Creative ideas for backpack storage anyone?

Pencil Monkey · #1 07-28-2007, 07:46 AM

I got into my new room yesterday. I was moved from 1st to 3rd as of yesterday afternoon. My new room (new school) does not have any coat hooks/cubbyhole's for students to put jackets and bags in during the day. Does anyone have any ideas how i can store these items away from student desks? I'd hate for students to put their jackets on their chairs or the floor when it gets chilly. In the past I've labeled a wall hook for each student so i can find their things for them if they suddenly get sick. The only solution i can come up with is dishpans and labeling those for each student to put their bags into.

Wall and floor space is at a premium since i have two walls of windows (floor to ceiling) and i think the room is about 500 square feet. So how do i hang things on the blinds? I've seen it done.

mhcooley · #2 07-28-2007, 08:07 AM

You could buy those plastic storage drawers that stack on top of one another. Each child could have their own drawer. These can get expensive though.

I hang things from my blinds using paper clips.

MissFroggy · #3 07-28-2007, 12:12 PM

This year I am sending home a letter, and there will be NO backpacks for my students this year. The can bring a lunchbox and a they will have their homework folders. That's it. I can't spare the space. I will collect shopping bags that they can use to take home things they can't carry. I hate the ones with the wheels most of all!

I saw at Michael's they have wooden coathooks for $1. I thought it might be a cute project to decorate them and then use those for the coats, though it would be cheaper in the longrun to just buy some regular coathooks and put those up, because I wouldn't have to purchase a new set each year. I really think coathooks are a necessity, since you don't want wet coats balled up on the floor or in a cubby.

You can buy those metal square shelves that link together. Those would make good cubbies. Or if you want something even cheaper, see if you can find stackable milk crates. You could even find those for free sometimes at grocery stores and spray paint them so they match.

I know a teacher who put all the backpacks in three rubbermaid tubs with lids and they stayed there all day. Lunches were kept in a laundry basket outside the door, and they just grabbed them before going into the cafeteria.

What if you bought a few standing coat racks?? I bet they can be found cheap somewhere... Each one would probably hold 6-8 coats, and you could buy 2 or 3 of them. Then stand them in a corner or something. At least it wouldn't take up wall space. I don't think those would support backpacks though.

http://www.dallasmidwest.com/Browse/...id=bizrate_dmw (this one is very expensive.)

http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Gree.../dp/B000AT4XPE (this one is cheap and holds a lot of coats.)

Jenny G · #4 07-28-2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littleschool

I know a teacher who put all the backpacks in three rubbermaid tubs with lids and they stayed there all day. Lunches were kept in a laundry basket outside the door, and they just grabbed them before going into the cafeteria.

This is what I do. Backpacks are not allowed in the classroom. Coats don't seem to be a problem, but the weather here is milder than most of the country. I need to get a box for lunches this year though, last year, students would have to get in to the bins for their lunches which took a lot of time.

Caesar753 · #5 07-28-2007, 02:39 PM

I'd be hesitant about storing all their coats and backpacks together in big bins. What if one of the kids had lice? Then probably all the kids who shared a big bin with him would end up with it too.

That's pretty gross, and unfortunately fairly likely.

tutor1982 · #6 07-28-2007, 02:41 PM

little school, will your children not be required to take anything except for their folders home?

it just seems a little shocking that you would have NO backpacks...still processing how I would feel about that

MissFroggy · #7 07-28-2007, 02:53 PM

I will give them bags if they need to take more home. I keep a lot of grocery and shopping bags at school anyway. I hope the parents aren't as shocked as you are! I hadn't thought about what to do if that is the case. They can bring a bag if they need one, for example, if they are bringing something special to school that requires them to carry it in a bag, or are going someplace right after school. But generally, I am going to say no backpacks on a day-to-day basis.

They don't take books home generally (we don't have text books) and library books can be carried or I will give them a bag. Aside from a lunch box, I can't imagine they will have that much to take home. All their homework fits in the folder...they can't bring toys to school... I just don't know what else they would need. We supply all of the school supplies and binders, notebooks, journals, pens, pencils, and so on.

Last year I had kids who had backpacks with wheels and they would have to stay on the floor. Kids would trip all over them. Backpacks were a black hole for paper work and lost homework. When they stuck the backpack in the cubby, they couldn't access the things they needed. I will have a seperate room for coats, but it's small and I don't want backpacks all over the floor. The coat hooks are close together, so it won't work to have them hanging on the hooks.... what else could I do. I have a SUPER small classroom!

tutor1982 · #8 07-28-2007, 03:02 PM

i guess that "stuff" that they may need sometimes is what I was really thinking about...as long as I didn't feel like I could NEVER send something with my child I think it would be kind of good to not have to search the back pack everynight to see what didn't get into the folder like it should have...if everything is supplied and no books, the more I think about it, it would be nice to keep that $30 in my pocket! And since "everyone else" won't have THE backpack I wouldn't have to go get the "right" one after school started and my little darling realized she was the ONLY one with out the such-and-such back pack.

hmmm...that was food for thought!

uclalum · #9 07-28-2007, 03:12 PM

I don't have closet spacr for backpacks either. The kids put their backpacks on the back of their chairs. At first I was scared that it would cause the chairs to tip over, but it doesn't because there isn't anything in their backpacks. I don't even know why they brought backpacks. Between the school and myself, all supplies are provided. Plus the whole school is on free lunch so they don't have lunchboxes. I think next year I might tell them to leave the backpacks at home.
For coats, I got the dollar hooks from Michael's. Not that many kids bring coats to school because of the warm weather.

ChristyF · #10 07-28-2007, 03:19 PM

I gave up a white board to store backpacks. I bought a sheet of plywood and had the mainenance man hang it over the white board. Then I hung hooks (double hooks from Wal Mart, right at $2 each - got expensive!) so that each child has a place for their jacket and backpack. I had a 1 X 12 in the hall that had the hooks on it, but the fire marshall made us take it down.

I still don't see how it's more of a fire hazard to have them all hanging neatly in the hall instead of cluttering the floor for them to trip on leaving the room, but what do I know? I'm a lowly teacher!!