Borders

I tried to think of a more clever title. Obviously I failed.

So I did not come up with this method of border storage. The method came from my master teacher, and I have no clue if it was her own idea or another's. I will say I have seen smarter ways of storing borders, but what can you do if you tossed the plastic baggies they came in? Let me show you the ways....

Look at them! All cute in their rolled-up bundles of happiness! (Note: The binder-clipped borders have magnets attached to the back. I didn't want to damage the magnets, so I just clipped them together. That border spent the last two years on my white board segregating the math portion of our day. I haven't decided if I'm going to use it again this year.) Also, my master teacher had TWO of these containers full of borders. I'm okay just having half of a container. I can slowly add more over time. Plus, I rarely switch borders out. This is a good amount for me!

I don't know if they're happy, but I am happy that they are not flying all over the place now. Here's how to do it with the least amount of tears possible. I learned from experience if I don't do it this way every time, frustration will ensue.

First, I sort the border pieces by size.

Then, STARTING WITH THE LONGEST STRIPS FIRST, I roll them together and secure with a rubber band.

Next, I lay the medium pieces on top of each other, longest on the bottom on up until the smallest piece is on top.

Now I stuff them into the rolled-up strips.

Finally, I stick the last two itty-bitty pieces inside. Why save them? As my master teacher says, "You never know when you'll need just that size." She's right!

So here you can see the two bulletin boards on either side of my whiteboard.

I cut and stapled a top sheet onto each board. (I never use the top sheets, so when I saw people on Pinterest talking about how they use bedsheets for their boards, I grabbed my unused linens and put them to use!)

Isn't it pretty? It isn't perfect, I know. But like I said earlier, I don't do perfect.

I'm excited for my rainbow theme! These borders and my rolly-cabinet help add to the colorful atmosphere I want to create.

Today I also sorted all of my Everyday Counts stuff by month. I'm very excited to have everything all ready to go for each new month of instruction. Stay tuned. I hope to share that organization project tomorrow!