Make it Stick (Adhesives that Last in Class)
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Have you spent countless minutes carefully hanging your classroom signs, only to find them slowly slipping from your walls?
They’re tricky, aren’t they?
Sometimes they seem like they are perfectly attached and then, three months later, you walk into your room to find this:
It’s so frustrating, isn’t it? And we just don’t have the time to keep re-hanging the signs and labels our students (and we) rely on!
So I’d like to share a couple of adhesives that have worked very well in my classroom over the years. And, believe me, it’s a great test site for adhesives. We have no air conditioning and VERY humid weather each fall and spring. And these two adhesives last!
My first and most favorite is hot glue. If I could write a love poem to an adhesive, it would be an ode to hot glue.
Hot glue works very well on any classroom surface that is smooth and shiny, especially those plastic containers so many of us use. If your label is laminated, the hot glue will hold it flat against the container and last through years of classroom wear and tear:
You know what the best part is?
When you want to remove the labels, they come off cleanly! Well, sort of. It requires a bit of tugging, but the label usually stays in good shape. The container may have some glue left behind:
But this glue can be peeled off and the container will be unharmed. The same is true for the back of the label:
Another adhesive (a newer love of mine!) that works so well during the changing temperatures and humidity is sticky tack (also known as Blu-Tack or Fun-Tak). You know, that blue sticky stuff your students might think is gum. 😉
I’ve been using sticky tack for my anchor charts this year and it has worked so well. None of my anchor charts have fallen, despite temperature changes in our classroom. And this is the best adhesive for moving things easily, so it is ideal for moving those anchor charts to make room for new ones.
Well, only on a teacher blog could you go on and on about classroom adhesives. Which is really why I love blogging! I hope this was of help to some of you…and I hope it saves you time in picking up signs and labels that have fallen on the floor!
Do you have any favorite adhesives you use in your classroom?
Kristen Beakey
I’m an elementary math coach with a passion for sharing beautiful, streamlined solutions to save teachers time. Ladybug’s Teacher Files has been a work of love since 2010. Filled with tech tutorials, math ideas, and organization…I strive to save you time in all aspects of your teaching!