I don’t know about you, but I have a Pencil Monster in my classroom!

It seems as though pencils are always going missing in a primary classroom.

I would like to share my pencil management system with you.

I have two cups for pencils.  The Sharp cup and the Broken cup.  My mentor teacher used this dual pencil cup method when I was student teaching, and I have used it in my own classroom since.  When a student needs a new pencil they raise 2 fingers, (the hand signal for “I need out of my seat”) and once granted permission, they put their broken pencil in the broken cup and take a fresh pencil out of the sharp cup.  Students keep their pencils inside a basket in their desk.  This seems to inhibit the Pencil Monster’s ability to snatch them up!

I bought  my pencil cups at the Dollar Tree, and laminated the signs and taped them on the outside with clear packaging tape.

This year, I had some free space by my door (where I used to store my old overhead projector that I gave the boot!).  So I set up a desk in this spot for my pencil station.  It is complete with an Xacto Pencil sharpener gifted to me by our fabulous PTA.  Underneath the desk, I put a garbage can so we have one on hand for dumping pencil shavings.  Every morning I have a student sharpen the pencils in the broken cup, and place them in the sharp cup.  These pencils usually last us all day long, so we never need to be distracted by the whirring up the pencil sharpener throughout the day.

What are your secret tips for pencil management in your classroom?

Coming Soon:  Tricks for Keeping Student Desks Tidy!