Pencil Jars

I saw this cute idea for pencil jars at Tickled Pink. I planned on getting pots and making my own to match my frog theme this year. As usual, I went to my favorite local craft store - Porter's - to purchase my supplies. Then I spotted these adorable pails. I thought they would make perfect pencil jars. I also love the fact that they have handles. Sometimes we go into other rooms to work, and this will be so easy to bring along. Then, I found the cutest frog scrapbook paper, printed the words, and voila! The most fantastic pencil jars!


To cut down on noise and distraction, we don't sharpen pencils during class. If a pencil breaks during class, they simply trade it for a sharp one. One of the jobs for the student of the day is to choose one recess to stay in and sharpen pencils for us. They seriously love this job! I've only had a couple boys who would rather go outside. If that's the case, I let them pick a friend to do their job for them. This simple routine helps our day run more smoothly.

5 comments

Tickled Pink Mandy said...

They look fantastic!!

The Matthews Family said...

What a smart idea! I always had to sharpen the pencils myself-- I think your way is much better... and cuter! : )

Karen Travels said...

LOVE THE JARS!

I do the exact same thing, but I always have the kids who will trade out a pencil the second it starts to get dull for a sharper one. They end up trading out 5 times a day... they also start to break the pencils on purpose so they can get a new one! Any ideas on how to stop that madness. I have never caught any of them breaking one. Maybe I should have a blog post on this subject - lol.

Janae said...

Karen - I haven’t really had much of a problem with that. I usually tell the ones who keep trading/breaking that they can make up the time they wasted at recess. Then, they are typically quick to stop!

Ms.M said...

I do this in my classroom also, and I too had some students who intentionaly break the points or swith out their pencil because they want a sharp point. It used to bother me but after some thought I just let it go. I remembered when I was a child I too used to LOVE having a very pointy pencil. My second thought was, if that is what that child needs to be productive & successful in my classroom, then it is a small price for me to pay.

Truthfully, once I let it go it started to happen less frequently. Now I feel that my students keep their pencils too long. Go figure.