Manipulatives Supply List Box

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely hate it when after I teach a unit, and then am digging through my manipulatives supply closet, only to see something I could have used perfectly with that last unit. 

Uggggh – it kills me!

So how about this for an idea?  Grab yourself some card boxes or a filofax. 

Take pictures of all your manipulatives hidden everywhere in your closet or workspace. 

Print off the pictures so they will fit on your cards.

I chose to laminate my cards to they would last longer. 

Also, if you change grade levels, you can erase the information on them and start over without having to recreate brand new cards!  #score

This last part is up to you!  You can either write the standards or units that the particular item would correlate with. 

Or even better, make cards for each strand of standards a specific color.  For example, geometry manipulatives get their own color, number sense manipulatives get their own color, etc.  

On the laminated cards, you can choose to write the standards covered or topic on the plain side. 

When you flip it over, you can write any notes to remember for the next use.

Place your cards in the box and just remember to grab them when you are sitting down to do lesson plans.  That way, you never forget those amazing resources hiding in the back of your supply closet again!  YAY!

How else do you think you could use this in your classroom planning?  We would love to hear in the comments below!

~Charity