2010...A Banner Year

Or was it, "the year of the banner?"

My love affair of all things Vista Print is no secret. As I've mentioned before, my motto is, "If it's free it's for me!"

I have such fun designing new things and just about pounce on the mailman when my boxes of goodies arrive. I heart the postcards and shirts and magnets and posters and yard sale signs and key chains and lions and tigers and bears oh my!

But, my mostest favoritest of all the items is the banner.

Oh, the banners! Oh, the possibilities!

Thanks to the free banners, I got to be that over-the-top mother who has banners printed for her kids' birthdays. Because seriously, who does that?

People who get free banners that's who!

Thanks to the free banners, I have recently implemented the all-time-numero-uno-super-bestest thing ever to grace my classroom. Well, next to Find it/Fix it. It's "the clip chart" and you'll have to come back tomorrow (or maybe the next day) to read about that.

And thanks to the free banners, I have made bulletin board creation super quick and simple and yet oh-so-colorful and wonderful and kind of even professional-looking.

A commenter (That's you, Amy) had asked about sign in the center of my board. And I realized that I had never posted about my new addiction to banners as bulletin board time saver accessories. So here goes.

Vista Print is always offering amazing deals that allow you to get a whole heaping helping of freebies for super cheap. Yeah, I know the free and cheap part can be confusing. See, you pay for shipping. Or not. Sometimes, you can can spend $30.00 and get free shipping and up to 10 free items. Those are my favorite promos.

Anyhow...

While you can get up to 10 free items, you can only get 1 of each type of item (i.e. post-its, postcards, magnets).

But...

Vista Print views banners that are designed vertical and banners that are designed to print horizontal as two different types of items so you may get one of each.

You can use their easy templates and create major cuteness. Or, you can design and upload your own image. If you do that simply rotate the image 90 degrees and print it as a vertical banner. That way you get 2 horizontal banners in one order.

They fit perfectly in the center of a typical bulletin board with plenty of room to display student work around it.

You could also design just titles for boards and print several onto one banner and cut them apart.

The options are endless and there are lots of creative folks who have uploaded images of what they have made for you to find for inspiration.

As an added bonus, teachers often pop in to comment on the banners. It's nice to have adult contact. :)

FYI: At the time of posting this, the following links were working and offer great deals.

Giving Away the Farm (free shipping with $30.00 purchase)

and this is my personal favorite because it offers FREE 7 DAY SHIPPING with a $30.00 purchase...and uploads count towards the $30.00)

Extreme Makeover...Classroom Edition

Maybe it's the New Year a coming and the desire for a fresh start that it brings.

Perhaps it's the fact that you can only log in so many hours in a jungle themed classroom surrounded by animal prints before you start feeling like you are the lost cast member from Jersey Shore.

I got it in my head that I needed to makeover my classroom.

This isn't a new concept for me. In fact, I typically start from scratch with a new theme for each school year. I have not, however, made over my room midyear.

Oh the excitement.

Surely you have scooted to the edge of your seat in eager anticipation for the unveiling of my new theme. If not, I'll give you a second to get your scoot on. :)

Actually, it's not a theme.

Unless being a crafty Goddess of all things paper and rocking a Cricut is a theme.

I'll explain.

I used to scrapbook. Hubby even let me have an entire room in the house dedicated to my lovely hobby. It rivaled any scrapbooking store with the hundreds of papers and die cuts and funky scissors and stickers. I would spend hours designing layouts and even more hours shopping for supplies.

And then I stopped. Babies...life...who knows? I just got busy and stopped making the time.

But, I missed chronicling our family history. So I recently designed a digital album using Photoshop and had it printed through Shutterfly.

Swooooooon!

That baby is beautiful. It includes hundreds of photos all bound neatly into a hardcover, 12 x 12 album. While I did spend an absurd number of hours working on it, I was able to do so just about anywhere my little MacBook would go. I worked on it in the car, during my lunch, and even in the waiting room of the doctor office. I'm hooked.

There were two problems though. I missed the creative outlet of getting all messy with glue and I have an entire studio stocked with supplies.

And so I've decided to create a bunch of projects for the classroom and thus the idea of a makeover was born. There is no real theme. I'm simply going with bright colors (mostly aqua and lime) accented with black.

I'm looking forward to dusting off the Cricut and having some fun this vacation being creative.

As you can see in the photos, I got a head start on the day before vacation.

I had hoped to get in there this week and do a little work, but a pesky blizzard kept me home yesterday and prevented my free childcare...um, I mean my parents, from visiting until next weekend.

So into the little basement studio I go with my 5 year old assistant to spend the twins' nap time cutting, adhering, and embellishing some to be determined projects. Stay tuned.

Cheap and Easy Project

I have a project that is so easy a five year old can do it.

Even a five year old that has only been five for less than two weeks.

Of course, I helped make everything straight.

And if I didn't have the help of a five year old it would have literally have taken under ten minutes.

And best of all it was under $3.00.

Not bad for something that is cute and custom and functional.

We decided to make it into a job chart.  But if you don't do job charts this project is still for you.  I'll tell you why at the end.

A trip to the Dollar Store got us a sturdy piece of black foam board, a 2-sided sheet of wall clings and a package of 25 colorful library pockets.  We had leftovers of the clings and pockets which is why this project comes in at under $3.00.
We simply arranged the pockets and clings onto the board in a way that we liked.  See that bottle of water on the floor?  There are downfalls to having a 5 year old do your school work.  It was promptly knocked over within 2 minutes.  Luckily the project was spared.  My pants were not so lucky.  

The clings totally rocked!  You can peel them off and stick them back down easily.  Dollar Tree has lots to choose from.  If you click on the picture to make it bigger you will see how super cute these little animals are too.
It helps to have moral support when you are doing any type of project.  

And yes, all three of my kids were still in their pajamas at 2:45 p.m.  Don't judge.

The final product was a job chart for my classroom.  I printed the title on the computer and added more of the wall clings to it.  I will label the pockets with the classroom jobs and then go with one of two options to identify who is responsible for the tasks.  The first and easiest option is to just write their names on the top of an index card (turned sideways) and slide them in and out of the pockets to change them around.  The second option is to take a picture of each of my friends wearing safari hats and cut out their little hat-wearing noggins and attach them to a popsicle stick.  I don't switch jobs often so I'm leaning towards that route.

Want another great project idea using the same supplies?

A trivia game board!  Arrange the pockets into a 5 x 5 array and label them with points or dollar values (think Jeopardy). You can them make each column be a category and write out your questions on index cards and slide them in. It makes a great review for any subject.

Letters Gone Wild

Today's post is titled, "Letters Gone Wild."

But, yours don't have to have a wild theme.  In fact, that's the beauty of today's idea.  It's all about making something customized to your classroom.

You can buy manufactured letters in just about any color/theme, but you're stuck with standard sizes and fonts.

You could use a Cricut to make custom letters.  It's a good option if you have access to one.  But, if you don't (heck, I own a Cricut and still use this method) and you want to make letters that will make your room stand out as an original give this a shot.

I pinky promise it is super-easy.

Decide: where the letters will go, what they will say and how big you want them to be.

Select a font on your computer and print out your letters.  For what it's worth, my heart belongs to the fonts Marker Felt and Chalkboard.  To save ink, you can print them as outlines.

Pick some amazingly cool, funky or otherwise suitable paper and a solid color paper that coordinates well.  I'm a simple girl.  I always pick black.  I hear black is slimming.

Stack the two pages on top of each other and place your printed letters on top of those.  Carefully cut out along the outline of the letters.

Hang them up and then stand back ad marvel at your frugal craftiness.

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

Vista Print - Frugal Friday

I feel like I need a disclaimer before I write this post.

You will either love me or hate me for what I am about to enlighten you with.

You'll love me for the free/cheap goodies you will obtain.

You'll hate me for the time suckage it will bring to your summer vacation.

Trust me.

You will spend sunny days hunched over your computer, frantically processing orders before the deals end.  

Oh, and if you think "I'll just order a rubber stamp and some labels," you won't.  Because much like a chain smokers first cigarette, you won't stop there.  It ALWAYS starts with one rubber stamp and some labels.

You've been warned.

Vista Print is an online paradise for teachers who love free stuff.  You can ooh and ahh coworkers and parents and look like you've spent tons of money.  If you are creative and have some photoshop skills you can make cool custom things.  If you can barely check your email without cursing technology, they have tons of templates to make it look like you are a graphic designer.

I could go on and on.  Vista Print is an addiction and a science.  There is ALWAYS free stuff to be had.  The catch is the shipping.  Some deals are better than others.  Some deals are amazing.  Last weekend they had an amazing deal that offered $5.00 shipping.  I literally stayed up until 1:00 a.m. putting orders through.

I spent under $50.00 for 7 orders which included 70+ items.  There are colored postcards, banners, birthday party invitations, magnets, lawn signs and oh-so-much more.  I'm going to set up a page on the blog to share my creations and will keep you posted on any great deals when they arise.  

I was going to wait until there was another great sale to post about it, but decided it would be best to give you a "head's up."  Because what happens is that when the sales hit, you get "idea block."  So I suggest playing around with the site.  Design your items.  Look at other's work for inspiration.  Create your items and leave them in your portfolio so that when the next big sale comes...and it will...you can just click and order.

For now, here is a sample of some of the things I designed and ordered  last weekend.

magnets that we'll include in their orientation packets

a banner for my son's Toy Story birthday party

postcards to mail to my students

birthday party invitations - the party details are printed on the inside

magnets - I will add each students name and use them to label their lockers

You Say It's Your Birthday!

There are tons of commercially-made birthday charts out there.  Typically, there is space for the teacher to write in the students' names and record the blessed day on which they entered into the world.  I've used them in the past, but wanted something with more meaning to the children than a programmed poster that had been created while they were enjoying summer vacation.

My solution was a birthday pictograph.

I create the chart on my own and usually try to incorporate whatever theme I'm doing.  A simple "Happy Birthday" would work too.

Mine serves double-duty by also covering some open shelving to cut down on visual clutter.  

Start by deciding how big you want your chart to be.  Divide that into 12 columns.  Measure the width of each column and print a label for each month to display at the bottom.  Add a title and cute accents (or don't) and you're done for now.

When the kiddos arrive for the new school year you'll need to take a photo of each of them.  

Give each child a piece of cardstock with the number that corresponds to their birthday on it.  For example, my birthday is December 21st (super-crappy birthdate by the way) so I would have a card with a 21 on it.  You can let the students write it themselves or go my route and print them on a computer first.

Take a photo of them holding the card.  You want it to be a close-up picture so I suggest having them hold it up somewhere near their cute little face when they smile for the picture.

Print and crop the photos so that they are the same width as your labeled columns.

Pass out the pictures to their owners and do a lesson on pictographs / bar graphs.  Attach their photos in the appropriate column.  Make observations about the chart.  For added impressiveness, have the students record their observations in writing and attach them the chart as well (i.e. There are 4 more birthdays in July than in October.  The number of birthdays in May is an even number.)

birthday chart photos pictures of birthday charts birthday chart ideas birthday poster ideas

Doorway Information Center

Luckily classroom emergencies are few and far between.

Sure we have the occasional planned fire drill and bus evacuation practice, but a real emergency needs to be planned for.

Since we all exit through the main door of the classroom, I set up my important info station there.  

I simply created a "pocket" by attaching colorful paper and border to the wall by stapling around 3 of the 4 sides.  The blue folder you see sticking out contains my class list as well as all of the contact info for each of my students.  I have it facing in because the front has the students home phone numbers on it.

I also included a map for our fire escape route, staff list and a class list (these all stay on the wall).  Below it is the staff extension list.  Also, note that the phone has directions boldly printed for dialing 911 since an outside line must be obtained first.

If there is an emergency and we need to evacuate then I can grab the folder on the way out.  If there is an in-class emergency, I can dial 9-1-1 and have all of the important info at my fingertips (contact info, allergies, etc.)

Many classroom teachers also mount a hook in the doorway to hang the classroom key from so that it can also be "grabbed on the go."

setting up a classroom, classroom photographs, classroom emergency procedures

Retired Words - Teaching Tuesday

Today's Teaching Tuesday Tip is: Retired Words

If you are a teacher then you have surely read many a journal entry that included such fine phrases as, "It was fun."  One of our many tasks is to improve upon their vocabulary.  This is a "fun", errr, make that an engaging way to do just that. 

We retire the word.

Starting in the fall we retire a word a week.  We have a little retirement party (which involves me in a party hat and a noisemaker) on Fridays and we bid farewell to an overused word.  Words like big, fun, cool, and nice are overworked and need a break.  The children are responsible for bringing a gift to the party.  The gift is a synonym to take it's place.  They are encouraged to brainstorm them at home.  Once a word goes into retirement they are not allowed to use it in their writing.  Instead they must use one of the new words that we brainstormed together.

It's catchy and motivating.  They take it very seriously.  They call me on it when I use a retired word.  I made a silly little display for my words with a retirement theme.  

I did a cowboy/western theme and that year the words were "put out to pasture."  I had cute cows and everything.

I love cute things.

When I did a Hollywood theme I went with "Washed Up Words."  I thought it was very clever, but it may have been lost on the 8 year old demographic before me.  Still, I crack myself up.

Next year I'm leaning towards an adventure/safari theme and will probably use "Extinct Words" to mark words as no longer available for use in the classroom.

I have seen this done as R.I.P. words where the word is written on a gravestone with replacements under it.  To each his own, but that sort of creeps me out.

What words do you feel your kids overuse?

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.