Teachers are always searching for different ways to keep ourselves, our students, and our classrooms organized. We love our tried and true methods, but we’re always up for something new too.
A few back to school seasons ago, I ordered a few classroom items from OfficeSupply.com.
Let me show you why you need to start thinking of them when you’re in school shopping mode.
These magnetic storage pockets not only come in adorable colors that match my calendar center, but they are a lot larger than I expected.
Last year, to store all of our calendar pieces, I used those smaller magnetic cups. I would set the days of the week pieces on the ledge because they didn’t fit. These magnetic pockets hold them! #ohsnap
The tops do Velcro (as you can see in the previous picture on the red and green pockets), but for the ones that I am using to store my calendar pieces, I just tucked it inside of the actual pocket since I will be using it everyday.
The Velcro is super strong too… like industrial strong, so when I go to pack up at the end of next year, I won’t lose any pieces… and now I don’t have to waste baggies on storing them.
When I first opened this, my immediate thought was… “this would make the perfect birthday chair cover!” You could put special birthday pencils, pens, all those special supplies in it (like Mr. Sketch markers!) and students would come in the morning of their birthday to this special surprise!
Then I put it on the back of one of my student’s chairs and fell even more in love with it. Not only does this student utilize a core board that we struggle to fit in his desk in an organized manner, but we have certain things (like his blue body sock) that are specifically for his use only.
It fit on the larger chairs and the medium-sized chairs with no problem. Pictured is the medium-sized chair.
So now this student will have a special Chairback Buddy to help him stay more organized! School supplies haven’t been delivered yet, so once they come all of his supplies will be added to the front.
It’s made of a thick, sturdy material that seems like it will be super easy to throw in the wash or wipe down. I’m thinking this might be a huge must have for special education teachers…
By now your should know that my classroom is colored coded, well… then you already know that I would absolutely fall for these storage totes.
The boxes are a decent size – perfect size actually, to store on top of a cabinet or closet without the Fire Marshall dinging you for breaking fire code.
While I was organizing something else, my husband folded these boxes and put them together for me. They were super simple to put together (it took him all but 10 minutes to put all 6 together) and I really like that they have the box handles built in.
The obvious use is storing things, right? That’s a given. At the end of the year, I plan on storing all of my stuff … by my color coded system. #TypeAteacher
To give you a good size perspective, they are just a tad smaller (and more durable WITH handles!) than copy paper ream boxes… I was able to fit 2 entire month’s worth of my adapted books inside of one box. That’s 36 books people!
But my plan for these goes much deeper than plain ole’ storage. Sure, by the end of the year we will be using them for storage, but at the beginning of the year… oh boy! Get ready for it…
To start out school and through the fall season, we’re going to use them to increase our gross motor skills. Because these boxes are made of a thicker cardboard, they will be durable enough to withstand being picked up, carried, stacked, target practiced and hole in oned.
The last thing isn’t necessarily a classroom organization tool… but they are so easy to store because they don’t take up much space – Dry Erase Answer Paddles!
I am so so SO excited to try these out in my classroom since it’s not something you would think to order when you’re placing your supply order for a self-contained special education classroom, right?! WRONG.
My kids love writing with dry erase markers. We write on the tables, our classroom easel, and the front board (that one is a huge reward incentive)… but I am always looking for more ways to get creative and get my students moving around, even if it’s at their seats.
We are going to get some serious motor practice going on with these… from writing on them with dry erase markers to picking them up off of the table and holding them in the air for a designated amount of time (to practice wait time and patience).
These paddles are a great reminder to think outside of the box when it comes to ordering classroom supplies for your special needs classroom, and OfficeSupply.com is here to help you do that.
*This is a sponsored blog post, but all opinions are my own.
