As a teacher and mother to two young boys, I am always searching for ways to spend more time away from work and focused on my family. There are so many things that I use for my classroom that I could go on and on about. But now, I’m going to share with you specifically the best Amazon teacher supplies to improve work/life balance. Check out these items and be sure to add them to your classroom Amazon wishlist, too!

Work/Life Balance

Before I get into the list of the best Amazon teacher supplies to improve work/life balance, I want to spend a moment discussing why work/life balance is important, especially for teachers who have kids of their own.

Our careers are just a part of who we are. Whether you call yourself a teacher, firefighter, lawyer, server, or flight attendant – your profession is just a sliver of your identity. This us important to remember whether or not you have kids at home.

But when you do have kids, maintaining an identity and life outside of work can be even more pressing. You are not only needing to find a healthy balance for yourself, but for your kids, too.

Teachers Especially Must Strive for Balance

As a teacher, finding a balance between career, parenting, and personal time can be particularly challenging.

For one thing, teachers spend a considerable amount of the day interacting only with little kids. Then they come home, and interact with their own children.

Obviously, most teachers love kids – that is a huge part of the job. But it can be absolutely draining to be with kids all day everyday.

Another reason that teachers have it rough is that it is all too easy to bring work home. Even though teachers are usually provided with a small amount of planning and prep time during the week, this time is hardly enough. So teachers either have to stay on campus beyond their work hours to stay on top of their responsibilities, or grade papers and create lessons at home.

This blurring of work and home life can lead to teacher burn out and further exhaustion. That is why I have created this list of the best Amazon teacher supplies to improve work/life balance, with the hopes of helping you make your busy life a little easier.

The Best Amazon Teacher Supplies to Improve Work/Life Balance

These are the best Amazon teacher supplies that I use in my own classroom that have helped me achieve better work/life balance. I believe that this list can help you, too! Check out these items to see what you need.

1. Door Bell

Speaking loudly can be draining. I am not one of those teachers who typically raises her voice with her students (although I have my moments), but I do use my voice a lot for teaching, reading, and cueing transitions. My throat is often slightly sore by the end of the day, and I feel exhausted.

It honestly takes a lot of effort to call out “Class, class” again and again throughout the day to have your students move on to the next task.

Having a door bell in my classroom has been a life saver. In my classroom, I use it to signal transitions, and it works like a charm. I simply carry the remote with me through the classroom (teacher hack from a coworker: use a hand sanitizer holder to attach it to your lanyard), and when it is time for the transition, I can ring the bell from anywhere in the room.

I save so much energy using this tool instead of my voice. I’m still tired at the end of the day, don’t get me wrong, but my voice isn’t raw and I like to think I have a bit more energy to give to my kids when I get home than I would otherwise.

If you don’t already use a door bell in your classroom, I strongly advise it. This is the one I have – it simply plugs into an outlet and is so easy to use. Start using this, and I’m sure you will notice a difference in your energy level.

2. Personal Laminator

Okay, this might seem a bit backwards, but I bought a personal laminator to use at home. ‘

Yes, I know, I said that my goal is to not be taking work home.

But this is a bit of an exception.

I hate using the laminator at school. It is all the way across campus, and takes forever to get started. Laminating anything is always such a huge ordeal. When I would laminate on campus, I had to spend extra time (that I didn’t have) after school getting it done.

Usually though, I just wouldn’t laminate anything because it took too much time and energy. So when it came time to use the material again, I would have to prep it all over.

Having a personal laminator at home has made a huge difference. In the evening, after the kids go down, I can pull out the laminator and easily laminate anything that may need a little extra protection. I pop in a ear phone and listen to my favorite podcast, and mindlessly laminate away. I can eat popcorn while I laminate, or have a glass of wine. It hardly feels like work.

I only use the laminator about once or twice a month, but honestly it is so easy to use that even if I chose to use it daily, it wouldn’t be too bad. I have the Scotch brand laminator and laminating pouches, which are the go-to for many teachers.

3. Sticky Notes

If I’m being 100% honest, organization is not my strong point. That means that often, I am rushing last minute to try and get something ready to go for a lesson I am supposed to be teaching later that day.

This has really hurt my work/life balance. I find that I often have to work at night to make sure I am ready to go the next day because I forget to take care of things during the day.

Sticky notes are a tried and true solution to this. I’ve tried other things, from memos on my phone to reminders on my laptop. But the best I am able to do is when I use sticky notes to help me stay on task.

I like this set of Post-It Notes because they allow me to color code what needs to get done without much effort. Pink notes are for things I need to take care of immediately, yellow for things that need to be copied, and orange for things I need to keep in mind down the road.

Go ahead and try other methods of keep notes, but if you are anything like me, you will keep coming back to sticky notes to help keep it all in line.

4. Paper Cutter

I bought my own paper cutter, and it has saved me so much time. Instead of bringing papers back to my classroom to painstakingly cut by hand, or waiting for the one in the staff lounge to be available, I can use my own paper cutter to get the work done.

That means I can cut papers while my students work, or as they read silently, or during my recess break. I don’t have to plan for extra time to get it done.

Saving small amounts of time like this can really add up. And that can mean more time at home with the family. That is what has made this item one of the best Amazon teacher supplies for supporting a healthy work/life balance.

This paper cutter works really well, and isn’t heavy and clunky like most of the old ones are. I definitely recommend this if you want to become more efficient with your prep time.

5. Planner

A good planner can really help maximize your productiveness during the work day, getting you home sooner and freeing your mind from your work responsibilities.

There are a couple different planners that I recommend as some of the best Amazon teacher supplies. The Happy Planner teacher version is so cute and I love all the accessories and stickers that you can add. It honestly makes planning fun (well, more fun than it normally is, anyway). You can add pages as needed, and keep track of basically everything in one place.

Another planner that I have used in the past is the one from bloom daily planners, which has many similar features. The downside is that you can’t add pages, but it comes with so many helpful sections (like a parent communication log and grade book), that this isn’t too much of a problem.

Prioritize Work/Life Balance

Teachers who are also mamas, I see you. This is not easy.

But you can flourish in your career while also prioritizing your home life. You may even be a better teacher for it. You’ve heard it before, but you can’t pour from an empty cup. If you are taking care of yourself, you will be better able to be a teacher that is supportive and present instead of jaded and burnt out.

So do what you need to do to leave work at work and to get home early, and set yourself up for success with these items that will make doing so a little bit easier. These items, which are the best Amazon teacher supplies for improving work/life balance, are worth considering to help you get there.

If you are struggling with working mom guilt, check out this post.