Keep it Clean
Keep it Clean
Clean Blackboards
"Here is a blackboard tip that eliminates yucky, wet cloths and sponges while keeping blackboards looking like new. I take a clean small towel and put a little bit of lemon oil on it. I place the towel in a Ziplock bag and leave it overnight so that the lemon oil soaks into the towel. After I erase the blackboard, I clean it with the towel and it removes all the chalk dust without leaving any streaks. The blackboards look like new. I add a couple of drops of lemon oil from time to time but there should not be so much on the cloth that it wets the board."
Submitted by: Marilyn Redmond , a second grade teacher at Roland Michener Public School in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. This tip was published in the NEA's Weekly "Works4Me" Email list.
End-of-the-Day Clean Up
I use "seconds" as a way of getting students to clean up. At the end of the period or end of day each item left on the floor counts as 30 seconds off their recess. After the first day of 3 minutes off recess we rarely have to stay in more than 30 seconds anymore. They really enjoy picking up their "seconds".
Submitted by: Leslee Whalley
Floor Clean-up Games
Make clean-up less of a hassle and more of a game! There are two variations to this game: "Magic Piece of Trash" or "I Spy". Whichever name you decide to go with, you will play them the same way. I absolutely LOVE this game after we've beenn working on a messy project.
- Before beginning the game, look around your classroom floor and visually select one piece of trash. Be sure to do this without the students knowing which piece you have selected.
- Announce you are playing the game. Students will begin to pick up all the pieces of trash around the room. Remind students that they do not want to throw away what they've collected.
- You can either set a timer or just play until see most trash is picked up.
- Announce that the game is over and have each child come show you what they have collected.
- The student who found your individual piece of trash can earn one of the following: sticker, piece of candy, pencil, etc. (We are a PBiS school, so our students can earn "Bison Stickers" for their behavior. This is what I usually give to kids.)
- Remind everyone to either wash their hands or use a little hand sanitizer!
My students usually manage to find trash that I didn't even notice was on the floor! I've had students find used tissues and band-aids. In these cases I show them how to use a clean tissue to pick them up from the floor.
Markers & OFF
Don't worry about marker writing smearing. Instead of using dry erase markers on things which you do not want to smear, use Permanent marker and then keep a bottle of OFF insect repellent (other kinds might work) and spray on and wipe off! I use this on my birthday chart. I also use this daily with a large sheet of laminated paper.
Submitted by: Stacy Edge
Whiteboard Mistakes
Have you or a student ever accidently written on your whiteboard with permanent marker? Here's a quick and easy solution! All you need to do is grab a dry-erase marker and just "scribble" over the permanat marker writing. You might find it more effective to make the dry-earse marker scribbles go the opposite direction of your permanent marker (see photo). To help eliminate the chance of this happening, consider labeling all permanent marker with washi tape or color/pattern duct tape.
