I'm a 3rd grade teacher with 25 kiddos, all of whom use 85 pencils a day (maybe a bit exaggerated). I thought maybe it was a first grade thing, but no! Same problem, different grade! I'm almost positive they eat them, hoard them at home, sell them on the street, something, anything?!?! What are you kids doing with my pencils? If there's a market for pencils on the street, please someone, clue me in! I want in already!
My kiddos have been using the same pencils for 4 weeks. It's possible. Given that it's possible. I feel like some horrible human being when their sad faces ask me for a new pencil. I don't have any sharpened! I can't sharpen one!
Christie, you may say, there are great sharpeners on the market! I had this one that I love, my school has one... NO!! Not for me! I guarantee I will break it.
Victims:
- One on the wall (ya know typical one that comes in your room): didn't work. removed from wall. RIP.
- 3 of those top sharpener ones that people love: ALL BROKEN! within WEEKS! DUNZO!
- $100 one in the workroom: TURNS off when I even come close. PROMISE!!!
Result? You tell your kiddos to sharpen pencils with their teeth! But then, one glorious day you happen to come across Troy over at www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com. I think why not
fresh out of the box.
{pencil not included lol}
love how she looks.
ready to sharpen? SO EASY!!
in the directions Troy says he doesn't clamp his.
i thought the clamp was awesome, but still leaves it to be moved around.
he also suggested hot gluing it if you want it somewhere permanantly.
first step.
ready to sharpen?
best part? SO QUIET!! SERIOUSLY!!
no more crazy loud, HUH?! sharpeners!!
stops on it's own! no more over-sharpened pencils!
so easy and quick!
almost done? anticipation?
ready for the pencil?!?
yea, it's really that sharp! it didn't break either when i wrote!
You can watch a video that Troy has made showing how quick and quiet it really is when you sharpen. I'm posting it at the bottom of this post. But seriously... I am blown away. Like speechless. I thought all those negative things you thought when you saw my heading. Promise though, it's super quick, and super quiet. I'm actually excited to get back to school tomorrow (we've been off since Friday) so I can show my kiddos!
Best part? Troy is a 3rd grade teacher!! So he knows what a teacher wants! Go check them out! I'll update you once my kiddos get a hold of it tomorrow! That'll be the true test LOL.
But seriously bloggy peeps... CHECK IT OUT!
You'll LOVE it. I PROMISE!!
29 comments:
That sort of seems like a lot of work! lol It looks super cool though!!!
Ginger Snaps
I promise! It's totally not! It's really easy, put the pencil in, and it sharpens super quick!! :) Watch the video, it makes it realistic lol!
HAHA :) I LOVED your comment about how they eat pencils, I actually asked my kids that earlier today (2nd graders). They just laughed and said "We don't eat them, that's just silly!" But we go through probably 50 pencils per day, it's insane and our wall mounted one is horrible and they've burned out 2 electric ones. I'm SO excited!!! Thanks you for sharing :)
Lisa :)
Made In The Shade In Second Grade
Looks super cool! =)
Jennifer
First Grade Blue SKies
Lisa - Your comment cracked me up! I ask them that all the time! They just don't get it. I've tried all the tricks, games, everything. It doesn't work :( I almost resorted to erasable pens. I'm so glad I found this one.
This seems amazing! I have had my middle schoolers breaks 2 pencil sharpeners already this year and I'm so over it! I even let them use pen in math (the horror!)
☼Kate
To The Square Inch
Kate - See above ^^ I almost got to your point!! I just kept cringing at the thought of erasable pens, I can't imagine regular pens.
I've seen this sharpener a lot lately. I may have to cave and buy one. BTW: I love the blog design. It's SO bright and colorful!!
Jodi
fun-in-first.blogspot.com
I need this pencil sharpener.I really, really do!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holly
Crisscross Applesauce in First Grade
Thanks Jodi!! I needed a changed ASAP. It just kind of happened when I found the background and started playing around. Usually they take me a bit, but I made this one pretty quick. I knew it was a sign. I have NEVER seen this until I came across the website the other day.
It's only 19.95 and I'm pretty sure there's free shipping! Can't beat that. They get even cheaper if you buy them in groups (like 3, 6, etc.) I may have to buy 2 more, and keep one for colored pencils.
I'm going to try and convince him to make them in pink!
*sigh* So today I am having the same problem...where are all the doggone pencils? NONE in the pencil can...NONE! So the kids are doing morning AR reading and I am On. A. Mission. Guess where I found 38 pencils {yes, I said 38 pencils}? In one of my sweeties desks! Seriously, I cannot lie, I wanted to scream! And I wanted to scream, "Why in the world do you need 38 pencils in the BACK {mind you} of your desk?!?!" But I quietly explained that we will never do THAT much work to require 38 pencils and to please only keep ONE in your desk. Geez. Sorry to hijack your post with my silly story, but I had to share pencil woes as well. I feel your pain.
Love the quote on the website, "It will change the way you sharpen pencils in your classroom." Count me in...I"m ordering now. :)
Jamie at 2nd Grade Stuff
One of my former teammates purchased that sharpener!!! It is truly life changing! 4 classes of 3rd grade used it daily and it never failed. It's perfection!
My firs graders LOVE to collect pencils in their boxes.... leaving NO pencils in the pencil cups. I NEED this sharpener. Thanks for posting!
Erin
Projects & Polkadots
OMG! I'm happy to hear I'm not the only one with this problem!! I think you've persuaded me to get my classroom one of these sharpeners :)
A Chocoholic Teacher
Ahh. I am SO excited to find your blog. I am a new 3rd grade teacher and I am looking forward to all of the great ideas you post on your blog! =)
Ms. Smith
Adventures of Ms. Smith
Thank you for posting this! I have been trying to finish a DonorsChoose project for one of the $100 sharpeners... I'll be interested to find out how much you like it after a day of school. If you think it's worth it, I might just cave and buy one of these instead. Keep us posted!
-Becky :)
I totally have to get one of these!
I absolutely love reading your blog! You have such great ideas. This is my first time giving an award, and I would like to give you the sunshine award. You can read my post if you're interested:) Thanks for keeping up a great blog. Tara
http://oceansofteachingideas.blogspot.com
I have the original from 50 years ago!! I LOVE this... (although only the GATE kids can figure out how to use it in first grade.) An engineering miracle. Just to let you know you're not being obsessive about sharpeners, though, I wanted to tell you that this was one of the objects my ex and I discussed in the 'who keeps what' conversation!! It was a tearful goodbye, but he decided I needed it more than he did. LOL
Hi!!! I am one of your newest followers. I also blogged about this sharpener you shared on my blog. Thanks for sharing, I am going to purchase one asap.
-Kim
First Grade Journal
Yes, Mrs. Wright did blog~ I came here from her link..LOL! I'm excited! I have been through MANY sharpeners & I would love to have this in my class! Thanks for sharing!
Color Me Kinder
I bought the same sharpener and have to say that it works like a champ! I don't have it clamped down, though, because the clamp doesn't hold it well enough.
When I went to the site to look at buying one, I noticed he gives you a free sharpener if you are a blogger with enough followers and will promote him on your blog. Be honest with us fellow teachers. I am a single mother of two with no child support and my students literally went through 3 pencil sharpeners last year (1 manual and 2 electric). Will this one be a waste of my money?
Annemarie from Ohio
Annemarie - I'm a single 20 something with rent that's almost higher than my month's pay, believe me I can't afford to waste money, nor would I want anyone else to. I also get about 5 e-mails a day from companies wanting their ads on my blog. I ignore them all. I absolutely 100 million percent LOVE the sharpener. I wouldn't have blogged about if I hadn't. I'm appalled at the idea of anyone that would do something like that. I promise you my destructive class made it through the last half of the year and it still works (miracle!) even after sticking... yes colored pencils in it!! I hope you take my word for it :)
I live in China and this (different brand, same idea) is the only type of 'big' pencil sharpener we can buy. I absolutely love them! When I move back to North America I'll definitely be filling a suitcase with them!
I L.O.V.E. my sharpener! My students even tell me it's the best pencil sharpener they have ever used! Love your blog btw... Such good ideas! Stop by and visit me... I have a couple of blogs - one K and one all levels. Happy New Year!
Pam
Electric pencil sharpeners are great for the classroom. For some reviews on the best electric pencil sharpeners visit http://electricpencilsharpenerreviews.com/
Looks kind of oldschool, but still fabulous. :)
It is really necessary in the classroom.
Wow that looks really tedious lol but kind of cool
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