Teacher wishlists for one classroom or a whole school

Any of the three, and it changes very little. A teacher making their own list is the simplest case: add ideas, share the link, done. On the teacher's own page, what's been bought stays hidden.

A class parent can make the same list on the teacher's behalf. Ask the teacher what they'd like first, or use their answers from a favorite-things survey if your school sends one. You're the list's maker, so your page won't show what's been bought, and the teacher doesn't have to do anything. If the teacher opens the families' link they'll see the marks like any parent would. For classroom supplies that hardly matters. For a personal gift, just don't send them the link.

When a teacher or an administrator wants lists for the whole staff, use a group wishlist instead. That's the next section.

One person chooses Group wishlists, names the group something like "Lincoln Elementary staff" and types every colleague's name, one per line. They send the group link to the staff. Each teacher taps their own name, sets a 4-digit PIN and adds their ideas, then copies the link behind Share my list on their page and sends it to their class families.

Be clear about what families receive: one link per teacher, not one page for the whole school. The group link is for the staff. It shows names, and a list opens only after someone confirms a name and sets a PIN. Keep the group link among colleagues.

Inside the group, colleagues can open each other's lists and mark what they've bought, which is useful for staff birthdays or a holiday exchange among yourselves.

If a colleague would rather not fill in their own list, whoever set the group up can do it from that person's private link on the organizer page. Do it before they've set a PIN, because the private link asks for the PIN afterwards. A list filled in this way then opens only from that link, so pass it on if they'll want to edit.

They're different lists, and it helps to decide which one you're making. A classroom list is what the room runs out of: tissues, glue sticks, pencils, dry-erase markers, wipes. A favorite-things list is about the teacher: the coffee order, a favorite store, snacks, hobbies, and what they'd rather not receive again.

Both fit here, and some teachers put a few of each on one list and say which is which in the notes. For gift cards, list each store as its own idea so families don't all choose the same one. If families are likely to send food, add allergies and dietary restrictions as their own idea so nobody misses them.

This is the list's real limit for classrooms. Each idea can be marked as bought once, by one family, and there's no quantity counter. "Glue sticks" marked by the first family looks finished to everyone after them.

There are two ways round it. Split a bulk need into several ideas, such as "Glue sticks, pack 1 of 3", so that three families can each take one. Or, for something the room can always use more of, say so in the note ("any number welcome, please don't mark as bought") and leave it open.

No. Ideas can come from any store and sit side by side: chapter books from the local bookstore, laminating pouches from a teacher-supply shop, markers from wherever they're cheapest this week, a card for the coffee place by school. Families see one page and shop wherever each link points.

That helps families as much as teachers. Not everyone orders from the same place, and a typed idea with no link, such as "a box of tissues, any brand", lets a parent pick it up wherever they already shop.

Keep it. Paste the list's full web address as one idea, the long one that begins amazon.com/hz/wishlist. It shows as a button that opens the whole Amazon list. Purchases made there are tracked by Amazon, not here, so that entry has no bought button.

A shortened a.co or amzn.to link won't do the same. It's treated as a single product, with a bought button that one family could tap, so use the full address. Then spend the remaining ideas on what the Amazon list doesn't cover.

Amazon links here may carry our affiliate tag, so we may earn a small commission. It never changes the price a family pays.

Often, and they aren't the same from one district to the next. School boards and state ethics laws set their own limits on what staff may accept. To give a sense of the range: St. Tammany Parish School Board in Louisiana lets school employees accept a gift from or on behalf of a student worth up to $25, and up to $75 in total from one person in a calendar year. Valley Central School District in New York bars any officer or employee from receiving a gift worth $75 or more.

So before a list goes home, ask the school office what the limit on a personal gift is and whether a classroom wishlist needs sign-off. Supplies for the room and presents for the teacher can be treated differently. An older superintendent's memo to parents and staff in one Massachusetts district, still on the district's website, says a gift to the classroom becomes the property of the school district, not the teacher.

A list doesn't show prices or totals, so staying within a limit is up to the families and the teacher.

When families are already thinking about it. Back-to-school is when classroom supplies are needed. Teacher Appreciation Week, which National PTA has marked in May since 1984, the winter holidays and the last week of school are when families look for a personal thank-you.

One detail to plan around: a list is deleted after 90 days with no changes, or 30 days after the event date, if that's later. Families opening the link doesn't count as a change; an edit or a bought mark does. A list made in August and left alone all fall won't be there in May. Either update it during the year or make a new one each season.

A home address. Anyone who has the link can read every idea and note, and links get forwarded. Have gifts come to school with the child or to the school office.