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!


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8 comments

  1. Love this idea! I've always put my templates in bags but I never thought about color coding or hanging the bags on Command hooks. Thanks Amanda!

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  2. Thank you! I've done the templates on colored tag board and stored them in little baggies (that always get sort of lost in my monthly tubs) but I have started re-making the craftivity each year and just throwing it out when I'm done because I couldn't find a decent way to store the final project - they would get lost, crumpled, faded, ripped, etc whether I put them in a folder/drawer/etc. I NEVER thought of using the extra large ziplock and hanging the darn thing up! You are such a smartie and you've saved me a lot of valuable time and hair-pulling. ;)

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  3. if only I had anything copied ahead of time! ;)

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  4. This is almost exactly how I had my "craftivities" organized before I ever even knew they were called that! Great post! I just pinned it!! :)
    ~HoJo~

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  5. This is so much better than the way I've been organizing craftivities. I definitely need to go back and reorganize...thanks so much for sharing! :)

    Gladys
    Teaching in High Heels

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  6. I love doing crafitvities but they can be quite the organization headache! I love putting the templates on different colored paper - what a great idea! Thanks!

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  7. How did I not know about your blog before?? I don't know.. but, I'm sure glad I found it! Great idea for organizing your craftivities! I love them too. (I wish they'd come up as a real word on spell check!). Can't wait to dive in and read the rest of your adorable blog!
    Melissa
    Keep Calm and Love First Grade

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  8. Love this idea! It would be great to have everything ready ahead of time and just get it together when you have free time!

    Linda
    Down the Learning Road

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