More Summer Projects

Like I mentioned, I've been keeping myself busy this summer by creating little odds and ends for my class. Here are some more of the projects I've been working on.

Last year was my first year implementing the Daily 5 in my room. I loved it, but there were certain choices that ran smoother than others. In my class, the problem choices were Word Work and Read to Someone. Word Work was a pretty easy fix. The kids would all congregate around the 'cool' manipulatives and chat. All I had to do was enforce the rule: only one child per item. This helped them spread out and make better use of their time. Read to Someone was more difficult to fix, and I think the reason is because I didn't hit it hard enough at the beginning of the year. This summer, I made those cute little Check for Understanding check marks that they talk about in the book.
Here it is with our
little classroom owl friend.

I was also inspired by - wait for it - a Pinterest picture I saw online! I know, hard to believe! The original post came from Amanda at One Extra Degree. I just customized it with my own look and feel. The fonts are a big mess of fonts that I've collected over the last two or three years. I'm a font hoarder.

My favorite part about them is that they match my classroom theme! Yes, I'm that obsessive! I backed each of the check marks with some heavy crafting cardstock, and I sent them through the laminator in hopes that they will last just a teensy bit longer! The finished product is adorable! I made one for each of my students. They'll be able to put them in their book boxes. Or I might have them just come and get one when they do Read to Someone. It feels safer to me
My theme is the forest,
but I end up using a lot
of owls and squirrels!
for some reason! You never know what happens in those book boxes! It always feels like everything in there is wrinkled!
I used a bunch of different craft papers
to liven them up a bit!

Cross your fingers for me that they last well into the year - and even into future years. Laminating a bajillion check marks and cutting them out is not the most thrilling activity. I'm super nervous because my friends from last year were very rough on our materials, and since I'm working with the same group of friends (well, only a handful that where in my class last year, but I'm moving up with the grade of students), I can only imagine that it will be the same. :(

The other project that I will post today is a lot simpler, and I love where I got the idea from: my own frustration! :)

I present to you - erasers!

Like most supply lists, ours includes this item - my arch nemesis. Those pink erasers make me miserable. My friends see them as their own little space to graffiti. They poke holes in them, they draw designs on them, they poke holes to create designs on them! They color them with permanent markers. And worst of all, they play with them! I can't tell you how many times a week I have to take erasers away from my friends! One day, I was so frustrated with one of my little friends that I took his away permanently. He never used it for erasing so I didn't see the point of him having it. Maybe that's terrible, but that's what happened. In my rage, I did the unthinkable! I became one of my little friends and started playing with it myself! I cut it into tiny pieces! Well, just four. After I did it, I looked at the pieces and thought, 'hm, I kind of like these!'

That's right, just by cutting it up, that annoying pink eraser turned into four tiny, less distracting erasers. I snuck the pieces into the supply baskets at one of my more rowdy tables, and, low and behold, my friends started using the erasers - to erase! I was amazed! It was marvelous! It really was, especially since we had one friend in the room that liked to chew erasers off of pencil tops. Actually, it was the same friend that inspired me to take his eraser and cut it up into pieces! Anyway, gone were the endless requests for erasers because the students started using the erasers that they had and just chose not to use!

Point of the story - I was at Target the other day and I saw that these guys were on sale. I know they're on the school supply list and my friends will bring them in, but you
never know how quickly erasers will go or how students will use them. Or how many friends will actually read the school supply list. So I decided to buy a handful, about 2 bucks worth, and cut them up. I also found some of those eraser caps at the Dollar Store for, well obviously, $1. I got a few of those as options, too. I'm hoping that if I offer them as a choice in my room my friends will stop stealing them from each other and complaining that they lost theirs or that so-and-so stole theirs out of their desk.

Truly, I don't know why I do it because they'll just find something else to complain about, but I do. I can't resist!

Finally, I'm leaving you with a picture of my adorable puppy, Murphy. Blogging is not his favorite. I moved my computer into my craft room - I'm notorious for using it on the couch and laying there for several hours. It only encourages blog hopping for hours. Murphy likes it better when I use my computer on the couch, though, so he can lounge, too.


Look out for my next post. I'm hoping to start a blog 'series' about tips for first year teachers from someone who just went through it all! Happy Tuesday Wednesday! (The Bachelorette finale has been throwing me off all week. The normal episodes are on Mondays, but the finale was on Sunday, so I feel like I'm a day behind.)

Ciao!


24 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your experiences with Daily 5. I'm implementing it 'full tilt' this year and was thinking that Read to Someone and possibly, Word Work were going to be the 'issue' areas. I was hesitating on making the 'check' marks, but now I'm thinking I probably should. LOL

    Love your beagle! and I'm now your newest follower. Look forward to reading more about your Daily 5 experiences. Did you also use CAFE??

    Monica
    Classroom Capers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Monica,
      From what I've heard, different people have different 'issue' areas. My mother-in-law uses Daily 5 also in her first grade class, and her area of concern is Read to Self. It kind of depends on your students and how you introduce each choice. Stay tuned for more! And, yes, I did use CAFE also, but not to the extent that I would like. I'm hoping to adjust it this year to better meet my needs. I probably will be posting about it sometime this week. :)

      Kristin

      Delete
  2. lol! Erasers and kids!! Mine do the same! I started cutting mine years ago only because I am CHEAP! :) If they don't have their own because they lose it or it gets confiscated by me, they have to choose from one of my cut up, previously used erasers. It motivates them to be "eraser responsible." My arch nemesis are the hand held pencil sharpeners! It's such a stall tactic! They sit and sharpen forever when I have a "sharpened pencils" container where they can grab one. grrr. :)

    Your D5 checkmarks are super cute! My challenging D5 area is listen to reading, so I eliminated it. There was ALWAYS some technological snafu and I can't be bothered with that when I'm conferring.

    Grade Three is the Place for Me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, those pencil sharpeners are definitely a pain, too! I have confiscated those before, but I think they just bring new ones in! I'm not sure, but it's impossible to get rid of them. They don't even sharpen! Sometimes I let the kids use them for colored pencils and such because I don't want them using my sharpener, but they're terrible!

      I don't actually do Listen to Reading in my room. We don't have the materials, so I replaced it with computer time. We have some great programs (Lexia) and website subscriptions (Raz Kids) available to us, so it's kind of like Listen to Reading, and they are excited to use the computer! :)

      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  3. I feel your pain with the erasers! I might make mini erasers, too! I'm a new follower. I've nominated you for an award... Stop by my blog to pick it up! :)

    Angie
    The First Grade Scoop

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just found your blog through the blog hop and am your newest follower! :)

    Amanda
    Teaching Maddeness

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for stopping by!! :) I love Murphy! How cute is he?!?! Teachers make the best puppy mamas!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just got back from the CAFE conference today. Love your Daily 5 check for understanding bookmarks. I am nominating you for a blog award. Come on over to get it from my site! :) http://ilive2learnilove2grow.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-winners-are-and-my-second-blog-award.html


    ilive2learnilove2grow 

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very jealous! I wish I could go to one! Thanks for the award, and thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  7. Such a cute puppy!! Ha, totally know what you mean about the erasers. Last year I had several kids at one table complaining that they lost theirs...then what do you know? One of their table friends had 5 of them in his pencil box :) Hmm....

    I have become one of your newest followers and have nominated you for a blog award! Hop over to my blog to pick it up! :)

    Jackie
    Crazy Daze in First Grade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the award! I'm really hoping giving them all the silly erasers gets rid of this eraser competition. Thanks for visiting!

      Kristin

      Delete
  8. Laughed my butt off about the erasers! Gee little Johnny I can't imagine why your paper has brown smears all over when you try to erase... It couldn't possibly be all the holes you poked into the eraser with you PENCIL! LOL

    Murphy is precious!!
    Thanks for the follow! I'm following you back!

    ✪Crystal✪
    Strive to Sparkle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Check out my newest blog post! It has a picture of one of those original erasers that was lucky enough to find as I was sorting through my things! Thanks for following!

      Kristin

      Delete
  9. I love your cute check for understanding. Thanks for following me. I'm your newest follower.

    Christine
    Tales From Rm 17!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my goodness! I feel like we're two peas in a pod! I'm nothing short of obsessive about things in my class matching my theme. I went with owls and polka dots (surprise, surprise) this year. I've been spending a large majority of the summer recreating everything for my class. And while it may sound like a daunting task, I'm actually enjoying it. This has caused me to really evaluate what works and what needs changing!

    My kiddos also like to deface their erasers. Maybe I'll give your little trick a try. Can't hurt!

    BTW, your blog is cute and under recognized (if you ask me). So I nominated you for an award. Please come on by and check it out!

    Rebecca

    First Grade Fascination

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting, Rebecca, and thank you for the award! I've been doing a lot of recreating myself this summer. Our school is more about using the resources we have, but I LOVE making my own stuff because I feel like everything is more intentional then. I have a better understanding of the standards and what I am doing to hit each of them.

      Kristin

      Delete
  11. I can relate to the eraser thing-I am constantly finding cut up eraser pieces on the floor. Paperclips are another thing they always destroy in my room-why must every paperclip be unbent and then used to poke into those erasers?

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am now following you too!

    ~Julie
    TheHipTeacher

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah! I haven't had to deal with paper clips yet. I hope I won't have to because that sounds terrible! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  12. I can't wait for your first year tips. Our whole second grade team is first year teachers! AHHH! Some have been assistants before but none of us have ever had our own room. We are anxiously awaiting your tips!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so sorry I haven't posted yet. Getting ready for the school year has been so time consuming! Hopefully I'll get to it soon!

      Delete