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SaraP
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| Posted: March 06 2009 at 2:02pm | IP Logged
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Can anyone recommend brands that won't result in having to resharpen the pencils 8 times (because the entire tip snaps off) in the course of 45 minutes worth of math and writing lessons?
It's probably not a good sign that I can't manage to sharpen pencils, but I have tried three different sharpeners and two brands of pencils and the same thing keeps happening. My boys (6 and 7) think it's hilarious, but it's driving me nuts!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 06 2009 at 2:22pm | IP Logged
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I love THIS pencil sharpener
It's like the ones they used to have in schools when I was in school, hand crank all metal.. and nothing else has lasted like this one has.. and it works well.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 06 2009 at 2:32pm | IP Logged
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I know we've discussed this before...but I couldn't find it when I searched...hmmmm...
Well, I use several pencil sharpeners around here. My hands down favorite is a Lyra twin barrel pencil sharpener.
Buy a good quality pencil. My preference is Dixon Ticonderoga pencils.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Jen L.
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| Posted: March 06 2009 at 3:29pm | IP Logged
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Hi Sara!
I have this SAME problem and I second the Lyra pencil sharpener and a good pencil (when they are cheap, the barrel is crooked and they won't sharpen.)
Here are two of the previous 4real discussions (i don't know if there are more)...
Here
and here
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KackyK
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| Posted: March 07 2009 at 6:31am | IP Logged
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Yep I have settled on the Ticonderogas that you get from Costco. We still got through them like water because they get "lost". I don't know where they go...
Pencil sharpener wise I've stuck to our 99cent versions from Staples. They seem to work fine. We just have to empty them quite often.
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stellamaris
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| Posted: March 07 2009 at 8:56am | IP Logged
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I have a Boston electric pencil sharpener that's reasonably quiet and quick. We've had it at least ten years, and so far no problem! I second the Ticonderoga pencil suggestion, cheaper pencils are just awful...don't erase, don't write clearly, don't sharpen well. There are two drawbacks to the electric sharpener. You can't use it when the power's out, and it doesn't sharpen colored pencils. For that, I use a little double-barreled manual sharpener that is messy, but works fine. Maybe if you sharpen several pencils before you start math, the children can just grab another one when needed instead of taking a trip to the sharpener. As far as losing pencils, it's as mysterious as socks  !
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Mimip
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| Posted: March 07 2009 at 11:20am | IP Logged
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We just bought a new electric pencil sharpener yesterday! Our old one was the one I had used as a teacher in my classroom over 10 years ago  We bought a x-acto sharpener and it works wonderfully (so far  )
I also want to get on the Ticonderoga bandwagon. They are the absolute best and if you get them at one of those club stores (costco or Sam's) they are super affordable.
Just my $.02
Good Luck,
Mimi
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Bookswithtea
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Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...I ought to take stock in pencils.  I feel like we've tried everything. We even inherited a super old super heavy duty commercial electric pencil sharpener. I thought it was indestructible. Nope. My kids break EVERY pencil sharpener, and then lose the little hand ones. I even tried mechanical pencils for awhile, hoping to bypass the entire sharpener debacle. The leads broke constantly and they lose the nice ones too often to justify the expense.
We do buy Ticonderoga's. They do seem much nicer than the alternatives. But that still leaves us with the sharpener problem. I assure you, you have my deepest empathy and beyond that, I am positively flummoxed as to the solution.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 07 2009 at 8:03pm | IP Logged
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have you tried a sharpener like I posted Books? the fact that it's bolted to the wall really seems to help here
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: March 07 2009 at 8:06pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| have you tried a sharpener like I posted Books? the fact that it's bolted to the wall really seems to help here |
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I thought about it, but it seems like what keeps happening is that they get lead stuck in the machines so badly from overforcing the pencils and sharpening endlessly that the mechanisms inside break. Dh has taken them apart I don't know how many times to fix them, and eventually they are unfixable. I'm not sure a wall mount would fix this problem. Maybe because they put the pencil in from the side instead of with a downward force???
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 07 2009 at 8:20pm | IP Logged
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yes.. and the inside is all metal.. it's really easy to clean out.. I've had to clean out crayon just take something and get the crayon out of the grooves and any that's broken off in it.
And unlike an electric sharpener they might just get tired of cranking it
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SaraP
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| Posted: March 09 2009 at 9:31am | IP Logged
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Thanks, everyone.
Our current batch of penicls are Ticonderogas, so I think I will check out the Lyra sharpener.
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Mama to six on earth, two in heaven and two waiting in Russia. Foxberry Farm Almanac
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SimplyMom
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| Posted: March 10 2009 at 2:10pm | IP Logged
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I think there is a pencil eating monster living under the desk because we go through a prodigious number of pencils. It is really astonishing. We use the Ticonderogas as well and have an electric sharpener.
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Darcee
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: pencils and sharpeners
