As teachers, we spend a lot of money on Velcro. A lot!
Well, those days of buying hook and loop closures by the pallet are over, because this Velcro hack will save you time and money!
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Velcro Hack
As a Special Ed teacher who loves to use adapted books, Velcro has been a constant in my life for many years. Velcro on adapted books. Velcro on morning calendar. Velcro on work binders.
Velcro on everything!
And then I saw this hack that seemed too good to be true. Was there really something that could replace Velcro on some of my resources?!
Indeed there was!
Meet Tack-It Over & Over Glue!
This amazing glue creates a gummy glue (think about the glue that’s on the paper that your credit or debit cards come on to hold the glue in place) that can be lifted, placed, and lifted again. It’s a little bit like magic!
And, at around $10 per bottle, it’s a much more economical alternative as well!
How to Use It
This Velcro hack makes life easy! Unlike Velcro that needs to go on every piece and every page of your adapted books (or calendar, binder, etc.), the glue only goes on the moveable pieces.
For an adapted book, that would be the pieces that the students place in the book itself. For a calendar, it would be the numbered date pieces. For a work binder, it would be the pieces that students need to manipulate to complete the activity.
That means that you’ll spend half as much time placing the adhesive and a lot less money on the adhesive itself!
What to Know About Tack-It Glue
Scrapbookers have been using this glue for years to position and reposition their scrapbooking pieces, but for teachers, it’s a relatively new idea to use it in the classroom.
Here are some things you should know about it before you ditch the Velcro forever:
You Don’t Need a Lot
A 1/4-inch dab of glue will be more than enough for most of your projects. That size works well for adapted book pieces, calendar pieces, and most other moveable pieces that you would have students using in the classroom.
It Takes a Long Time to Dry
When you squeeze out the Tack-It Glue it will come out pure white. As it dries, it slowly begins to turn clear. For a 1/4-inch dot of glue, it will take about 24-48 hours to dry. That’s a long time! But, there’s a hack to making this not so discouraging!
To overcome the long dry time, make dots ahead of time! Grab a couple of pieces of parchment paper. On one, make a bunch of rows of glue dots. Place the second piece of parchment paper on top of the glue dots. Put them aside and let them dry.
Do as many of these parchment paper dot pages as you’d like, so that when you go to assemble your books or pieces, you don’t have to wait for the glue to dry. The dots will be ready and waiting for you to assemble them!
It Can Peel Off
If you have pickers in your class, be aware that the glue dots can peel off. While they can easily be placed right back on the piece, you may need to place a fresh dot if it’s been picked off with a bit too much fervor.
Also, if you press really hard to adhere the piece to the paper, it can actually transfer the dot to the other page. Again, simply peeling it off and sticking it back on the movable piece will fix it.
Laminate Everything Before Applying the Glue
While you technically can apply the glue dots to plain paper, if you’re using the book or activity multiple times, it is a good idea to laminate and cut out all of the pieces and parts ahead of time.
Watch How It’s Done
Check out the video I did to explain this easy Velcro hack and then give it a try in your classroom!
