The first tip is something I have used all year and I love, Love, LOVE it! I used to use rolls and rolls of tape to hang masterpieces in the hallways at school. It would take FOR-E-VER to hang everything. So this year, since I was going with a purple and blue color scheme, I laminated purple and blue paper, hung it on the wall (well actually I rubber cemented it :)) and attached clothespins. And voila, when you need to change out the work you simply unclip the work and attach the new work. This has been a HUGE timesaver. No more hours and endless pieces of tape. Here is a pic from Mrs. Terhune's First Grade that shows how she did it with a different color scheme but you get the idea.
I've been looking to find a solution I'm having in my classroom right now. I can't figure out how on earth my kids go through crayons so fast. I'm starting to think they are eating them.......no, seriously! We use table bins in Kindergarten so everyone at the table uses the same crayons. I emptied 2 packs of 24 crayons in each bin at the beginning of the year. Since then I've put an additional 2 packs of 24 in each bin. In case you're counting, that's 96 crayons time 6 tables!!! I have never had a class eat so many go through crayons like this. Even with alllllll those crayons, my kiddies never seem to have the colors they need. "Ms. Hill, we don't have red!" "Ms. Hill, Table 4 has two yellows!" I've started to dred coloring activities! Well no more! I found another cool idea on Mrs. Terhune's First Grade that might help!
Can anyone guess what I'm making this weekend?!?!?!
This last tip comes with a link and a warning. You will simply melt when you see all the cute ideas on this site. One of my summer projects is to make chair covers for the back of each seat. Well with 25 kiddies each year, I'm going to need a LOT of fabric! This is a picture of the seat covers I found but I have to say they are wayyyy to busy for my OCD eyes! I will be making mine in purple and blue (are there any other colors?!?!)
This blog post is definitely worth checking out but don't say I didn't warn ya!
I hope you found something cute that you'll be able to use in your classroom. If you have some cute ideas, PLEASE contact me so I can feature you on an edition of Tuesday Tips.
Let me just tell you, I have something SUPER special lined up for next Tuesday. You won't want to miss it!
Do you have any ideas similar to the ones I posted? Please share with me what you do to stay sane in the classroom.
I don't even have a classroom (as an SLP on hiatus), but still want to make those chair covers. Too cute! Heading to check out that site now. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteJulie
OpenWideTheWorld
Aren't they adorable? I can't wait to make them myself!
DeleteCute ideas! Thank you for sharing. I dread bulletin boards so I will be giving the rubber cemented squares and clothes pins a try! I am also thinking for times when we don't quite have something ready each one could say what the author or artist is working on. I love that laminated paper can be used as a dry erase board!
ReplyDeleteForever A Teacher, Forever A Learner
I use laminated paper all the time in my classroom! Just make sure you use Magic Eraser's to clean it. The dry erase erasers leave it all smudged. And once you make those squares for the hallway you will NEVER go back, trust me! Good luck!
DeleteThank you for these organization tips. I will need to use the idea about the clothespins in the hallway to hang up the art work. It will save time and tape in the long run. Arg! Those crayons! Where have all the crayons gone? The "Need a Color, Found a Color" is a nice idea to manage the crayons issue. I love the alphabet chair covers. They're so cute! I'll be excited to see how they turn out when you make them this summer.
ReplyDeleteZoom Zoom Classroom
Seriously, where on earth have the crayons gone? I wonder if I'm the only one with that problem, lol. Can't wait to make the chair covers. Mine will probably be a plain color with a lil something. Don't want anything too visually distracting :)
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