Preschool Teaching Supplies

At Melissa & Doug, we are always being asked: “What supplies do I need for homeschooling?” or “As a teacher, what preschool classroom supplies do I really need to stock-up on?” So, we asked our Blog Ambassador Allison McDonald (No Time for Flash Cards) – who has been teaching children in various capacities since 1993 – for some tips based off her experiences. Here’s her list of the top preschool classroom must-haves.

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Melissa & Doug Toys are not just children’s favorites they are also teacher’s favorites. Check out these great classroom must haves for your early education classroom from Melissa & Doug.

Kids need open opportunities to create and this easel lets them create with paint, dry erase and chalk. The vertical surface promotes proper wrist positioning for writing too.

Do you remember the day your teacher got the instruments out and you got to use the triangle? Kids love playing instruments and establishing a positive connection to music early on is something all children will benefit from.

Children need to be able to build the structures that they imagine in thier hearts and giving them little blocks won’t always suffice. These big and light blocks will help them build huge structures without creating a huge safety issue.

Puzzles are what drew me to Melissa & Doug in the first place . As a preschool teacher I would change the puzzles weekly so that they were excited to try new ones and work on all the cognitive skills that puzzles promote. Students are also working on fine motor skills, eye hand coordination and spacial skills. Every classroom should have an abundance of puzzles.

Dramatic play is essential in an early childhood classroom and this kitchen would stand up to the rigors of constant play. Children use pretend play to work through emotions, learn responsibility and try out different roles in their journey to independence and providing them with quality tools like this kitchen helps them along the way.

This is just such a cool toy that students won’t even know they are building their fine motor and spatial skills while they play. Fine motor skills are a huge building block for writing which works hand in hand with reading to create a great start in early literacy. Building those fine motor skills doesn’t have to feel like an exercise though when you have fun toys like this to use.

These wooden fruits and vegetables are the perfect addition to your classroom kitchen area but that is not all they are great for. Use them to teach color and shape matching, promote nutrition and even the very basics of fractions.

This toy was incredibly useful in my preschool class because not only can it be used for independent play for children to create patterns using the boards but the shapes could be used for endless shape lessons like shape hunts and sensory bins.