10 Left-Handed School Supplies Your Southpaw Students Will Really Use

Lefties of the world unite! Over school supplies!

10 Left-Handed School Supplies Your Southpaw Students Will Really Use

There are a remarkable amount of everyday items that favor right-handed people. Credit card machines, zippers, and even cup holders in cars are all designed for righties. The pattern continues when it comes to school supplies. Left-handed school supplies do exist, but they’re often overpriced and hard to find on a regular basis. Because of that, we’ve rounded up some of the best left-handed school supplies you should keep handy in your classroom. (And yes, that pun was absolutely intentional.)

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1. Left-Handed Pencils

Left-handed pencils

Who knew pencils could be left or right-handed? The grooves in these pencils are angled in the opposite direction than usual in order to support proper finger positioning for left-handed students. While most lefties won’t need hand-specific pencils after learning to write, having this option for kiddos just starting to write could make a world of difference.

2. Left-Handed Scissors

Row of four brightly colored children's scissors

These scissors actually work whether you’re left-handed or right-handed, which makes them perfect for a busy classroom. No students yelling that their scissors aren’t working makes it far more fun to start that holiday art project. There are many great options specifically for left-handed scissors, too, if that’s your jam.

3. Left-Handed Notebooks

Five Star Topbound Notepad, 1 Subject, College Ruled, Assorted

As a proud leftie, I’ll tell you honestly, I’ve never found left-handed notebooks comfortable to use. They were hard to find in stores, so whenever I did get one, it felt awkward and weird. I got used to my hand bumping into the bindings of right-handed notebooks instead. But top-bound notebooks are a perfect solution for teachers looking to help out their left-handed students. They’re easier to find in stores, and both left-handed and right-handed students can use them.

4. Left-Handed Pens

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Left-handed pens

Smearing pen ink and marker all over papers and our hands is par for the course for most lefties. These pens get amazing reviews from people who tried them and wound up loving their ability to allow left-handers to write comfortably and naturally without smearing the ink.

5. Left-Handed Pencil Grips

Left-handed pencil grips

They do make universal pencil grips, which I remember using in school. However, I also remember that as a leftie, they often felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable. I would have loved a left-handed pencil grip like the ones above when I was learning to write. Plus, they’re super cute!

6. Left-Handed Rulers

Left-handed ruler

Most lefties have been using right-handed rulers so long that switching would probably just feel weird. But if you’re introducing concepts of measuring to your students for the first time, having a few of these on hand might be a learning game-changer to a left-handed student in your classroom.

7. Left-Handed Pencil Sharpeners

Left-handed pencil sharpeners

Yep, this is a thing. Who knew? When you sharpen a pencil, you normally turn your (usually right) hand clockwise. But this is awkward for lefties. These little pencil sharpeners turn counter-clockwise to sharpen, making them more comfortable for students who favor their left hand.

8. Quick-Dry Gel Pens

Package of Bic Quick-Dry Gel Pens in rainbow colors

There’s nothing particularly right or left-handed about these gel pens. What makes them magic for left-handed students is that they dry quickly, so they won’t smear when their hands slide over the ink. As a leftie who’s ruined more than her fair share of school project posters, I can tell you that these would have been a serious game-changer.

9. Left-Handed Keyboard

Left-handed keyboard

Like several items on this list, a left-handed keyboard might feel as weird to a leftie as it would to their right-handed classmate. Most of us were taught to use the tools available to us, which means most lefties are just as comfortable with a standard keyboard as everyone else. That being said, if you see one of your left-handed students consistently struggling with typing or using a keyboard, having one of these available for them to try out might be exactly what they needed.

10. Items that celebrate left-handedness

Left hand with "I'm a lefty" written on it in front of blue background

Your left-handed students are a resilient bunch. They’re living in a world that isn’t really set up to accommodate them, but with your help, they will figure it out just like their right-handed classmates. That being said, when you notice that your left-handed student has smeared the ink on their writing assignment or was asked for the millionth time, “How do you even write like that?” by an incredulous peer, it might be nice to have a few fun left-handed items on hand to make them smile. Here are a few of our favorites:

Calling all left-handed teachers! Any left-handed supplies you use that you swear by? Let us know in the comments below!

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10 Left-Handed School Supplies Your Southpaw Students Will Really Use