Bright Ideas {Craftivity Sanity}

Do you love the thought of craftivities as much as me?  Those cute little crafts we find all over pinterest sure do make our bulletin boards come to life!  But, let's face it...sometimes they suck the life right out of you in the management and preparation.  Am I right?

Today I'm going to share with you how I organize craftivities that I know I'm going to use year after year.  It really does save my sanity! :)

Copy multiple sets of a template onto cardstock for students to use as "tracers."  Be sure to copy each template on a different color of cardstock.  It never fails, that a few pieces are left out at clean-up time and the color-coding will help students be able to put missing pieces back where they belong. 

Go ahead and create a model of the craftivity ahead of time.  This will save you time in class but will still let students have an example of the final product.  Its okay to create one with the students to show the step-by-step process, but you never know when this model will come in handy (especially during those unexpected absences)!

Once you have the templates and model complete, place everything into a larger (2-gallon size) plastic baggie.  Label the baggie with the name of the project and punch a hole in the top center of the outer bag.

Now, just find an "out-of-the-way" spot to store the bags.  I have many of mine hanging in our classroom's restroom.  I use the plastic Command hooks and can hang about 5 projects on each hook!

That's it!  You're all set!  Now, when you're ready for that craftivity, just grab and go! 

*Additional Tip:  Send the "templates" home for parents to cut out.  Many parents would love to volunteer in the classroom, but don't have time during the school day.  I always find that parents are very eager to have you send home items to be cut out.  It's a great way for working parents still feel and be involved in the classroom.

Next up on the hop is Jodi from Fun in First.  Click the button below to hop on over to her blog for a bright idea all about focus walls!

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up