Last week’s #Made4Math entries were great fun to read. I love how all us teachers get so excited about the new school year during the summer and start acting like little kids. An aside: many of us seem to also harbor some kind of office supply addiction.

This week, I recreated one of my favorite items from the school year: my Student Center. This idea came from my dear friend and colleague, Joie Bullock.

Why you need a Student Center: 50 times each class, “Can I have a piece of tape? Can I use your stapler? Can I? Can I?” You stop what you’re doing, rummage through your desk, and hand it to the kid. OR, you actually keep this stuff out for kids but it’s always messy and out of supplies.

The Student Center is as much an organization scheme as it is a spot to keep office supplies out for kids.

My recreated Student Center. Not all items are pictured and most are my at-home versions of tools. From School Stuff

What’s typically available in my Student Center:

  • tape dispensers (the big, heavy ones are less likely to walk away)
  • scissors (2 pair of big ones you’d actually choose to use & a class set of little ones I bought for cheap)
  • stapler & staple remover (love my red Swingline!)
  • paper clips & binder clips
  • sticky note pads in an assortment of colors
  • rubber bands
  • notebook paper or scrap printer paper

I decided against putting out pencils & the cap erasers I keep around because in my old classroom, they’d all disappear during the first block of classes.

You’ll want one Student Center for every 15 kids in class, give or take.

Want to see more creative classrooms from high school math teachers? Peep the latest #Made4Math tweets and this week’s curated entries.