Earbuds VS. Headphones

I'm back to tell you more about my ipods!  Let's talk about headphones and earbuds.  If your school has ever had lice, you know that when lice are present, the headphones have to be put away.  So I decided that earbuds would be perfect, especially after learning that they're a dollar a set at the Dollar Tree!  I sent a note home to my families, letting them know they had two options.  They could either purchase their own set and send it to school, or they could send me $1 to buy a set for their child.  I also let them know that I would accept an extra quarter if they wanted to cover the tax and help pay for the hair clips.  The hair clips are to keep the earbuds wound and untangled in the containers.  I just bought three packs of 8 plain brown and black hair clips, medium-sized.

 I also used 20 of the baby food containers with lids from my teammate's stash. Thanks, Dana!   Here is the result...

(For those of who are wondering, my student #11 didn't come to school this year.)

I taught my students how to use the earbuds and put them away.  I found it best to teach them to hold onto the plug while standing to let them unwind.  When it's time to wind them up, hold the plug again, flat against your palm with your thumb.  Then use your free hand to wind the cord around your four fingers.  Put the clip on.  Put it in the box.  Put the lid on, put it back in its place.  Done!  

One of the reasons I love using this tray with the baby food containers is that if we are using them in another area of the room, or even in the common area outside of our room, it's so easy to carry. There are no drawers to slide or dump out.  The baby food containers are easily replaceable, but we've dropped them without damage.  Also, the students never handle any one else's earbuds like if you used a box with compartments and one big lid.

But beware!  Earbuds are not perfect!  Many of my students can't fit the earbuds into their little ears.  And since I'm not available to insert them each time they wear them, we came up with this solution.  Get your book and ipod ready.  Then push play on the ipad, and pick up one earbud to hold in one ear.  Use your other hand to turn the pages of the book.  It's not ideal, but it works!