AIBU to throw out all the pencils?

[SimonBridges]

I teach reception.
I have a massive pot of colouring pencils. It’s always a mess and they always need sharpening. The leads are all broken so when you do sharpen them the leads just fall out.
I have a huge box of new colouring pencils. They’ve been on my shelf for three years.

I’m thinking of throwing out all the old pencils and replacing them with a few new ones.

AIBU?

No! Do it Do it ......,

Yes definitely! Why wouldn't you if they're not fit for purpose and you have new ones?

Do it!

But it feels so wasteful.

Pop them in the staff room for others to help themselves to or send them home with the kids.

Can you use the old pencils for some kind of craft activity? Pencil shaving art? Diy pencil beads?

But when you let the kids use them they will drop them and the leads will break and you'll be back to square one!

But the only answer to that Wolfie would be to not have pencils.

Or not to have children!
Maybe a set for display and a set you can let the little horrors darlings loose on.

It would all be a bugger of a lot easier without children.

Do it.

Love your last comment OP

Chuck out def. and use nice new ones. I hate it when children get given rubbishy resources. I’m a HT btw.

Yesterday I sorted the pencil crayon box and sharpened all the ones that needed doing. On the third attempt and the lead falling out I would bin that pencil. It felt so wasteful but then I remembered my kids are 12 and up, pencil crayons are cheap and I am an actual grown up and can chuck them out . I'm not a teacher.

I’d chuck them out. They are not functioning correctly.

Do it!

If you don't want to waste them, buy a fine hacksaw blade and a small drill bit and make some of these?

honey-mommy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/colored-pencil-necklace-tutorial.html

I’d get felt tips.

Use the new pencils. You know you want to...

You need to learn to literally put a price on your time and stress. That doesn’t come naturally to teachers, but can help to make quick decisions. So if sorting out the pencils will take 30 minutes and you price your time at £20 an hour, then if the replacement pencils cost £5 you decide to just bin the old ones as it’s cheaper than the £10 of your time.

I do it every year and pop the old box in the staff room and the old colours disappear very quickly. I know it sounds wasteful but it saves my sanity!

I have special tray where the rubbish pencils go. That is the ONLY tray they can use during wet play (ever since I came in and found they had talked the supervisor into giving them the colour sorted ones I kept back for art when everyone needed the same colour ).

I have just replaced them all with the new ones.
The only other time I have done this was pre OFSTED when it was simply quicker and less stressful.

I have special tray where the rubbish pencils go. That is the ONLY tray they can use during wet play (ever since I came in and found they had talked the supervisor into giving them the colour sorted ones I kept back for art when everyone needed the same colour hmm).

Exactly.

Big tray of naff mixed pencils, all mixed up, happiness for wet play.

The tray with neat dividers, labelled 'Mrs Can't's Special Pencils' by a helpful pupil, is for lessons, and NOTHING ELSE.

Special tray is refilled once in a blue moon every few years.

If they are unusable obviously bin them. If they are useable but rubbish keep them for outdoor provision.