Must Have Monday Teacher Tools: Week 2

I'm back again with week two of my Must Have Monday Teacher Tools.  This week I'm talking about pencil sharpeners.  Every classroom has to have one.  They are an absolute necessity.  I have had far too many to count over the years.

The best ones are the old manual ones, but let's face it, no one has that kind of time to sit there and turn that crank.  However, I guess I could consider it an alternative to going to the gym…

I have a few of these buried in cupboards hoping to find some nice dad who likes to tinker with electronics and can maybe figure out why they don't work.  They just makes noise and doesn't sharpen.  This particular one is made by Boston.

Next up is the one I had been using until I just couldn't stand it any longer.  This one is by Bostitch.   In the beginning it did work well, but after about a year, it gave out.  It sharpens, but it takes about a minute to sharpen a brand new pencil. I've never let the kids use it and I've only ever used number 2 pencils in it.  After about a minute it finally gets to a flat dull writing nub.  I don't have 20 minutes in my day to spend sharpening pencils.    I keep it around as a back-up and I may let the kids use it as time goes on as a class job.

My favorite it this one by Xacto.  It sharpens so quickly and quietly.  

It has a sensor when to stop sharpening and a light appears when it is done.

Just look at that point.  No nubby pencils with this one!

I bought mine on Amazon. I LOVE Amazon Prime!!!

Here's the BEST part.  Those other sharpeners I paid well over $30 for.

This one was ONLY $29.99 on AMAZON!!!

Be sure to come back next Monday for week 3 of my Must Have Monday Teacher Tools.

You just might find a new tool you didn't know you couldn't live without.