19 Teacher Instagram Hacks That Will Make This School Year The Best One Yet

Just a few ways to save your money, time, and patience.

1. Use hot glue and painter's tape to hang posters without damaging the walls.

Instagram: @rise.over.run

You can reposition the tape until it actually hangs straight and just peel it off at the end of the year!

2. Wedge a roll of toilet paper into a candle holder and take out the cardboard so you don't have to buy your own Kleenex.

Instagram: @funfoodandfigurativelanguage

Pull the toilet paper out of the center to make tiny tissues that are easy for small hands to grasp.

3. Get a bunch of paint chips from Home Depot to teach colors, spelling, and even homonyms!

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They're useful, aesthetically pleasing, and, of course, free. Check out this Pinterest board for more ways to use paint chips in the classroom.

4. Separate crayons by color into drawers so they can quickly pick out the one they need.

Instagram: @justaprimarygirl

Instead of spending 10 minutes shuffling through a big box of crayons, they can quickly grab a replacement crayon and head back to their desk. Stick the labels on the drawers with glue dots — they'll stay for years, but will peel off without leaving a residue when you want to remove them.

5. Label a shoe organizer to store their headphones, water bottles, or school supplies.

Instagram: @applesandabcs

Who doesn't love a good vertical storage space hack?!

6. Make reading guides out of laminate strips and highlighter tape to help students that are easily distracted.

Instagram: @innovativeinclusion

Or use it yourself so you don't lose your place in the middle of a lesson!

7. Cut composition notebooks in half, since kids never usually use the whole page anyway.

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One half can be for math, and the other can be for English. Your local home improvement store will cut the notebooks for free or at a very low price.

8. Cut erasers in half with a utility knife and write numbers on them so your students know whose is whose.

Instagram: @justaprimarygirl

They'll last a whole lot longer this way too!

9. Glue pompoms to marker caps so each student has their own eraser when using the whiteboards.

Instagram: @stars.in.the.making

Also, pompoms just make everything look adorable.

10. Lay letters on clear tape to hang them on your bulletin board without stressing over the placement.

Instagram: @mrsweisteach

Arrange the letters on the tape, stick it on the board, staple the letters, and then peel the tape off. Your bulletin board is gonna look even better this year.

11. Bring their scissors home so you can give them a rinse in the dishwasher.

Instagram: @miss.mooresclass

The scissors will cut much more smoothly when they aren't covered in gunk.

12. Save the caps when the glue runs out so you have a spare on hand when one gets lost.

Instagram: @msdgay

Having a spare on hand means not having to throw out a perfectly good stick of glue.

13. Store glue in plastic containers with a sponge so you don't have to rely on finicky squeeze bottles.

Instagram: @firstgradedroplets

The squeeze bottles waste so much glue and the tops always get stuck. To get glue, the kids just wipe the pieces of paper across the sponge and they'll get the perfect amount of glue. No goopy projects and no waste!

14. Sort out the dull pencils so the kids don't have to dig through the stash to find a sharp one.

Instagram: @mrs.e.castle

At the end of the day, you can quickly sharpen all of the dull pencils and put them back in the sharp bucket.

15. Hang clothespins so students can claim their homework.

Instagram: @smarticles.br

No need to waste time asking, "Whose homework is this? And what about this one? And this one?" Whoever didn't receive their graded work can just go up to the board and find it themselves.

16. Reinforce the lids of crayon boxes with duct tape and unclog all of your glue tops with vegetable oil.

Instagram: @iheartmykinderkids

The tape will prevent the lids from fraying two weeks into the school year. If you still want them to use glue bottles, lubricate the tops with vegetable oil so they don't get clogged. All you have to do is stir the tops in vegetable oil, rinse them off, pat them with a towel to dry them off, and screw them back on.

17. Write names directly on the desks with oil-based Sharpie marker so you don't have to fuss over name tags.

Instagram: @sparklinginsecondgrade

At the end of the year, draw over the names with dry erase marker and wipe it off with white board cleaner. Works like a charm.

18. Frame this template to keep track of the things you always forget.

Instagram: @weareteachers

Use sticky notes or write right on the glass with dry erase marker.

19. Stick push lights on the wall to remind students how loudly or quietly they should be working.

Instagram: @misszcsclassroom

Get a four-pack of push lights from Amazon for $3.96.

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