Specialty Bottle

I was constantly scrounging containers for my technology lab. Things to keep little screws and what-nots organized. My students had to bring in as part of their materials list a small cardboard box, a paper tube and a jar or coffee can. No stinkin' pencil boxes or three ring binders in my class! The paper products were used for prototyping various contraptions and the jar and/or coffee can was used to store parts. I could never seem to get enough containers.

When I saw this post on CoolTools I immediately clicked over to the site. There were several items I thought might be handy in my tech lab, my garage or my kitchen. When I redesign my camping box this spring, I'll be surfing over to Specialty Bottle to see what I might purchase. Right now some of those bottles with the push dispensors look handy for oil or soap or maybe chocolate syrup.

There are no minimum orders and the prices seem very reasonable. If anybody else has had experience with this vendor. Leave a comment and let me know.

[via CoolTools]
[Image: Captured from Specialty Bottle: http://www.specialtybottle.com]

Bookshelves

Saw this page of different bookcases and I thought to myself, "there is always a fresh way to look at any structure". Show these to your students before giving them a design project to encourage their creativity.

I once gave my middle schoolers an assignment to redesign their notebooks. They had a hard time moving beyond what they knew. Once they allowed themselves to be creative and maybe a little crazy, it turned into a project they all enjoyed. I started it off by having them brainstorm answers to the question: What I hate about my notebook!

At the top of everyones hate list was homework.

[Image: Captured from freshome.com: http://freshome.com/2008/02/25/30-of-the-most-creative-bookshelves-designs/]
[Original source: Neatorama: http://www.neatorama.com/2008/02/26/a-gallery-of-creative-bookshelf-designs/]