Monday Made It (June 30th 2014)

Finally!! I'm so happy to be able to link up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for another Monday Made It! I must admit I am addicted to crafting and it causes my house to suffer...the 1st step is admitting you have a problem!!!

Anyways, onto the fun.This week I made the VERY popular teacher toolbox. However I didn't settle for one....I made two! I bought them at Home Depot on sale for $16!!!

Although gray is one of my favorite colors (in home decor) it's not a color in my classroom. So I decided I would use some bright pink and lime green spray paint to brighten them up a bit.

After I chose my colors I got to work. I'm not the best spray painter but I'm pretty sure my Kindergartens won't even notice! 

Next up was label time! I searched for the perfect labels that would match my room but in the end decided to create my own so that they would match all my other decorations. I printed them out on shiny photo paper and cut away!

Once the cutting was over I used double sided tape to adhere them inside the drawers. You really can't see the tape unless you look VERY close. I really love the way the both turned out and can't wait to organize my desk at last!

Now it's pretty obvious what the pink toolbox is going to be used for but the lime green one is a little different. I plan on keeping this one accessible to the students. I will use the bottom large bins for extra/lost crayons. Then the top small bins are labeled A-Z to keep my letter cards for word building! The table drawers will hold that days letters paper clipped together for each student at the table. As the year goes on the table captains will be in charge of clipping the letters together as a morning procedure. I'm really hoping this will help to keep those letters organized!

Now for the EXTRA fun! One of you lovely readers can enter for a chance to win the labels I created! The bundle includes pre-made and editable labels for both the 22 and 39 compartment drawers. Enter to win by using the rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
You can also purchase the labels by clicking the image below or here.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed it!!!

Five for Friday (June 27th 2014)

I'm back again for this weeks:

We had a door decorating competition this week and the winner receives a $5 giftcard to Starbucks! Iced-grande-nonfat-no whip-white chocolate mocha....here I come! That really is a long order.....

I received a free sample for Jamberry nails. I'm not sure if it's the Jamberry or the fact that my nails are painted for the first time in 4 months BUT I'm loving it! Well.....let's be honest... It's the Jamberry!

I've been staying up way to late working on this weeks Monday made-it! Every morning as I drink chug my coffee I swear that I'm going to go to bed earlier. Still working on that!

USA might not have won yesterday but they did advance and it's clearly because of these two little fans. #ibelievethatwewillwin

 

Saving the best for last...my summer time show has begun! Anyone else obsessed with Big Brother?!? 

This weekend I will be cleaning and getting ready for company...PLEASE send me your cleaning fairies! Have a fabulous weekend!!!

Bright Tip Tuesday #3

Whoa! Two posts in one day...it's getting crazy around here!

This weeks Bright Tip includes another freebie! As a Kindergarten teacher I always start the year off with students who can't write their name. This is a very important skill in the classroom & I wanted a simple way for all students to practice. I decided to make a student sign-in sheet and include this in my students morning routine.

I change this activity every nine weeks. The changes are as follows:

1st nine weeks: Students will only practice their first name. I start by allowing them to trace on top of their name that I have typed.

2nd nine weeks: Students will write their first name next to the name I typed.

3rd nine weeks: Students will write their first and last name after the name I typed.

4th nine weeks: Student will use a blank sheet to write their first and last name by themselves!!

I use the vertical sheet for the 1st and 2nd nine weeks.

I use the horizontal sheet for the 3rd and 4th nine weeks.

All you need to do is insert a text box to type in your class list! I copy these front to back to save on paper & attach them to a clipboard. I also choose a handwriting winner each day! You could even slide the copies into a clear plastic sleeve and use expo markers!


Enjoy :)

Two for Tuesday

Hello Friends!!

 I am linking up with The Teaching Tribune for the first time. Mostly because I just started making products on TPT. I have put two Alphabet Packets 50% off for today only.

First up is my newest packet to help with alphabet recognition. It includes a fun interactive worksheet for each letter of the alphabet.

Next up is my Alphabet "High-Fives". You can read more about how I use these in my blog post here.

I hope you enjoy these products!! Please leave feedback :)

Five for Friday (June 20th, 2014)

It's time for...

  

Every year we make this picture for Daddy and this year it was even better adding another kid in the mix! Won't it be adorable to have a little boy holding that "A" one day???

  

I had a lot of fun making this magnetic board for my classroom! I'm pretty sure Kylee is having even more fun with it being home right now. She seriously spent 15 minutes caring magnets from the fridge to the board! I guess I will need to add one of these to our playroom sooner rather than later! Does anyone else seem to double up on projects since you also want one for your kids? 

We also got to spend some time with my dad. This is a picture of him with all of his grandchildren. That's one happy man!

  

This was the first week of VPK. Let me just say that 4/5 year olds have a lot of energy!!! We got to get some of that energy out in our makeshift "Motor-Lab"! This is tons of fun for everyone!! I really wish we had this during the school year.

As for today, you can find me at the pool trying to relax and get some kind of tan. However I'll more likely be panicking about having a toddler in the pool and checking the monitor every 5 minutes thinking the baby is up from her nap! Relax?? That's a funny joke! 

That sums it up friends!! Have a Great Weekend!!

Bright Tip Tuesday #2

Hello again! I'm back with a super easy quick tip. This tip requires no money and very little time but comes with some hand slapping fun!! I'm talking about "high-fives".

I use these to help my students learn all kinds of things. I'd say we use them more often to help with sight words but since I'm teaching VPK this summer I've made them to help with name recognition first.

Once they master those "high fives" I will change them to our weekly letters and sounds. 

The idea of this trick is simple. On the way out the door all students must "high five" a hand and say what is written on it. Sometimes I ask them to slap them all, sometimes only one. It really just depends on how much time we have to get out the door!!

The reason I love this activity so very much is because I've seen it work. Children love high fives and they learn quick from repetition! 

Now for a little giveaway. All you have to do is enter below for your chance to win the Alphabet "High-Fives"!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope you can find at least one way to use these in your rooms! The possibilities are endless!!!

High-five friends! 

Monday Made It

Good morning!!

I'm so thrilled to link up with Tara at 4th grade Frolics for my 1st Monday Made It! I'm pretty addicted to crafts so the fact that I can now document them is AMAZING!

So here goes!

I've really wanted to make a large magnetic board to put in the playroom and my classroom. So off to walmart I went. I picked up 2 huge oil drip pans from the car department. They were only $12 each! Then I snatched up some cute duct tape, command strips and tissue paper. 

The duct tape is to cover the words on the top.

This was actually the hardest part of the project and it wasn't even that bad! My favorite kind of projects are the easy ones!!! The reason this was hard was because I bought a patterned ducktape and I had to line up the patterns.

Next I made tissue pom-poms, except I only fluffed them up in one direction. They are more like tissue flowers!

After I made a green one I decided I wanted to add more colors. Then it was time to glue them on.

I just put a huge glob of hot glue on the bottom of each flower.

I bundled them up in the corner and then got to work doodling!

And now the finished project....

Stay tuned for a new post on how I plan to use this in my classroom!