Monday Made it: Classroom Store Part 2

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for another Monday Made it!

I have a couple of projects that I am sharing today, including one that I have been looking forward to doing all summer: my classroom storefront!

In June, I blogged about the classroom currency I will be using this year: flamingo bucks. I have always wanted a storefront for the classroom, so this summer I decided to go for it!

I do very well when building things from a kit, but designing and building something from scratch... no, thank you! Luckily, my mom is also a crafter and has no problem wielding power tools!

I started with an old black bookshelf from my classroom. I used contact paper to cover the insides.

I got the bins from the dollar store and printed some price tags. I also decided to add some green washi tape around the edges of the shelf.

We used some wood strips to build the sides and top of the storefront. It took us quite a while and may or may not be slightly crooked on one side... oops! 

I had some leftover flamingo fabric from my desk skirt project last summer. We decided to use it to make an awning for the top of the store.

 My mom designed and made the awning, complete with scalloped edge.

When I think of a storefront, I always think of a scalloped awning! :)

We also added strips of the fabric on each side and tied them to look like curtains. 

I am so excited and can't wait to see it in the classroom!

That's it for this week, let me know what you think in the comments!

Monday Made it- Classroom Store Part 1

Today is the first Monday of summer vacation and I am so thrilled to be linking up with 4th grade frolics for my first Monday made it of the summer!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me post about flamingo bucks. My pod-mate and I are both going to be starting to use a classroom money system next year.

We are going to be switching classes for social studies and science. I will be teaching the social studies for both classes and she will be teaching the science. We wanted something that we could both use that would be consistent between both classrooms, so we will be using beach/flamingo bucks!

If there is one thing I love, it is a good theme, so... I am creating a storefront for the Flamingo Bucks Boutique (how cute is that name?!). The storefront itself will be a made-it for later this summer, I just need to work myself up to the effort I know will be needed for the construction...

In the meantime, I have started working on some of the accessories for the shop.

First up, the wallets! I used colored cardstock with some labels I made on the computer.

Once they were laminated, I folded them in half, stapled, and taped down the sides.

Then, I added two Velcro dots on the inside to keep the flamingo bucks from falling out.

I made them in a variety of colors so the kiddos can pick which one they want.

Next, the store signage. I made this two sided open/closed sign that will be hung on the front of the store.

The student who is the cashier for the week will flip the sign when they are ready for people to shop.

A few years ago, I had a warm fuzzy store in my classroom and one of the things that I found really helped with the management was a shopping schedule. I have the students shop as soon as they are unpacked in the morning, but I don't want everyone shopping at once.

With this schedule, the kids know which day their table will be shopping.

I used Velcro dots so I can change the order each week.

On to the shopping baskets! I am especially in love with these.

I used the mini plastic tubs from the Dollar Tree, added some ribbon for handles (also from the Dollar tree), and stuck some labels on the front (gotta have that branding!).

(even Maggie approves) :)

Total project cost: $3.00!

I made sure to print enough labels to have a couple to add to the cash register that I will be getting later this summer. :)

Last up, my new geoblock center. I made this a couple of weeks ago, but am super excited about it, so I just had to share it now! My kiddos are always really excited when we first start out unit on 3D shapes at the end of the year. Excitement tends to turn to boredom when they realize that it is all about describing shapes and matching footprints. So, to up the engagement level, I made these geoblock structure cards.

The kids seemed really excited to try them, so I left them out at the center let them go for it. They ended up having so much fun! Some of them chose to work on a card together, others preferred to work alone. If they didn't have the same block as the picture, they tried different blocks until they made the same shape. A few kiddos even decided to add on to the structures to make them bigger or taller.

Definitely going to be bringing these out again next year!

Well, that's it for my made-its this week. I'm off to a couple training/work days of writing gifted extensions for the district.

Thanks for stopping by!