Do You Love a Classroom DIY That Saves You Money?
I do too, and today, I'm sharing one of my favorites!
I teach a self-contained LLD (Learning and Language Disabilities) class, where all of our instruction is done in rotations. I have just 20 minutes with each group to introduce new material. This structure works well because my students generally have short attention spans, but it also means I feel a lot of pressure to make the most of those 20 minutes! One thing that really frustrates me is when a student who is supposed to be working independently interrupts my group. Of course, I understand they may need assistance, but they have been explicitly taught to go to my paraprofessional for help during rotations, not to interrupt my group.
While researching ways to curb this behavior, I came across the cutest idea—the “Don’t Bug Me Slug.” It’s a little night light shaped like a slug, and the students learn that when the light is on, they shouldn't interrupt the teacher. Naturally, I wanted one!
However, after 12 years of teaching, I’m still on a budget. The “Don’t Bug Me Slug” costs $25 on Amazon—not a huge amount, but last year I moved to a new district and spent quite a bit setting up my classroom.
So, I knew I had to get creative! A couple of weeks ago, I was at Ikea with my daughter and spotted this adorable little table lamp for just $5.99. It had a completely white, flat lampshade that I knew would be perfect for my DIY project.
I bought the lamp and stopped by Dollar Tree on the way home to pick up some stick-on letters. I used the letters to spell out “Busy At Work” on the lampshade, and voilà! I now have a $7.25 “Don’t Bug Me Slug” dupe.
I love classroom hacks and will be sharing more on this blog.
