Oops, I forgot my H54F post this past Friday. I’ll just make this week’s post extra awesome 🙂
It’s that time of year: teachers forget about the problems of yesteryear while enjoying their vacations and start preparing for those adorable faces that will soon be stepping into their classrooms. It’s also our favorite time of the year for another reason — school supplies!
There is very little that can top the look, feel, and smell ofday brand new supplies for teachers. It’s our crack. It completely washes away the feelings of impending 60-70 hour work weeks and learning a whole new set of faces and behaviors.
This year (God willing that I get a job), I’m borrowing a few ideas from the awesome Mrs. K and Pinterest. Check out some of my goodies!
one – Here’s what I got for each student: a “working folder”, a math & science journal, a writing journal, and a mini notebook to keep in their pencil box to jot down ideas when they come to them or are suggested. Each item except the idea book is numbered with the student number, with 16 being shown above (sorry that it’s hard to read – these were cell phone pics on Instagram). I just printed some name badge labels and stuck them right on the front of everything.
two – This is the inside of the working folder. The left is labeled “Please finish” and the right is labeled “Ready to be turned in” to help remind students of any work that needs completing. Also, if they finish with something early but I’m not collecting it yet or we’re in a situation where they shouldn’t be out of their seats, they can move things to the right side until they get a chance to turn them in. I learned early on from Mrs. K that they’ll constantly need reminding of what should go in their purple folders! I like that they only have one folder so they have less chance of losing things or putting things in the wrong folder.
three – How did I get my composition books cut in half? At home, with a miter saw. Please note – the edges won’t be perfect because they’ll fan slightly at the cut edge, but they are still great to use and hardly noticeable. Notice that after some trial and error, I placed the edges where they would be cut by the blade first and clamped both sides down. And as tedious as it is, only cut one book at a time, otherwise they will really fray on the edges.
Overall, I spent $1.04 per student for all of these materials including the labels, which is super cheap, and I’ll know that whether I end up at a low poverty or high poverty school, I have all the essentials I need for each of my students!
Two Blue Pillars 