I’m sure I will constantly be posting cheap ideas, but here is one my mentor teacher has recently started doing that I just couldn’t wait to share. I am student teaching in first grade, so children are always complaining that something hurts or someone hit them or their eye or sore or what have you. I have taught in third grade, too, and I know the older students are always complaining about injuries as well. And what fixes almost every single injury an elementary school student has ever endured? Ice, of course.
Now we all know we cannot send a constant stream of students to the nurse. First, it wastes learning time. Second, the office will start to wonder what is going on. But let’s be real… none of us really wants to spend any of the tiny salary on twenty ice packs. So here comes the genius part: wet, frozen sponges. If you have heard of this or are doing this, don’t ruin my fun, please. The sponges are drenched in water, put in a ziploc bag, and are placed in the freezer or refrigerator. They form solid ice packs that I have never heard a child complain about. They stay cold for just the right amount of time, and sponges are sold by the dozen at the dollar store. It is a winning situation all around.
minervateach. 