Paint Chip Calendar

 In an effort to redo my classroom this year and make it more functional for both my students and me, I decided to make a paint chip calendar rather than using the standard classroom calendar you can buy in teacher stores.

I'm so excited to use this because now I can write important dates on the calendar for all students to see rather than constantly answering, "When is our next test?" or "Do we have a day off from school this month?"

It was very cheap to make but took a little time to get it just right. Here's what you need.

• Picture frame (I got mine at Michael's for $11 and it's an 18x24)
• Paint chip samples (free from any paint store)
• Spray paint

That's it!!

The first step is to spray paint the back of the paper that comes in the frame. You could also use scrapbook paper for the background but I had some spray paint on hand so that was easiest for me.

Then, cut your paint samples down to size and lay them out on the board.

Next, glue or tape them to the background, add your days of the week, and you're done!!

I saw some really cute school scrapbook stickers at Michael's. So to spruce it up a bit, I'm going to put them on there to indicate test dates, holidays, and field trips.

Behavior Reflections Sheet

I found this awesome Behavior Reflections sheet on Pinterest and I wanted to share it here.

Behavior Reflections (.pdf)

I found last year that when I would send my kids for a time out to another room, they wouldn't really care. I don't think they took as seriously as I hoped they would. I guess the times, they are a changin'. When I was a kid, if a teacher sent me out of the room I would have cried and begged to stay, all the while promising that I would change my behavior if only they didn't call my parents.

Anyways, I think that this behavior reflection sheet is a great way for kids to reflect on why they chose to act a certain way. It is also something that we can go over together later in the day and reflect together on how their behavior can improve in the future.

It's from Laura Candler, who has a great website with LOTS of free stuff! And what teacher doesn't like free stuff?? Definitely check out her website for more great stuff.

Science Matching Game Cards

They are finally done!!! Yay!!

When I started making these cards, I was only going to make one set. But I guess the teacher in me went into overdrive and I ended up making 7 sets!

Last year, I created a matching game for one unit and my kids loved it. The problem was, I didn't make any more cards the rest of the year because I just didn't have the time.

So I decided to use my last weeks of freedom to create something that can be both fun and educational for my kids. I've put all 7 sets on TeachersPayTeachers for $3.00. Each set contains 12 definitions and 12 vocabulary words so for all 7 sets, you get 168 cards!!

They are done in a pdf format so you just have to print, cut, glue (or tape) and then laminate them.

Also, if you buy them on TpT and then want the original copy so you can change or add to any of the sets to meet the needs of your students, I will be happy to email it to you. Just let me know!

However, as a little treat for those of you who visit this site, here is one set for free.

Solar System Cards

Scientific Method Posters

Here are a set of Scientific Method posters that I designed for my classroom.

Enjoy!

Scientific Method Posters (.pdf)

KWL Chart

A KWL chart was not something I used a lot last year and when I did use one, it was a really quick, crappy drawing on the board.

For this school year, I wanted to create a nice looking chart that could be used over and over again. I'll print it on giant paper at Staples and then laminate it so it can be enjoyed again and again.

I'm also going to make smaller copies (with no polka dots) for the students to jot down their ideas before the lesson.

As always, I'm happy to share!

Classroom polka dot chart (.pdf)

Kids kwl chart (.pdf)

Parent Contact Log and Exit Slip Sheets

If you're any thing like me, keeping up with parent contacts can be one of the most tedious aspects of teaching. Part of my problem is major lack of organization. But it's also really hard when you teach 100 kids.  Hopefully, this sheet will help tremendously in the upcoming school year.

Parent Contact

I also created this exit slip to help me assess my students on a regular basis. It's so easy to just end a lesson with no closure. So one goal I have for this year is to do a better job of assessing how well (or not so well) my students understood the lesson. We'll see how it goes.

Exit Slip

Cute Storage Bins

I am redecorating my room this year and kept trying to find something cute to use for my classroom supplies. Everything I found was either too expensive or would cost too much money to spruce up and make cute. Then today I was at JoAnn's Fabrics and I came across these photo boxes that match perfectly with my color scheme this year.

They were only $4 a box and didn't require much decorating. Plus, teachers get a 15% discount at JoAnn's so they were even cheaper than that.

I also picked up a few sheets of scrapbook paper for the background and then printed out my labels on my printer.

I took a template that I had (yes, it's also my header on this blog) and used Picasa to add the text to the labels. Feel free to use the link below to get the template.

Blank Template