Several sites offer supply resources for teachers.
When you were a kid, did you ever wonder where your teacher got all those cool workbooks? Or that nifty dry erase board? No? Me neither.
Today though, chances are your kids' teachers are browsing the Web when it comes time to stock the supply closet. We visited several sites catering to the important men and women who nurture our angelic children. (That is, when they're not giving the little buggers detention for smuggling frogs and firecrackers in their backpacks).
Our first stop was TeachersParadise.com (http://www.teachersparadise.com). At first glance, the site is very, very, very text heavy. I guess this makes sense; if teachers don't like to read, who does?
The product most prominently featured on the home page is the "Yacker Tracker." This $48.99 item is a device shaped like a traffic light that monitors noise levels in the classroom. Personally, I can imagine kids yelling louder just to see the colors change. But what do I know?
The back-to-school specials section features oodles of books, banners and other goodies, like a "Star Spangled Citizen" reward pad, a pad of certificates teachers can use to reward achievements by students.
There are also reams of the requisite standard school supplies, like scissors, pencils, laminated maps and yardsticks. Special sections are also featured for early childhood, substitute teachers and craft items.
Over at Creative Teaching Press (http://www.creativeteaching.com), a trio of specials were featured on the home page. One was Ring-Its. The copy for this item was well written; it made the plastic binder rings seem much more exciting than they had any right to sound. And there was also a "Brand New Year" bulletin board kit, with welcome signs, back-to-school cutouts and the like.
But the most interesting special was the pirate themed "Captain Jack's Journal." Johnny Depp school supplies? Sign me up. But this was no "Pirates of the Caribbean" tie-in. Instead, it's a tool to help inspire children to write and learn about different styles of writing, penned by a children's book author.
It may be a great teaching tool, but what it really did was make me think about how Captain Jack Sparrow school supplies would be fun. Or even better, how neat would it be to buy school supplies endorsed by the good Captain's inspiration, Keith Richards? Sure, they'd be educational in a completely wrong way, but they'd be great.
The main sections of CreativeTeaching.com were a little less captivating. The long listings under each category seemed time consuming and overwhelming—not a great combination for overworked teachers with little time to spare.
The best of the trio of sites visited was ClassroomDirect.com (http://www.classroomdirect.com). The home page was inviting, with specials and easy to find links for catalog requests, order tracking and a number of other essentials.
I was immediately intrigued by the special on Elmers glue—a gallon for $6.99. It's more glue than I'd need in two lifetimes, but hey, a deal's a deal. Then there's the $59.99 personal classroom laminator. Again, I have no idea what I'd laminate but it sounds like a bargain! Maybe I should get two.
The site also entices teachers with perks like a fee spa treatment coupon if they purchase $25 in Bic products.
Overall, the ClassroomDirect.com site was easy to navigate with links to any school item one could possibly need, from those six seat baby buggies you see daycare teachers pushing down the street to basic notebooks and pens.
Now, about that glue…
