Wow! I'm amazed at the great things you all have in your classes! What few "extras" I've bought...smelly stickers and markers, organizational tools (baskets, etc.), paint for the classroom, mostly small time things. On my wish list right now (going for bigger & better!): magnetic dry erase board, an all-in-one record player (turn table)/cassette player/recorder/CD player/radio, laptop computer, a multi sizes electric pencil sharpener.....hmmmmmm I'm sure I can think of more!
Well I love my projector. I love it even more because it was free. It's my favorite thing! Essentials: Baby wipes for my white board because the eraser just don't seem to work and they don't smell yucky like the expo wipes. My supply drawers, aka a nail/screw organizer from Home Depot. It's perfect for staples, post its, paper clips and see through so I can quickly find what I need. More than anything, my classroom library. I've spent about two hundred dollars at thrift stores collecting books with quizzes for Reading Counts. I'm proud to have a wide collection of books for my kids to read during self selected reading. I also love my red yaffa block like bins that are the perfect size for math manipluatives. And my curtains that cover my storage areas.
Thank you, thank you! I am going through a crisis, but am beginning to see the light. My team, the principal, and I had a good talk today, (and I had a good cry after the team left). He ended it by asking what progress we had seen with our kids, any kids. It helped tremendously to refocus my attention away from the craziness. He also gave me a black rolling point pen with thick ink because he knows how much I covet pens. Such a sweetie! He knows what makes me happy!
1. LCD overhead projector--use it daily! 2. 'Prop' box that holds a variety of weird items I've acquired over time. I use them for various lessons. 3. Classroom library..I'm still in the process of reading all of the books but the students enjoy all of them! 4. Assignment white board--I never have to answer the questions "What are we doing today" and "Do we have homework". Students know to just look at the assignment board. 5. Magnets--Is your whiteboard magnetic? Mine is and I LOVE IT! Check it out. I didn't discover that mine was magnetic until my THIRD year of teaching! Priceless 6. Seasonal curtain collection-Made from twin sheets and under $10 a set, these are a great way to change the look of my classroom easily and fast. Thanks for all the great ideas!
So, from teh ideas in this thread (I think! ) I decided to go to Home Depot and get some of the white board and have them cut it down. Instead of buying the shower board, they had big 24x24 sheets of actual white board. So, I bought 2 of those and asked the guy to cut them in quarters. Now I have 8 12x12 mini-whiteboards and I LOVE THEM! I'm doing a student teachign placement right now and I am teaching the kids math. I have used these whiteboards for every lesson. The kids love them and they really seem to pay attention to what's going on because it's right there in front of them. THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR THE SUGGESTION!! I'm going back to Home Depot and buying more so I have enough when I start my student teaching in January. :2up:
Magnetic Whiteboard Hint I have two gigantic whiteboards in my room and very little bulletin board space so I put magnetic tape on the back of my borders and "stuff" and they work great and I can move things around. Also, the magnetic backs for business cards are actually cheaper per square inch than the rolls of magnetic tape. I also like my bubble machine. It makes a lot of frowns or tears into smiles at the beginning of the year and is great to dance by on a rainy day. I just discovered erasable highlighters at Lakeshore this week. I did a chart with all the kids names and circled the letter of the week in each name. I can erase that highlight and circle the next letter. Voila - easy and cheaper than highlighting tape.
Lets see My Smartboard LCD projector Macbook Wireless slate MY QUIZDOMS and ummmm my paraprofessional Ms. Typhanie!!!
I've come up with a new favorite. It's the student teacher in my room this year. She's going to be great. Not once have I told her that she needs to get up and go help some student! What a gem. So rare to find those "soon-to-be" ones that aren't just an extra kid in the class.
I would love to have a SmartBoard all for my class, in my classroom. We have 2 for the entire 16+ classroom school. How do you get one all for youself? I'm jealous! P.S. I think I'm going to write a grant for an Elmo machine this year. Those are great! P.P.S. My favorite thing I bought this year is the EZ Stapler that takes like 1 finger to staple together 20 pages. I was so stick of broken staplers! I also love the huge, scrapbook style paper cutter (with a rolling circular blade) that was left to me by a retired teacher. I don't feel like I'm going to lose a finger like I do when I use the school's traditional hinge one. ( I also have a smaller one at home that I use for scrapbooking!)
Wow! I have to find these! Are they really totally erasable? Erasable enough that I could use them in our reading textbooks?
It's a liquid. It really does work, but you will see a slightly different shade of white for your textbook sometimes. Not really noticeable unless you use a lot of highlighter ink/eraser in on big spot. For that purpose, highlighting tape might be a better deal.
This thread is fun and torturous. All these wonderful innovations... that I will probably never be able to afford!
