The Pencil Crisis

Tonight on Schoolgirl Style's FB page she mentioned the Pencil Crisis. You know....you go to look in your supply cabinet and YIKES you're almost out of pencils and we're still in school for a few months! After suffering through the same crisis I have found a solution!

The first three weeks of school I give students two pencils every Monday. I continually tell them that they will only get a pencil on Mondays. We sharpen pencils first thing in the morning. I have an old school sharpener that students can use on their own in the morning or they can get their pencils sharpened by me. Now...your super smarties will figure out that they can get two pencils sharpened by the teacher and still sharpen any others they have at the other sharpener.

After week three students only get one pencil every Monday. Seriously-it works. I have kagillions of pencils left!

Don't know what to do about the Kleenex Crisis. This is the first year I haven't run out of kleenex by Christmas. Any solutions there?

10 comments:

  1. I like this pencil idea! I have "ready to use" and "please sharpen" pencil bins. I find that it works pretty well, because you have to exchange a pencil to get a pencil.. I still have tons left!
    ❤Teri

    A Cupcake for the Teacher

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  2. I don't have a pencil crisis but I do have a glue stick crisis! We are absolutely out, I've already asked parents for more, and we went through those also!!!! I don't know what to do!

    Marvelous Multiagers!

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  3. Explain. Do you not get a supply budget every month? Can you not ask parents for supplies? I have a space on my weekly newsletter that is just for "Can you help? Our class needs . . . " But I still get $1 per kid every month to spend in our supply closet. Which doesn't sound like a lot but it goes pretty far.
    I thought the crisis was that the kids were eating the pencils. That seems to be the case in my classroom.
    A Teeny Tiny Teacher

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    1. No supply budget. At the end of the school year we can put a couple of items on a list and hope we get them. Last year we put staples and handwriting paper on our list and that was it. Any supplies we have are from our students and what we get at the start of the school year has to last us all year.

      I have kids eating pencils too. Really, why? Sometimes I ask, "Are you hungry?" "No." "Then get your pencil out of your mouth." I also won't sharpen chewed on pencils. Sick.

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  4. I guess I am really lucky! I still have a ton of pencils left! Our school is "adopted" by 2 area churches and they provide every kid with a new backpack and school supplies at the beginning of the year. The church also hooked our counselor up with so many supplies her office is bursting! She's always more than happy to let me raid her stockpiles for anything I need!

    But, speaking of pencils, I just posted a freebie on my blog for Dr. Seuss pencil flags if you'd like to come see them!

    Jennifer @ Herding Kats In Kindergarten

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  5. I have to laugh! It is so obvious from our different reactions that we are in different states!! This is really too funny! My response is similar to Krisin's and surprise ... we teach in the same state! (...except we get our entire supply budget at the beginning of the year to spend whenever we want). Also, at the beginning of the year I asked all of my parents to send in a box of 12 pencils. So I still have tons of pencils and when I run out, I will send a note asking for more. More to laugh about: Just like in Kristin's class my pencils are being eaten!!!!! EEEWWWWW! I have started throwing pencils away just because the top was so chewed up that it was scary. (I am NOT just talking about eating the eraser ... my kiddos are eating the wood AND the metal parts ... EEEWWWWWWWW!)
    Camille
    An Open Door

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  6. This is a great idea! I have kids that must eat their pencils. My problem is Kleenex though. These kiddos use it like there is no tomorrow.

    2B Honey Bunch
    The Best Endings

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  7. Just like Jill, I have a glue stick crisis!! My kids don't put the lids on correctly, use WAY TOO much, roll it up too high,... the list goes on! I always have to ask for more to be sent in.

    This year we are having a tissue and hand sanitizer crisis too!

    Jennifer
    The First Grade Dream

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    1. I went through 14 boxes of tissue in February (14!) and a ridiculous amount of hand sanitizer. Another teacher at my school suggested that I put them 'out of sight, out of mind' and it has worked really well! We use hand signals in my classroom (hand covering nose for "I need a tissue") and then I go and get one from under my desk and give it to the child. What's really interesting is that when I get one for the child that requested it, 6 other kids magically need one to (ha!) So I've used that as an opportunity to teach about being self aware and how other people (and what we see) can influence us. As far as hand sanitizer goes... I *should* take it to the child that is using the tissue, but I haven't quite figured out how to juggle that just yet with, ya know, trying to teach and not just being a tissue hander-outer. But my kids definitely get a pump of it before we go to lunch.

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  8. The trick for glue sticks is to tell them to only roll it up as much as you would to put on chapstick. You can't roll up the chapstick tube too much because it will break off and get over your face! They think it's so funny, but it works! I'm not getting any broken glue sticks. Yay! :D ~Heidi V.

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