Diary of a Tech Savvy Teacher: Teacher Resources

Repurposing, Creating, and Engineering

I am no stranger to Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers. And what teacher doesn’t love going to Mardel’s or any other teacher store? There are times (usually all the time), however, when I just don’t have the “dolla-dolla bills” to spend on those really cool resources that I WANT so badly!

But do I pout and give up on the idea?! NO! I do a little MacGyver-ing! Most of the time I will create my own resources to fit my needs exactly or I will use the materials I already have available and repurpose them.

In my mind, teachers are really natural engineers and creators at heart and on this page, I will share some ideas that I’ve come up with or tweaked. Feel free to borrow an idea or share some of your own by leaving a comment below!

DIY and SAVE!

I LOOOOOVEEEEE teacher planners. I especially love the personalized ones. Last year I bought one online and it was a pretty sweet set up. It was 60 bucks, though! This year, however, I decided to create my own and even make some for my third-grade-teacher-friends as a back-to-school gift.

Here is how I changed a $60 planner into a $10 planner without missing out on the cuteness and functionality.

First, I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up some scrapbook paper for 49¢ each. You can't beat that! Then I printed out my friends' names and pasted it onto the scrapbook paper. I even printed out a cute picture for each of the planners to put next to the names.

For the back, I used a piece of card stock and then cut a strip from the scrapbook paper and pasted it in the center of the paper.

I took these puppies to Kinkos and had them laminated for $4. I inserted our planner pages and had them bound for $2!

What they looked like before binding

The final project with my new last name !

And now we have some really cute, semi-matching plan books! I also really liked how my planner pages will fit my needs perfectly this year :)

DIY Organization!

I love my #31bag. Like LOVE LOVE my 31 bag. It's cute, it has my name on it, and I can pack a whole lot of teacher stuff in that puppy! I keep seeing on Pinterest how people are putting in those mini crates and completely transforming their bags into an on-the-go-file-cabinet. I wanted to do this to my bag, but let's face it, my school supply budget was at its limit and I could spend no more! You may be thinking, "Danielle, it's only $4!" And I would reply, "Yeah, but why spend $4, when you can do it for FREE?!"

Here is what I had at home just laying around taking up space:

1. Flat rate boxes I use to send my sweetie pie packages while he's in Korea. If you don't have any around your house, go pick some up from the post office....they are FREE!

2. Duck Tape/boxing tape

3. Your 31 Bag, or whatever bag you'd like to transform

Yes, folks. That's all you need to make this project happen!

First, I measured the width of my bag. I cut the sides of my boxes so I could slide them in to get a perfect fit. I secured the new sides together with tape. (I used what I had on hand, but use the clear boxing tape if you've got it). I did this to two boxes.