If you follow my lifestyle blog then you have already seen this post, but I wanted to repost anyway for my teacher friends because if you are a teacher and haven't heard about this yet - you are just going to love this product. I was gifted a new pencil sharpener from Troy at Classroom Friendly Supplies to review. I was beyond excited to review this sharpener because pencil sharpening in my classroom was about to drive me completely crazy.
A pencil sharpener may not seem like a big deal to those of you who don't teach, but if you are a classroom teacher then I just know you understand where I'm coming from. Pencil sharpeners are loud and the sound resembles a dentist's drill so every morning as we start our morning routine, I hear fifteen minutes of grinding as everyone prepares their pencils for the day. Then, despite having a set time/routine for sharpening pencils, there will undoubtedly be a "pencil emergency" in the middle of a whole group time, which will distract everyone. Not to mention social sharpening - I have girls who will chit chat as they're sharpening their pencils until only a teeny tiny nub of a pencil remains. And to put the cherry on top the electric sharpeners that cause all these problems range from $40 - $60 and I'm lucky if they last more than a year.
Enter the Classroom Pencil Sharpener. You guys - this thing is awesome! It is cute with a fun, retro look and I chose blue to match my classroom. This sharpener is manual, not electric like what I've always had, which had me skeptical at first. It was really easy to use, though. You just pinch the black clamps together and pull out the metal plate in the front. Then, insert your pencil and wind the arm. When the pencils are perfectly sharp, the pencil sharpener stops working. Goodbye social sharpening!
Another thing I love about this sharpener is that it is really quiet. Its not silent but it is much, much less disruptive than other sharpeners I've used. This is music to my ears - I am over the dentist drill like sound of most sharpeners.
My sharpener arrived over spring break so I sharpened every single pencil in my entire apartment. They all came out perfectly. When I got back to school, I introduced it to my kids, who all thought it was cute and were dying to try it out. I showed them how to use it and we watched this video together. It took a day or two for them to get the hang of it but so far so good!
The only thing I didn't like was the clamp that comes with the sharpener. It slides into a hole on the bottom and is intended to anchor the sharpener to a bookshelf or table and hold it in place. While it does keep it sort of steady, you still need to hold the top while you crank. I'm going to use sticky command tape (like what goes on the back of a command hook) to attach it to the bookshelf in my room and we'll be all set.
The very best thing about this sharpener is the price tag. It is only $24.99, making it half as expensive as most classroom sharpeners! Hurry on over to Classroom Friendly Supplies and get one for yourself.
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