Paint Samples...Not Just for Decorating!

At my local teacher supply store, pocket chart cards run about $5 for a pack of 100. They come in a lot of colors, and have many uses around the classroom.

But what if you could get them for free?

Home improvement stores have free paint samples that are the perfect size for pocket charts and flashcards. Depending on the brand, the samples come in lots of different sizes. I found index-card size (about 3 inches wide) that I'm using for my behavior management chart. I took 25 each in 10 different colors, plus a big chunk of white.



The great thing about these is that they are painted on card stock, so they are pretty sturdy and will last a while. I would be careful to make sure the paint samples are non-toxic or don't smell like wet paint.
I know what you're thinking: that's a lot of paint samples! I felt bad taking so many, so I checked with the manager. I told him I was a teacher and he said it was not a problem at all.

I would love to know other uses that other teachers can think of for these awesome little cards. When I get in my classroom, I will post any other things I can think of! Good luck!


UPDATE: Here are some pics of how I'm going to use these in the room:

These are just some of the colors I found. They are Glidden samples from Home Depot.




I'm using card pockets that I found at Dollar Tree ($1 for 6 pockets). Inside each pocket is a set of colors, one for each level of my behavior management plan (still TBD but I got a bunch of colors just in case). When students have a corrective action, they will go and change their card to show what "color" they are on. I will record their color at the end of the day and send the week report home on Fridays. When students change colors, they will also record their color in a behavior log (easy tracking- make students do it!)

I also thought of using these for Class Job assignments. I will clip these onto the student mailboxes (shoe hanger- see later post) to show what job students have. Here are a few of them.

Those are all the ideas I have so far. Let me know if you think of others!