Where I Aut-a Be

Teaching tips, ideas, and resources for Special Education

SPED prep teacher favorites

Serious question, if you were stuck on sped prep teacher island and could ONLY BRING a few things, what would you bring? Throughout my years as a special education teacher, I’ve come to realize there are few items that simply make all that teacher sped prep easier. I have tried the cheaper stuff to save a few bucks but these 7 items listed below are the ones that have lasted the longest and have the most durability.

sped prep teacher favorites. image featuring scotch laminator

Scotch Laminator

I’ve tried the other brands to save money and nope, i’ll take my Scotch laminator over anything any day! I’ll link my favorite one here.

sped prep teacher favorites. image featuring elmer's glue sticks

Elmer’s Glue Sticks

The way other people feel about Rose Art crayons is the way I feel about off brand glue sticks. I love my Elmer’s glue sticks for gluing paper to file folders before laminating so that they don’t slide around.

sped prep teacher favorites. image featuring VKEY brand velcro dots

VKEY Velcro

I’ve tried about 20 different brands of velcro and ALWAYS come back to VKEY. I’m for sure taking this one to sped prep teacher island!

sped prep teacher favorites. image featuring scotch brand scissors 3 pack

Scotch Scissors

I’m super particular about what scissors I cut with. I always reach for these first since they never seem to get dull. Pro tip: keep a special pair separated to only cut velcro with and label them as the “velcro” scissors.

HP Instant Ink

The holy grail. I didn’t believe the hype until I finally got a monthly subscription for a few dollars each month. I have never believed in a printer company and ink more than I do in HP instant ink (referral link). Yes, my school does have color ink but sometimes it’s not dependable. If I want to print a color ink visual, I need it sooner, not later!

sped prep teacher favorites. image featuring scotch laminating sheets

Scotch Laminating Sheets

If you’re taking the time to make materials for your students, you need them to last. Unfortunately, some of the cheaper brands of laminating sheets aren’t as durable as Scotch. Scotch wins for durability so it’s worth the price.

sped prep teacher favorites. image featuring paper cutter

Paper Cutter

Looking back, I wish I had invested in one of these paper cutters sooner because I know it would have given me some time back. Prepping materials for your students takes a good chunk of time. It’s worth it to have one of these to help cut your time in half!

I hope this list of my sped prep teacher favorites was helpful and not overwhelming. There are so many options out there which can make it hard to decide what’s best for your classroom. I always had parents ask if they could donate items to the classroom. Elmer’s glue sticks, VKEY velcro, Scotch Scissors, and Scotch Laminating sheets were always at the top of my list because most can be found at Target or Amazon!

If you enjoyed these special education teacher tips, be sure to check out my other special education teacher tips and tricks here.

Happy teaching,

Sofie

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