Vinyl in the Classroom

Well, hi!!  

I'm so happy to be back on this little old blog!  I had such a busy and wonderful summer.  Posting here just hasn't been a top priority.  BUT...ready or not...school started on Tuesday!  Our first week of 2015-2016 is in the books, and it was great!  My kids came home excited every day and woke up happy every morning.  My Kindie cuties are easing into a routine, and they worked hard this week!  I didn't lose my voice (for the first time in 13 years, I think), and I'm not exhausted this weekend like I was expecting to be.  All in all, it's so good!  Summer is amazing, but having a job that I LOVE is pretty amazing too.  I'm thankful!

I didn't get many photos to share of first week fun this week (not much time for a camera on days 1-4 of Kindergarten!), but I do want to share some of the fun ways I'm using vinyl in my classroom this year.  I had so much fun with my Silhouette this summer!

My teaching partner asked me to make this crayon organizer for her.  I used the same mini 5-drawer Sterilite that I used for my pencil drawers.  Didn't it turn out cute???  I hope it helps to keep those extra crayons nice and organized for her this year!

I don't have caddies on my student tables, but I do have two other tables in my classroom for small groups to meet and work at.  I like to keep caddies at those tables with pencils, crayons, glue, etc.  I decided to add some inspiration to the plain caddies!  

Since I teach Kindergarten, not many students are able to read these.  Of course I tell them what they say, but honestly....I love having positive words around to inspire ME throughout the day!  I think that a text-rich classroom is key for our little learners!

This was a bit spur of the moment.  This school bus clip art from Whimsy Clips was begging to be used! ;)  Nevermind that this cute vinyl is covered by my bus information sheet...  Still adorable!!

I've had these buckets on my desk for a couple of years.  They hold my markers, pens, scissors, etc.  I love that they are all uniform, but they needed a little something.  Aren't these Melonheadz kids the cutest???  I love the fun that they add to my desk!

At the last minute before school started, I decided to simplify my life a bit by labeling the drawers and cupboards that students have access to.  The blue words pop and make it easy for students to find what they need.

I also added labels for a choice time cupboard and the band-aid drawer. (PS about band-aids....it literally took me a decade of teaching to realize that band-aids are something kids can apply on their own.  Having to stop instruction to put a band-aid on totally disrupts the flow of a lesson!  In Kindergarten, kids need band-aids A LOT, and 9 times out of 10, it's not for anything that requires my assistance.  Teaching independence is a beautiful thing!!)

HOORAY for a successful back to school week!  Next week we dive into more instruction.  My kiddos are ready!!

Monday Made It :: Washi Tape Name Sticks

Happy Monday, friends.  I'm so happy to be back again today with another Monday Made It!  This one is super simple, but such a big part of each day in my classroom.

If you're like me, your name sticks are in a prominent location in your classroom.  They get used every single day, over and over again to call on students, put partners or groups together, etc.  They are a small, simple thing....but they make my life as a teacher so much easier!

I've tried several different types of name sticks over the years.  Most recently, I've painted one end....

...and used star stickers.

I LOVED the look of the spray-painted name sticks, but the reality of me painting sticks each summer just isn't going to happen.  Why?  I don't know.  I'm lazy in the summer.  Admitting that I'm too lazy to spend a few minutes spray-painting the ends of craft sticks is a little embarrassing, but it's the truth.  Grace, please.  

The star stickers didn't stay put.  Most of them fell off by the end of last year.  Also, I tried numbers on the sticks last year instead of names.  It was the first time I'd tried that, and I realized that I like having names on the sticks better.  Numbers would allow the sticks to be used from year to year, but made it less convenient to call on kids (especially early in the year when I was still trying to learn their numbers or when guest teachers were there).  I'll do names from now on.

Anyway, as I was brainstorming what I could use this year (planning to go back to the spray-paint), my stash of washi tape came to mind.  Washi tape is fabulous -- so easy to work with and so super cute!!  I had these three options in my collection that are wider - more the size of masking tape.  I knew that they would be a cute and easy solution, so I decided to give it a try for this year.

 I had these three colors to choose from.

 I thought that the orange didn't stand out enough against the wood of the stick.  I liked the pink and blue, so I tried them both in my name stick cup to see which I preferred.

This is the cup I keep my name sticks in.

I loved the way the pink tape looked, so I wrapped one end of 30 sticks. 

(Always make extras at the start of the year for those newbies that will come in throughout the year!)

 Pretty adorable in the cup, huh???

My student names will go on one end once my class list is finalized.

And that's that!  Easy (simple, actually), but they will be used SO MUCH this year!

Thanks to Tara for hosting this fun linky each week.  I love being inspired by all of the other teachers that link up.

Class book ideas

We LOVE class books in my Kindergarten room.  We make several every year.  I especially love making them at the start of the year and sending them home for my students to read with their parents.  I know how curious parents are at the beginning of each school year.  They are anxious to know the other children that their kiddos are spending their days with.  Because of this, I always make a couple books with student photos in them.  I get great feedback from parents about these!  And, of course, the kids LOVE anything with their photo on it!!

To send the books home, I just put them in a gallon-size ziploc bag.  Typically, I add a label to the front asking that the books are returned the next day.  When I went to print my labels last week, I realized that I was out of the size I needed.  Sharpie to the rescue!  Not quite as cute, but it does the job. :)

(Oh, and please don't mind the glare in every picture in this post.  Laminated pages = glare.  I tried to avoid it, but couldn't.  Sorry!)

 I got the idea for this class book from my awesome teaching partner.  My students LOVE this book, and as soon as it's been to every home and finds it's spot in our reading corner, it gets read every single day.

 It follows the repetitive pattern of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear".

This is the first page.

 The middle pages look like this.

 And this is the last page.

I've made this next class book for years and years.  The kids complete their page during the first week of school.

They just draw themselves and write their names.  So simple, but so cute.

This last one requires some parent help.  This idea originally came from Doodle Bugs a couple years ago.

 I send this questionnaire home with each student sometime in the first week or so of school and ask parents to return it the next day.  Then, I have students cut them out with fancy scissors.  They think this is just about the coolest thing ever!

This questionnaire is available in Google Docs if you want to go grab it.  CLICK HERE!

Right now, all three of these books are going home with students daily.  They can't wait for their turn to come!  I love picturing my kidlets cozying up with dad or mom to share the book and discuss Kindergarten.

Do you have a favorite book that you make with your class?  I'd love to add more to our classroom library!

First week recap

I survived my first week back with kids!  And, actually, it went awesome.  As in, it really felt a little TOO easy!  My kids picked up on our routines and expectations quickly, and everything ran so smoothly all week long!  I enjoyed every minute, and am praying that it continues!! :)

This is a random recap of our week!

We completed our first day portraits.  These have already been laminated and will go in the students' memory books at the end of the year.

This letter goes home with my students on their first day.  I know that parents always want to know everything that happened that day, but all the students might remember is that they played outside. (Playing outside was a BIG favorite all week....of course!!)

We used a few pages from Nicole's Straight Up Standards for Back to School pack.  They were perfect for some formative assessing this week!  This particular page gave me a chance to teach expectations for using scissors and glue sticks as well.

 We celebrated our first class birthday on the third day of school.  I always let the birthday boy or girl choose a book from a stash that I collect throughout the year and I write a special note inside.  This year, I created this Happy Birthday tag to attach to the front of the book as well.

We always read Wemberly Worried on the first day of school.  This year, we did a sharing circle after we finished reading and we shared how we had felt that morning before coming to school for the first day.  Later in the week, we re-visited the story and completed this page for our memory books.

 These were my lesson plans by Friday morning!  Ha!  Pretty typical for the first week, I guess!

This sweet little note was delivered to me by one of my new littles on Friday.  LOVE.  And I know that I'm her first teacher ever, but I'll gladly take the compliment anyway!! ;)  

Happy weekend, friends!!

"My Summer Fun" Back-to-School Bulletin Board

I'm not actually back to school until after Labor Day, but all of you who are returning soon have got me thinking about all things back to school!  

My school district runs a camp for incoming Kindergarten students on three afternoons in August, and I am planning to have my littles complete a piece of work that I will use to create a display for our back-to-school Open House at the end of August.

I bought this adorable clip art a while back from Whimsy Clips.  I have been dreaming up all sorts of fun ways to use it and I think it will be super cute for a back-to-school display in my classroom.  

I added my student names to the stars and am still working on getting them all cut out.  Mindless work while I'm watching TV after the kids go to bed. :)

During Kinder Camp, I'm going to have each student draw a picture of their summer fun on this half-sheet.  Click the image below if you'd like to grab it from Google Drive.  Just print, copy, and cut in half.

I plan to take a picture of each little guy or gal to add to the display as well.  I'll post each child's drawing, photo, and name together on the board.  When the families come for our open house prior to school starting they'll already get to see their child's work displayed in the classroom! :)

I think this display would be adorable with any clip art you might have!  Add your students' names and you'll be all set!  I'll probably leave this one up for a while because you know how crazy things are early in the year!  Changing out bulletin board displays isn't top on the list!  Ha!

Kindie artwork is just plain precious.  But as much as I love it, I will most definitely enjoy my last few weeks of summer before getting too excited to fill those bulletin boards again. ;)

Five for Friday {July 18}

Happy Friday!

It's been a while since I've checked in.  Summer and vacations and all things wonderful!  But I'm back today with a few things that I've been up to!

1. We spent five days with my bestie and her family in Wisconsin Dells.  We just love it there.  The kids LOVE the water parks and all the fun activities.  And time with our favorites that live too far away?  Yes, please.

 This picture just makes me smile!  BFFs.  We had so much fun.

And on the last day we walked out looking like this!  You know she's your BEST when you accidentally coordinate your outfits so well for good-bye photos!  Ha!  Love this girl!

 2. I was recently invited to join a Bunco group in my neighborhood that meets once a month.  I had no idea what Bunco was, but thought it would be a fun way to meet some new people.  We got together last week and it was my first-ever time playing.  As you can see, I didn't do so well!  Ha!  BUT....the person with the most losses wins a prize so LUCKY ME!  Hee hee.  It was mindless and fun, and it's always a good night when you can have girl time, snacks, and wine.  Looking forward to next month!  

3. I went into school for a morning this week.  My first time since the end of the school year!  It felt good to be there and get a few things done.  You know how it always goes that you get a few things done, but add a dozen more to your to-do list!

I did some laminating and printed a few things to cut out at home.  The circles designate my student tables and the triangles are for our "Table Captains".

4. The top of my to-do list right now is updating my word wall!  I don't plan to change it much.  It was just ready to be freshened up after getting faded by the sun for two years.  This is one of the things I brought home to work on.

5. I've also been working on this!  

I feel like I've learned SO much as I've read through this book this summer.

I've had ideas running through my mind for a few weeks now, so I've done some creating and have gotten everything organized into this binder that I can't wait to use for guided reading this coming year.  I promise to share them soon, once I finish it all!

Have a wonderful weekend!!