Before school was
out a couple of months ago, I visited a K classroom in a school near mine. This classroom was terrific, and what do you think
this teacher had throughout her room? Clothespins! Lettered
clothespins, numbered clothespins; ahhh, it was fabulous!!
So, I thought I
would repost the guest post I had on Rachel Lynette's blog
Mind In Bloom.
School starts soon.
Let's get those clothespins
ready!!!
I have 232 clip card products in my TpT store – no beating around the bush - I love Clip Cards and clothespins! And really, who is not addicted to the way clothespins open and close?
Clothespins are inexpensive and versatile, too. Inexpensive? You can get a bag of 50 clothespins for $1. Versatile? Clothespins are crafty; you can make cutesy animals and gifts with pins, but wait, there are so many more ways to put clothespins to work in your classroom. Please, check out the following activities.
Save a staple, use a clothespin. I remember being in fifth grade and my teacher handed back my paper with big holes at the top because of her stapling it to the bulletin board. Trust me, your students will thank you for not defiling their papers plus using clothespins is much faster and easier than stapling. Glue two flat thumb tacks to the back of the clothespins so they stick into the bulletin board. Totally easy!
I am definitely a centers teacher. I employed centers with my primary
students and even during my stint teaching high school. While all
centers should be motivating and engaging, let's admit it, some center
activities are more fun than others. That is when a centers chart is
handy, to help choose and rotate centers. And a great way to keep up
with rotating centers? Clothespins, of course.
I actually squealed aloud when I first saw this idea on Pinterest: using
clothespins as bathroom passes. Ingenious! The passes will return - the
clothespins are clipped onto the students' clothing; hence, the passes
never get left in the bathroom; the passes will be germ free – the
clothespins are clipped onto the student before leaving the room then
unclipped upon returning to the classroom and untouched in between;
hence, germs are super reduced.
Classroom jobs are a must as they are a great way to instill a sense of
responsibility in our students. And, you guessed it, clothespins are
once again the go-to tool to use when rotating student names on charts.
Many teachers use the traffic light behavior management system. Green,
yellow, and red circles with, of course, clothespins. I have used a
similar behavior management system; one that, for my students, was less
embarrassing for the yellows and reds and less stressful for the greens.
We had individualized “charts” placed at the student's desk. This
“chart” was a craft stick colored in thirds green, yellow, and red and a
clothespin that can be moved to the appropriate color. (I never once
had a student change their chart.) Either chart monitoring system you
choose, there should be clothespins involved.
Yes, clothespins can be used in math centers to show the correct answer
to a math problem but don't forget, clothespins can also be used with meatier math
center activities.
Clothespins can be used in ELA centers to show the correct part of
speech or the correct sight word. One of our favorite center activities
is clipping final blends. My special ed kids especially enjoy and
benefit from this activity.
My students also love making clothespin words - Write letters on
clothespins and have students pin letters to make words. They can pin
onto hanging string (think clothes line) or even an index card. And this
activity can be differentiated by allowing the students needing extra
help to clip the matching lettered clothespin to the letter in the word.
So, let's review:
Clothespins have so many classroom uses. Clothespins are such an
inexpensive resource. And do not even get me started on how clothespins
are a perfectly fun way to improve fine motor skills.
Even though my kids have nicknamed me, “The Clip Card Queen”, my TpT Store does have
more than just clip cards. But if clip cards are what you are looking
for, I have a Back-to-School freebie for you:
Yes, it is back-to-school time; let's get those clothespins READY!!!
