Photo Corners

If you use Daily 5 /CAFE  then this post will be of special interest to you.  If not, then just keep reading because you'll surely find a use for the creative genius I am about to share.

I'm a scrapbooker.

Well, in theory.

I like to say that I am a scrapbooker, but the reality is that I tend to buy a lot of scrapbook-related stuff, neatly pack it away in my little home studio and never get around to actually using it.  

I do use a lot of scrapbooking techniques and supplies in the classroom though.  I use my Cricut to make bulletin boards and find fun uses for pretty, patterned paper.  Recently, I unearthed a package of photo corners and it rocked my world.

I don't know why I hadn't thought of using them before.  They make things look pretty and they are practical.

I started using Daily 5 / Cafe last year and totally heart it. The CAFE board bugged the heck out of me though.  Yeah, I know..."child-centered"..."student ownership"...blah-blah-blah.  The idea is that the students are to write out the cards that hang on the board.

I let them.  Yet, I cringed and shuddered at it.  

Here's the thing.

I'm all for displaying student work when it is actual student work.  I'm all for students taking ownership for something.  But, in reality, having kids hand-write a dictated sentence strip verbatim is not exactly the highest form of student self-expression.

Plus, it looks messy.  

And I found that other kids weren't utilizing the board as much as they were using their charts because, well, it wasn't always easy to read.  So for this coming year, I have neatly typed, color-coded and laminated a card for each skill that will go on the CAFE board.

Which, for the record, I have rearranged to become the FACE board.  In place of a post-it with their name, each student will have a head shot to move around the board.  So cute!

Anyhow, I decided to attach the cards with photo corners.  By doing so I was able to complete the layout to ensure that everything will fit.  I will take them all down and put them back up as each skill is introduced.  I can easily take the card down again to use for review or small group lessons.

This spawned my love for photo corners and I've mapped out some additional uses for them:

• Student of the Week
  
• Job Charts (change out name cards or photos of the students)
  
• Calendar Squares (much cheaper than a pocket chart)
  
• Things that change monthly (lunch menu, school calendar)
  

CAFE board photos, CAFE board pictures, classroom photos, classroom organization, pictures of Daily 5 classrooms, photos of classroom using the Daily 5

Classroom Inspiration

As one school year winds down I always find myself looking ahead to the next.  I like to get my classroom ready for the fall before I start summer vacation.  These links are mainly for my reference, but hopefully they will benefit my readers as well.

I began using the Daily Five this year.

Love it!

I'm super-psyched for next year because the 2nd grade has used it this year too.  That will make things easier for me in the fall.  

Mrs. Maiolo's Classroom: I heart the way she switched the letters in CAFE around to spell FACE.  I'm totally on that.  However, instead of the little post-its to show what a child is working on, I plan to laminate head shots of all my little friends to mark their spots.

Get it?  FACE.  Their faces.  Cute, huh?

Mrs. Croak's Classroom: Mrs. Croak's Cafe Board is unlike any other I've seen.  It's a creative use of space.  My room is a good size, but wall space is limited so this alternative is really appealing.

Mrs. Kady: Mrs. Kady's Book Nook system is adorable.  This would also be great for pairing reading buddy's for the Read to Someone block.