Elementary Teacher Resources

The following is the text version of Mrs. Mikesell's Elementary Teacher Newsletter
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Welcome to the Fourth Issue of Elementary Teacher Resources-Pinching Pennies
I don’t know about you, but I spend more money on my classroom than my family. Teachers are notoriously spending hundreds of dollars in their classrooms every year. I want to help you spend less money on storage and organization.

This special supplement of Great Elementary Teacher Resources is all about saving you money so you can buy more important items for your students!
Below are examples of free storage. These are things you can start asking neighbors, friends, and coworkers to start saving now so you'll be ready to go once school starts again.

Water Bottles
I use water bottles for storage of desk items like paperclips, rubber bands, and thumb tacks.
They have a great lid, they don't spill all over the classroom when I drop them, they are easily transportable and they can be stored in a box.

Wide mouth bottles from sports drinks are perfect for pencils, markers and pens. I place these in centers or on tables because they are very durable, the children can see exactly what they want before opening the bottle and they are free. My friend who's an occupational therapist even loves this idea because it builds small motor coordination!

Cat Litter Boxes
Reuse cat litter boxes for book bins, centers buckets and theme storage.
They are extremely sturdy, can be spray painted and have great handles.
I really like these for thematic book bins. They hold a ton of books and can easily be stacked on top of each other.

Laundry Baskets
Pick up a big stack of laundry baskets. Get as many as you can that stack into each other.
They are cheap, stackable, and great for centers, backpacks, puppets, sleeping mats, science tools and math journals.

I always seem to bring a laundry basket full of lunches, first aide kit, coats, and other junk on field trips with me. I don't really care if they get banged up, and they are rarely left behind.
I have a big pile of probably 20 baskets that I use all of the time.
One of my favorite uses is for comfy reading time. It gives students a safe and quiet spot to read.

Milk Jugs
Use milk jugs for storage of math manipulatives like links, cubes and those cute little bears. They have a lid, so they won't spill all over, and they hold up forever.

Egg Cartons
Use egg cartons for math sorting, painting, planting seeds, 2 row graphing, and a million other things. I really like the cartons that are clear plastic because you can store items in them too!

Super Simple Space Saving Center
Tissue Centers
When thinking about easy centers storage, think tissue boxes!
Every school goes through hundreds of these a year - ask teachers to send them your way.
Tissue boxes are made of nice, sturdy cardboard. They can be painted, glued on, or written on.
The access hole is a great size for little hands, and they can hold quite a bit.
I use them for math tubs, magnets, markers, crayons, pencils, literacy centers, cassette tapes, glitter... the list can go on and on. So, next time you sneeze, take the tissue and think about what the box might be in your classroom.