How often have you asked your students to take out a pencil, and they can’t find one, don’t have one or lost theirs? This was always a struggle, especially for my students who had some difficulties with organization. And by the end of the year, I often found myself thinking that my students must be eating their pencils… There were none left (or barely any to send home).

I spent a ton of time researching different tips and tricks on how to get your students to keep their pencils (and not waste them). Here are some of my favourite finds.
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The Great Pencil Challenge
One of my favourites was “The Great Pencil Challenge”. The basic concept is that it is a contest to see who can keep the same pencil for a given period of time. Here are a few fun Pinterest links that you may enjoy!

As awesome as this sounded, I must admit, however, that the winner in my books was Communal Supplies! Here’s how I made it work for me.
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Team Bins on Tables
My first year, I did not yet have a flexible seating classroom, so I had team bins that were placed on the center of their desks. Inside the team bins were enough pencils, erasers, glue and scissors for each member of the team (ie: 4 team members = 4 of each item).

I found that having team bins was easy for the students to keep track of their supplies and still promoted a sense of team work and collaboration. I also wanted to help students develop the skill of sharing and working together.

To keep track of the pencils, and motivate my students, I would do random spot checks. It was the team’s responsibility to ensure that they always had the correct amount of supplies. If teams were missing supplies, the class would help them look for what they were missing. I would award team points or class points (I would decide randomly between the two, and sometimes even reward both) for completed team bins.

If we did need new supplies, a specific student who had the assigned job would get the missing item for a given team (only when I asked). There were times when I would not hand out missing supplies, and then teams would need to share and work together to find a solution until I would refill their supplies.

I never had issues with kids stealing pencils or refusing to help other teams, but this was something we worked on at the beginning of the year. Practice, practice, PRACTICE. It’s so important!

Team Bins on Team Shelves
This year, I am doing communal supplies and team bins. It’s a bit trickier because the students are constantly moving around the room and there are quite a few places that pencils like to hide (in the sofas, under the sofas, on the floor, etc.). To account for this, when I do the spot checks, we also go on a search for missing supplies (check in and under sofas, on the floors, etc.). The kids love this activity and we usually end up with all the supplies accounted for.

Again, with flexible seating, I still keep the same rules and concepts with the pencils as when I had a more traditional classroom setup with desks, but I add the component of hunting for the pencils. It is still VERY important to teach and PRACTICE your expectations at the beginning of the year.

I hope you found this helpful! Let me know if you have any cool tips or tricks for keeping track of those pencils.

For more helpful tips on Communal Supplies, check out my Blog Post HERE! And be sure to check out my Classroom Organization and Posters Pinterest Board.

Last year, I got my feet wet with communal supplies for the first time and knew that I would never go back. I hope that you will find this post helpful and maybe even inspire you to try communal supplies in your classroom.

Why did I decide to try communal supplies?

1. My students were going through their supplies like crazy. I was often having to write to parents requesting more pencils, erasers, markers, etc., before the year was even over.
2. Secondly, I am always trying to teach my students the importance of a community and sharing with one another, and I felt that communal supplies would help foster exactly that.

What did I start with?
For the first year, we decided to have everything (except for markers and colouring pencils) as communal supplies. This ranged from pencils and erasers all the way to scissors and glue. The reason why we kept the colouring supplies individual was to ease into it, not take on too much all at once, and see how it affected the classroom environment.  This year we did 100% communal supplies, including the colouring supplies.

Could you start with everything communal?
Most definitely! It’s completely up to you and what you’re comfortable with.

Where do the students keep their supplies?
Simple. They don’t! Everything is communal. I have 5 team bins that have 4 pencils, 4 erasers (technically 2 erasers cut in half), 4 scissors and 4 glue sticks in each bin. I have the markers and pencil crayons sorted by colour in baskets/cups on the top of a bookshelf. The highlighters, pens, rulers and extra supplies are all kept in coloured bins on a shelf. Everything is communal, everything is accessible by the students.

​Which do I prefer: communal vs individual supplies?
Communal 100%! Not only have we used less than 50 pencils so far this year (yes, 50!!!!), but the students are learning valuable lessons on what it means to be part of a community. The classroom belongs to all of us, and we work together to take care of our classroom, it’s materials and each other. The students are helping each other clean up, find supplies, and they are all taking care of the supplies. I am beyond thrilled with all the valuable lessons the students are learning and all the supplies we are saving.

Can you do communal supplies even if you don’t do flexible seating?
Absolutely! I started communal supplies before I started flexible seating. The only difference was that the team bins were on their team’s desks whereas this year they are on their team’s shelf. Communal supplies can work in any classroom environment. 

Check out the links above for some of my inspiration for how I organized my classroom. You can also check out some of my other pins on my Classroom Organization and Posters Pinterest Board.

​Hope you found this post helpful! Stay tuned for photos of my classroom.

This year, I knew I would need to come up with a new system for leaving information on our classroom and our routines for subs. I had too many unique things that not all subs are familiar with yet (Whole Brain Teaching, Flexible Seating, Brag Tags, etc.).

In the past I have used a Sub-Binder with various tabs and sheets of paper explaining routines, rules, details on students, etc. This was great in theory, but let’s be honest, subs often don’t have time to read pages and pages of information. I wanted something easy to use that was clear and helpful. That’s when I came across FLIP BOOKS!

Flip Books had all the features I wanted. They were organized, short, easy to use and super cute! The one I decided to buy was an Editable Flip Book Template Bundle made by Learning in Wonderland on Teachers Pay Teachers:

This Flip Book Bundle came with a Back to School Flip Book, Curriculum Night Flip Book and Substitute Flip Book. It’s also currently $10 on TPT! I only bought it very recently, so I’ve only made my Substitute Flip Book so far. I’m definitely going to use the other two next year!

There are 5 sections in my Flip Book:

1. Class Information
2. Emergency Procedures
3. Class Schedule
4. Classroom Routines
5. Classroom Management

I also still leave a letter for my sub that has a few extras in it, which can be helpful for long-term subs.

• Usernames and Passwords
• Brag Tags
• SWIRL (School Wide Initiative for Respectful Learning, our school behaviour system)
• Notes on students
• Classroom Jobs
• Communal School Supplies
• Students Materials
• Snack Time
• Lesson Plans

I found that having the Flip Book really saved me a lot of time in leaving prep for subs and I feel much more at ease if ever I am sick and didn’t have time to leave plans.

Here are the basics to Whole Brain Teaching and why I love using it in my classroom! Hope you find this helpful.

“Whole Brain Teaching is an integrated method combining an effective classroom management and a pedagogically sound approach to student engagement.” 
​– Jeff Battle, AdvanceEd

Why I Love Whole Brain Teaching
I started using Whole Brain Teaching in 2015 and absolutely fell in love with it. Not only is Whole Brain Teaching fun for the students, but it also gets them using their entire brain in a variety of ways allowing them to find success in the classroom. This approach gets children using words and gestures to both learn and teach new concepts, it gives students many opportunities to practice and refine their understanding in a variety of ways, it keeps children motivated, and it reaches a variety of learning styles.​

Whole Brain Teaching Rules
There are five rules of Whole Brain Teaching each with their own unique gestures:

1. Follow directions quickly! (hands together and swim like a fish)
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak. (raise your hand, then bring it down next to your face and make a talking motion)
3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat. (raise your hand, then make a walking gesture with your index and middle fingers)
4. Make smart choices! (tap your index finger to your temple)
5. Keep your dear teacher happy! (frame your face with both hands using index finger and thumb while bobbing your head back and forth and smile)

I use a score board (SMILEYS on one side FROWNIES on the other) to award the class points (SMILEYS) for following the Whole Brain Teaching. If a rule is broken, I get the class’ attention (using Class – Yes) and ask them what is Rule # … and they repeat the rule with the gestures and I put a point under the FROWNIES collumn. The goal is to have more SMILEYS than FROWNIES. I give a reward for more SMILEYS and we practice the WBT Rules if there are more FROWNIES.
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I found these beautiful posters (in French) on “La classe de Karine“:

​Other Whole Brain Teaching Favourites

1. Class – Yes (Teacher says “Class” and students respond “Yes” in the same tone and voice.)
2. Hands and Eyes (Teacher says “Hands and Eyes” and the students repeat, fold their hands and look at you intensely. This is used to get their attention after Class – Yes.)
3. Mirror (Teacher says “Mirror on” and raises both arms to their side and students repeat and do the same. This is used to have students repeat everything you say and do. This helps to help engage their motor cortex. Use “Mirror off” and lower your arms to end the mirroring of gestures.)
4. Teach – OK (Teachers says “Teach” and students respond “OK” and turn to their partners to teach each other what they just learnt. This helps engage students in all 4 learning models – seeing, saying, hearing and doing.)​

My goal this year was to create a classroom environment for my students to create and collaborate. But I knew that my current classroom setup just wouldn’t cut it. How would I set up my room to allow my students have the opportunity to learn and create both collaboratively and independently?

My Original Classroom Setup
I was never really a teacher who had traditional rows of desks. Rows, for me, felt like each student was an “island”.  How can they possibly interact and learn together if they are so isolated? Although I’ve always wished I could get rid of my desks and replace them with tables, I’ve tried to find ways to make them work. My desks were usually in groups, or ever scattered around the classroom in various ways (small groups, pairs, individual desks, small U’s, etc.). I even had my janitor take off the legs of a round table so that students could sit around it on pillows on the floor. But even with the desks, I would allow my students to work where they felt the most comfortable and productive. If you walked by my classroom, rarely was my entire class sitting at their desks. I’ve had students standing, lying on the floor, sitting under a table or desk, sitting at a table, sitting on a desk and some sitting at their desks.

My New Classroom Setup
I knew I was ready for a change when the desks became more of a problem than a benefit. At the end of last year I decided to jump in feet first and completely redesign my classroom to suit my teaching style and most importantly the needs of my students. Over the course of the summer, I bought furniture at garage sales, made milk crate seats, got bean bag chairs and pillows, and even found some free couches in almost brand new condition. My redesigned flexible seating classroom now has many seating options:

• desks (yes, I still have this as an option)
• standing desk
• bean bag chairs
• floor matts
• tables and chairs
• low table and pillows
• milk crate seats
• couches
• coffee tables

The Benefits
It was new to both me and my students this year and has been such a positive adventure thus far. My students are more engaged and focused, they are able to work collaboratively and independently, they are learning the importance of finding a comfortable and positive working environments that suit their needs, they are happier, and their grades are improving. I just can’t imagine my classroom any other way.

I will continue to post and share my ideas as the school year continues. I hope that this post may help you in designing your own flexible seating classroom, or even just giving you another perspective on a non-traditional classroom environment.

I have now had a Flexible Seating classroom for 4 days! How exciting?! Overall it has been a huge success. The students are loving the opportunity to choose their seat for the day. I have a total of 31 spots for my 20 students to choose from. Spots include sofas, desks, standing desk, tables and chairs, low tables, beanbag chair, floor mats, and seat cushions. I will post photos of the various options shortly.

This week I went in early to start setting up my room. I’ve had the same classroom for 3 years now, but this year I’m doing something completely different. Flexible Seating. I’ve never really been much of a fan of individual desks in my classroom. I mainly used them for explaining new topics and for storing supplies. The rest of the time I would let the students choose where they wanted to work, including at their desks. I feel taht children work at their best when they are able to choose a space that works for them, is comfortable and allows them to be focused. So I guess I’ve always been a “flexible seater” at heart.

Over the summer, I was able to find 3 couches on VarageSale (an amazing Virtula Garage Sale) and all for FREE! I could not believe that people were giving away such good quality couches for free. Everyone I met when I picked them up was extremely friendly and interested about my Flexible Seating Classroom project.

Because of this new set-up, I had a blank slate. I was going to redesign my entire floor plan and functionality of the space. Exciting, but also a bit daunting. Here’s what my room looked like when I arrived:

Everything was still in boxes, the couches were all together in one area, and things were still labelled with my room number. After 3 days of work, I am fairly pleased with how my room is coming along. I have tried to create some welcoming areas in the classroom that are comfortable and conducive to learning. I also decided to keep 7 desks (1 of which is a standing desk) to have theme available for those students who still prefer that type of working space. I still have a small tent and a hanging mesh curtain that I need to place, and my milk crate seats and pillows aren’t finished yet. 

Next week, I have two more days before the kids arrive. Hopefully I will have enough time to unpack and have everything ready. 🙂