Made It Monday - Lining up!

So sorry I have been MIA :( I am still in Ohio having a great time with family though! I felt sick about missing last week's Made it Monday and I was determined to not miss it again this week! Since I am far from home, I couldn't make any physical items for my classroom..BOO, but I was able to make some digital products. If you make it all the way to the bottom of the post, you can grab your freebie too!

Do you spend hours watching Teacher Tipster videos online, or is it just me? I love this guy! Anyway, as I was thinking about DAY 1, I knew I needed an effective way to line up my kids. I use several ideas already, but I wanted to add a few more to my teacher toolbox! I plan to print these, add a binder ring and hang them by my door so I don't have to try to remember the words to all the different songs!





Here are the ones I made for my classroom. I made these on my moms ancient less than ideal computer, and there was no option to save the document as a PDF. I saved them as JPEG's to Google Docs, I hope that it works!!! You should be able to click on any of the pictures to grab your copy. Then, head on over to Tara's to see what everyone else is making this week!

Kickin' it in Ohio

Hello friends! For the next few weeks my family and I will be in Ohio visiting all the grandparents, aunts, uncles and old friends! I love this time and I am so blessed to have a job that allows me the flexibility to stay connected even though we live so far away normally. However, this is putting a serious kink in my blog stalking reading, creating, and posting :( We are about to hop in the car and head to our next stop... before we go I wanted to show you what I have been working on.

First, I posted this Owl themed classroom decor pack to my TpT store. If you are interested in it, I have it on sale for $5. This is my first time to create anything like this, so if you have suggestions for improvements, or would like me to add something, please let me know!! All the labels, nameplates, and binder inserts are editable :)

The other thing I am working on right now is a traveling scientist unit!! I adore this activity and my third graders LOVED it. I can't wait to use it with my kinders. The idea is you pick one student a week to be the "traveling scientist" and they conduct an experiment of their choosing at home with their family. All experiments can be completed with materials you find commonly in your home. They record their experiment following the scientific process and then share with the class. Students all record in the same scientific notebook and are encouraged to decorate their page with photos or stickers, etc.. The kids absolutely love looking back through our book and they get such joy out of sharing pictures of themselves being a scientist at home! Here is a little sneak peak of what the packet will look like, I hope to have it finished in the next day or so!!

Until we meet again, take care,

Owl Love

As you can tell, I am loving me some owl stuff! I have been creating a bunch, but have been slow to blog about it. Here are the first 2 things I got listed at TpT.

I always send home a postcard to say hello to my new friends before meet the teacher. I created these postcards in Power Point so that you would be able to edit your own message and even type in the addresses if you'd like. There are 3 different versions and I have included kindergarten through 5th grade of each version. 

Get it here

I also created this banner to hang on my door or in the hallway. Each owl is about 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide!! 

Get it here

                         

Both items will be on sale for $1.50 until Thursday. Let me know what you think!

Monday Made It

Linking up with Tara again for this week's Monday Made it! I so look forawrd to these, but today I am feeling a little bummed. I made LOTS of stuff this week, but in my typical fashion, it is all about 7/8 finished. That is how I roll people... I almost finish lots of stuff, then 8 months later, it will be done! Stresses me out - why do I do it?? Hmmm, I may need to sit on a couch to figure out this one!  

Any who, I did finish my whisper phones. The first time I went to Lowe's and asked a guy to cut the PVC pipe, he told me no! I went back a week later with a plan. It went like this. 
Me:"can you please cut this for me? I'm a teacher and I need it for my classroom!" 
Employee" I can make one cut. Why, how many did you need?"
Me: (big smile) "Um, about 25... you would be helping kindergartners learn to read. Please!"
Employee: "I can sell you some cheap cutters... "
Me: " Did I mention I am a teacher and I am really trying not to spend more money, I already spend so much for my classroom. Seriously, I am using these as whisper phones, it really helps the kids with reading... want to try one out?"
Employee" (laughing and shaking his head) "okay, just this once!"

Moral of the story. Be very nice, explain why and lay it on thick!!!

They were super easy to make and I think the whole project cost around $19 and that is with the $7 I spent on the colored duct tape. If you want to make them, you will need (1) 10 foot piece of 3/4 inch PVC pipe cut into 3 1/2 inch pieces and (2) 3/4 inch elbow pieces per phone.

I cleaned my pieces with nail polish remover (although you can buy actual cleaner at the store) and then put an elbow on each side. Wrapped a piece of colored duct tape around the middle and that's it! The whole project took me 15 minutes once I started! Click here to see the video I watched before making them.

Next up was my alphabet line. I LOVE all the ones I have seen while blog hopping and in TpT stores, but I plan to use Zoo Phonics next year and I really wanted the alphabet line to match. If you have never heard about Zoo Phonics, I highly recommend you visit their site now. I plan to post more about it later this week. Stay tuned!

I bought their font CD and I love it. The only problem is the fonts only came in black line. I really wanted color for this, so I found some graphics online. I am not sure which ones I'll use. I love the colored graphics, but I wonder if I should be consistent and use the actual Zoo Phonics picture even though it wouldn't be colored. Any thoughts?

                                 With random graphics                      With Zoo Phonic graphics

I also made some flash cards to use with my class while teaching the letter sounds. The front has the animal cue and the back has the description of the movement. I love the way they turned out. I printed one last night (just to be sure) I just folded down the middle, added some double sided tape in the middle and laminated. Perfect, thick and sturdy! 

Front                                Back

 Lastly, I created some number labels so that I could make number magnets. I number all my students and thought this would be an easy way to see where everyone is during Daily 5. I already use a clip chart for behavior so I didn't think I wanted another clip chart with more clothespins for my daily 5 board.  I am tossing around the idea of using my smart board for this, but then the kids can't use it as part of their rotation and that seems silly. If you like these number circles, you can get a free copy by clicking on the picture below. The numbers came from Print Candee. So fun!

Here is the unfinished board. I will post another picture of the final product when I decide what I am going to use it for! 

 As always, thanks for coming over here and checking out my stuff and sticking around through my super long posts!

QR Codes for Meet the Teacher

**Edited to post for Manic Monday

I saw this amazing pin the other day that linked to a post on Pencils, Paper and Pixie Dust. The idea is you create a QR code with your email, phone number and teacher blog address so parents can get and SAVE that information right away! How many times have you sent home paper with this information only to have it either not used or lost? My plan is to have this sign hanging on my door for meet the teacher and for the first day of school. I will probably shrink it down and include it in our first weekly folder too.

 I used QRstuff.com to create the codes. I loved this site because it is super easy, free, and I could color the codes to match my poster! The picture I have above does not have my real info... figured I didn't need everyone having my school email! Did I mention it was easy? 4 steps!

Here is the barcode app I have on my phone, I am sure there are others.

Imagine all the possibilities!! I don't like to post anything as "public" on You Tube with my kids on it, I always had to email a link for the unlisted videos. The problem is I have lots of parents that do not have internet access at home or they never checked their emails. This way, I can make a QR, print, and send it home with each child.. almost all my parents have cell phones. Parents would be taken directly to the class video. Or, take pictures of the class and send home direct links to them via this teeny tiny little code! What other ways can we use these in the classroom? 

Click the link below to go grab a free copy to use in your room. Simply print your codes and paste them on. Or get your codes lined up on a blank document and print onto the poster like you would a certificate! If I knew how to make editable power points, I would have done that option for you! (anyone out there want to teach me how??)

Enjoy!

Monday Made it... a little late!

Sorry friends, I have been MIA! I had 2 baby showers, one of which I was hosting over the weekend and then we had to put my sweet dog to sleep on Monday so I was not in a happy place :( She was my first child and I miss her so much. I know she is in doggy heaven now though, and that she is not in any more pain! To take our minds off of our loss, we went to the beach yesterday...

Okay, onto happier things. Since I was a busy, busy lady, I didn't get anything done for school. This is causing me some major axiety as I feel the summer is slipping away and I am NOT ready!

For my Monday Made It, all I can offer are some non-school related items! I made 2 diaper cakes to match the shower themes. Check 'em out.

bee themed shower - love the stuffed bee from Kohl's

Moose themed shower. I added scrapbook paper to the G but forgot to snap a new picture.

little party favors. Hershey Nuggets covered in scrapbook paper with a topper.. my pictures don't do them justice, they were so cute. IMHO

banner for above the cake. Again, I really need to stop using my cell phone to snap pictures :(

 a close up of the banner

food tents to match the theme

I loved the labels I used with ribbon to add to the drinks

I had lots of fun making stuff for the shower. When the other person helping me through the shower sent me the invitations, I couldn't believe it.. they had the Scrappin' doodles moose on theme! Score - I knew I could make perfectly coordinated decorations!  So, not school related, but fun nonetheless! 

And the winner is...

Andrea P! Congratulations. I am emailing you right now!!!

Thank you all for making my first ever giveaway so amazing! I had over 1000 entries and made 75 more bloggy friends! I plan to post a little something on Monday to spread the love. I wish I could do it sooner, but I have a baby shower today and I am hosting a different baby shower tomorrow~  Until then, have a great weekend!