More classroom projects

First project - I'm sure that many of you have seen this trick and are thinking duh, but humor me anyway. I hate the wall hangings that have the double hooks and I remembered seeing a trick to use so that you don't have to measure or level. It worked great! Tear off a piece of painters tape that is exactly the length you need from one hook to the next. Then place that piece of tape on the wall. Stick your command hooks right on each end and voila!

Second project - I've been using this version of Whole Brain Teaching scoreboard for 2 years now and LOVE it! I needed some new gems for my points. Just hot glued some magnets to the backs of these and ready to go. Make sure your magnets are strong enough to hold them on your ten frame. My ten frames are card stock and thick laminate and some of the magnets would tend to slide.

Third Project - I've already shown you the board, but didn't really address the technique used for the border. It's super cheap (FREE! You know that roll of paper all workrooms have) and super easy. Simply cut your strips of paper into whatever size you want. I think mine were around 4-5 inches wide. I accordion folded them. (Make sure you fold several together at one time to save a lot of time!) Next, simply wad up like you're going to throw it away. Unwad (is that a word) it and start scrunching and stapling. 

Going Bananas!

I can't remember where I found this cute banana container (maybe Dollar Tree), but I knew I'd find a use for it. Anyone else do this? Well I think it's perfect for my monkey linking game.

Another game that my summer school kiddos have a blast playing was this frog game. I made them say the sight word on the frog every time they would try to make it into the bowl. Fun, yet effective!

CAFE board

This is my new CAFE board for my Kinders. I love how this one fits the Kindergarten standards and provides them with the fun beanie babies reading strategies that are so effective. Each skill is represented with a visual which helps the students understand what the objective is.

You can find the printables for this board HERE!

I've moved!

So, I've moved into a new room at my school and I LOVE IT! First of all, it's bigger! Secondly, it has a bathroom. Thirdly, I'm now with my other Kinder teachers (adios 2nd graders!) Lastly, it's red! Well, of course all of my blue tubs and decor will not match. It's been so fun finding and creating all new red and black things. I've kind of fallen in love with ladybugs too! Here's a picture of my room- the blank slate!

I have a fun idea for my classroom library, but for now I've just made the letters that will hang in it. I found these wooden letters at Wal-Mart. My husband painted them for me and I found some bling stickers (Dollar Tree) to fancy them up! 

My other project was some wicker basket sets that I bought used from a teacher online site. Once again, the lovely husband painted them for me. I added some polka dot duct tape trim and some ribbon. I love how it turned out!

I have several other projects going, so I'll be blogging again very soon! Have a fun, yet restful summer!!!

300 Followers!!!

I did it! I've reached 300 followers on my TPT store! I remember just starting out and wondering if anyone would be interested in my products. It's been so much fun making things and knowing these products are in classrooms all over the country. I appreciate your business and hope that the products I make are engaging for your students and help save you time. To thank you for following me,  I've made a packet of journal pages. I've created different pages that will grow with your students as they grow as writers. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy!

Click on the pic above to get yours!

Pencil Sharpener

I'm not sure if you've heard of the "Classroom Friendly" pencil sharpeners or not, but......they.......are.......awesome! This sharpener was created by an elementary teacher, just like us, tired of sharpeners that are loud and quit working just months after use. I have used her sharpeners for 2 years and have LOVED them. Here is a demonstration of my daughter using it.

You can find these sharpeners at http://www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com/.

Plants and Insects

We've just finished our study on plants and insects. We began both with a schema chart. (I love doing these because it gives me guidance on what the majority of them already know.)

You see my sensory table became a "garden center" for a few weeks. It is full of insects and a butterfly matching game. The Easter grass was messy though! 

I also hung up a couple different pocket charts. One is mainly for some vocabulary and the other is a word family sorting game. The butterfly cards have staples on them and I used my net from a puzzle I have to "catch" the butterflies. (The net has a magnet on the end.)

Thanks to my co-teacher for bringing me over some goodies for my kiddos to create and eat their own insects.

We planted our own seeds and made our sprout houses. (Free in my TPT store)

These are simply a few seeds of your choice and a paper towel in a zip-lock baggie. Make sure that when you wet the paper towel, you wring it out really well or you'll get too much moisture and moldy seeds. I speak from experience.

We labeled flowers and threw in an Earth Day project too!

Well, this is just a small portion of all the fun activities that we've been doing. Next up...........OCEAN!! Would you like a sample of my new ocean bundle?

Here's an "Add the Room" for you! Hang the cards around the room and your students will need to find the matching ocean animal to write and solve the addition problem on their recording sheet. I hope your kiddos enjoy it! Click on the pic.