One of our favorite and most loved kindergarten classroom ideas is THE ORIGINAL Glue Sponge. As teachers our struggle with glue sticks and glue bottles is real. The solution is glue sponges! No lost lids or clogs. Less mess, money, and waste. It’s a win-win for teachers and students. I created the first glue sponge 16 years ago and have never looked back! I don’t know if I was the first one to introduce them to a classroom, but I do know that I had never seen or heard them talked about it until I started sharing about them on my blog and social media about 14 years ago. And yes, THEY WORK! Here’s the thing about TKS….we don’t share or promote anything we don’t use or believe in. If glue sponges didn’t work and if they were messy, I wouldn’t talk about them all the time.
We’ve included them in our School Supply Research Project and 25 other school supplies!
Kindergarten Classroom Ideas: How To Make Glue Sponges
They are so simple and cheap to make! I spent about $18-20 to make 10-12 glue sponges and they will last the entire year with a little bit of maintenance. At the end of the year, I throw them out, and then I make new ones for the new school year. $18-20 dollars compared to the amount for glue bottles and glue sticks. We make one sponge for every two kids.
You will start by purchasing your sponges. We highly recommend the ocelo sponge because they’re already a little moist. Next, you will also need containers. The plastic Wal-Mart brand containers work better than the more expensive brands. Finally, you will need glue and we use Elmer’s White School Glue seems to work the best. The clear glue and the Glue All are slightly different textures and don’t work as well.
You can also get sponges in bulk from Amazon!
Pour the entire bottle of glue into the bottom of the container.
Put 1 complete sponge in your container. Then, cut another sponge in half or 1/3 to fit (varies depending on your container!). Push them down in the glue.
Pour more glue on top of the sponge.
Place the lid on and let the sponges absorb the glue. Allow the glue sponges to absorb the glue for a few days before you use them.
Using A Glue Sponge
You’ll be surprised at how simple glue sponges are to use. Through explicit instruction, modeling, and practice, teach your students to touch their paper to the sponge. Your students don’t pick up the sponge, nor do they don’t touch it. I teach my students to press the paper into the sponge with one or two fingers.
Our first glue sponge lesson involves modeling how they work and how we use them. This includes how to take the lid off, put the lid on, and carry them. Then, each student gets a turn to glue a square onto the paper. Next, everyone gets to practice using their glue sponges by gluing squares onto construction paper. I’m watching, guiding, and practicing.
Glue sponges work great for larger pieces of paper as well! Students are taught to glue around the edges for larger pieces of paper!
Maintenance Of The Glue Sponge
To keep your glue sponges moist and germ-free, spray them with a mixture of water and Listerine. The Listerine kills germs, and the water keeps the glue sponges moist. I use a regular-sized spray bottle filled with water and pour in one travel-size bottle of Listerine. Shake it to mix. I spritz my sponges every Friday afternoon! You will need to add glue occasionally. This depends on how much the glue sponges get used. Make sure the lids are on tight!
Making Individual Glue Sponges
If you want to make individual glue sponges, here’s what we recommend:
Crayon Boxes from Walmart (found in the office supplies section).
We used these during the pandemic when we couldn’t share supplies. These needed much more maintenance, so we recommend the larger, shared sponges.
Here are some videos that highlight how to make a glue sponge and how students use them in the classroom!
Here is a Glue Sponge In Use In My Classroom
For more ideas and information, check out these posts:
