DIY Seating and "Cubbies"

Hey there! Lauren Lynes from Simply Second Grade! Today I am sharing two cheap DIY projects with you that I hope you can use in your classroom!

A few years ago, I started the Daily 5 in my classroom. I had been blog stalking all summer long, looking for ideas for Daily 5. Many classrooms I came across had all kinds of fun, comfortable seating areas for students to read. I wanted to provide some more fun seating options for my kiddos during Daily 5 without breaking the bank. And then one of our 3rd grade teachers gave me this awesome idea! And it only cost about $6 a pop!

I bought a few crates from Wal-Mart for about $3 each. I bought enough padding at Hancock Fabrics for 4 seats ($12). Hancock Fabrics does a teacher discount, FYI! I had some leftover fabric (free!) and my dad had some plywood in his shed (free!). My dad cut the plywood for me, but I found out that Lowe's will cut it to the correct size for free if you buy the wood from them. Have the wood cut so that it can sit inside the basket where you would normally hang folders. Hot glue the padding to the wood. Cover with fabric, and use a staple gun to secure the fabric. And voila! Cheap seating for your babies (or you!) And BONUS! These seats serve as extra storage! I store my kiddos' extra school supplies inside my seats. 

When I got my first classroom, it did not come with cubbies. Those things can be expensive, especially for a brand spanking new teacher! And at the time, I did not know anyone carpenters, and still don't :) So I use cans instead of cubbies! They are the perfect size for papers!

This was a SUPER cheap project for me, and these things have lasted since I started teaching in 2007. I get a lot of compliments on them, too! Ask your cafeteria staff to save the large cans that fruits and veggies come in. Make sure the edges where the cans have been open are not sharp; you don't want cut little fingers! You can put globs of hot glue on the edges if needed. I cut butcher paper to fit the size of the can. I used calendar numbers to number the cans, then I laminated the sheets of paper. I hot glued the laminated sheets at the seam, and bam! A cute, CHEAP way to send your kids' papers home :)

I hope you are able to use these ideas in your classroom!