twist up the fun!

my first two years of teaching kindergarten i used a "community" basket for crayons, pencils, and erasers. It was a hot mess!

The kids took absolutely no ownership over their things. They would bite their crayons, eat the erasers, and break the pencils. I would always replenish their baskets. Oy! Thinking about it is getting me a headache! :P

so this past year, I purchased pencil boxes for each student....
in the pencil box the students got two pencils, one scissor, one eraser, one highlighter, one dry eraser marker, and twistable crayons!!

In the beginning of the year, the kids used regular crayons... but the quality of their work completely changed when they were given twistable crayons.
the kids were more careful to use "grown up" crayons~
It doesn't break, the kids don't eat it,....... it's plain wonderful! :)

it's a little bit more expensive, but it's well worth it!! 

twisable crayons are the way to go!

teacher's love notes

Aside from getting thanksgiving day cards, christmas cards, valentine's day cards, easter cards, teacher's appreciation day cards, end of the year cards, my students always manage to surprise me with the cutest "just because i felt like it" cards.

my first year of subbing/student teaching.... i received so many heartfelt cards from students I really didn't know what to do with them because I didn't have my own classroom. the kids would then ask what i did with the letter/card and i would simply tell them I took it home. which is the honest truth.

then as i got my own classroom, i've been getting little love notes here and there. some are just too cute to pass! Anyway, as I would say "thank you" to the students for taking the time to write me card... they would then ask me where i was going to put it. then it clicked!!! :)

This past year, I dedicated a small cabinet wall right behind my teacher's desk as a "teacher's love notes aka i felt like writing my teacher a note just because card" where i tape student letters/notes!

I would become an official hoarder if I had kept every single card my student gave me :P. 

What do you do with your love notes?

another DIY project

ever wonder what to do with letters?
I have so many I never knew what to do with them! Before I just put them in a file folder and there was absolutely no system to it!

This year, thanks to pinterest I came across an AMAZING way to organize letters!!!

so what's the solution?

CD case! I am sure you all have OLD cd cases that you have...
cut out all the letters from the letters collection and sort them from A to Z
so put all the letter A's together then put all the B's together... etc :)

Why didn't i think of this???

Happy Organizing! :) 

quick tip: making your students feel special

so before the students turn in their WRITING (or any other activity) into the basket. I ask a few volunteers to read what they wrote :)

1) not only do they get a chance to read in front of the whole class
2) practice public speaking in a safe environment
3) they get to use this cool, inexpensive microphone that echos like a real microphone!!
I wish I had REAL microphones with bass, amp, and the whole works, but this will do for now.
these things are like $1-$2 at target, walmart, dollar tree.

the students feel so special and cool :) and it never gets old!

then the entire class gives the student a HUGE round of applause and a big horray! :)

i realized that teaching is about DELIVERY... if you deliver the lesson with joy and excitement then the students will reciprocate just that. so i think it would work with upper grades. let me know how it works!

iphone

kinda cute, but lame. i love it!!! i wish i could have a class set of iphones and ipads, but this will do for now...

print these bad boys out... laminate them! students write the spelling words on the "text boxes" and then "text" the spelling words... 

found the link: dragonfliesinfirst

thank you, dragonfliesinfirst for sharing your great idea!

DIY - Beauty

It's my first time writing a Beauty post, but I just wanted to share the goodness with you all! I saw this on pinterest and I tried all three and i love it all~

1. For the FACE

make your own DIY face mask: nutmeg, honey, and cinnamon... that's it! 

"Nutmeg and honey act as natural anti-inflammatories, which can reduce swelling and redness in skin. They’re also great for soothing acne scars and preventing infection. In addition, the nutmeg and cinnamon also work to exfoliate your skin when you wash this mask off."

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 tablespoon of honey

mix the three ingredients together until it becomes a thick brown paste. 

2. For the HAIR

two tablespoon of olive oil and let it sit in your hair for about 30 minutes... you'll have soft luscious hair in no time!

3. For the BODY

1/2 cup of brown sugar

tablespoon of honey

tablespoon of lemon juice

mix, mix, mix until it becomes a thick brown paste. 

morning coffee coasters

coasters that are easier to make than your morning coffee!

materials:
ceramic tile @ lowe's 10cents a piece!

 sponge brush @ michael's 7 cents a piece!
felt
modge podge @ michael's (get the matte finish)
acrylic spray
scrapbook paper

1) apply a thin layer of modge podge on the ceramic tile

2) cut the scrapbook paper (3.75 x 3.75)

3) add another layer of modge podge over the scrapbook paper

4) wait for the paper/modge podge to dry

5) spray acrylic finish (matte finish) over the ceramic tile

6) cut felt any color (3.75 x 3.75)

7) use a glue gun to apply it on the ceramic tile

final product! :)

what a masterpiece!!! 

star student.. part two

a dear friend of mine was cleaning up her closet and she was going to throw away this colorful spacemaker pencil box! I thought it would be such a great idea to serve as "star student" pencil box!

i added my own sticker labels! seriously too easy! 

so inside the pencil box i decided to have the students use "special" twistable crayons since they are the "star student"

i made labels using the avery sticker labels

then peeled off the sticker and placed them on each of the twistable crayons!

so fun!! :)

dress up the clipboards

i had six clipboards that needed some love... i covered them up with cute scrapbook paper and dressed them up with a layer of modge podge. totally cute.

star student

Happy 2012 fellow followers and readers! :)

Every year I try to do what is called "student of the week" and so this year I wanted the students to feel EXTRA special so I wanted to buy it on lakeshore, but realized it costs $12.95 for just one!!!

with coupons/teacher discounts from michael's!

I spent $2.00 for everything!

...................

materials needed:

sharp scissor

file folders

pen

felt (3 different colors)

glue gun

yarn

needles

--------------------

trace your letters... i traced mine backwards so the pen marks didn't show in the front ;)

you must use sharp scissors!

                                                    place your letters and see where you want to place them

glue the letters on 

cut stars out... i picked yellow

then sew the sides up! :) that's it!!!

i hope it fits the chair and i really hope my little ones LOVE it!

I can't wait to see their smiles!