Fun School Supply Links

Last week on my other blog, I mentioned some fun school supplies the girls and I have been enjoying.  

If you're interested, here is where you can purchase them for your own enjoyment...


Lazy susan...

Alligator stapler...

Snail tape dispenser...

Bird paper clip holder...

Woodpecker scissors...

Fun erasers...

These are similar to the ones we have, but I bought ours at the Target One Spot.  You might want to try there first.  But what I wouldn't give for that cute little bowling set!

Personalized pencils found here at Oriental Trading.

The flower pots were purchased on clearance at Michaels.

*some links contain affiliates

Congratulations! You've Almost Made It!

It's that time of year!  The end of the school year.  Students are preparing to move to the next grade.  Teachers are packing up their rooms.  Some will change grades or districts, some will put the stuff right back up where it always goes in August.  Either way, this part of the year is a wonderfully exciting time.

Can you tell I just LOVE summer?

I teach middle school science.  At the end of each school year (which is next week for us) we have an end-of-the-year awards assembly.  At that assembly I get to present three awards to three of my students.  

Our three categories are...

1.  Overall Achievement:

2.  Most Improved:

3.  Highest Class Average:

I whipped up some awards for my science team the other day and then posted them at my store as a freebie for anyone who could find them useful.  I added a fourth science award that didn't have a specific category, just a general science award.

If these would be a help to you, feel free to stop by and download them here.

Enjoy the last few weeks (or days) with this year's kiddos!  

A special thanks to Not Just for Elementary for the free digital paper available at her store here.

Organizing Dish Bins

I love organization.  Both at home and in my classroom.  I am not the teacher with a messy desk.  I can't get anything done if there are things to be put away.  I'm just not made that way.  Something that helps me stay organized at school are those cheap, white dish bins you can buy at most dollar stores and at Walmart or Target.

I have these great cabinets in my room that line the back wall.  On one set of shelves I put six bins - one for each of my six class periods.  In these I collect papers to grade or pass back.  Sometimes the students throw them in themselves.  Other times I collect them and put them all in together.  Either way it is an excellent way to keep each class set separated and all in one place.

On another set of shelves I keep my eight unit bins.  I teach science and for each unit I have supplies, videos and activities I use year after year.  Instead of having to hunt for these each year, I store them in bins according to the unit.  It also helps me to remember the activities that were a success and prevents me from having to redo the grunt work (laminating, cutting, labeling, etc.) because everything is in a nice, neat and organized container.

At home we use these bins for all kinds of things.  We have one in the refrigerator to hold the items that don't sit on the shelf so well.  Right now it is wrangling the yogurt and oranges.

We also have some in a closet keeping the cleaning rags nice and tidy.  Several can be found in the girl's room holding building toys, doll clothes and craft supplies.  We even have one that keeps the cat stuff together.  I love that they are inexpensive and a good size for many uses.

The classroom bin labels are available free in my TpT store.  

These containers are my favorite, hands down.  What kind of must-have containers do you recommend?  Any that can serve many purposes and hold a variety of things?  Do tell! 

Making My Straight Lines Straight

A little helpful tip that I've been taking advantage of this year is using a rotary cutter to cut out classroom materials.  At first it went against all the quilter in me, but then I invested in an inexpensive rotary cutter and gave it a try.  Let's just say, fantastic!

Here are the tools needed:

A rotary cutter, cutting mat and an acrylic ruler or guide.

The sharp, clean edges it leaves are so much neater than when I was cutting things out by hand and the rotary cutter gives me so much more control than the paper cutter I have at school.

No matter what angles, a rotary cutter makes great straight lines and gives you much more consistency in how close or far away you are from the lines.  I always hate it when I have a crooked line.  Drives me crazy!

I also love that I can cut my laminated items without the waviness I usually get.  Maybe I'm just a poor scissor user.  I'm sure it's user error, but this helps me tremendously.

Rotary cutters can be found in any store with a craft section.  Enjoy!