Last year, I got my feet wet with communal supplies for the first time and knew that I would never go back. I hope that you will find this post helpful and maybe even inspire you to try communal supplies in your classroom.

Why did I decide to try communal supplies?

1. My students were going through their supplies like crazy. I was often having to write to parents requesting more pencils, erasers, markers, etc., before the year was even over.
2. Secondly, I am always trying to teach my students the importance of a community and sharing with one another, and I felt that communal supplies would help foster exactly that.

What did I start with?
For the first year, we decided to have everything (except for markers and colouring pencils) as communal supplies. This ranged from pencils and erasers all the way to scissors and glue. The reason why we kept the colouring supplies individual was to ease into it, not take on too much all at once, and see how it affected the classroom environment.  This year we did 100% communal supplies, including the colouring supplies.

Could you start with everything communal?
Most definitely! It’s completely up to you and what you’re comfortable with.

Where do the students keep their supplies?
Simple. They don’t! Everything is communal. I have 5 team bins that have 4 pencils, 4 erasers (technically 2 erasers cut in half), 4 scissors and 4 glue sticks in each bin. I have the markers and pencil crayons sorted by colour in baskets/cups on the top of a bookshelf. The highlighters, pens, rulers and extra supplies are all kept in coloured bins on a shelf. Everything is communal, everything is accessible by the students.

​Which do I prefer: communal vs individual supplies?
Communal 100%! Not only have we used less than 50 pencils so far this year (yes, 50!!!!), but the students are learning valuable lessons on what it means to be part of a community. The classroom belongs to all of us, and we work together to take care of our classroom, it’s materials and each other. The students are helping each other clean up, find supplies, and they are all taking care of the supplies. I am beyond thrilled with all the valuable lessons the students are learning and all the supplies we are saving.

Can you do communal supplies even if you don’t do flexible seating?
Absolutely! I started communal supplies before I started flexible seating. The only difference was that the team bins were on their team’s desks whereas this year they are on their team’s shelf. Communal supplies can work in any classroom environment. 

Check out the links above for some of my inspiration for how I organized my classroom. You can also check out some of my other pins on my Classroom Organization and Posters Pinterest Board.

​Hope you found this post helpful! Stay tuned for photos of my classroom.