New Fave Pencil Sharpener!

I had been looking for something different than the typical old fashioned X-acto pencil sharpener for a LONG time.  Most of the students coming in to first grade do not have the fine motor skills to run a regular classroom pencil sharpener..  This summer I found a post about a specific pencil sharpener that kids with fine motor concerns can use without difficulty.

We didn't get to try it out the first week, as I had a ton of pencils sharpened for the first week of school.  This week I wanted students to start taking care of those things themselves.  This pencil sharpener is AMAZING!  I was able to clamp it onto my back table, and it works great!

It is so easy to use.  Students pinch the tabs to pull out what I call the "claws" that hold the pencil in place.  They insert the pencil in the hold and let go of the tabs.  Then all they have to do is hold their entire hand on top of the pencil sharpener to hold it in place and crank the handle.  No holding the pencil and having it spin out of control.  This is where I've noticed in the years past that kids have a hard time with:  holding onto the pencil while they are cranking the handing to sharpen.  Both their hands just don't work together

When the first few students tried it out, they exclaimed, "Wow!  That's awesome!"  No stress holding onto the pencil whatsoever!  I would definitely recommend this sharpener to all first grade teachers.  I'm hoping that it will last and hold up throughout the school year.  Our janitor and elementary principal and anxious to hear how its working out.

Check out this link to learn more about how to get this pencil sharpener:  www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com.

There is a mount that you can purchase to mount this sharpener to the countertop as well.  For now I'm going to keep testing out just clamping it onto the back table.  This way I have the old fashioned X-acto one and this new one to use.  No more waiting in line for the pencil sharpener!