Paperless Early Finisher Bins

Those speedy kids are hard to keep up with. While you can always give them the “read, draw, colour” options, it’s nice to offer some other options too. I’ve been doing early finisher tubs of some sort for my whole career. While it has gone through changes, I currently do these paperless bins that are fun and have sneaky educational value.

How it works

The idea is that these bins offer activities that can be completed INDEPENDENTLY.

When students are finished their work and have put it where it belongs (either in “fini” tub, in a duotang or other designated spot), they check the “pas fini” tub to make sure they don’t have any other unfinished work. If all their other work is completed, they can go ahead and start a bin.

Storage

My bins are in an IKEA Trofast storage system. There are 9 bins and there is usually one activity per bin, though sometimes I’ll add a couple in each. Don’t have room for a Trofast system? Use anything! Ziploc bags, messenger zip up bags, plastic stacking tubs…anything works!

Choosing a bin

You can allow students to choose any bin, or you may set up a rotation. I’ve done both. I find that if all the activity options are “equal”, they will pick what they want and I don’t have to bother with rotation. When I’ve done literacy or math centre type stuf fin there, I do need a rotation, otherwise they stick to the same thing. If you’re looking for more info on that style bin, check out my French Early Finisher Bins blog post.

Using the bin

They take the bin to wherever they’d like in the class. Maybe you’d like them to return to their seat, maybe they work on the floor/carpet area. Since my students work at tables, I generally prefer that to take their bin somewhere other than their table. I have a few other work spaces in my room or the carpet. This way, they don’t disturb or distract those who are still working.

Getting started

It’s important to set your expectations of these bins. Who can use them? Will you use a board system or is it a first come first serve? How do they need to clean up? Where can they use them?

Most activities are pretty self-explanatory but if I think something needs explanation, I’ll mention it during our morning meeting on the day that it gets introduced.

Examples of what I put in the bins

Below are some examples of different things I like to include. Games, building toys (STEM and fine motor!), puzzles etc.

Tangram puzzle & Kanoodle puzzle

Great for spatial, visualization and problem solving.

Plus Plus & Pix Brix

Both of these are excellent for fine motor building.

Tic Tac Toe

The large one is from Dollarama. A great alternative is also a little upcycle from Dollarama. The little wooden tray on the right had wooden shapes in it, I reuse them for Tic Tac Toe games with gems or tokens.

Loose parts

Loose parts are endless and there are so many ways to use them. I have two bins of loose parts in my early finisher unit. There’s usually one that’s seasonal and one that’s random bits. On the left is an example of a larger tray I have that students can use. There is no expectation to create stories here, they can do whatever they want with them. Looking for more info on loose parts and story workshop? Check out the blog post.

Board games & Pixel Art

I have a laminated version of Snakes and Ladders, an easy one to include. Any games in this format would work.

I also won this Pixel Art Challenge kit at a workshop. They use the little cubes to make images, so fun!

Cards & I Spy Books

Cards have always been a huge seller in my class. Sometimes they play games together, but I also have students who love playing solitaire. You can often find card decks at thrift stores.

I Spy books are great in early finisher bins. I have thrifted most of my collection.