Classroom Pencil Sharpener Success!

By this point in the year, my students’ pencil supplies are running low and my pencil sharpener is starting to become sort of dull. (Anyone else?)

I took a chance on the Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener that you’ve seen all over blogland, and I’ve been suitably impressed as we’ve tried it out the last couple of weeks.

I have to say… I never watched the video on how to use it, but even so, it only took me a few minutes to figure out.

First, secure it to the table. (If you have a table without a rounded edge, this would probably be better. Mine slips from time to time, but it’s no big deal.)

Next, pinch.

Then, pull.

After that, keep pinching while you put a pencil in.

Stop pinching, let go of the pencil, and sharpen. I have my kids put their hand over the top of the sharpener to help keep it steady.

This is the step that I think makes this thing work so well. You know how some kids only hold the pencil kind of in the sharpener, and then it takes forever and never really sharpens all the way? Well, this sharpener holds the pencil in for them- and gradually pulls it in until it’s sharp enough!

Plus, it’s held in evenly, so you don’t end up with the wood in the way of your writing, or the wood shaved so high on one side that the lead instantly breaks when you try to write with it.

If you remember, my kids sharpen 2 pencils at the beginning of the day as part of their morning procedures.

(CHAMPS morning procedures chart here, if you haven’t picked up this freebie!) If they need a pencil after that, they have to just take it out of the Sharp bucket.

Since getting this pencil sharpener, my kids have actually unplugged the old one, and I haven’t had kids needing to trade pencils hardly ever during the day. My student Pencil Sharpener in charge of emptying the clear bin each day (or whenever he notices it needs it), and it’s a simple, easy drawer system.

I never thought 3rd graders would be so excited about a pencil sharpener, but they figured out how to use it quickly and love it.

Teacher appreciation week is coming up… perfect time to give yourself (or an awesome coworker) a little gift that will help with the pencil chaos of the last few weeks of school! Even better? These are sold by a teacher, and they cost considerably less than most electric pencil sharpeners.

You can check out this pencil sharpener at Classroom Friendly Supplies. I highly recommend it!