Clipboards - Oh my!!

So awhile back I bought these cute little lightbulbs from Lakeshore to number my clipboards.  At dollar tree I finally bought 30 clipboards for my classroom. They are a cheap quality... I hope they hold up well!!

Simple plan -- on the back of the clipboard modge podge or use clear packing tape to adhere numbers. This way the kids can put them in number order, since the light bulbs are different colors I can assign colors to students, pick a color to put theirs away first, partner them by color, etc... Super simple and easy.

Then my third grader happened! This is him, do not mistake this picture as his version of helping. Oh no... this is him explaining to me my short-comings as a teacher and mama.

Ya see... my plan was missing the cute factor. It needed some ribbon or something to make them look more fun. Third graders like fun AND cute. My plan was simply not approved. So he got out some supplies for me...

and put me to work....  I thought about making them all the same but I was quickly informed that the same does not make them fun! He inspected everyone... I got to escape after making 10!

Now there are only 20 more to go. What I want to know is how long is the "cute factor" actually going to last? Kids love to pick at things... it took me 30 minutes to make 10 not to bad but not something I want to repeat multiple times per year either.

And while he was discussing my short comings... third graders love math. He has been deprived of math all summer. I have asked him to try other things out, read some new books and tell me how they are and such but no math. This is very bad I am told as it is the "most favoritest thing of all third graders". Did you know that?

Now my fourth grader... he says math is the worst invention ever so I can leave it out.

So for all of you teachers reading this here is there advice.... 

Remember ONLY teach math in third grade but not in fourth. PLUS you should teach math "like most of the day" and "some reading for when my brain needs a number break" but nothing else!

And in fourth grade you should teach primarily lunch and recess and then do a little reading when they are tired from too much running. Remember that "kids are growing and need lots of food and exercise to get big and strong. They especially need sugar as it gives them more energy to exercise." PLUS I am told that this is considered "brain based teaching" as it allows my son's "small box" to have time to process what he read.

Hmmmm... I don't think I will be sharing their advice with their new teachers on back-to-school night.

Mental note for next summer - get the teenager to help with classroom projects and leave the little two to pencil sharpening. They are bossy!! And no.... I don't know where they get it from and no asking my hubby either!