Classroom Must Haves - Teach and Seek

Online Classroom Must Haves

Looking for items to use in your online classroom? Whether you teach for VIPKid, Outschool or etc. you may find these items to be helpful. Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links on this page at no cost to you. These are all items that I use personally (unless noted) and recommend. I will not put items on this page unless I feel they help with online teaching.

Laminator

One of my most used items is this laminator. You can print anything from your computer, laminate it and add a craft stick. Voila, you have easy props for teaching!

Laminator Pouches

You will want to print out soooo many props that you will need lots of extra laminating sheets.

Craft Sticks

Speaking of craft sticks, these are great to have!

Craft Magnets

Print off one of my easy rewards, laminate them and glue these to the back. These magnets are super strong!

Alphabet Magnets

These lowercase alphabet magnets are a great resource to have when teaching phonics.

Magnetic Dry Erase Board

You will need a magnetic board to stick your rewards to. I personally like the 8.5 x 11 size. It is easy to maneuver in class and can be clearly seen by your students.

2-Sided Paddle Dry Erase Board

This is my favorite product ever!! Go to your local Dollar Tree for these and buy several. I have 6 and typically use at least one of these in every class. They are getting much harder to find at Dollar Tree so the link below will get you a 5 pack from Amazon.

Flashcards

Head over to Dollar Tree and pick up a variety of flashcards. Alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes are all must have flashcards. If your Dollar Tree is out or you’d rather shop from home, my link will take you to a nice 4 pack set from Amazon. While I don’t have this set, it has everything you need and the reviews are great.

Baskets

You need baskets my friends! I snagged these baskets from Dollar Tree and absolutely love them! For VIPKid, I suggest buying 2 different colors; one for trial classes and a different color for regular classes. By keeping your pre-made trial class props ready to go in a basket, you will handle last minute bookings like a pro. The link below is to buy baskets in bulk. Run into your local Dollar Tree and buy the amount you need. If you really want 24 baskets then click away!

Background

This is super cute and I use it on the daily. Plus it’s under $10!! Who doesn’t love a good deal?? I thumbtack it to my wall and it gives my classroom a professional look! You won’t need anything bigger than 5ft x 3 ft in your VIPKid classroom. In fact, you could even go smaller because your appearance on the VIPKid screen is much smaller. If you like my background, get it by clicking below.

Headset

I love my Logitech H151 headset because it’s so lightweight. I personally don’t like bulky headphones. Also, I LOVE that these aren’t noise canceling. Why you ask?? Because I’ve heard other VIPKid teachers complain that with noise canceling headsets they can’t hear themselves teach. No thanks! I’m keeping it simple for under $25!

Ring Light

Lighting is essential for your VIPKid classroom! This one does a great job for me.

Wireless Mouse

A wireless mouse makes teaching online so much easier. I feel like it’s a must have item when teaching on the VIPKid platform.

Macbook Air

Any laptop with 8 GB of RAM or higher (except Chromebook) is fine for use on the VIPKid platform. I personally use this MacBook Air and I love it for more reasons than I have time to document! Macs are built for the long haul. I have a second MacBook Air that is 10 years old and I still use if for everyday type stuff. How many laptops do you know that last that long?

Desktop Size Wooden Easel

I love my easel! I use it to display my reward systems and my name tag. It sits behind me in my background for my students to see.

Bin Organizer

Stay organized with this awesome storage bin. Because it was so many years ago that I got mine, I’m not sure where it came from. The link below is to one that is similar in dimensions to the one I have. This one has several color options to choose from. What I love about this open storage organizer is that I can grab a prop quickly during class.

Small Clip On Ring Light

Afraid to commit just yet to a stand ring light? You can use this $5 clip on light instead. I don’t own this same one but I have one identical to it that came from Five and Below. This link takes to Amazon.