Thursday, June 21, 2012

DIY Inspiration from the Blogosphere

I love to repurpose and reuse items. I love seeing how teachers improvise and make resources for themselves. Ingenuity and creativity always inspire me. This week, these posts triggered my thinking. And made me want to DIY myself.


Pre-K Pages: Crate Storage Shelves and Cubbies - I saw a shelf with baskets at a store and thought it would be great in a classroom. Then I saw this simple but practical idea from Vanessa. Now I'm thinking that I can make a shelf myself and find baskets to add. In fact, I'm thinking of lots of ways I could use crates and zip ties. 


Growing in Pre K: Organizing Letter Tiles - I always clip and save organization ideas; I guess that's because I'm usually not very good at organizing all my stuff. This idea for letter tiles is one that I'm currently using - except I didn't label the lid like Ellis did. But I'm thinking this type of idea would work for counters and lots of other smaller resources.


NurtureStore: Make an Art Caddy - Simple to do with simple tools and resources–that's usually what I'm looking for. I'm not all that handy with power tools. This idea fits my needs and abilities perfectly. I see all kinds of possibilities with cups and box lids. Thanks Cathy!


Play at Home Mom: Funnel Rack - This is a great idea for water play and other sensory exploration. This one requires wood and tools, but it doesn't seem too involved to accomplish. And, now that I've seen this wonderful idea, I can be on the lookout for something that could function in a similar way.


Pink and Green Mama: Scissors Practice Box - A small self-contained "center" to practice cutting. Maybe something like this could be a part of a stocked art shelf, so kids would know where paper and scissors are for just cutting or for making materials for other projects. Maybe I need to make a box for practicing our paper punching skills. Hmm.


What DIY inspiration have you seen this week?