Teaching Tip Tuesday: Reading Boxes

Hi everyone,
Sorry this is late on Tuesday. Hope your Tuesdays was as quiet as mine. Thanks for coming back for another installment of...

So today's tip is not so much a "teaching" tip but a a great find. It goes without saying that so many teachers are very creative and thrifty. However, sometimes I think sometimes we, at least I do, get carried away being cute and matching our these we miss some great finds right in front of us. So here is my find of the year.

 Inexpensive Book Boxes.

So many times I get caught up in my class theme or in getting something cute that I forget about my pocket book. For years I refused to buy those magazine boxes for my students because they were too expensive and I never liked the look of them. I would buy other baskets that would break, or didn't fit in the space I had. It was the source of some great frustration.

Then this summer while on the Polka Dot Market's website looking at paper lanterns I found these adorable gable boxes that Melanie is always using in her classroom designs.

I knew that my students would tear these boxes up and $1.50 was something I could live with. I has been 9 weeks and they are still in great condition! My kids know they won't get a new one, so I think they are afraid, for now. Let's see if they make it past January. *crosses fingers*

I chose the aqua polka dots, and here they are all lined up on my counter.

I attached the student names with clothes pins so they could be easily removed, but I am thinking of changing it to something more permanent.

Each box is shared by two students. Here are two lovely ladies reading out of their box.

They are big enough for a ton of our little reader and guided reading books. Here is a peek inside.

I am afraid I did not make them terribly cute this year because of lack of time. I also didn't know how long they would last and didn't want to invest too much on ribbon or tags. I did add a Surfboard name plate for the student names.

So do you have any inexpensive items that are not teaching items you have use in your class? Please share.