In my creative endeavors, I've crafted a delightful tool - the Printable Blank Crayon Template. This single-sheet wonder offers a canvas for your artistic imagination to run wild. Whether you're a budding artist, a teacher planning a creative classroom activity, or a parent seeking a fun project for your kids, this template is your ticket to creative exploration.
Move over awards season, better luck next year March Madness, St. Patrick's Day what?...this month's hottest event is Women's Week Collective, and it's happening NOW! Every year my friend Arielle hosts a fabulous celebration of
Birthday Posters | Cupcake Display Transform your classroom into a vibrant and festive birthday celebration with our Gentle-Colored Birthday Cupcake Display. This delightful kit is designed to create an adorable and customizable display that your students will adore. **Key Features:** 1. **Gentle-Colored Cupcakes:** Our display features 12 charming birthday cupcakes in soft, gentle colors, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for celebrating student birthdays. 2. **Editable Candles:** The cupcakes come with editable candles that allow you to use Adobe Reader to quickly type student names into the candles. Attach them to the corresponding cupcake, displaying the month of the year, for a personalized touch. 3. **Versatile Usage:** This kit is perfect for showcasing student birthdays in a fun and memorable way. It's a beautiful addition to your classroom decor that fosters a sense of belonging and celebration among students. 4. **Easy Assembly:** The kit includes easy-to-assemble decorations, making it hassle-free to create a captivating birthday bulletin board that will make students feel special. **What's Included:** 12 Gentle-Colored Birthday Cupcakes for each month of the year Editable Candles for Personalization Easy-to-Assemble Decorations Make each student's birthday a memorable occasion with our Gentle-Colored Birthday Cupcake Display. Whether you're an experienced educator or just starting your teaching journey, this kit is an essential resource for fostering a sense of community and celebration in your classroom. Order your kit today and create a beautiful and fun class display to honor student birthdays!
DIY Sensory Rooms: Have you ever thought about creating a sensory room or space for your child, but thought it would be too expensive or you would need to dedicate an entire room? We know that sensory rooms have a huge calming effect on our children, so, we challenged a couple of moms (and two behav
In order to build anything, you need the right tools. Here we have lots of tools for the construction trade. Drills, hammers, wrenches, and more things you would use to build things. Carpenters use these tools every single day. What kinds of things can you make with these tools? Think about that while you print […]
Flip Sticks are an amazing participation tool for calling on students at random! The idea of using name sticks is nothing new. In fact, this classroom management strategy has been around for a long time. Unfortunately, what I didn’t learn until a few years into teaching, was how to keep track of which students had […]
5 effective strategies to help elementary teachers create a calm, productive classroom. Find ideas on creating a calm corner in the classroom and ideas for making calm down kits for students.
Read about easy tools for removing backgrounds from images to 'shrink' your students that can be used to show off STEM projects and integrated across the curriculum on any device. Hi everyone! My name is Candace and I am a K-5 Technology Teacher in South Carolina. I am very passionate about “all things tech” and love to search and explore trending tech tools so I can create activities that can be easily integrated into any classroom. Recently, I have been focusing my attention on green screen activities to find quick ways to remove backgrounds from images/videos. I think the biggest
Rekenreks, also called number racks, are tools that help students build important benchmarks, such as 5, 10, and 20. FREE instructions for making you own!
Construction is an important and interesting job. It’s how much of the world is built around us. Our houses, buildings, and even our roads were all built by people in the field of construction. They work hard and have many tools to help. Here we see lots of hand tools, and heavy machinery to help […]
I’m hoping I can get back to weekday blogging soon. Lately, I’ve had no energy when I’ve come home from work. And, this week, many nights I’ve had other plans. I’m a little excited for fall because things start slowing down a bit. I’ll also start working with students this week so I’ll actually have […]
How to learn graphic design? This tutorial covers essential graphic design basics, principles & tools to help you become a graphic designer or visualize ideas.
As a teacher, I am always on the hunt for the perfect tools at the cheapest prices for my ELA classroom. Taking care of our students and keeping our learning
These Magnetic Poster Hangers are a simple DIY that will allow you to hang and swap your posters and printables with ease for under $3. No power tools required!
Literacy is so much more than reading and writing, with listening being an important component as well, as has been recognised in both the US Common Core Standards and the Australian National Curri…
Create your own giant letter board with this easy tutorial requiring no powertools! This is my favorite DIY project to date!
As I finish out my 24th year as a teacher, it is always bittersweet to watch my students take the last step in their transition to becoming 8th graders. Of
Discover over 45 vestibular activities that can calm, regulate, and improve attention in your child. Plus, get vestibular exercises for...
Privacy folders can be purchased, but they certainly are expensive. And, I must admit if I had my students using the privacy folders a great deal, I would shell out the money and purchase a set.Ho…
Teaching elementary music? Learn all about classroom management strategies to control those fifth graders in the blog post!
The school day is long, and students need breaks. In my classroom, I could easily build in leisure time at the end of each class period. Every student was given the last ten minutes of class as leisure time. This provided a sensory break for those that needed it, time for movement and walks, and time to socialize with peers. Break bins are a great way to decrease transitions and the sharing of classroom materials while also providing individualized and motivating reinforcers for my students.
I’m excited to be sharing an easy project with you today–one of my favorite math tools: rekenreks! I don’t know about you, but I love to use rekenreks in my classroom. If you’ve never heard of rekenreks before, you will! These arithmetic racks consist of two strings, with a row of beads on each string. Each row is traditionally made up of five red beads and five white beads, but you can use any two colors you like. They are great for helping students to understand number concepts such as
Hi Teachers! If you’ve been following my blog, you may have seen recent posts about this new resource line, Interactive VocAppulary™! This resource is essentially an interactive vocabulary activity where students design apps for each vocabulary word for their themed Smartphone! What is unique about Interactive VocAPPulary™ is that it combines the use of
Using a green screen in the classroom or at home is a unique way to get kids excited about learning and immerse themselves into a situation. In the classroom it can be used as a
A huge collection of camp craft ideas for kids. Grab a few of these ideas that are perfect for summer camp fun anywhere!
Pool noodles provide great learning opportunities!
Find a cute and easy theme for your elementary, special education, or middle school classroom.
If you’re a science teacher looking for an EASY way to jazz up your classroom, The Science Penguin’s decor set is perfect for you! It’s got posters that cover everything from the scientific method to engineering design process and science tools. The posters are both visually appealing and educational, so your students will be sure ... Read more
Learn how to make your own math worksheets in 5 easy steps! You can use programs you probably already have on your computer...
Making your own felt board (or flannel board) is very easy and inexpensive. You can do it in about 15 minutes and need only a few supplies. Here’s how to make your own felt board for home or school! Follow our Children’s Books & Activities Pinterest board! We use felt boards (or flannel boards) often …
special education, behavior, behavior plans, BIPs, writing a behavior plan
The activities below are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for other purposes (such as for profit) unless exp…
Defiance is an inevitable and generally not a welcomed part of a classroom. You are spending your day getting through your content, building community, and regularly demanding that students do tons of tasks. From time to time, they are going to have different ideas. Even walking down the hallway can be a struggle without one
Get a Free Printable Father's Day Card to color for kids. Choose from 6 different printable Father's day card themes!
These DIY Silhouettes for Mother's Day are the perfect gift!
If you are looking for a fun way to motivate your struggling readers or to increase engagement during your fluency interventions, consider using reading trackers and reading pointers! Trackers and pointers are fluency tools that I always keep in my literacy toolbox. Not only do they help students get excited about practicing reading fluency, but they are helpful for students who need extra support with fluency and accuracy. Keep reading to learn more about how you can use reading trackers and pointers as fluency tools to increase engagement with your students! (Please note that I’ve used affiliate links throughout this
In this post, I'm describing the areas and tools that go into a life skills classroom at the secondary level. Check out the examples.
One quick tip for improving handwriting is to use a sloped surface or an angle board. Writing on an angle is beneficial for many reasons. Today, I’ve got a run-down of why writing on a slant board or sloped surface is beneficial for kids who are working on thier handwriting, as well as an easy ... Read more
Setting up your classroom is one of the first things that takes place at the beginning of each new school year. Some teachers love it and some teachers dread it. No matter how you feel about setting up your classroom, it’s important to take this time to create a well organized space for you and […]
I'm finally back from maternity leave and ready to teach (kinda)! Can I bring my baby with me? Can he be my assistant? No? Awe. :( Towards the end of the last school year, I came back from my maternity leave early so that I could work the two days of post-planning. I decided it would be best if I were the one to clean up and put away my classroom, so I’d know where everything was when I officially returned. Last school year, we had to take EVERYTHING off of the walls so that our custodial staff could clean them during the summer. And while it was a pain to take everything down, it did give me a blank slate for the new school year! Fun Fact: My classroom looks HUGGGGEEEE when it’s empty! This post contains some relevant affiliate links. SET OF DRAWERS Before I went back for pre-planning this year, I started work on a colorful new set of drawers for my classroom. The idea was that I would use each drawer to store all of my prepped paper for each of my grade-level projects (that way it wouldn’t end up all over my desk and every other flat surface in my room like usual). So I got online and found the perfect set of drawers from Target. As you can imagine I was overjoyed when I saw that the drawers could hold 12″x18″ paper – an art teacher’s dream! Unfortunately in all my excitement, I neglected to thoroughly read the product description and ended up buying a unit whose overall dimensions were 12″ deep by 18″ long; the drawers themselves were much smaller. And of course I didn’t realize all of this until after I had already primed and repainted all the drawer covers and assembled the whole thing. Upset with this realization, I took to Instagram where a fellow art teacher gave me the amazingly awesome idea to use the drawers to organize my scrap paper by color instead. TABLES AND STOOLS Once pre-planning started it was all about getting my classroom put together. My first project was to paint the edges of my tables and stools to color-code them! For the past several years I used colored masking tape to color-code my tables, but as I’m sure many of you already know – kids LOVE picking at tape! I was constantly having to replace it as it got worn and torn in order to save my sanity. The sanity that was slowly being picked away with every scratch of the fingernail. Yeah… I’m a bit of a perfectionist. 🙂 So I was more than relieved when my administration gave me the green light to use paint in my room instead! The tables in my classroom have a laminate surface on them, so the first step was to lightly sand the sides of my tables. My husband (who is not a carpenter, mind you) suggested that I use 220 grit sandpaper. In retrospect however, I wish I would’ve gone with something a little lower so that it would’ve scratched up the sides a bit more. Butttttttttt you live and you learn. After sanding, I cleaned off the laminate shrapnel, then taped off the table edges and started painting using a small roller and Behr Marquee paint (this paint already has the primer mixed into it). Each table took about 3 coats to fully cover the sides (I wasn’t using the 1-coat guarantee colors). After the paint was dry, I removed the painters tape and then used an oil-based sharpie paint marker to write my table numbers (I use these for classroom jobs). Once that had a chance to dry, I painted overtop of everything with coat of glossy mod-podge. When painting my stools, I just went straight in with the paint and then covered with mod-podge as well (in retrospect I could have done without the mod-podge on the chairs). **UPDATE: This particular type of paint didn't stay very well (still very pickable). So I took it off and repainted with Martha Stewart multi-surface acrylic and sealed it with Delta Creative polyurethane varnish. It is working INSANELY better. TABLE BUCKETS This year I used the same type of bins I've used in past years.. but got some nice new ones that weren't colored all over (who doesn't love shiny and new?). To color-code the bins I once again used ribbon. Click here to see how to attach it! I also created some new labels and then added those on as well to help my students know where to put things away. CENTERS Once again, I will be using art centers as part of my classroom management plan! In my classroom I do a table point system using Class Dojo. When students are doing what they are supposed to be doing (coming in quietly, being on task, helping each other, cleaning up on time, etc), they receive table points. When they aren’t following directions (being too loud, being super off task, not cleaning up, etc), they lose them. The way I record all of this in Class Dojo is by having 6 “classes” set up (one for each grade-level). Then in each class I have 8 “students” (one for each of my table colors). Since I see my students multiple days in a row before they rotate to their next special, I use only one class for each grade-level, then reset their points once their rotation is over so it’s back to zero for the next group. So what is the motivation to earn points? Great question! The number of points each table has determines which art centers they can participate in during free time (once a project is finished). Each center has a point value assigned to it. Once a table has that many points or more, they can use that center. If the table does not have that many points, they cannot. The way I determine how many points each center is depends on the interests of my students. If I know they’ll really enjoy something (like jewelry center), I give it a higher point value. In the past few years that I’ve been using this system, I’ve found a lot of success with it. It keeps my students motivated to make the right choices and rewards them with experiences instead of tangible items (like candy). The centers I currently have in my classroom are: Weaving/Lacing Cards - 1 pt White Boards - 1 pt *This is the one bone that I throw my students. They LOVE white boards! How to Draw Books and Free Draw - 2 pts Pattern Blocks - 3 pts Texture Rubbing - 4 pts Puzzles- 5 pts Origami - 6 pts Spirograph - 7 pts KEVA Contraptions -7 pts. K'NEX - 8 pts Play Doh - 10 pts Jewelry Center - 14 pts ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES POSTERS Now this isn't something new.. but the way that I'm displaying it is. I used to have just the elements posters hanging up on my bulletin board, but now I've hung them along with my principles posters to just above my centers (near my classroom door). I also printed them out larger this year. Instead of being 8.5"x11", I printed them out at 13"x18". If you like the look of these posters, be sure to check them out in my store! VISUAL ART WORD WALL CARDS My word wall is probably the single most popular thing in my classroom with my administrators. My thought when I created them and first hung them up was "Cool! Now my kids can see art words and pictures that help those words make sense." My administrators think "Wow! She's incorporating literacy into her art program!" At the end of last year I took down all my word wall cards and tossed them, so this year I had to print them all out again (which was fine with me because I'm made a million updates to them over the past few years). Once I had them all printed out I knew I needed to laminate them. Trying to get stuff laminated through the school in the beginning of the school year can be a bit challenging however, so I decided it was time to invest in my very own home laminator! Guys... I WANT TO LAMINATE EVERYTHING NOW! I mean.. the process of laminating itself is fun AND cutting out things that are laminated is fun. There's just something very rewarding about cutting through laminated paper. Either you know exactly what I'm talking about, or you think I'm crazy. That's okay. I probably am. ;) I personally bought my laminator at Wal-Mart for about $20... but you can also order the same Scotch Thermal Laminator from Amazon (theirs comes with 20 laminating pouches). Once I had all my cards laminated it was time to cut them out. Lucky for me I recently purchased an X-ACTO Commercial Grade 12" x 12" Paper Cutter (off of Amazon) which made cutting them out at home WAY easier. Seriously Amazon gets all of my money. Their 2-day Prime shipping is dangerously convenient. I decided that this year I was going to hang up my word wall cards on my bulletin board instead of the wall so I wouldn't have to cut like 30,000,000 pieces of tape to stick them up. Yay for staples! The only thing I didn't consider before starting was how to keep the cards straight on my bulletin board. 😔 By the time I got to the letter "D" I noticed that my cards were gradually moving upwards. Soooo I took them all down and started again. I'm going to be real with you guys.. I did this a few times. Then FINALLY I figured out an easy way to keep things on track; I measured how far down from my border I wanted the word wall cards to start, and then put a staple at that height along the length of the bulletin board. Helpful tip: Hang your word wall cards BEFORE you hang your bulletin board letters. The letters "C" and "S" have like a gazillion cards, while the letter "U" only has one. If you like my word wall cards, check out my store! If you like the bulletin board letters, you can find them here! *I warn you to not use them on a black background however. Hah! I wish I would've thought that one through! PROJECT ORGANIZATION/STORAGE Like I mentioned before, I see my students a few days in a row before getting my new rotation, so the way I organize and store artwork may not be applicable to your situation. When students are working on dry artwork at their tables, I have them put their work into their table folder at the end of class. The table folder consists of a sheet of 12"x18" construction paper folded in half with the grade-level written on the front. These folders are then stored in my labeled grade-level drawers. So the next time students come to class, I can just put their folder on their table so they can pull out their work and get started (no time wasted calling out names). If their work is wet and needs to be put into the drying rack, I have them place their work on a 1/4 size sheet of posterboard and then slide it into the drying rack within the their table color band (added with colored masking tape). That way work is easily accessible for students to get from the rack or if I want to put stuff up into their table folders once it's dry, I'll know which folder they go into. To help me tell my grade-levels apart (in case they're doing similar projects) I have clothespins with grade-level tags on them that I just clip onto the top of each drying rack. MATERIALS STORAGE Aside from my table buckets (which contain pencils, erasers, colored pencils, color, sticks, and crayons) I have a couple of other ways of storing ready-to-go materials. First are the color-coded baskets I have. If I'm doing a project with a class that has a LOT of materials, I will often use these buckets to pass out supplies for each table. Otherwise I would just call table numbers (how I distribute jobs) and have them come pick up various things. Last year I also started taking advantage of the cabinet storage I have under my countertops and started prepping paints for different classes and storing them under there in copy box lids. At one point I had all this stuff spread out all over my countertop and knew there HAD to be a better way. Using the copy box lids allows me to quickly take out and put away supplies without the giant mess. Last year I also started storing my paintbrushes in labeled drink pitchers. Why? Because it is WAY easier to walk around to distribute them when the container has a handle! And finally - paper storage. I used to have a cardboard holder like this when I was at my old school, but then neglected to bring it with me when I changed schools. This one isn't a revolutionary storage tip - unless you've never used one before. In which case - BOOM! Just blew your mind with its awesomeness! I'm so glad I got one again. :) HALL PASSES Over the past few years, the teachers at my school had been using laminated paper hall passes for our students. The main problem with those though were that they would come back from the bathroom with wet spots on them (is that water or something else?). Eww. So this year our principal had us make our own instead. As she was telling us about this during our staff meeting, she happened to have an example picture of a hall pass on a paintbrush on the PowerPoint slide. Obviously I immediately fell in love! To see my how-to on these paint brushes click here. Now they hang on the back of my door! GENERAL CLASSROOM DECOR These are a few of the other things I have hanging up on my walls. I made these color posters to complement the bulletin board letters I made for my word wall. :) You can get a copy of them here! I moved my shape and form posters from last year onto my large metal storage cabinets so they wouldn't just be wasted space. I also repainted these color mixing posters that I had originally created a few years ago. My old ones were looking pretty worn down. If you don't want to paint your own, consider checking out my TPT store for some smaller printables. CLASSROOM PICTURES If you have questions about anything else you see, please feel free to leave me a comment and I'd be happy to talk to you about it! :) Hope you all have a great school year! Simple Elements/Principles Posters | Art Genre Posters
