Lamp

I have been wanting a new lamp for my teacher desk to go along with my bumble bee classroom theme. I have been looking everywhere and so far no luck. 

So I took an old icky lamp and some spray paint, hot glue, & ribbon and now I have the perfect lamp!

1st day goodies

I made these goodie bags to give to my students on their first day of school. Sorry for such a bad picture. It is a fish bowl that says You are o"fish"ally in first grade with swedish fish candy. I didn't save the templates I made (SORRY!) If I did I would share them. However I do have the fish bowl image I used. Click here to download it to make your own!

Here are all of my finished treats ready to pass out!

Storage

 I found this set of drawers at a garage sale & added scrap book paper using Mod Podge and painted it green with Acrylic Paint. Super quick & easy project & it matches my redone file cabinet. 

And it has neat compartments! Perfect for organizing! 

Cute Posters

I made these posters for my class and got them printed from Vista Print!

I created the first one and I found the second one from Pinterest somewhere. I can't find where I found it originally found it so if someone knows feel free to let me know so I can credit them! The third poster I wrote myself after I saw similar ones on some fabulous blogs. 

SORRY!

So sorry that I have been so MIA lately! About a month ago I accepted a new teaching position. It is in a different school district in a new grade level... needless to say planning for the switch from Pre-K to 1st grade has kept me occupied. Did I mention it's at a brand new school that is still being built?! (can't get into my classroom yet YIKES) So my stress-free summer off is OVER. So please excuse my absence. I have been keeping busy and have lots to post and will add new posts and respond to comments later today!

Thank you to Cathy at cisforcookiesclasscrafts for my newest blog award! Visit her site here!!

My first blog award!

Visit her site here!

Happy Birthday to You!

Very excited to have a class full of students to give these to on their birthday! You can download the balloon from Once Upon a First Grade Adventure here!

Then I just printed them out, taped them to a swirly straw (you can get a pack of 6 at Dollar Tree for $1) and put them in this cute adorable tin! I also added the birthday pencils below from Oriental Trading. They say "Happy Birthday From Your Teacher" 

So on a birthday in my class they can pick a birthday pencil and balloon! Yay! Who doesn't love birthdays!!

Calming Caddy

What teacher hasn’t come across that student who has a short fuse? No matter where you teach, you are always going to need to be ready for that child who needs some additional help calming down. I like to have a pro-active approach to dealing with situations such as these. One of my solutions is my CALMING CADDY.

This caddy is located somewhere quiet and secluded in the classroom. When a child gets upset and needs some time to step away from their peers and calm down this is what they use. The caddy is not used as punishment but as a healthy choice to deal with emotions.

The caddy is something that I present to the whole class as an option on how to deal with your feelings. I model how to use the caddy and make sure it is presented as a positive choice that all students in the class can make.

Things that are in my caddy include:

-play dough, stress balls, and squishy balls to squeeze out any anger

-small stuffed animals for comfort

-a calming glitter jar to relax

-small notepad and crayons to express feelings

-Boardmaker visual cue cards

One thing I love in this caddy is the calming glitter jar..I have seen similar ideas all over pinterest so I made my own! The idea is you shake it up and watch the glitter fall. This gives the child time to breathe and be away from the situation that upset them. When the glitter settles the child can join the class again or chose to use an additional strategy from the caddy.

To make this jar I used an old sunflower seed container. Many of the jars I have seen on pinterest were Mason jars...However I usually try to stay away from glass with my little ones.

Instructions:

-Clean out clear container

-Add 1 bottle of CLEAR Elmer’s glue

-Add about ¾ c water

-Add about 5-6 drops of the food coloring of your choice

-Add glitter (I used silver, gold, pink, stars, and iridescent glitter)

-Hot glue the cap on and shake!

I make sure I teach the class how to use each item in the caddy appropriately to deal with their emotions. As teachers it is a great gift that we can help children learn it is ok to be mad, sad, frustrated, etc… but that learning to deal with these emotions in a healthy way is something they will take with them for years to come! 


If you want to download the tag I used on my caddy visit my TPT store here and download it FOR FREE!!!

Everybody needs a buddy!

For a classroom library! I got the basket at a garage sale, spray painted it...added some stuffed animals and there we go! Can't wait to see kiddos cuddled up reading to their buddies!

Colorful Pens for Colorful Words

For the writing center to encourage fun creative writing! Also could be used as an incentive ... get to write with a colorful pen for the day!

I found this idea on Pinterest some time ago...not sure where the original idea is from. If you know let me know & I'll be sure to credit them!

Can't get enough of these

Ask Me First! Classroom Management

I got this great but simple idea from Mrs. T at S is for Second Grade. Awesome blog...check her out! 

You use these visors when doing guided reading or any kind of small groups where you need to give an individual child or small group of students your attention with no interruptions. Whoever gets to wear the visors during this time is my ask me buddy...who all other students are to go to FIRST when they have a question..BEFORE interrupting me. This also gives the students wearing the visors a leadership opportunity that most take very seriously. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I got my visors for $1 each at Michael's. I used a paint pen to write "ask me" and added some gems & little flowers for extra cuteness! Simple!