Pencils can be a pain in the you know what!
Isn’t this the truth? Where do all the supplies go?
Erica shared this on Facebook a couple weeks back and I so related!
Why don’t pencil companies make better pencils!
I have my favorites (Ticonderoga!) but parents hardly ever send those in!
Pencils haven’t always bothered me.
I have accepted that it just comes with the territory of teaching.
But this week, I had enough!
I put 36 new pencils out on Monday and by Wednesday I only had 7!
I mean what do they do with them?
So what’s a teacher to do?
I went straight to Kristen’s blog to get the dets on The Great Pencil Challenge!
Check out her post at Ladybug’s Teaching Files for all the info and freebies!
(My printer was running low on ink so my colors are off)
You basically give students a pencil and challenge them to keep it all week!
I have two classes, so I had to do more than just a number.
Now, I know it’s only been a 3 days, but it’s working like magic.
My favorite part is there aren’t any pencils on the floor!
On Friday, we had 17 out of 19 students who still had pencils!
I say that’s a win!
It may not last forever, but at least it’s working for me now.
Just get me to Spring Break and I don’t care what you do with pencils! LOL!
5 days!!
Be sure to head over to Joanne’s to find more ways to Spark Student Motivation!
That is a great idea, Rachel! Let me know how it works! My kids drive me absolutely crazy with pencils disappearing and never being able to find theirs. Grrrrrr!!! I put out a ton of new ones on Monday and they are all gone too. Have a great weekend!
-Lisa
Grade 4 Buzz
I am right there with you about pencils! We don't do that many worksheets in class that they are wearing them down that quickly. It amazes me…
Jennifer
Mrs. Laffin's Laughings
That picture with the half-sharpened pencil is so true! I hate when that happens. I give pencils as prizes a lot during testing season, and that seems to be helping for now. Luckily, a few kids also brought in their own personal sharpeners that they share with others. I hope the Pencil Challenge gets you to Spring Break!
Rebecca
Ladybugs Lounge
I had to laugh…I teach over 400 kiddos science. I think they eat the pencils. I put new ones out and I tried to watch, but low and behold…they vanished and so do the erasers. Uggg. Love your inspirational quotes. Saw you on Mrs. Laffin's site.
Renee at The Science School Yard