Monday Made it: Lunch box carrier, brag tag organization

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

First up, a quick and easy project- my new lunch box carrier!

I found this rolling cart at Target (or you can find it here)

I got one for transporting my things back and forth from the classroom, but then my pod-mate mentioned that it would be great for a lunchbox carrier, and I had to do it! I usually use a laundry basket and have two kids each carry an end, but last year I had so many kids that brought a lunch box that I often needed four kids to carry it! Too much hassle!

I will admit, I can be a bit of a lazy crafter... I don't always measure before I make labels. Sometimes I just wing it! 

Luckily for me, it worked out and the label fits perfectly!

I think it turned out really cute! :)

This is something that I have been meaning to get to for years: relabeling my brag tag drawers.

I got this 64-drawer supply holder on amazon a couple of years ago to store my brag tags. I did a half-hearted attempt at labeling it a few years ago, but I wanted something that was more uniform and up to date.

I made some simple labels, cut them out, and taped them inside the front of the drawers. I didn't bother with laminating them as I will be the only one interacting with the drawers. 

I love how simple it looks and with all of the brag tag sorting, I am learning the layout pretty quickly.

That's it for my made-its this week! I was planning on a few more, but my poor Maggie has had a pretty rough week. Between a couple of emergency vet visits and there medications, she hasn't been the happiest of kitties (and I have been a very stressed kitty mama)! 

Luckily, this last visit and medication seems to have done the trick. Maggie seems to have recovered and is back to her sweet self!

Thank you so much for visiting! Make sure you visit 4th Grade Frolics to check out the other awesome made-its!

Monday Made it: Earbud storage, some fun new seating, and more!

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

Last week was pretty busy. I had several big projects, so this week I forced myself to only do one a couple of little ones. 

I found these old dollar store purchases when I was packing up my classroom for the summer. I'm sure I had an idea for the when I first bought them (which was at least a year ago...), but I couldn't remember what it was, so they had just been sitting in my classroom.

I decided that I wanted to make a spinner for calling tables or center groups.

I started with some washi tape (my new favorite thing, next to contact paper!) to divide the pan into four (relatively) equal sections.

I printed the labels, laminated them, and used double-sided tape to stick them to the pan. Each label has a table name and a center group shape.

I added the magnetic pencil spinner and that was it! Less than 10 minutes and I have a spinner that I have been having way too much fun playing with! 

Our team put earbuds on the first grade supply list for next year (as an optional extra). I am really excited for this! The headphones we have for the computers are a constant hassle! 

Anyway, I am sure that not everyone will bring in earbuds, so I found this pack of 10 on amazon for less than $7.00. I know, I know, they are suspiciously cheap, but I have held all of them up to my ear to test and they all worked (so far)! 

I wanted a way for kids to store their earbuds by the computers, but I don't really have a lot of empty space there. I decided on a bead box. I use the same size to store word work manipulatives such as magnetic letters and alphabet stamps and I really like them.

I made the labels and taped them on. That's it!

The earbuds fit really well and I'm sure it will look just as neat and organized when the kids start using it... 

I have recently discovered the classroom joy that awaits in Five Below! The only one that is remotely close to me is about 30 miles away, but my two trips there have been completely worth it!

If you didn't see my post on Friday, I got these two giant foam dice there. 

I am so thrillled with them and can't wait to use them in the classroom! They actually gave me a really good, slightly crazy idea for another made it. Let's see if it happens this summer!

I got these three yoga mats there to use as a seating option for centers.

I cut all three of them in half so I ended up with six mats, which is enough for a center group! 

I think this little metal pail is perfect for them!

That's it for this week's made-its! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think and make sure you check out the other awesome made-its at 4th Grade Frolics!

Five for Friday: July 1st

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for another Five for Friday!

Last week was really busy with creating for the classroom, so this week was a little more focused on relaxing.

 I made the best find ever at Five Below this week! Check out my giant foam dice!

I am so excited to use these in the classroom next year! I am thinking about making a giant 120 chart mat for some math floor games. I think it would go perfectly with these giant dice!

 Next up, I have been working on some new phonics resources!

We use a phonics notebook daily in my classroom, but I wanted a way to make it more engaging for the kids, so I started making some interactive notebook sets.

So far, I have made sets for letter ID/sounds, CVC words, digraphs, r-controlled vowels, beginning blends, and ending blends. The goal is to have the rest of first grade phonics targets done by the end of the summer.

I am really enjoying them so far, I especially like printing them on bright paper so I can make my example notebooks!

I recently spent some time organizing the closet in my office, so all of the colored paper was easy to find!

Is it bad that I sometimes just stand in the doorway and look at the pretty paper? :)

 I recently started a free trial of Audible. I'm not usually a big fan of audio books, but they were offering 3 months and 3 books free, so I figured I'd give it a try.

The first book I got is one that I have been wanting to read for ages!

I plan on starting it this weekend, maybe another beach trip is in order?

 I have been spending more time outside lately. One of my favorite things to do is go for a walk around the lake by my apartment.

About half of the trail is out in the open, but the back is in a very shady area with lots of trees. It is a very peaceful place to walk. I've even seen otters in the lake!

This was taken as the sun was rising. I think it is one of my favorite pictures I have evern taken!

Last up, my sweet Maggie just had her 11th birthday!

Naturally, being a teacher's cat, her birthday presents were Dr. Seuss cat toys. :)

She quite enjoyed Thing 1 and Thing 2, but the mouse in the hat was her favorite!

She liked it so much that she was willing to dive under the entertainment center when she accidentally knocked it under. That doesn't happen... ever. I have the piles of toys under multiple pieces of furniture to prove it! :)

That's it for this Five for Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Made it: Lightbox Organization and a freebie

During the school year, Mondays are my absolute least favorite days, not so during the summer! I love summer Mondays because they mean I am linking up with 4th grade frolics for Monday made it!

This week, I am focused on my new Heidi Swapp lightbox!

I absolutely adore this lightbox and am already having so much fun with it, but I did run into a snag: keeping the letter/icon inserts organized.

I want to be able to find what I need relatively quickly, so digging through a box to find the letters I need is just not going to cut it. Then I had an idea...

Enter: the lightbox insert binder!

I started with these photo/coupon pocket pages that are made for 3-ring binders and a 1.5 inch binder.

Each letter has its own pocket. Right now, I have two different kinds of letters in the same pocket, but I may change that in the future. I also split up the icons into categories (smiley emojis, clothing, food, etc.)

The washi tape doesn't serve a purpose other than fancying it up a bit. :)

Here's where the freebie comes in- I made binder covers and spines (for 1 inch, 1.5 inch, and 2 inch binders) in 10 different colors! You can grab your freebie here.

That's it for this made-it. I'm already working on some fun and colorful projects for next week... I think they are going to be really cute!

Let me know what you think in the comments and make sure to check out all of the other awesome made-its at 4th grade frolics!

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!