I recently received these photos from our reader Chloe the Velcro Gal! She was not to be outdone by Keith the Rubberband Man!
All teachers I meet are on a quest for an efficient tool to carry as they teach, monitor, grade, plan, call, meet and so on. . . They search high and low for that ONE thing to always have on hand. . .the adult version of the once-perfect Trapper Keeper.
Introducing. . . Chloe the Velcro Gal! I recently met Chloe at a Boston workshop and I loved her ingenuity. She told me,
I velcro-ed my organizational system because I love having the option of having both pieces connected. This way I have everything in one place and I am only carrying one small thing around with me all day. However, there are points in my day where I only want one in my hand (when I am tutoring/teaching) or when I want to be able to see the front of both (during my Weekly Round-Up) so it is very convenient to be able to pull them apart easily.
Chloe laid out these steps to keep it all accessible and available, all the time.
Step 1: The conundrum for all of us. I need:
- A binder of some sort for my time and to-do’s (affectionately called a Flexy)
- A clipboard for my lesson plans, behavior trackers, and more.
It is just too much to always remember to grab both items. . .
Step 2: So, I’m going to VELCRO the Flexy and the clipboard together.
Step 3: Smash together. . . go forth and teach!
Together Teacher CONTEST [enter by Dec. 21]: What are your 1- 2 must-haves that you carry with you during your workday to juggle all the papers, notes, pens, attendance, student notes, and more?”
Three lucky winners will receive our newly created Together Teacher lanyards, designed to niftily hold your keys, school ID, pens and more! Our design was carefully tested by MR. Together Teacher (aka my lovely husband, a middle school ELA teacher) and has a removable clip PLUS a cool carabineer for easy key attachment. See model Sarah M.-E. below.
Please limit your response to 300 or fewer words, and include your first name and last initial.
