You'll be teaching children beginning reading and math concepts, so they must have plenty of examples of letters and numbers throughout the room. Bring in stencils, magnets, stamps and posters displaying them, along with coloring sheets and tracing sheets featuring numbers and letters. Kindergartners also learn through exploring books, so stock shelves with storybooks, non-fiction books and plenty of books that specifically teach the alphabet and numbers. You may not have a large supply budget, so borrow library books.
Children this young won't be able to sit still at their desks and stare at a blackboard all day. Kindergartners need to be creative in order to explore new concepts. Bring in crayons, markers, watercolors and finger paint, along with plain white paper and colored paper. You may also want to have additional supplies such as glue, scissors, beads, feathers, wooden craft sticks and glitter on hand. Finish off the art cabinet with several colors of play dough and clay.
Kindergartners learn through play, so a classroom must be stocked with props and materials. Buy dress-up clothes from a thrift store, washing them thoroughly before bringing them in. Visit dollar stores and garage sales to find other props, such as fairy wands, aprons and pretend police badges. Buy a play kitchen set or create fake dishes out of laminated shapes. Save empty food containers to set up in the kitchen area. Teach children about money by making pretend dollars and coins, then laminating them. A pretend cash register will help children practice making change.
With all the chaos that will take place in a kindergarten classroom, children must help keep the room organized. Make it easy for them to do so by using plastic buckets and bins that are labeled with pictures of the items that should be inside. Children will be able to clean up and find things easily. Hang pocket charts on the walls so you can display and change around the daily schedule. You'll also need a low cabinet containing a folder or notebook for each child's writing practice or ongoing art work so children can retrieve their own work.