Can I just say I am beyond thrilled to be sharing a guest post from Amy Mascott, author of "Teachmama.com" on my blog today!! Quick break...{turn and scream}! I mean seriously! Below she shares 7 Classroom Hacks for Teachers, and {turn and scream again}, The Bender Bunch is cited in her post!
Save Money and Time this School Year: 7 Classroom Hacks for
Teachers
By: Amy Mascott of TeachMama.com
Date: [10/28/16]
Back-to-school season isn’t just for students,
my friends.
As thousands of schools have been opening
their doors, teachers have been working tirelessly setting up classrooms, preparing
lesson plans and printing materials for their students.
In a school spending survey, almost 80% of
teachers say they use their own money on material supplies in what amounts to a
$1 billion annual spend for their classrooms. That is a LOT of money. And many
teachers don’t have the extra to spend.
As a former high school teacher whose sister
is a pre-K teacher, whose in-laws are former educators, and whose husband is an
elementary school principal, I can absolutely empathize. I remember vividly the
days of saving pennies for classroom supplies and begging the PTA for
reimbursement. It wasn’t easy.
With that amount of money spent on
back-to-school prep, it’s no wonder educators are constantly searching for tips
on cutting back.
Several of my teacher friends with more than 60
years of combined classroom experience shared seven money and time-saving tips for
this school year.
Whether you are a classroom teacher or a
supportive parent, knowing these tips is hugely helpful. Keep this information
in your back pocket. Share it. Use it to drive your support for school
fundraisers or classroom gifts.
Here’s the skinny. . .
Save Money and Time this School Year: 7 Classroom Hacks for
Teachers
1.
Preserve materials you’ll use multiple times. Shannon Lisowe, from Speechy Musings, laminates useful visuals, pages, and books
and stores them in a binder to make it easy to grab and go from year to year. “It’s
a little more cost and time upfront, but it will absolutely save you in the
long run!”
2.
Reduce printing costs with a subscription
service. Many teachers have printers in their
classrooms but very little budget to print.
Between activities for lessons or centers, many teachers end up printing
up to 300+ pages per month.
HP’s Instant Ink program allows subscribers
to save time and money by delivering ink cartridges at a fraction of the cost
of store-bought ink, right to your door. This program offers a month-to-month
subscription and you can cancel anytime. Plans start as low as $2.99/month
which can save teachers TONS of money on ink. I mean tons.
“I do not feel guilty about printing games and activities for my students
because I am not having to spend a fortune out of my own pocket!” Chandra
Dills, from Teaching
with Crayons and Curls.
Photo Credit:
TeachingWithCrayonsAndCurls.com
I use HP Instant Ink for my home, and I’d be lost without it.
I love it. With three kids in 7th, 5th, and 4th grades, my kids already do a
lot of printing. HP Instant Ink takes one thing off of my list of things to
remember. Your compatible HP printer communicates low ink levels to HP so ink
is delivered to your door before you run out. “My favorite thing about HP
Instant Ink is the fact that not only is the ink inexpensive, but it is shipped
to your door so you never have to leave your house!” Lauren Shirk, a K-3 Reading Intervention teacher from A Teachable Teacher.
There are so many perks packaged
into the HP Instant Ink program that extend beyond ease and convenience. For
example, Jennifer Kadar,
from SimplyKinder, has referred
enough friends to receive free ink until 2020! “It's effortless.” With the HP
Instant Ink Refer-a-Friend program, you and the friend you refer receive a free
month of ink. The best part is the amounts of referrals are unlimited! “The HP Instant Ink program is made for
teachers. Period.”
Photo
Credit: SimplyKinder.com
HP Instant Ink also offers great
options for teachers who are tired of only printing in black and white to save
on costs. Kristin Oldham, from A Teeny Tiny Teacher, loves the aspect
of being able to print in color too, for the same price. “I love how I don’t
have to prioritize what I will print in color or what I will print from home vs.
school.” You can learn
more about HP Instant Ink by visiting www.hpinstantink.com.
3. Organize your space.
Vanessa Levin, from Pre-K Pages,
recommends a well-organized and fully functional classroom environment where
materials necessary for teaching and learning are easily accessible to both
teachers and students. “Clear the clutter. If it hasn’t been used in one year,
toss it. Lighten the load to make more time for teaching and learning.”
4.
Be a smart
shopper. Getting
ready for back to school is costly. Cut back on costs by visiting local thrift
shops. “You'll be amazed at how many goodies you can find for little to nothing
for your classrooms.” Traci Bender, special education teacher for grades 3-5 from
The
Bender Bunch.
5.
Stock up
during back-to-school sale events. Buy as many 1-cent composition books and packs of paper as
possible, and ask friends and neighbors to buy them, too. Many states offer tax-free
weekends for school supplies. Kallie Lerchbacker, who is going into her third year of teaching says, “Don’t buy
everything all at once. It’s okay to have a classroom that is not decorated
like a Pinterest classroom. Also, it’s good to make/print your own centers
because the stations from the teacher stores are very expensive.”
6.
Hone your
parent-teacher presentation. Teachers like Vanessa Levin from Pre-K Pages, admit that
parent-teacher nights can be nerve-wracking. Calm your nerves by planning and
anticipating parents’ questions. Vanessa suggests creating a parent handbook to
arm yourself with the answers they are looking for. This way you will appear
confident and knowledgeable and parents will be at ease knowing their child is
in good hands.
7.
Ask for
donations.
You might be surprised to learn how many of your students’ families have extras
around the house that you can use in the classroom. Make a list at the
beginning of the school year with everything you might need: tissues, hand
sanitizer, crayons, glue, etc. and send it home with each student. Even indoor
recess activities can be supplied via donations if families have extra puzzles
or games sitting around.
What do you think? How do you support your
child’s teacher, or if you are a teacher, how do you save money in the
classroom?
{end of post}
I love all of these hacks! And yes, I shop thrift stores all the time for goodies for my classroom! If you're not, you're missing out on some great deals!
The second best advice given above is HP Instant Ink! I LOVE Instant Ink! If you're still running out of ink, shopping for ink, sparingly using your ink, spending a fortune on ink, and counting the amount of colored pages you print, then STOP IT! You need to check out HP Instant Ink! You'll be sorry you didn't know about it sooner!
Curious about HP Instant Ink? You should be! You can read all about the Instant Ink Program here and even receive a link for one free month! But don't go there just yet, because not only I am giving you a free month of Instant Ink, I'm giving away an HP Printer to get you started!
This is the world's smallest all-in-one printer and I'm excited to give it away to one lucky teacher follower! You can check it out here, and enter below to win! Once you try the Instant Ink Program, be sure to share the link with friends and other teachers so they can also learn about HP Instant Ink and get a free month!
And there's even more! No school for me today or other teachers in Nevada! It's NEVADA DAY! I'm celebrating Oct. 28-31st. Head over to my Instagram page and enter to win a $30 Amazon gift card and resources from my store and two of my other Nevada teacher friends, "An Apple for the Teach" and "Well Michelle." We're also having a 20% off sale in our stores! Grab my sales here.
Good luck! Happy Nevada Day!
About the Author:
Amy Kilpatrick Mascott is the creator of teachmama.com, where since 2008, she has shared tools and resources parents can use to become the best teachers they can be for their children.
A Reading Specialist, writer, and literacy consultant, Amy’s work has been featured on dozens of online and print publications, including Scholastic Parents, PBS Parents, readwritethink.org, PBS Digital Studios, and more.
Married to an elementary school principal, Amy resides in the DC Metro with her three crazy-cool kids (12, 11, and 9 years old), a dog, two birds, and a kingdom of sea monkeys.
