Pinterest and Practicality

So behind the times am I that I have JUST joined Pinterest as of a week ago, and I am now understanding why everyone is so addicted!  I only have two boards so far: Crafting and Education.  My brain is so filled with the desire to create things that I have barely been able to sleep for the past several nights.  Well, I have finally created my first Pinterest inspiration and...... I'm slightly disappointed. 

I saw this idea for keeping scrapbook paper and stickers organized on an easy-to-see, Roladex type creation made from a paper towel holder, binder rings, and plastic page protectors.  (Original idea found here.) The process is easy enough:

1. Fill page protectors with cardstock (so as to provide stability).

2. Slip in your sticker pages.  It's best if they are flat.

3. Connect your page protectors with 3 binder rings.

4. Slide the rings onto the paper towel holder.

See? Easy peasy. 

PROBLEM: My paper towel holder is not weighted, so it falls over if the weight is uneven.  PROBLEM: My paper is not sturdy enough?  They lean.  PROBLEM: Mine doesn't look as full and fluffy as the Pinterest version... But I've got a LOT of empty page protectors, so there's no reason to add more just for kicks...

Pinterest version

My version

See the difference?  I think I'm going to have to put better paper in each page, but it took me long enough to fill them the first time... I'll come back to that another day.  It's alright for now, but I don't know if I'm sold yet.  Thoughts??

On the other hand, I 've been on a successful spree of reorganizing my classroom books, and I am well pleased with the results!  I wanted a way to structure my classroom library where my books

• take up less space
• are easy to find by theme/author/etc
• are accessible to students by Reading level
• are visually appealing

Here are my results thus far:

Isn't it just lovely?!?! These are my books organized by themes.  They will be easy for me to find for the appropriate occasions.  At times, students will also be able to read books from these tubs as they pertain to classroom content.  I just think it is so beautiful.  And look at how much room is still available for more!!  Oh, the excitment!

 These books are organized by DRA Reading levels.  Students know what level they can read, and so they can select appropriate books from these tubs!  Each book has a dot sticker that matches the dot color from the tub so they know where it goes when they are finished.  Now let's just see how long they stay this organized... HA!

Thanks to our Title Teacher Mrs. Abraham for giving me the inspiration to make this work for my classroom!  I am so excited to try it out and see if it's truly successful with the kiddos!

So... one semi-fail and one anticipated success!  I'm happy with that.