When cold and flu season hits, even the most loving classroom can become a germ-sharing headquarters. Teachers everywhere know the struggle – sticky hands on scissors, sneezed-on counters, shared glue sticks passed from one desk to another. But learning doesn’t stop just because sniffles start.
The good news? You don’t have to ban every shared supply or panic about every pencil. With a few strategic tweaks, you can use shared tools in schools effectively and keep students healthy. From digital manipulatives to individual kits and printable options, these strategies will help you stay prepared and prevent the spread of germs, all while keeping learning hands-on and engaging.
Let’s face it: young students are enthusiastic learners but not exactly hygiene experts. They touch everything, forget to wash their hands, and happily share both supplies and germs. Without systems in place, even your most structured lesson can get interrupted by a cold making its rounds.
During flu season, you need to be proactive. But if you’re juggling 20+ students, limited tech, and a tight budget, finding safe ways to share tools in schools can feel like one more impossible task. That’s why these five strategies are designed to be realistic, flexible, and friendly for all classrooms, no matter your tech access or budget.
Solution: 5 Ways to Share Tools in Schools Safely This Flu Season
🧴 1. Sanitize and Share: Smart Disinfection Routines
Not every shared tool has to be off-limits. If you have a supply of popular classroom materials, such as base-ten blocks, letter tiles, or dice, you can still use them if you implement a solid sanitation system.
Set up a clearly labeled “used” bin where students place shared items after use. At the end of the day (or between groups), sanitize tools with district-approved cleaners. You can even assign a rotating student job to collect and clean items, turning it into a lesson on responsibility and hygiene.
👩🏫 Use this with:
- Small group manipulatives
- Shared math center items
- Literacy tools like magnets or letter tiles
💡 Pro tip: Print visual cue signs to remind students when and where to sanitize tools!
💻 2. Incorporate Digital Tools in Schools to Reduce Contact
If you have access to devices like tablets or Chromebooks, rotating digital resources into your centers is a fantastic way to reduce shared physical contact. Digital tools are easy to sanitize (just wipe down the keyboard and screen!) and keep students engaged while still reinforcing key skills.
👨🏫 Recommended: Digital Math Manipulatives
Introduce virtual base-ten blocks, counters, number lines, ten frames, and MORE with this Digital Math Manipulative Set. It’s perfect for small groups, independent work, or even whole-class instruction using a projector or interactive whiteboards. It contains more than 60 pages of digital math manipulatives!
Bonus: Use these alongside physical tools in schools for a blended learning approach, especially helpful when you don’t have enough hands-on tools for everyone.
🧰 3. Prep Individual Kits with Must-Have Tools
One of the simplest ways to reduce the spread of germs is to give each student their own mini-set of learning tools. These “toolkits” can include everything from scissors and glue to manipulatives and letter tiles.
Store them in pencil boxes, gallon Ziplock bags, or caddies, whatever works best for your space. If you’re short on materials, consider sending a donation request letter home or asking your PTA for support.
👩🏫 Recommended: Printable Math Tools
Grab a copy of my Printable Math Manipulative Set, perfect for including in student toolkits. These include printable base-ten blocks, money, sorting buttons, attribute blocks, fraction strips, tangrams, pentominoes, geoboards, and MORE! Just print and go!
🖨️ 4. Use Disposable or Printable Tools for Easy Access
If you can’t sanitize everything and don’t have enough for individual kits, printable options are a teacher’s best friend. They’re easy to prep, budget-friendly, and can be reused (laminate or slip into dry-erase sleeves) or recycled after use.
👨🏫 Recommended: Printable Letter Tiles
Ideal for spelling centers or small groups, these Printable Letter Tiles make word building clean and easy. No shared bins, no sneezed-on plastic tiles, just individual sets you can store in envelopes or folders.
👨🏫 Recommended: Digital Word Building Activities
If you’d rather skip paper altogether, my Digital Word Building Pack lets students practice phonics and spelling in a clean, interactive way. Use on Google Slides, these 80 word family pages are great for centers or early finishers.
🔁 5. Go Digital for Entire Blocks or Subjects
When cold and flu season peaks, consider going all digital for a day or a full center rotation. This minimizes shared materials and tools in schools, gives your physical tools time to rest (or be cleaned), and keeps routines consistent.
👩🏫 Recommended: Digital Math Bundle
This huge bundle covers contains digital manipulatives, activities, and games designed to engage learners and simplify planning.
You can assign activities via Google Classroom or Seesaw, depending on your platform (each format is available separately). Students get meaningful practice, and you get peace of mind knowing you’re cutting down on germ exposure.
🎯Whether you’re stocking up on individual kits, printing manipulatives, or diving into digital learning, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to shared tools in schools, but there is a solution that works for you.
✨ Start with these resources:
- ✅ [FREE] Printable Math Tools → CLICK HERE
- ✅ [FREE] Printable Letter Tiles → CLICK HERE
- 💻 [PAID] Digital Math Manipulatives → CLICK HERE
- 🧮 [PAID] Digital Math Bundle → CLICK HERE
- 🔤 [PAID] Digital Word Building Set → CLICK HERE
Your classroom doesn’t have to shut down collaboration during flu season. Rethink how you’re using tools in schools to keep kids learning and healthy.
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