DIY Keeping Track of Who You've Called on!

Hey hey all! Do you ever feel like you call on the same kiddos over and over all day long!?  I was feeling like that a few years ago.  I felt like I always always always was hearing from the same 4-5 kids all day long.  So I had an idea.

I have my kiddos numbered in alphabetical order, and it makes it SUPER easy to make tools and resources that you can use from year to year when you're writing their NUMBERS on things instead of their names! So, I got some fun colored popsicle sticks (from the crafting aisle at Walmart) and a fun pencil cup from Target Dollar Spot (I'm obsessed with shopping at Target!), and numbered the sticks 1-29, one for each one of my kids!

When we're in class discussion, I would just pull a stick to be able to call on a kiddo at random and call the number I pulled! But STILL I felt like I was picking the SAME STICKS....

SOOOOO I tried to problem solve initially by pulling their stick out of the cup when I called on them so I couldn't pull their number again until I had called on everyone and pulled all of the sticks out of the cup.  But then I left the sticks laying where I laid them for sometimes WEEKS at a time because I'd be all cute and take the cup to the library with us or to the carpet meeting area or to the guided reading table....  I LEFT THE STICKS EVERYWHERE!! I would ALWAYS forget to scoop them up and then {crap} their stick wasn't even in the cup to pull the next time!!

SOOOOOOOOO then I saw this GENIUS idea to use WASHI tape {and who doesn't need a good excuse to use washi tape?!?} from Michelle Griffo at Apples and ABCs.

I put washi tape wrapped around the end of the stick that had their number on it.  I start with all of the sticks washi tape DOWN and then as I pull those sticks and call on those students, I put the stick back in with the number and washi tape side UP! That way I know who I've already called on and their STICK STAYS SAFE IN THE CUP! :) 

EASY PEASY! And a FUN and colorful DIY!! Do you have a fun and creative way to keep track of who you've called on?!? I'd love to hear about it in the comments! Thanks for reading!!