Life Hacks With Guest Blogger Jessica

Hey there! I'm Jessica from a little ol' blog called Covered in Glitter and Glue. 

Sarah asked me to guest blog today about a classroom or general life hack. I have to admit, when she first asked, I was a little skeptical. I always see people posting brilliant life hacks on Pinterest and Facebook, but I wasn't sure I used any in my own life. After a little bit of thought I realized I had one that really worked for me this past school year, and while it may not be mind blowing, maybe it will work for you too! 

First up is an idea I use in my classroom. I'm not sure what happens in your neck of the woods, but kiddos in my class are always getting hurt on the playground or complaining of some sort of ailment right when I pick the kids up from recess (more so with some groups of kids than others). While my first go-to is always a wet paper towel (because ladies and gentlemen, those things are miracle workers), a bag of ice will usually cure all should the paper towel not do the trick. I don't know about you, but if I sent a kid to the office for a bag of ice every time they "needed" it, the office would be out of ice by 9 am and I'd never have a full class of kids. 

This past year I decided to get a couple of those boo-boo bear frozen ice pack thingymabobbers for my classroom to throw into the little mini fridge/freezer I have in my room. In the rare chance that the wet paper towel didn't work, I handed the student the frozen boo boo bear and all was well. When they were done I cleaned it off and put it back in the freezer. 

Those bears got a lot of use this past year and unfortunately bit the dust pretty quickly which meant replacing them quite frequently. But they worked. They kept the kids calm and focused when other "ailments" were trying to distract them. Enter the life hack. 

As I was perusing Pinterest I saw a brilliant idea of using a wet sponge in a Ziploc bag thrown in the freezer. 

Cheap. Easy. Brilliant. Bonus that these boo boo bags weren't cute little bears, and the novelty wore off quickly. Know what else? This idea can also be used as an icepack for lunches. I mean...not the same ones you use for the boo boo bags, because that would be gross. But they're easy to replace and much more cost effective. 

While we're on the subject of sponges, have you seen the brilliance of glue sponges? I have yet to venture down this path of genius, but I think it's pretty fantastic. When your kids are cutting and gluing lots of little pieces, these things could definitely come in handy. No lost lids or unclogging glue bottles with a paperclip either! 

Check out this blog post and video on how to make them for your classroom by Greg from Smedley's Smorgasboard of Kindergarten.

And finally, a life hack that would've been really handy to know on my last adventure out of state- 

Leave some comments with your favorite classroom or life hacks. I may need to go create a Pinterest board...

Lookin' for a good deal? Getting' ready for school to start soon? Check out Jessica's Reading Comprehension Graphic Organizers for Primary here!