Monday Made It :: Washi Tape Name Sticks

Happy Monday, friends.  I'm so happy to be back again today with another Monday Made It!  This one is super simple, but such a big part of each day in my classroom.

If you're like me, your name sticks are in a prominent location in your classroom.  They get used every single day, over and over again to call on students, put partners or groups together, etc.  They are a small, simple thing....but they make my life as a teacher so much easier!

I've tried several different types of name sticks over the years.  Most recently, I've painted one end....

...and used star stickers.

I LOVED the look of the spray-painted name sticks, but the reality of me painting sticks each summer just isn't going to happen.  Why?  I don't know.  I'm lazy in the summer.  Admitting that I'm too lazy to spend a few minutes spray-painting the ends of craft sticks is a little embarrassing, but it's the truth.  Grace, please.  

The star stickers didn't stay put.  Most of them fell off by the end of last year.  Also, I tried numbers on the sticks last year instead of names.  It was the first time I'd tried that, and I realized that I like having names on the sticks better.  Numbers would allow the sticks to be used from year to year, but made it less convenient to call on kids (especially early in the year when I was still trying to learn their numbers or when guest teachers were there).  I'll do names from now on.

Anyway, as I was brainstorming what I could use this year (planning to go back to the spray-paint), my stash of washi tape came to mind.  Washi tape is fabulous -- so easy to work with and so super cute!!  I had these three options in my collection that are wider - more the size of masking tape.  I knew that they would be a cute and easy solution, so I decided to give it a try for this year.

 I had these three colors to choose from.

 I thought that the orange didn't stand out enough against the wood of the stick.  I liked the pink and blue, so I tried them both in my name stick cup to see which I preferred.

This is the cup I keep my name sticks in.

I loved the way the pink tape looked, so I wrapped one end of 30 sticks. 

(Always make extras at the start of the year for those newbies that will come in throughout the year!)

 Pretty adorable in the cup, huh???

My student names will go on one end once my class list is finalized.

And that's that!  Easy (simple, actually), but they will be used SO MUCH this year!

Thanks to Tara for hosting this fun linky each week.  I love being inspired by all of the other teachers that link up.