New Year, New Things: Thanks to OTC

Last year I was lucky enough to have been approached by Oriental Trading Co. to be a brand ambassador. This year I got to start the year off with help from their new site for teachers, Learn365, getting my room ready for the new year and new students. I had a coffee table with dry erase dots that I love because the kids can figure things out right at the table so when I saw that Oriental Trading Co. large 1/2 circle dry erase dots (see image on the left) I flipped. I couldn't wait to get them for our tables. I love our tables but not being able to write on them is disappointing so I was waiting anxiously for these dry erase dots. I thought I was getting all blue dots - they actually come in three colors (red, blue, and yellow), which looking at the image you would have thought I was aware of, guess my mind had just blocked other the red and yellow dots. The yellow took a bit of getting used to as they are pretty bright but after getting them on the tables they looked much more appealing.

We can't have dry erase dots without new dry erase erasers. I usually buy fabric and cut it into small

squares. Last year I bought facial cleaners from the Dollar Store (thank you Instagram teachers for sharing that awesome idea) but they got lost rather quickly and kids wrote all over them with their dry erase markers (go figure). This year we got the mini dry erase erasers from Learn365. These are perfect for the kids' hands but more importantly, they fit perfectly in our supply
caddies. When we first started using them I thought there were a few kids who were whistling but we discovered that it was actually the erasers when they are used the first few times. I am happy to report that they are no longer whistling after a few days of use.

Last year we had several students who needed fidgets and between the spinners, the slime, and the bands I couldn't take it anymore. I needed something uniform and QUIET before I lost my mind. I received these paw shaped stress relievers. They are nice and soft foam shapes that fit perfectly in our hands and most importantly they are QUIET. What a change over last year! These come in every color of the rainbow (red - purple) so I was able to assign them in either number order or by color. You can even create groups using them by having students seek out those with a particular color to pair up with.
I am excited about this new year and excited to break in all of our new supplies and dig into the learning that will be taking place this year.

Disclaimer: I was compensated for this post but all opinions are my own.

What new items did you plan to start the year with? What was something you used last year that you just HAD to change this year?