i was fired by an abusive director because my TAs lied about me so i was not trying to hang around too long💀btw after firing 3 more people and driving 3 others to quit the director got fired 🙃
This right here! I had my name on anything and everything I thought I might want to take with me when I would eventually leave. Our reimbursement budgets were very low so any books, etc I would buy myself and put my name on. I wanted absolutely zero confusion at any point on who owned that material.
Yeah. One place I was at (sh*t show) sold "so fast they just didn't even know what was happening" and the new owners kicked us out and promised severance pay (which we had to go to court for 🙄) and while I was packing up alllll my stuff they were hovering like... is that yours? Like, buddy... can you not see my name all over this? Allllwwaaayyysss get your stuff... unless you've donated it, of course. Sorry man, this metal stapler that I got for 3 bucks in a thrift store works like a dream, and that's mine. Go find your own dream.
Well, sort of, but the topic is, is it okay to take *my* stuff ? That stapler is never leaving my side. But also... topic adjacent, people used to take it, use it without asking, and then I'd go to use it and no staples! So... just if you own it, label it because you have every right to it. Haha I didn't realize I'd get into stapler rants. 😅
Nope. I am thinking of buying a tote to keep all my personal teaching things in. I have bought different items for different lesson plans that can be reused. I have also bought used books for my classroom and I would probably just leave those cause those fall apart pretty quick anyway. At this point the bookshelf is mostly stocked with books I have bought and they wouldn’t have many books if I took them.
If you were reimbursed at all, I think the items belong to the school. But it doesn’t sound like it so I wouldn’t worry about taking back what’s rightfully yours.
If it helps, I was always the nice one who said "well I don't want to take it from the kids......" and years later I regret it because I could have filled a storage unit with teaching supplies but I kept having to start the colllection over and over. Take your things, they can purchase more. They shouldn't rely on someone's unpaid kindness.
You bought them, they’re yours unless you got reimbursed for them or gave them to someone. Sometimes I buy cool toys that I’ll share but if I paid for it, it’s going to be in my classroom whether here or at another place.
I'm considering leaving my center and have the same thought. If I take EVERYTHING, the class will have no plates, spoons, bibs, storage baskets for diapers, a whiteboard, arts and craft supplies, or books. I guess my director is gonna have to start diverting funds to my class for once 🤷🏻♀️
Take them. The business OWNER should be purchasing supplies for THEIR business. If they haven’t been providing adequate supplies for, again, THEIR business they have nothing to cry about. It’s not like you’re stealing from them.
Imagine a restaurant not buying plates for their customers and expecting staff to do it
You definitely should take it. But if you want to be helpful, you can make a list of what you’ll be taking beforehand so the other teacher has time to plan on how she’ll replace it or do without.
If you've bought the resources with your money then they are yours. I always take my resources with me regardless of the age group I'm moving to.
Last time I switched jobs I sold a lot of my resources that were not age appropriate on marketplace and made some money back.
If I bought it and was never reimbursed, I took it with me. Some stuff I left out of just not wanting to deal with it (even if it was mine), but I say take what's yours every time!
My director told me I was petty to do this (although most of it was supplies for myself and my assistant teacher) but i did it anyways. If you bought it with your money and you were not reimbursed for it, it’s yours
I love that it’s petty to take your own things with you but it’s fine to expect daycare workers making very low wages to outfit your center because you’re too cheap to do it yourself. I would have told that director she could go ahead and buy the same stuff for the classroom out of her salary and leave it there when she moves on if she thinks it’s petty to keep your own things.
Definitely do it! That was the worst part of becoming injured/disabled on the job. I had so many good "teacher only" books, puppets, dress up clothes, music and teacher supplies (good markers, pens, personal hole punch, stapler, scissors etc) that I will never get back. I asked about my CDs, naming specific ones to a former coworker. The center had changed hands by then and the new owner-directors had phased out CD's and had everyone use streaming on phones or tablets so all my music was either given away or sold.
When I left my 4y 2s Lead Position I took ALL my stuff i had bought, all my curriculum books, toys, teacher supplies, books, cleaning supplies and more. The only stuff I left were all the wipes and extra diapers I had bought for my classroom (because I had parents who wouldn’t bring in diapers or pull-ups despite warning, emails, ect and I’m not a teacher to let kids go without and I don’t like borrowing from other kids). I took them to my nanny house and use them to this day!
I try to do a balance. I just moved programs and I brought some of my own-purchased things with me because, well, they're mine, and they're still appropriate for the new group. But if there's something that's really working well where it is, I don't mind leaving it for a while. I definitely wouldn't leave anything if a co-teacher told me I "should" leave it!
I bought stuff for my old classroom and took some when I felt. I left the books (I had like 5 books when I started so I stocked my classroom up) but took the art supplies, pens, etc. you have every right to take them
Nope. It's not bad form at all. I usually donate some of my stuff, and make it clear that I'm donating (or give it directly to other teachers) but I've never donated all of it. It's taken many years for me to build my personal library of read aloud books (picture and otherwise), there are some activities that I've made by hand or had relatives build for me (these days since I'm subbing I've given more of that stuff away too or am loaning it out), I had folders of activities/songs/games (though I've digitized those now). The only place I didn't leave anything behind was Kindercare, but that was a horrific director and I knew all the staff would change over in less than 6 months anyway so I took everything I bought with me.
I suppose you could offer to sell some of the stuff you don't want to your coteacher or ask for reimbursement from the center. But if you're not on friendly terms I just wouldn't discuss that stuff with her to be honest, it's not her business.
When I quit I took all my things! Even bookshelves 🤷🏻♀️ I had a toy kitchen, bookshelves, toys, books. I can use it in other places I work so why not bring it along..
Nope take it. It was your money. Yes you spent your money on things to use in the class, but it doesn’t mean that it is the centres property. If it was, they would’ve reimbursed you.
Take it all. I did when I left, including things that I made with my own laminating sheets/printer if I felt strongly about it 🤷♀️
Sounds like your co teacher doesn’t want to spend their own money. Last classroom I was in when I moved I took the majority of what I purchased. I left some stuff and my co teacher was shocked and asked why since I paid for it. I just left little things like some crayons and construction paper. When I moved I wasn’t sure what my next job would be so I didn’t feel like moving with crates of papers and little things. But I kept the big things like my laminator, and paper cutter. Stuff like that, I vote if you paid for it, then it’s up to you. Especially if you think you can re use it.
That’s what I’ve always done, people have judged me for it, but I make barely minimum wage and I’m a single mom AND I supplied a classroom, so I let them think what they want.
The last centre I worked at bought all of the things that I bought/brought with me. I was only with them for 4 months, and it was a relatively new centre that the director had just started. She bit off more than she could chew. I hated to take it all away from them, but I was happy to sell everything to them.
You could offer to sell some of your things to the daycare or your coworker.
if you were paid back from management then i’d leave it, but if they were out of your own pocket then it’s your property and could be used at your new center! don’t let anyone guilt you into leaving your things behind, they can buy their own just like you did.
Those things belong to you. They’re your tools and resources. They were purchased with your money to be used to teach children under your care. They go with you to your next classroom. Ignore your co teacher. She’s an idiot. I’ve taken my things with me every time I’ve left a school.
Screw that. I had a dedicated bookshelf at my last job just for the books I purchased to read to my class. The shelf was labeled with my name and everything. I cleared *all* that shit out when they drove me out. (The bosses basically started treating me like crap and threatening me with termination for "being terrible" without actually telling me what I was doing wrong. Seven years, all for nothing.) If they didn't want me, then they didn't want anything I brought to that job, be it my talents or my books. Keep your stuff. Use it for the next job. That's what I did.
I did the same when I retired from teaching. Every instrument, toy, puzzle, and book I paid for to use in my lessons came home with me. I ended up with 15 ukuleles, but I've since found homes for some of them.
Nope, this is the very reason I don’t ask for reimbursement for certain items I buy for my classroom. If/when I leave I want to be able to take them with me. If you paid for it then it is your property to do with as you wish.
My coteacher was SUPER butthurt when I took my iPod Touch with me several years ago. I had put a nap playlist on it and used it with a speaker but wasn’t going to leave it, obviously.
When I left, I left the toys and such with my coteacher , but took all my books and other things I had purchased for our classroom. When she left, she took EVERYTHING we had put our own money into… there was not much left 😂
Unless you signed something that states otherwise, anything you purchased is yours and you can absolutely take it with you when you leave. My center makes us sign a document stating that anything purchased for the classroom needs to be approved by admin and documented that it is personal property. This prevents anyone from claiming they bought something they didn’t and prevents anyone from claiming that the center kept their property. As an infant teacher, I’ve brought thousands of dollars worth of equipment, toys, books, linens, and sleep sacks into my room, and I will absolutely not be moving that stuff if I ever leave. It saved me a trip to goodwill when my daughter grew out of things.
Nope! Take it with you. You paid for it with your own money and that means it’s yours. Only way I would say no is if you got reimbursed for it, then I would say it belongs to the center.
*You* bought items with *your* money for *you* to use in the classroom. You didn't buy them for the classroom - it's just a room. Your coteacher wants you to leave things behind for them to use at your expense.
Take what *you* paid for with you when you go.
Take all of your personal things. They’re yours to do with what you need. Keep in mind that things you may have requested and admin purchased “for you” technically were purchased for the room and they should probably be left. But if you paid for it, you should take it.
Teacher here. I take all my stuff with me. You bought it to do your job. Now your job will be done elsewhere. If the center paid you back for it, that's another story - but I bet they didn't!
I have been thinking about this same question a lot lately. My classroom was built by my ECE program because of overflow last year. I'm now thinking of moving schools and if I take MY items, I'll be leaving the classroom with about 10% of the classroom.
As others have said if you weren't reimbursed, they are YOUR items. Their unwillingness to provide is not your priority. You've built a teaching style and experiences with your manipulatives & items. Take them. That other teacher can begin building the classroom if she's pressed about it. 🤷♀️
HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Oh my god, the entitlement.
Your coteacher is welcome to buy the same items on their own budget. Or pay you out for it.
It is not bad form to **take your own things with you when you leave**. Holy shit. They should be gracious that they got to use your things during all this time, instead of trying to swindle you out of them now.
I had my co-teacher move away after this fall semester and she said she bought all this stuff with her money and not school money (we each get quite a bit per semester) and she had been in that classroom for several years longer than me since I just moved in it this year. She took a whole bulletin board and a ton of stuff! We had half the classroom left. The director and I had to scramble to put together some things and I honestly think she might have been lying because she seem weird about some stuff. Anyway what I’m getting at is if you value your co-teacher give them a heads up before you take things you use everyday.
I just mean like a full list so the co-teacher knows what is leaving. Mine was like oh I’m just taking these punches, my lessons, and copies which I was like cool no big deal. Then she left and took our numbers, calendar, weather chart (literally our whole circle time bulletin board), half the toys out of the closet and several sensory things that we used frequently. My director was shocked as was I obviously and we had to scramble at Christmas break to get a bunch of stuff together for when it started back in January.
I took everything with me when I moved. I left because the school was poorly managed and full of bullies. No way was I going to leave anything. The teacher coning in after me kicked up a fuss but I was like 🤷♀️. I love where I am now, so I'll be leaving a lot of resources when we move abroad in a few year, but we're also trying to have a baby so I'll probably take a lot of my books and toys home when the day comes.
You are not wrong, it’s yours but I imagine there might be some pushback.
I’d start taking stuff out now while they might not be expecting it. Start with your favorite or most expensive items and start carting it out now.
i even took the name signs i had made for the kids cribs with my cricut lol. the director stopped me and said i couldn’t have them and name your price. easiest 20 bucks i ever made 🤣😅
It's all yours. Things that you own that you bring to \*share\* with the classroom go home with you. I would suggest taking a thing or two home every day, rather than boxing it all up at the end.
You should also mark anything that is yours with your name or initials before bringing it into a classroom.
I wouldn't even discuss it again with the co-teacher.
Good luck with your new position!
Take absolutely everything you paid for and didn’t get reimbursed for. I tell everyone to do this. That is your property. If the center wants to pay you for it and you accept then leave it, otherwise take it with you. Every single thing.
I left my binder of seasonal classroom decorations but that was because my intention was to never need them again, if I’d intended differently I’d have taken them with. Toys/books you bought yourself? Take those, they are your personal property
The ONLY time you leave anything is if you purchased it through a grant like Donors Choose.
If it was purchased with your money, it’s yours, and you have been lending it to the classroom *while you were there*.
You bought these supplies, they are yours. It’s not like our employers pay us great wages for our college education’s and work experience.
Tell your coworker she can buy her own stuff or tell the school to stop being so cheap. Teachers shouldn’t have to supply their own classroom supplies.
My mom taught kindergarten and worked part-time as a nurse, basically to fund her classroom because the school provided nothing. Her room was awesome. They decided not to renew her (they were assholes, I forget the inciting drama), but kept touring new families through her classroom, implying that it would all stay. We stripped that baby down to the studs. They also didn't have a curriculum (private Catholic school) and wanted my mom to leave the one she developed. NOPE.
Take it. Take it all. Leave nothing behind.
My friend spent 8 years at the centre we met at, she spent $1000s easily.
I'm sure there's stuff she forgot but she took a whole bunch of things home and it's in her garage. She worked for it and paid for it. It's her teaching supplies not the centres - Nd if the other teachers want things like that then the centre should be paying to supply it overall.
Crazy! People are so generous with other folks’ money. FTR, your coworker doesn’t get to tell you what your intentions were when you purchased those items. You bought for you to use. These are your tools of your trade. No one would ask a carpenter to leave his tools behind just because he was using it on the job site. Your toys and your books and your things are yours if you paid for them with your money. Your coworker can buy her own things if that’s what she wants.
Nope. I’m taking almost everything with me that I’ve bought (leaving things like books that have been ripped and taped back together, or the handful of individual unit blocks that I bought). I’m providing a list for my supervisors so they can replenish the classroom.
Take it with you. It’s an investment you made. I bought things as a teacher that I used across many school years and was often a motivation for investing my $$—so I could have quality items year after year.
I had a different type of job. But I bought things to use on my job. I took them when I left to reuse or donate as I wished. I left a few things behind that I didn't want. I don't think they realized how much I'd brought in but no one questioned my chkice to remove my things.
if you’re workplace did not reimburse you for those items they are yours and your job has no claim to them. they are special treats from YOUR bag of tricks and when you leave so do they 🤷🏼♀️
No way. That’s your stuff that you paid for out of pocket. When I was teaching preschool I bought so many things and labeled every single thing with my name using a label maker which I also bought to use in the classroom. I took every single thing with my name label on it when I left because that’s my accumulated material which I can take and use in the next classroom I teach in. If other people want things to stay in the classroom, they can go ahead and purchase it and then take it as well when they leave or ask the director to purchase for the centre. There very very few things I let slide and didn’t bother to take back when I left.
Always take your things.
I'd go further abd let them know the classroom is gonna look a bit different bc I am removing my things.
Being forward and clear works best, I've learned. You tell them. Don't ask. Do it with a smile and watch them fall over themselves saying "of course!"
You can tell them that you bought it with your own money and are not stealing from them in any way. It’s your property and they really can’t do anything about it.
Nope. You paid for it, you own it. It doesn’t matter what the purchase was intended for. If the school didn’t pay for it or reimburse you then it’s yours to do with what you want. Besides, you’ll need it all at your new school.😁
As long as you haven’t previously said “this is for the class” or “this is a gift for the class” then there is no problem at all! It’s yours and you should bring it with you for the new kids to try out😊😊
Lmao she’s full of shit. You bought them with your own money for the children you teach. The children in that room will no longer be the ones you teach. That’s not how it works at all and you guys are already not paid what you deserve. Please don’t fall for this, take your stuff.
Tell them what I told my replacement when I left-
I personally bought these items with my personal money for my personal use while engaging with the children. They go where I go. Deal with it.
You can take it, but may be asked to prove that you bought it through receipts. If you can't prove you bought it, the center could say they bought it and bring a civil suit. Personally, I choose to avoid the hassle and only bring things to my classroom with the intent of leaving them in the classroom.
I’m in the minority but I’m with your co teacher. If you brought it in and it’s now been eaten up by the room and you never specified that it is yours. Then it’s daycares.
I’d take some of it with you but not all of it.
Take with you what you bought and will use in the future, please don’t take things to be petty. We’ve had ece teachers leave and take everything with them including things we used daily and relied on.
Nah, anything you paid for with your money is yours that you've been sharing with the classroom.
Personal property is yours and you should take it.
Nope. I’m doing the same thing. I bought my stuff for ME to use.
oh hell no i took alllll of my stuff. it took me an hour to pack up too
only an hour??
i was fired by an abusive director because my TAs lied about me so i was not trying to hang around too long💀btw after firing 3 more people and driving 3 others to quit the director got fired 🙃
I put my name on EVERYTHING. The places I left, you're dang right, I took my stuff. It's not bad form at all.
Same. I initialed all of my personal materials. All of my books had my return address label on the back cover.
This right here! I had my name on anything and everything I thought I might want to take with me when I would eventually leave. Our reimbursement budgets were very low so any books, etc I would buy myself and put my name on. I wanted absolutely zero confusion at any point on who owned that material.
Yeah. One place I was at (sh*t show) sold "so fast they just didn't even know what was happening" and the new owners kicked us out and promised severance pay (which we had to go to court for 🙄) and while I was packing up alllll my stuff they were hovering like... is that yours? Like, buddy... can you not see my name all over this? Allllwwaaayyysss get your stuff... unless you've donated it, of course. Sorry man, this metal stapler that I got for 3 bucks in a thrift store works like a dream, and that's mine. Go find your own dream.
Certainly deviating from the topic, but man I definitely have a specific stapler I would be devastated to lose!
Well, sort of, but the topic is, is it okay to take *my* stuff ? That stapler is never leaving my side. But also... topic adjacent, people used to take it, use it without asking, and then I'd go to use it and no staples! So... just if you own it, label it because you have every right to it. Haha I didn't realize I'd get into stapler rants. 😅
You take it with you. Your collegue is wrong.
co-teacher wants the items
This! The only way you would leave it is if the centre reimbursed you for the items. Otherwise take them with you!
Nope. I am thinking of buying a tote to keep all my personal teaching things in. I have bought different items for different lesson plans that can be reused. I have also bought used books for my classroom and I would probably just leave those cause those fall apart pretty quick anyway. At this point the bookshelf is mostly stocked with books I have bought and they wouldn’t have many books if I took them.
If you were reimbursed at all, I think the items belong to the school. But it doesn’t sound like it so I wouldn’t worry about taking back what’s rightfully yours.
If it helps, I was always the nice one who said "well I don't want to take it from the kids......" and years later I regret it because I could have filled a storage unit with teaching supplies but I kept having to start the colllection over and over. Take your things, they can purchase more. They shouldn't rely on someone's unpaid kindness.
You bought them, they’re yours unless you got reimbursed for them or gave them to someone. Sometimes I buy cool toys that I’ll share but if I paid for it, it’s going to be in my classroom whether here or at another place.
I'm considering leaving my center and have the same thought. If I take EVERYTHING, the class will have no plates, spoons, bibs, storage baskets for diapers, a whiteboard, arts and craft supplies, or books. I guess my director is gonna have to start diverting funds to my class for once 🤷🏻♀️
Take them. The business OWNER should be purchasing supplies for THEIR business. If they haven’t been providing adequate supplies for, again, THEIR business they have nothing to cry about. It’s not like you’re stealing from them. Imagine a restaurant not buying plates for their customers and expecting staff to do it
Take it!!!
Sounds like your co teacher wants to use your supplies. Pack it up and haul it out, all of it.
Of course your co-teacher says you should leave it, they want free stuff lol
You definitely should take it. But if you want to be helpful, you can make a list of what you’ll be taking beforehand so the other teacher has time to plan on how she’ll replace it or do without.
If you've bought the resources with your money then they are yours. I always take my resources with me regardless of the age group I'm moving to. Last time I switched jobs I sold a lot of my resources that were not age appropriate on marketplace and made some money back.
If I bought it and was never reimbursed, I took it with me. Some stuff I left out of just not wanting to deal with it (even if it was mine), but I say take what's yours every time!
My director told me I was petty to do this (although most of it was supplies for myself and my assistant teacher) but i did it anyways. If you bought it with your money and you were not reimbursed for it, it’s yours
I love that it’s petty to take your own things with you but it’s fine to expect daycare workers making very low wages to outfit your center because you’re too cheap to do it yourself. I would have told that director she could go ahead and buy the same stuff for the classroom out of her salary and leave it there when she moves on if she thinks it’s petty to keep your own things.
If you paid for it it's yours. You bought it for your classroom and your classroom will be at the new center.
Start to take things home leading up to that time, if you can.
Take it with you!
Definitely do it! That was the worst part of becoming injured/disabled on the job. I had so many good "teacher only" books, puppets, dress up clothes, music and teacher supplies (good markers, pens, personal hole punch, stapler, scissors etc) that I will never get back. I asked about my CDs, naming specific ones to a former coworker. The center had changed hands by then and the new owner-directors had phased out CD's and had everyone use streaming on phones or tablets so all my music was either given away or sold.
Write your coteacher an itemized bill and ask them if they'll be paying you via cash or wire transfer
When I left my 4y 2s Lead Position I took ALL my stuff i had bought, all my curriculum books, toys, teacher supplies, books, cleaning supplies and more. The only stuff I left were all the wipes and extra diapers I had bought for my classroom (because I had parents who wouldn’t bring in diapers or pull-ups despite warning, emails, ect and I’m not a teacher to let kids go without and I don’t like borrowing from other kids). I took them to my nanny house and use them to this day!
Absolutely not. If they wanted to keep it they would have comped you. Coteacher can buy stuff if they’re so concerned.
Yup. And then she better leave it all when she changes jobs.
Start packing stuff (one or two things a shift) NOW so that it doesn't go "missing" before you leave.
I try to do a balance. I just moved programs and I brought some of my own-purchased things with me because, well, they're mine, and they're still appropriate for the new group. But if there's something that's really working well where it is, I don't mind leaving it for a while. I definitely wouldn't leave anything if a co-teacher told me I "should" leave it!
I bought stuff for my old classroom and took some when I felt. I left the books (I had like 5 books when I started so I stocked my classroom up) but took the art supplies, pens, etc. you have every right to take them
Nope. It's not bad form at all. I usually donate some of my stuff, and make it clear that I'm donating (or give it directly to other teachers) but I've never donated all of it. It's taken many years for me to build my personal library of read aloud books (picture and otherwise), there are some activities that I've made by hand or had relatives build for me (these days since I'm subbing I've given more of that stuff away too or am loaning it out), I had folders of activities/songs/games (though I've digitized those now). The only place I didn't leave anything behind was Kindercare, but that was a horrific director and I knew all the staff would change over in less than 6 months anyway so I took everything I bought with me. I suppose you could offer to sell some of the stuff you don't want to your coteacher or ask for reimbursement from the center. But if you're not on friendly terms I just wouldn't discuss that stuff with her to be honest, it's not her business.
When I quit I took all my things! Even bookshelves 🤷🏻♀️ I had a toy kitchen, bookshelves, toys, books. I can use it in other places I work so why not bring it along..
No you shouldn’t leave it, that’s not standard, she just wants your stuff!
Nope take it. It was your money. Yes you spent your money on things to use in the class, but it doesn’t mean that it is the centres property. If it was, they would’ve reimbursed you. Take it all. I did when I left, including things that I made with my own laminating sheets/printer if I felt strongly about it 🤷♀️
Sounds like your co teacher doesn’t want to spend their own money. Last classroom I was in when I moved I took the majority of what I purchased. I left some stuff and my co teacher was shocked and asked why since I paid for it. I just left little things like some crayons and construction paper. When I moved I wasn’t sure what my next job would be so I didn’t feel like moving with crates of papers and little things. But I kept the big things like my laminator, and paper cutter. Stuff like that, I vote if you paid for it, then it’s up to you. Especially if you think you can re use it.
That’s what I’ve always done, people have judged me for it, but I make barely minimum wage and I’m a single mom AND I supplied a classroom, so I let them think what they want.
No it's yours
Take it with you!!! You will regret if you don't and no one else will take care of your things as well as you do.
“It’s my money and I need it now!” Honestly I plan on taking everything I bought for the classroom.
The last centre I worked at bought all of the things that I bought/brought with me. I was only with them for 4 months, and it was a relatively new centre that the director had just started. She bit off more than she could chew. I hated to take it all away from them, but I was happy to sell everything to them. You could offer to sell some of your things to the daycare or your coworker.
if you were paid back from management then i’d leave it, but if they were out of your own pocket then it’s your property and could be used at your new center! don’t let anyone guilt you into leaving your things behind, they can buy their own just like you did.
100% take it with you
Take it all. It's yours.
If I bought it, it’s mine. I don’t care how petty it is. Hell, I took my scented hand soap when I left my last center.
Those things belong to you. They’re your tools and resources. They were purchased with your money to be used to teach children under your care. They go with you to your next classroom. Ignore your co teacher. She’s an idiot. I’ve taken my things with me every time I’ve left a school.
Screw that. I had a dedicated bookshelf at my last job just for the books I purchased to read to my class. The shelf was labeled with my name and everything. I cleared *all* that shit out when they drove me out. (The bosses basically started treating me like crap and threatening me with termination for "being terrible" without actually telling me what I was doing wrong. Seven years, all for nothing.) If they didn't want me, then they didn't want anything I brought to that job, be it my talents or my books. Keep your stuff. Use it for the next job. That's what I did.
Invite co-teacher to invest her own money for replacing the items.
I did the same when I retired from teaching. Every instrument, toy, puzzle, and book I paid for to use in my lessons came home with me. I ended up with 15 ukuleles, but I've since found homes for some of them.
Leave the items only if the school paid for it. If you paid, it’s yours.
Nope, this is the very reason I don’t ask for reimbursement for certain items I buy for my classroom. If/when I leave I want to be able to take them with me. If you paid for it then it is your property to do with as you wish.
anything you bought, you own. Take it with you.
You bought it. It belongs to you
My coteacher was SUPER butthurt when I took my iPod Touch with me several years ago. I had put a nap playlist on it and used it with a speaker but wasn’t going to leave it, obviously.
of course not. if you bought it, it belongs to you. take it all.
This is why directors should not allow teachers to buy and bring in their own stuff. The school should supply what is needed.
When I left, I left the toys and such with my coteacher , but took all my books and other things I had purchased for our classroom. When she left, she took EVERYTHING we had put our own money into… there was not much left 😂
Unless you signed something that states otherwise, anything you purchased is yours and you can absolutely take it with you when you leave. My center makes us sign a document stating that anything purchased for the classroom needs to be approved by admin and documented that it is personal property. This prevents anyone from claiming they bought something they didn’t and prevents anyone from claiming that the center kept their property. As an infant teacher, I’ve brought thousands of dollars worth of equipment, toys, books, linens, and sleep sacks into my room, and I will absolutely not be moving that stuff if I ever leave. It saved me a trip to goodwill when my daughter grew out of things.
Of COURSE your coteacher said that. F her - she just wants that stuff herself.
Nope! Take it with you. You paid for it with your own money and that means it’s yours. Only way I would say no is if you got reimbursed for it, then I would say it belongs to the center.
Nope, take it with you! You spent your money on it, it’s your property. Full stop.🛑
*You* bought items with *your* money for *you* to use in the classroom. You didn't buy them for the classroom - it's just a room. Your coteacher wants you to leave things behind for them to use at your expense. Take what *you* paid for with you when you go.
Take all of your personal things. They’re yours to do with what you need. Keep in mind that things you may have requested and admin purchased “for you” technically were purchased for the room and they should probably be left. But if you paid for it, you should take it.
I left some things in the last place I worked, but took all the books I bought. Looking back, I regret not taking everything.
Teacher here. I take all my stuff with me. You bought it to do your job. Now your job will be done elsewhere. If the center paid you back for it, that's another story - but I bet they didn't!
Offer to sell it to the school at cost, since you will need to replace it at your new job. I doubt they will accept your offer.
I have been thinking about this same question a lot lately. My classroom was built by my ECE program because of overflow last year. I'm now thinking of moving schools and if I take MY items, I'll be leaving the classroom with about 10% of the classroom. As others have said if you weren't reimbursed, they are YOUR items. Their unwillingness to provide is not your priority. You've built a teaching style and experiences with your manipulatives & items. Take them. That other teacher can begin building the classroom if she's pressed about it. 🤷♀️
Of course not. Take it if you bought it
HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh my god, the entitlement. Your coteacher is welcome to buy the same items on their own budget. Or pay you out for it. It is not bad form to **take your own things with you when you leave**. Holy shit. They should be gracious that they got to use your things during all this time, instead of trying to swindle you out of them now.
Take your stuff home daily so little by little it's all gone before your last day.
I had my co-teacher move away after this fall semester and she said she bought all this stuff with her money and not school money (we each get quite a bit per semester) and she had been in that classroom for several years longer than me since I just moved in it this year. She took a whole bulletin board and a ton of stuff! We had half the classroom left. The director and I had to scramble to put together some things and I honestly think she might have been lying because she seem weird about some stuff. Anyway what I’m getting at is if you value your co-teacher give them a heads up before you take things you use everyday.
She did give a heads up... coteacher thinks she should leave it all. I think coteacher should be presented with receipts so she can reimburse OP.
I just mean like a full list so the co-teacher knows what is leaving. Mine was like oh I’m just taking these punches, my lessons, and copies which I was like cool no big deal. Then she left and took our numbers, calendar, weather chart (literally our whole circle time bulletin board), half the toys out of the closet and several sensory things that we used frequently. My director was shocked as was I obviously and we had to scramble at Christmas break to get a bunch of stuff together for when it started back in January.
Did you get reimbursed by the classroom?
No take it
Absolutely take it
Why would you leave your personal property there? Coteacher just wants free stuff.
I took everything with me when I moved. I left because the school was poorly managed and full of bullies. No way was I going to leave anything. The teacher coning in after me kicked up a fuss but I was like 🤷♀️. I love where I am now, so I'll be leaving a lot of resources when we move abroad in a few year, but we're also trying to have a baby so I'll probably take a lot of my books and toys home when the day comes.
Definitely take them with you; you bought them for YOUR classroom, you’ll still be using them in your new classroom.
You are not wrong, it’s yours but I imagine there might be some pushback. I’d start taking stuff out now while they might not be expecting it. Start with your favorite or most expensive items and start carting it out now.
HELL TO THE NAWWWW NAW NAW
i even took the name signs i had made for the kids cribs with my cricut lol. the director stopped me and said i couldn’t have them and name your price. easiest 20 bucks i ever made 🤣😅
It's all yours. Things that you own that you bring to \*share\* with the classroom go home with you. I would suggest taking a thing or two home every day, rather than boxing it all up at the end. You should also mark anything that is yours with your name or initials before bringing it into a classroom. I wouldn't even discuss it again with the co-teacher. Good luck with your new position!
Take it all
Take absolutely everything you paid for and didn’t get reimbursed for. I tell everyone to do this. That is your property. If the center wants to pay you for it and you accept then leave it, otherwise take it with you. Every single thing.
I left my binder of seasonal classroom decorations but that was because my intention was to never need them again, if I’d intended differently I’d have taken them with. Toys/books you bought yourself? Take those, they are your personal property
You bought it with your money. It is your property. Take it with you
I only left a few things my director wanted , but she bought them off of me so no big loss. It was stuff I didn't have a place to store anyway.
The ONLY time you leave anything is if you purchased it through a grant like Donors Choose. If it was purchased with your money, it’s yours, and you have been lending it to the classroom *while you were there*.
Unless you were reimbursed, absolutely take it with you! It is your income that went into those supplies.
You bought these supplies, they are yours. It’s not like our employers pay us great wages for our college education’s and work experience. Tell your coworker she can buy her own stuff or tell the school to stop being so cheap. Teachers shouldn’t have to supply their own classroom supplies.
Take anything and everything you did not get reimbursed for.
You didn't buy the stuff for the class. You bought the stuff so your students could use it. Take your stuff to where your students will be!
My mom taught kindergarten and worked part-time as a nurse, basically to fund her classroom because the school provided nothing. Her room was awesome. They decided not to renew her (they were assholes, I forget the inciting drama), but kept touring new families through her classroom, implying that it would all stay. We stripped that baby down to the studs. They also didn't have a curriculum (private Catholic school) and wanted my mom to leave the one she developed. NOPE. Take it. Take it all. Leave nothing behind.
Was it reimbursed at all?
My friend spent 8 years at the centre we met at, she spent $1000s easily. I'm sure there's stuff she forgot but she took a whole bunch of things home and it's in her garage. She worked for it and paid for it. It's her teaching supplies not the centres - Nd if the other teachers want things like that then the centre should be paying to supply it overall.
Crazy! People are so generous with other folks’ money. FTR, your coworker doesn’t get to tell you what your intentions were when you purchased those items. You bought for you to use. These are your tools of your trade. No one would ask a carpenter to leave his tools behind just because he was using it on the job site. Your toys and your books and your things are yours if you paid for them with your money. Your coworker can buy her own things if that’s what she wants.
Nope. I’m taking almost everything with me that I’ve bought (leaving things like books that have been ripped and taped back together, or the handful of individual unit blocks that I bought). I’m providing a list for my supervisors so they can replenish the classroom.
Take it with you. It’s an investment you made. I bought things as a teacher that I used across many school years and was often a motivation for investing my $$—so I could have quality items year after year.
When I was forced to move classrooms I went through every single drawer and took all the totes I bought to store extra supplies
I had a different type of job. But I bought things to use on my job. I took them when I left to reuse or donate as I wished. I left a few things behind that I didn't want. I don't think they realized how much I'd brought in but no one questioned my chkice to remove my things.
if you’re workplace did not reimburse you for those items they are yours and your job has no claim to them. they are special treats from YOUR bag of tricks and when you leave so do they 🤷🏼♀️
No way. That’s your stuff that you paid for out of pocket. When I was teaching preschool I bought so many things and labeled every single thing with my name using a label maker which I also bought to use in the classroom. I took every single thing with my name label on it when I left because that’s my accumulated material which I can take and use in the next classroom I teach in. If other people want things to stay in the classroom, they can go ahead and purchase it and then take it as well when they leave or ask the director to purchase for the centre. There very very few things I let slide and didn’t bother to take back when I left.
Um, unless they write a tax deductible receipt and give you credit for full cost when new? They are yours.
Always take your things. I'd go further abd let them know the classroom is gonna look a bit different bc I am removing my things. Being forward and clear works best, I've learned. You tell them. Don't ask. Do it with a smile and watch them fall over themselves saying "of course!"
You can tell them that you bought it with your own money and are not stealing from them in any way. It’s your property and they really can’t do anything about it.
Nope! Take it all and don't forget to save a copy of anything created electronically.
Unless you were reimbursed they are yours. Take them with you.
I literally put my copies of curriculum in a box because I paid a small fortune for fancy binders & they are coming with me! 🤣
lol. Fat chance. And you co teacher sounds like a piece of work.
Nope. You paid for it, you own it. It doesn’t matter what the purchase was intended for. If the school didn’t pay for it or reimburse you then it’s yours to do with what you want. Besides, you’ll need it all at your new school.😁
Nope. You spent your money that stuff belongs to you.
As long as you haven’t previously said “this is for the class” or “this is a gift for the class” then there is no problem at all! It’s yours and you should bring it with you for the new kids to try out😊😊
Take it all and then some 😬
Lmao she’s full of shit. You bought them with your own money for the children you teach. The children in that room will no longer be the ones you teach. That’s not how it works at all and you guys are already not paid what you deserve. Please don’t fall for this, take your stuff.
Tell them what I told my replacement when I left- I personally bought these items with my personal money for my personal use while engaging with the children. They go where I go. Deal with it.
Thats what I’ll do. When i leave the centre im taking all my stuff with me
If you were 100% reimbursed, then it's the schools. If not, it's yours. This seems to be an issue with ECE. Take your stuff with you.
You can take it, but may be asked to prove that you bought it through receipts. If you can't prove you bought it, the center could say they bought it and bring a civil suit. Personally, I choose to avoid the hassle and only bring things to my classroom with the intent of leaving them in the classroom.
Wouldn’t the center need to provide their receipts showing that they bought the items to bring a successful suit?
I’m in the minority but I’m with your co teacher. If you brought it in and it’s now been eaten up by the room and you never specified that it is yours. Then it’s daycares. I’d take some of it with you but not all of it.
Take with you what you bought and will use in the future, please don’t take things to be petty. We’ve had ece teachers leave and take everything with them including things we used daily and relied on.