Classroom Rules Makeover

Summer has officially started and I am ready to show off my first Monday made-it of the year: my classroom rules makeover!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recently made the decision to use a little less pink in the classroom and a little more blue/turquoise. For the past two years, my classroom rules and school expectations board looked like this:

 

 

 

I like it, but the pink background looks too dark in the room and I don't like how busy the canvases look.

 

I wanted to re-do the rules, but didn't feel like buying new canvases or peeling off all of the old paper, so I just slapped some Mod Podge on and put the new paper right on top!

 

 

I used a roll of Fadeless paper and it was thick enough to cover the old canvases without showing anything through! BIG time saver! I really like the plain black paper background. The old polka dots were cute, but it looked too busy.

 

 I had the new rules papers printed at Staples so that the ink wouldn't smear when I put the top coat on and I think they look great!

 

The new school expectations:

 

 

 

My new rules:

 

 

I am going to get some blue felt to cover the board with in August. I think that this will really brighten up the room and make everything easier to see.

 

 

 

Now I'm off to the classroom supply store to get some new borders and get my new nameplates laminated!



A Summer Afternoon with Maggie

So I was sitting on the couch, enjoying my completely unscheduled summer afternoon, when Maggie says to me, "Hey mom (she calls me mom), I want some treats."

 

 

 

Unfortunately, we were completely out of her usual treats, so I quickly looked up homemade cat treats and found a recipe that I had all of the ingredients to make (It must have been fate!).

 

It features tuna, which is Maggie's absolute favorite thing ever! She very rarely gets to have any tuna, so I let her sample a bit while I was mixing up the batter.

 

 

After mixing everything up, it looked pretty unappetizing, but smelled much like something Maggie would eat, so I continued on.

 

 

I got them in the oven while Maggie waited very patiently about one foot away from the oven.

 

 

Then it happened... I took them out to flip them over and my sweet kitty the wild beast went crazy! She was yowling, pacing, trying to get on the counter and very nearly climbed up my leg. Ouch!

 

 

 

They ended up being way bigger than expected... but I left them to cool while I kept the beast busy with her feather wand.

 

 

 

Then it was the moment of truth, Maggie waited to sample the first treat...

 

 

...mmmm... smells good...

 

 

...rejected.

 

 

At this point, I figured I would try the whole "throw the treat so the cat chases/eats it" thing...

 

 

...which was apparently not enough incentive for Maggie to eat my amazing homemade tuna treats.

 

Fine. Maggie doesn't want my treats, then-

 

 

until the ones I just ordered online arrive on Friday!

 

Before I go, here's a little preview of what I'm working on for Monday Made it next week!

 

 

Word Family Printables Giveaway!

Well, school has been out for a couple of days and I have just finished one of my biggest projects for next year!

 

I wanted something that I could use with my first graders at the beginning of the year as morning work. One of my main criteria for was that it needed to be something that could be done independently, while giving them good practice with early first grade phonics targets. I wanted something that I could explain/demonstrate once, then let them work on their own while I work with small intervention groups.

 

Each word family has the same activities in the same format, which allows for easy word family practice.

 

 

 

There are seven pages for each word family, including: 

secret code spelling

word family sentences

word hunt

word frames

word building

spin and write

spin and say

roll and record

picture labeling

rainbow writing

emergent reader with comprehension questions

 

 

This includes printables for 28 different short vowel word families, so that should keep the kids practicing for a while!

 

I am so excited about finishing this project that I am giving away two of these bundles!

 

Check out my Facebook page to enter the giveaway! 2 winners will be chosen and emailed the printables on Friday, June 12.