SmartPALS = Awesome!

My kiddos have been trying out some super cool SmartPAL Jr. Sleeves from EAI Education. When EAI contacted me about reviewing them, I jumped at the chance! My kiddos are loving them! I mean SERIOUSLY. Loving them. I mean like it's a huge treat to be able to use one! (I could almost use them for classroom management...they are that excited about them!).

There are some practical features that I just love:

• Made of nice, thick plastic so they'll hold up longer.
• Side loading! This is such a small thing...but such a big difference! Have you ever tried to slide a paper down in a top loading page protector? It can be a pain. But side loading? Easy-peasy lemon squeezy!
• The paper doesn't slip! I was a bit worried about this before I started using them. I was planning to try them out with cursive tracers. . .so they needed to stay put! There's kind of like a static cling that holds the paper snugly in place. AwEsOmE!
• They're two-sided! Kiddos can use them for the front AND back of papers!
• They erase easily and completely (we use socks for our "handy dandy erasers")
• Perfect to use in a workstation! Instead of making a whole class set of a paper, all you need to do is make 4-6 copies, slide them in the SmartPAL Jr. Sleeves, and you're good to go!

I know that we'll find lots more ways to use them, but so far, we have used them for ...

1. Cursive handwriting tracers. This was one of my kiddos' favorite thing to use them for. They reported that they were able to write much more smoothly with the marker on the plastic than with pencil on paper. They felt that it made their handwriting better (and it was, too!).
2. Math fact practice. My kids LoVeD doing math facts with the SmartPAL sleeves.
3. Workstations-- we used them for a couple workstation activities: Word Search and Rainbow Writing. They had so much fun! I'm telling ya....a nifty little motivational tool here! We're winding down to the end here (Friday is our last day), so our workstations are a bit limited, but I think they'd also be awesome for Boggle, Word Sorts, Elkonin Boxes (Sound Boxes), and all kinds of Math workstation activities!
   

Make sure you stop by and check them out. I think you would LOVE using them in your classroom, too! EAI is also offering free shipping for orders over $30 until the end of August! (it's normally free shipping for orders of $99+). Just use the code PIFREESHP13 when you order.

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Oh...and on another note....

Only THREE days left, friends! Only THREE days!