The CUPS or Where Did All My Stuff Go?

 Happy Monday!

My students came in to a little surprise this morning.

Actually it wasn't a huge surprise- they had "heard" about what I was going to do,
but they had not actually seen it yet.

I have been gradually "taking" their supplies away this past week.

Am I starting a new school on the side?
Am I selling their supplies out of the trunk of my car?
Am I feeding an addiction to new crayons and pencils?

No.
No.
and
Maybe.

Just kidding.

I want tables soooo badly, but I am stuck with desks.
I do not like desks.
I do not like the noise they make.
I do not like the space they take.
I do not want them in my class
I think desks are a pain in the

Ask me about what I do with all of their stuff.
How do they get what they need? I have a great system for passing out supplies.
Who has time to pass all of that out? It takes no time at all.
How do you keep them from putting stuff inside?
I taped off the front of their desks.

(Update: I get lots of comments asking me why I didn't just turn the desks around. That would be a great solution, BUT there are support bars on the back that would make it impossible for the students to sit or to push in their chairs)




I used clear packing tape. Works like a dream.
Follow me as I show you where everything "lives" in my room.
I'll wait while you line up...
Kristin, that is not your spot.
Hadar- focus.
Reagan and Holly, we're not talking right now.
Lorraine put that down.
Tanja and Jen R, thank you for standing so nicely.


Okay, now that we are ALL ready.

First
I made the "tables" out of my desks.
They are in groups of 5.
There are 4 "tables" so far this year.
They use these table #s for various things, I will share those.

At each table there is an A,B, C, D, E. It is on your nametag  to help you remember.
I might say "I need the Es to go get your table bin".

So the Es would go get the bin (only four people up).

 Let's pretend we are coloring something.

I keep the crayons in these little travel soap containers. Works like a dream. They will actually hold all 24, but I take out all but the main 12.

The red violets, blue greens, and dandelions are saved for other projects.

Those little "crayon boxes" live in a table bin.

The table bins live on a cart.

(Reagan, please keep your hands to yourself).

So now we will pretend that the Es have gotten the bins and taken them to the table.
Whoever takes it to the table, passes them out.
I might call the Ds to put them away. (again, only four people are up).
If you are the person putting them away, you make sure you get one from everybody at your table.
5 friends. 5 boxes.

What if someone is missing a color?
They can go to the crayons and get the color they need to put inside of the little box.
I painted them, but am not loving them, because they are too yellowy.

These are the same containers from the SO LONG SQUIRRELS post- just painted with new stickers.

Notice how two very distinct colors live in the same drawer.
Also if you find a crayon on the floor, you can just put it in the correct drawer.

(Holly, move with the line, please)

Now let's pretend we are working on something that needs scissors.
I have learned my lesson.
Scissors used to live at their desks (first 5.5 years of teaching).

I can't take it anymore.
The cutting of the clothes. The hair. The paper that WASN'T supposed to be cut.
Not to mention my aversion to metal- I can't handle that noise when they
open/close
open/close
open....AGHHHHH!

So the scissors live in a separate bin.

They are in the four little bins on top of the shelf. Each contains the # of scissors to match the # at the table.
If what we are working on needs scissors, I will put that little bin in the table bin before we start.
That way when the Ds come get their bin, they have what they need.
The same with glue. It isn't in the bin, unless we are going to use it.

What about pencils?
We can't be up ALL the time taking pencils and putting them back!

Pencils live........

The desks in this pic are taped off in the front- couldn't even tell, could ya?

in the CUPS! See the cups? Cups are good.
There are only three things that can be in your cup.
A pencil.
A dry erase marker.
The coins from behavior system (that's another post).

What about keeping that cup from falling off?
INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH VELCRO!

The cups take up a tiny little space. Pencils don't roll off onto the floor.
NO ONE has to "dig" in a pencil box to find anything.

We only use yellow pencils- because they are community.
See how nicely they stick up out of the cup?
At the end of our day a friend just takes 'em right out, puts them in the
please sharpen me can, and then another friend puts one sharpened pencil in the cups
each morning. If you need a new one during the day, you just trade out at the cans.

This is how nice it looked while they were at lunch.
When we are finished, someone  from that table will put all those boxes in the table bin and then the table bin will go back to the cart.
And all will be right with the world.

Whooo is coloring so nicely???

A few questions I have gotten from fellow teachers

What about the pencil boxes they brought in?
Those are in the closet with a set of markers in them.
We do not use them that often, so they don't need to be in the way.

Don't they mess with the tape?
I started with the tape in November last year. So those children had two months of access to the
inside of their desks. But it was no problem at all!!! I only had to "re tape" one child's desk out of 20.

What about the books and notebooks?
Notebooks are in a literature stacker (which I am considering a bin for each table)
Books live in cubbies when not being used.

What if they need supplies for a center?
If crayons, scissors, or glue is needed for any activity- it will be in the center box.

Okay, friends
now let's all move back to the carpet.
Walk.
Fern, that's not walking.
Crystal, please stop pointing at your friends.
Katie, I love the way you are sitting at the carpet.


So, now you all think I am this crazy Hitler Teacher who doesn't let anyone use anything EVER.
I promise I am tons of fun- we do a lot of fun things- I promise:)

I have just based this system on my previous experiences.
They cannot interrupt your instruction with noise from supplies that are not in their hands. (They will find other ways to do it, but now they must get creative) :)
The less distraction, the better.
They all have to take ownership of our room. We want our room to reflect the type of students we are:
Neat
Careful
Organized
Obsessively Compulsive

(just kidding on the last one)

I have tons more pictures!!!
I will have to s-p-r-e-a-d them out!!!!

Totally off subject-
I am going to make a video- how- to where I am turning a regular calendar into a pocket calendar with sheet protectors and shipping tape. I will post it this weekend.

I hope you enjoyed the little walk around my class (Kristin and Reagan, I'll talk to you two after class) <3>
I hope everyone has a Terrific Tuesday Tomorrow!