0 Confession Time

I've had a lot of positive response to the "spoon pencil" strategy I've been using this year. (Thanks, Sam!)

I waited 8 weeks into the year before posting, just to make sure it was working well. This was the result at the end of the first quarter, and I couldn't wait to share the genius of it all.

But, I've been feeling a little guilty.  I think I need to confess the truth of my "genius" plan.

It doesn't work.

At the end of the second quarter, I replaced about half of the spoons and doubled the tape.

And here it is now, with four weeks left in the year:

On the positive side, my knife erasers fared much better. Five of the eight originals remain.

And the green fork pens?  Seven out of eight originals are still intact.

Still, I have enjoyed an entire year of not hearing "Mrs. Gruen, I forgot a pencil", or "Mrs. Gruen, do you have a BIG eraser?", or similar distress calls.

For next year, I have decided to step up my game with indestructible spoons:

If this doesn't work, I am attaching pencils to bricks.

I am not even kidding.