Who doesn’t love Ikea?! I mean…it’s like paradise. I want to buy all the things at Ikea. Seriously. We don’t have one here in Nashville so every time we’re anywhere near an Ikea, I make The Mister stop so we can buy all the things! Today I want to share some ideas for Ikea In The Classroom and show you my classroom must-haves from IKEA!
These baskets are found in the kitchen area of Ikea. We use ours for a couple of things: storing our personal pocket charts from the Target Dollar Spot and I use another one as my mailbox for all of the letters, drawings and goodies my kids bring me! I’ve also hung one by our classroom door and kept our emergency folder inside!
These giant inflatable dice are amazing! They are heavy duty plastic and the outside is a cloth cover that comes off! So when your dice gets dirty, you slip the cover off and wash it! These Ikea dice are great for math activities and morning meeting activities!
You can see our morning meeting dice greeting here!
On our last Ikea adventure (it really is an adventure….) I found these awesome water bottle numbers. These numbers slip onto water bottles. Imagine the possibilities! Numbers…adding….subtracting….bowling to make 10….so many possibilities!
These stamper markers are everything. Seriously….frogs…ghosts…paw prints….everything. These are a great math tool! You can use them for making ten frames or for adding and subtracting! Students can use the stampers to solve the equation! First they choose an equation. Then they stamp paws and frogs. Finally they count and write the answer!! So. much. fun. My kids LOVE them!
These Ikea octopuses (octopi…) are found in the laundry section and are designed to hang clothes to dry. We use them to display student artwork. We have three of these hanging in our class hallway and there’s always artwork hanging from these. Kids love it. Adults not so much because they have to duck to come into our class. But it’s all about the kids….so get over it adults! hehe
An Ikea in the classroom find that has been a lifesaver are these utensils! We do a lot of eating and cooking in our classroom so plastic utensils can get a little pricey. These utensils are perfect. We use them and I wash them and they’re ready for the next day! The bowls have been great for sorting and craft activities too!! Ikea…useful…versatile….
And speaking of eating in the classroom…we do breakfast in the classroom and we have no tables and desks….so trays are a must have! I love restuarant trays but these Ikea trays are perfect for the classroom! They’re large and deep so they contain all messes that happen. (Not IF messes happen…but WHEN they happen….No 5 year old would ever spill their milk….or juice…or syrup….ever….Nope.)
These hooks are my #1 must have Ikea must have. If you never buy anything from Ikea, buy these. Lots of them. Everytime I go to Ikea I buy several packages of these hooks. Why? They’re perfect for hanging up all the things in our classroom. Anchor charts…lights….art work…you name it, you can hang it with these! Seriously! These get used daily in our room! (These are found in the photo section!)
To see how I use these hooks to hang my anchor charts, check out this post!
And finally, this little tool kit from Ikea is perfect for the classroom!!! Again it gets used almost daily! And it was only $8!
What are you Ikea in the classroom finds and ideas?!
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6 comments
The water bottles could be used for structuring. Draw a card and flip the bottle that goes with it to make 5,10, etc. Since the kids are so into bottle flipping these days!
The white picture frames on pedastools are great for center activists directions, examples or pictures of what the area should look like when cleaned up( like the library). Cardboard magazine holders make great book bag boxes for all those self made books and kids can personalize their boxes and take them to where ever they read in the classroom or outside !
These storage bins for creating the center storage similar to your classroom. http://www.schoolofdecorating.com/2011/07/arts-crafts-storage/
Hi – I love Ikea. I have just completely changed my classroom into a flexible learning space and I found loads of useful things at Ikea like floor cushions and lap trays.
This is great! So the one thing that has really held me back from flexible seating is lunch. We eat lunch in the classroom so I figured they had to eat at their desks, but now I see your trays. My question for you is do parents complain about eating on the floor? And how much time does it take to clean off the trays? (I don’t have a sink in my class, or even near my class so that is another factor for me to figure out.)
Thanks, as always!
I’ve never had a parent complain and I take the trays home weekly to wash them! I have extras so if one gets really dirty and needs to be replaced, I have them available or I use Clorox/Lysol wipes in between washings if needed.