Monday Made It!

Monday Made It

Hi all!  It is still Monday for a few more minutes here so I am going to take part in Monday Made It!!!  This is a first for me.  Every week I carefully read all the amazing posts about what you all have made.  Now, FINALLY, I get to add one.  Don't get too excited ... but here are my Monday Made Its ...

Exhibit #1: Cute decorations for the classroom
My last name starts with a J and I just moved to room 8 so these two items will hang somewhere in my new classroom.  I especially love the 8 because I used a paint pen (FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER) to make those dots.  I may make them on the J also, but I don't want to go overboard.

Exhibit #2: Birthday Bags

Actually a former class mom and dear friend decorated these for me. (Thank you Melynda!!!!)  I set out lots of stickers and she got to be creative.  Then I stuffed them with goodies that will be loved by five and six year olds.  Usually I put their names on the bags but this year I am doing it differently.  (Do you notice the beautiful blue bulletin board in the background?  Read more about it in Exhibit #3!!!)

Exhibit #3:  My BEAUTIFUL Bulletin Boards

This may not technically be a "Made It", but I am going to count it.  Since I moved to a new classroom, I decided to paint my bulletin boards.  This is the third time I have painted bulletin boards and the other two times it was super easy; NO problems.  This time was a nightmare.  The paint started running, it was all streaky.  I ended up putting on three coats of paint and used up two gallons of paint.  YIKES!!!  That is a lot of paint!!! (...and remember, I only painted my bulletin boards, not my walls).  All I can think of was that I started on a hot day and that caused all of the initial problems.  BUT now (three coats later), I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how my boards look.  I have had many compliments already (and I don't even have a single thing on my boards yet ... except one birthday bag).  Now I can smile and say it was worth it ... but if you had talked to me last week, there were moments when I thought I would have to cover the paint with butcher paper.  BUT now I am happy and it is so, so, so lovely!

Exhibit #4:  My New Curtains

I saved my favorite for last.  I made a curtain for the window in my back door.  (My new classroom has TWO doors.)  The sun was shining in so this is not a great photo.  But I am in love with this curtain.  (Oh, have you figured out that I am having a blue and green classroom? Blue and green are my favorite colors.  I love nature and love the blue sky and all the green found in plants.  So having lots of blue and green in my classroom makes me feel like I have brought nature inside.)

So ... I got the idea for this curtain from Mrs. Anderson at Welcome to First Grade.  Here is the link.  That brilliant teacher found two plastic tablecloths at Target and cut them in half to make a valance for her blinds.  I loved the idea, but couldn't find any plastic tablecloths that I loved.  I found this one at Party City, but it was paper.  I knew it wouldn't last long.  But I really, really loved it.  So I laminated it.  Perfect!!!  It is being held in place by magnets right now because this is a metal door.  I will probably end up using velcro dots to hold it in place.  I am also going to laminate more of the tablecloth to create a valance for my blinds, just like Mrs. Anderson.

Now, be sure to go on over to see all the other Monday Made It projects at 4th Grade Frolics.  Thanks Tara for creating this great linky party!

Love to all,
Camille

Happy, happy birthday ideas

How much do you love Dr. Jean? I think maybe she is wonderful times a gazillion!

I was just reading Dr. Jean's blog. In this post she shares the idea of acting out a birthday cake with children as candles and as the cake. Meanwhile everyone is chanting about the birthday. How cute is that? (Do all primary teachers love, love, love cute? I think so!) Since I have had quite a few birthdays already this year (I mean the kiddos, not me: I only have one a year.) I will have to wait and try this idea next year. But in the meantime, here is what I do ...

Each child begins the day with a birthday bag on their desk. (See my previous post for an explanation of the birthday bags.) Then later in the day my class sits on the floor in a birthday circle. (Or as my kiddos this year call it: "birthday square" since we sit on the perimeter of our square carpet.) I pass around a stuffed bear and each child turns to the birthday child and says something - I aim for a compliment, but at the beginning of the year, "Happy birthday" will suffice. The birthday child says "Thank you" and the other child says "You're welcome". (I try to fit in manners whenever I can!!!) Then the bear is passed to the next child. Next we sing "Happy birthday" and then we sing "Happy birthday" using sign language. The birthday child tells us one thing she/he really likes to do and we create a "birthday sign" by "signing" the first letter of the child's name performing that action.

I love the compliment time. It is so precious to hear what the children have to say. The birthday children are always beaming throughout this event.

Camille

Birthday Bags

A few years ago I was observing in a first grade class and saw the most adorable idea: birthday bags!  I just had to make these the following year and I LOVE them.  Special thanks to Annie in Littleton, Colorado for this great idea!

Here's the scoop:  Ahead of time the teacher makes a birthday bag for each child in her class.  The bag is filled with little odds and ends.  Each bag is labeled with a name and a birth date.  The bags are all posted on a bulletin board and are a great decoration.  (I put mine in that narrow space above the whiteboard. Cute!!)  When a child walks into class on his birthday, his birthday bag is waiting on his desk (or that's the plan).  My kiddos LOVE these bags. They all know exactly where their own bag is at and it is the point of many conversations with me.  (Will I really get the bag on my birthday?  Yes. You won't forget will you?  Of course not.  (I hope!)  Can I look in my bag today?  No, you have to wait until your birthday.  Etc.

This is one of my birthday bags.  I don't have my class list yet, but once I do I will type the child's name and birthdate on a large label and stick it to the bag.  (It is much easier to FIRST put the label on the bag and THEN fill it, but I made this bag for all of you.)  Then I add cute birthday stickers to the bag.)

Here is what I am putting in the bag this year.  I bet you recognize some of my Target and Dollar Tree finds!  The items are:  a sticker for the child to wear, a stretchy bracelet (Do you recognize the Cat in the Hat?), a pencil, a bookmark,  a set of birthday stickers, a notepad, 2 erasers, and a small bouncy ball.

One of the reasons I love this idea is that it insures I am prepared and consistent for each birthday.  Even when I forget a birthday, a bag is waiting for that child.  Children with summer birthdays get their bags on their half birthdays.  Hope this idea is helpful to some of you.

Love to all of my bloggets,

Camille