Contact Magnets

I love Vista Print!  I ordered business card magnets with my contact information to give to parents. This way they can stick it on their fridge and all of the info they need to contact me or the school is handy!

Edit: I decided I probably shouldn't post all of my contact info, so I coverd some info!

I think they are super cute!!!



Tuesday Made It - Part 2 (Evidence of blog stalking!)

I'm adding to my post from yesterday.  I really wish I could take credit for having these awesome, original ideas... but really I am just jumping on the band wagon and keeping up with this year's latest and greatest "classroom must-haves!"

Project #3
White Boards (Take 2!)
I started to add duct tape to the white boards to hide the chipped edges. I need to go get another roll!  The checker board pattern makes it really easy to line everything up evenly.  Thank you Mary at Teaching Special Kids for the idea!

Project #4
Teacher's Toolbox
I just couldn't live without my own!  I got a free download for the drawer labels from Laughing with Lane.  I think it came out cute, cute, cute!

Project #5
Crate Seats

All great blog stalkers must make these this year!!!  My mom helped me with one and that one came out the best.  My husband helped me with the rest. I didn't have the patience to get them just right and my husband was having fun with the staple gun - I might have lost a finger if I didn't move quickly enough!

Monday Made It

I'm so excited that I finally get to participate in Monday Made It with 4th Grade Frolics!

I made my own number magnets and an attendance board!  I think it all came out super cute and it was easy too!

These aren't the best pictures because they were taken on my phone.  Here's a close-up of the magnets.

To make the magnets I cut out circles using scrapbook paper and a 1" scalloped edge circle punch.

Then I put number stickers with a clear background in the center of the circles.

I used multi-use glue to attach the circles to glass gems I found in the floral section at Hobby Lobby. 

Tip: Put the glue on the flat side of the gem and the put the circles on the glass.  When I tried it the other way the glue stuck to the table and I couldn't pick it up!!!

This glue dried quickly so I was able to glue the magnets to the back right after I finished attaching all the number circles to the gems. 

Tip:  You will need to keep the magnets away from each other when you glue them to the gems.  They try to attach to each other and pull the magnets off of the gem before the glue is dry!

My brain is clearly still in summer mode because I made two sets of 30 magnets (I'm going to make a Where Am I? board too) and bought a pack of 50 magnets!  Oops!

All of the above products were purchased at Hobby Lobby.

I got the black magnetic board, stickers on the board, and decorator tape at Michaels.  I wanted stainless steel boards, but couldn't find affordable ones!

I hope you like this idea!  I'll have more next week.  I'm in California visiting my family and I have a few projects for my brother and his table saw :-)

Shopping, Shopping, and More Shopping!

I got my Lakeshore order yesterday and a few things from Amazon today!  Since my classroom came with literally NOTHING in it, I'm forced to shop (it's just terrible!)  I'm headed to California in a few days to visit my family and my mom just informed me there is a Lakeshore store there - woo hoo!  I realized I wanted/needed a few more things from there, so I'll have no choice but to check it out in person!  You all feel my pain, right :-)

Here are a few of my Lakeshore items.  I got the big set of magnetic lowercase letters, and a small pack of uppercase and then added those to the bigger set.  I also got letter stamps in upper and lowercase letters and wikki stix.  These will all be for Daily 5 word work activities.  For math work stations I got unifix cubes and pattern blocks.  I got a great number line too that goes from -20 to 100.  I already hung it up though!

I got a few more things done in my classroom too.  My big reveal when it's finished isn't going to be much of a surprise!  I'm so excited I want to share my progress each day!

I finished the tree in the library area. (I actually finished it last week!)

I also finished the tree in my group/floor area and added a cute little picket fence!  You can see where I hung the number line on the right hand side.  Above it says "Mrs. Zuniga's Wise Owls."  I'm going to put owls underneath that with the student's names on them.

I'm still working on the bulletin board above the sink, but I added to it today.  It still needs owls.  I've been struggling with whether to use the owls that match my nameplates and calendar, etc. or the colorful owls from Carson-Dellosa.  I think Carson-Dellosa is going to win on this one!  I need to add some other colors into my room and they are so stinkin' cute I can hardly stand it!  I may even ditch my nameplates and buy some of theirs - shhh, don't tell :-)

That yellow edge on the sink is driving me crazy, I need to figure out a way to cover it up!

 Well, that's all for now!  I have a ton of DIY projects that I'm going to subject my family to while I'm visiting.  I'll be sure to post :-)

To the parent(s) of... Happy Labels

As a special education teacher, I feel like I write "To the parent(s) of..." eight gazzilion times a day!  I've had stamps, but they don't last very long and usually don't stamp the whole image.  As part of my job I have to send a ton of paperwork home throughout the year.  I noticed that when I give the envelopes to students they get this look of horror on their faces, even though I tell them it's just more paperwork and they aren't in trouble!  Parents will also avoid these scary looking envelopes - they do look pretty official and intimidating!  At some point I started putting a smiley face on the envelopes and got better responses from everyone. This simple smiley reduced anxiety in students, the number of phone calls I had to make (begging parents to sign and return paperwork) and duplicate copies I had to send home because, "Johnny didn't bring it home, I didn't see it in his backpack."  I should point out that I have them put it in their backpack or take home folder while I'm standing there! My new brilliant idea?  Happy labels!  I won't have to keep writing the same thing over and over again, and I won't have to expose my lack of artistic ability with my smiley faces!  These would be cute for progress reports or any other confidential info that needs to be sent home.  I made 6 different patterns, using the template for Avery 3477 labels.  Click on links near the images to download your free copies!

Click Here

Click Here

Click Here

Click Here

Click Here

Click Here

New Items!

I've been at it again!  Here are some samples of the additions I made to the Pastel and Bright Owl Collections.  I realized based on sales (a good teacher always uses her data!) that these two collections coordinate really well.  Sooo, I changed the Make Your Own Banner so that it includes the pattern from the Bright collection and polka dots from the Pastel colletion :-)

Changes to Owl Make Your Own Banner

I added Daily 5 Signs, CAFE Signs, Number Cards, Word Wall Cards, and Math Daily 5 Signs in both patterns too! Click here to see more.

 



Organizing a Resource Room

I'm new to the blogging world, so I thought I would start with an area I'm very familiar with!  I've been a resource room teacher for the past 7 years.  Teachers who visit my room almost always comment on how organized it is.  Substitutes also leave comments about how organized everything is and how easy it was for them to figure out what to do!

Here are some tips for organizing your room:

1.  Keep a separate folder for each group.  I just use basic pocket folders.  You can get packages of 10 for a dollar at Target during back-to-school time. Make sure each folder is labeled with the group name and time.  For example: 5th Grade Math 1:00 - 1:30

2.  Keep any copied paperwork for students in that folder along with incentive charts, etc.

3. Label bins or areas on a shelf to keep materials. Have a separate area or bin for each group.  So your 5th grade math group will have workbooks, teacher guides, spiral notebooks, the group folder, etc.  Stack them neatly on the shelf or place them neatly in a bin.

4. Separate reading, math, and writing programs, games, manipulatives, etc. and store them either on separate bookcases, or put all the reading materials on 2 shelves and math on the other two (you get the idea!)

5.  Do the same thing in your closet or the area where you keep your personal references and materials (I have tons of Minute Math books, Daily Language Review books, etc. that I copy from.)  It's much easier to find the items you need if they are separated by subject area.

6. Keep markers, crayons, glue, scissors, highlighters, and anything else you may need for a lesson in each teaching area.  I use plastic pencil boxes to store them in (you can get them for under a dollar during back-to-school time.)  You are working with students with a variety of diabilities and behavior problems -getting up and looking for supplies is a sure way for your group to go wild!

7. Keep pencils, erasers, and pens in an easily accessible container.  I use a round desktop organizer that has 2 areas to keep pens and pencils standing upright and that has drawers to keep paperclips, etc.  I do not leave this sitting on the table, I keep it back in my area and pass out pencils when needed (otherwise students play with the pencils, container, etc. instead of listening!)

8.  Keep lesson plans and a list of students in each group at each teaching area.  Make sure that you put student's general ed teachers and their phone extensions next to each student name.  It will save you (or a sub) time when you need to track no show students down!

These are just some general ideas.  Here's a freebie to help you get started! These are owl themed folder and bin labels.  There are 3 different designs (1 for reading, 1 for math, and 1 for writing.)  You can print on Avery labels or print on cardstock and laminate.  Happy Organizing!  Click on picture for link.

Labels created using artwork by Trina Clark.  Check out her website: digiscrapkit.com