Tempe, Arizona (NAPSI) - When composing your list for school supplies this year, don’t get the teacher an apple. According to research done by School Family Media, the most- requested items on teacher’s wish lists this year aren’t pens and pencils - but tissues and paper towels.

The study found that when it comes to items that help create an ideal learning environment, teachers place paper towels and tissues at the top of the list. In fact, facial tissues have become the second-most-required item on school supply lists for every teacher and classroom.

It makes sense. Classrooms are high-traffic areas with lots of hands-on activities, so products that promote health and wellness (such as facial tissues and paper towels) can help teachers keep messes and germs at bay.

“Families will spend an average of $641 per school year on supplies and teacher requests influence more than 77 percent of those purchases,” said Tim Sullivan, School Family Media founder and president. “Parents want to know that they are spending money on items that will truly benefit the classroom and their child’s education.”

When shopping for school supplies, parents tend to purchase the same brands they trust at home. For example, they turn to the same Bounty paper towels that mop up their messes at home to clean up spills in the classroom. Plus, the Puffs facial tissues that help ward off germs and errant sneezes can also make a desirable donation to a room full of students.

If you’re not sure what to bring to school, there’s a list for that. TeacherLists.com offers an easy solution for getting school supplies for kids and classrooms.

Teachers or school volunteers can simply load their school supply lists, as well as their wish lists, into the TeacherLists.com interface, allowing parents easy viewing and printing access from their home computer or mobile device. What’s more, through the site’s social media channels, parents and school districts can easily alert teachers when classroom purchases have been made and broadcast supply requests.

For more information, visit www.TeacherLists.com.