year-round makes a big difference and parents can help with this easy task.
Air purifier, hand sanitizer and Kleenex are all great gifts for teachers. Every classroom can use these.
I suffer from allergies and have an air purifier in my room. Sometimes, I can’t tell if it makes a difference or not but mine has UV to kill germs too. One thing I have noticed, sometimes it is hard for parents to distinguish colds, allergies, and flu symptoms so they end up sending their kids to school sick. It happens to the best of us and having these teacher-approved school supplies can make a huge impact.
Disinfectant wipes are important. We always donate all of these items to the kid’s classrooms too. It’s important to help out the teachers if possible.
A few parents pitching in a few extra items can make a big difference.
I don’t have kids in school anymore but I still donate to the office when I find good deals on kleenex and things like that. It’s still my community and I have to see and interact with all the kids and germs too!
That is very kind of you. I should have added baby wipes too. They come in handy too.
What a great list! I bet teaches appreciate those items greatly given how nasty cold and flu season can be!
Yes, I remember when I was in school that if the teacher was out of Kleenex and you didn’t have your own. The teacher sent you to the restroom to get those brown paper towels or toilet paper.
Any teacher will appreciate all these gifts for the classroom. I’m definitely picking up some for my kids’ teachers.
I probably should have mentioned baby wipes too. Those come in handy as well.
I always send extra sanitizer and tissue boxes.
I plan on getting extra so I can send some more during cold/flu season. I’m not a fan of getting sick.
Yes! It’s so important to have these on hand. We always do our best to stay healthy and my kids still end up bringing something home.
I’m not looking forward to the germs coming home. But I figured if I sent these items with my son on the first day, that it gives the teacher the tools needed to disinfect the classroom.
These are great tips for more than school children. While I don’t have kids, I’m always prepared with hand sanitizer and a pack of kleenex. Anytime you are around groups of people, it’s best to be prepared.
I stopped carrying a purse due to back issues but I always kept hand sanitizer available. Speaking of which, I need to stop by Wal-mart and pick up a huge bottle of hand sanitizer and a small one for my boys to attach to their backpack.