As an elementary teacher, you know how many math manipulatives you need to help your students develop strong conceptual understandings of the math concepts and skills. With all of these math manipulatives comes a need for strong organization and storage solutions.
Whether you use a math manipulative storage shelf, set of bins, or a cart, the ideas below will serve as a helpful resource that will help you stay on budget as you prepare for back to school. This blog post won’t go into detail about everything you need for organizing for math, but I offer a guided math resource that has an entire section dedicated to getting organized for teaching math as well as additional math storage solutions. If you need additional support with organizing your math resources and establishing storage systems of your math manipulatives, check the resource out here!
This blog post will…
- suggest 5 cheap or free storage container ideas you can use to store and organize math manipulatives in your classroom
- offer cheap storage options that will help you stay on budget
- recommend an printable guide that will help you set up the best storage and organization system for all of your math tools and supplies
5 Ways to Store Math Manipulatives in Your Classroom
- Oatmeal Containers: These work great for organizing and storing rulers, which are too long for most containers. Metal or plastic vases also work well for storing rulers. You can either enjoy oatmeal at home and bring the container in or ask for donations from your family and friends, or students’ families.
- Hanging Shoe Organizers: These are perfect for organizing task cards. Bring in one of these organization tools from home (if you have one lying around somewhere) for school. Another option is to order an inexpensive one online.
- Hardware Tool Boxes: The small compartments work really well for organizing small erasers and counters. Check to see if you have one in your basement or garage that you can bring into school.
- Plastic Sterilite Drawers: These drawers are perfect for holding cubes and the best part is that students can take the entire drawer to a work area. There are so many variations available online, so you can find one that perfectly meets your individual needs.
- Pringles Cans: These work for almost any math manipulative. Similar to the oatmeal container, ask for donations from your loved ones or student’s families or enjoy a salty snack you can scoop up from the grocery store. You can even upcycle them with pretty scrapbook paper and cute accents from stores like Dollar Tree and Michaels.