Summer Classroom Finds

I don't know about you, but every summer I'm always on the look out for new things for my classroom. Most of the time it is things to organize the stuff that I accumulated over the previous year.  The following are just some of the things that I have found this summer.

I got these at Michaels for 44% off and then an additional 15% off. I'm going to be honest and tell you I have no idea what I am going to use them for, but they were too cute and such a good deal that I couldn't pass them up!

I got 2 of these next two containers (also at Michaels) for $11.99 - 44% off - 15% off = $5.70.

I'm going to hold my task cards in them.  I've seen many different ways that people store their task cards on Pinterest and the idea of putting them in pocket accordion files seemed to be the best way for me. I had originally wanted to use different colors for different subjects, but I couldn't find enough in each color.  Most of these are from Target's Dollar Spot. The ones with the black elastic are from Dollar Tree. The base of these are just a tad bigger than the Target files. I'm going to print out labels on the little address labels (the ones that fit about 80 to a sheet) and put the topic on the files.

I got some of the large accordion files to hold the answer sheets for the task cards.

Target had a good assortment of stickers in their Dollar Spot. The smilies and star stickers will go on the behavior clips and the larger stickers are for graded papers.

There is a pin floating around Pinterest about using creates to sort your colored paper. I got 3 of these to hold my colored copy paper and cardstock. ($3.99 at Target)

I can't decide if these are going in the prize drawer (the kiddos LOVE Post-It notes) or maybe using these for our interactive notebooks. They were a $1 at The Dollar Tree.

The kiddos are ALWAYS bring back erasers from the Scholastic Book Fairs, so when I saw these I knew they would be perfect for our prize drawer.  I think I got these at Target's Dollar Spot.

 
The next three pictures are cute little notebooks, erasers and stickers for the prize drawer. They were all in the clearance section at Walmart for $0.50 a piece.

I saw these tubs at Big Lots and went back and forth about getting them.  But I decided to get them because they are the perfect size for storing our interactive notebooks. I have milk crates that I use now, but these will take up less space and the notebooks will be neater because they will be standing up instead of going every which way laying down in the crate.

Half price flip chart markers at Staples.  If you check out their coupon section, you can usually get a good deal.  

These tabs that I got at Staples will be used in our interactive notebooks to divide the sections. The top row I got for $2 a piece (1/2 price with coupon) and the botton row were on clearance for $1 each.  

What goodies have you found over your summer break? Please share in the comments so we can all check them out!

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A Toy Story (Part One)

My classroom is full of toys. Yep, I said TOYS. Yep, I teach middle school. Even though my kids are 11 or 12, they still love toys. Heck, I am an "almost old" lady and I still love toys! Toys are colorful, fun, and they make us smile. I have also found that they can add a spark to lessons.

Whenever I have a toy out that I will be using as part of a lesson, my students' eyes light up.

"What's that for?" they ask curiously as they enter the room. 

"Do we get to use that?" they wonder. 

"Is that for OUR class?" they hopefully question. 

There is something about toys that heightens their curiosity, and their immediate attention is mine as they silently wonder, "How is she going to use that?"

I never worry that things will be "babyish" or beneath them. Anything can work if you use it the right way. We teachers know that. We know we can make a popsicle stick or a cardboard box fun with the right plan. We are magicians! We are miracle workers!

My last post was about how I use my police toys in English class to reinforce proper writing. If you want to head back and take a look at that post in case you missed it, you can find it HERE.

I wanted to share just a few more toys from my "bag of tricks" and discuss how I use them in my classroom. Toy stores offer a wealth of teaching ideas if you just walk in with your eyes open and your creativity switched on.

I love music in the classroom. I think instrumental music is very motivating for students. I play classical music while they are working, techno music when we are having races, etc. 

One of my favorite things to do is have a "detective search." They may be searching for adjectives in sentences or underlining all nouns...whatever we are working on in class will do. While they do this, students become the detectives, and I play music as a timer for the activity. I try to make the music fit the activity, so for our detective searches, I have a favorite song. When students enter the room and see this little guy sitting at the front, they know we are ready for a detective search activity! I play the theme from The Pink Panther as students work to complete the task given. It's a lot of fun! He is kind of our "mascot" whenever we do this.

Humor is a big part of my lessons. I am always looking for toys or accessories that will make my students giggle. When we talk about writing, I do a whole unit on boring, overused words (good, bad, etc.) I have found, though, that students often want to replace these words with words that are just as boring but longer. They choose words like wonderful, awesome, etc. 

My whole lesson focuses on using words that actually give us some information. For example, instead of a "wonderful" hamburger, tell us it's a "juicy, mouth-watering" hamburger or a "flavorful" hamburger. Let us know why it's wonderful! I call these words like wonderful, terrific, etc. by the name of "boring words in disguise." They make you THINK they are better because they are BIGGER, but the truth is, they're NOT. I teach the whole lesson wearing my "teacher in disguise" glasses. They get such a kick out of it!

I also just found a very cool sound machine that I can't wait to incorporate next year! Some of the sounds are just downright funny!

Speaking of writing, we've all seen the hamburger as a model for writing an essay. The top bun represents the topic sentence and the bottom bun represents the conclusion. All the good stuff in between is the delicious part of the essay. Well, I found this great prop at a yard sale and knew I had to have it for my writing lessons!

I also look for "Dollar Store Deals" that I can use during review games. My students love the mini frisbees I sometimes use. I found the set at a dollar store, and each color represents a different team. I create some "bullseyes" to lay out on the floor, and I use the frisbees to see how many extra points each team earns. Landing on a bullseye earns you that extra point amount (whatever the bullseye is worth). If a team does not land on any bullseye, they receive the standard number of points.

You can see just how tiny these frisbees are in the photo with my finger!

I saw this idea on Pinterest for using hula hoops when creating Venn diagrams. I think my students would really enjoy it, and this is something I hope to try this coming year.

I will be back on July 31 with Part Two to share some more classroom toys with you. 

Until then, I would love to know if you have any favorite toys you like to incorporate into your lessons. 

I'd love to hear your great ideas!

Until we talk again on July 31, happy summer, friends!

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Ahhh.... summmer! Getting organized and getting refreshed (freebies included!)

I don't know if you have seen this comic or not, but I feel it is SUPER appropriate to post right now.  We all put in so much time, hard work, and yes, even tears... we deserve a break!   It's so exciting to get a month or two to relax, refresh, and grow!

I think, though, if I made the comic, the June would be me looking worn down and ragged, possibly lay in bed trying to sleep, the July would have me spending money and/or crafting, and the August would have me working on last minute organization.

I had my time to relax, currently I'm in that weird panic mode where I feel like nothing will actually get accomplished.  I feel like Santa... making lists, checking them twice...

A few weeks ago I posted about changing classrooms and trying to get organized.  Since then, I have created a few items for my classroom.  The past three weeks have been full of me creating stuff for my classroom.  Michael's has been my friend (also my husband has been overly patient with the HUGE mess I'm making in the dining room! Thanks, hon!))

This is my project for Wednesday and Thursday of this week.... 4 words.... black chalkboard contact paper!  I can't wait to see how this turns out!

I ended up making those clothespin!  And, made matching letters to go along with them!! LOVE how they turned out!  They will go great with my color scheme this year!

Sent my "How to be a Good Mathematician" Posters to Office Max to have them professionally printed.  I ABSOLUTELY cannot WAIT to hang these around the room!!

Want your own?  You can grab them in my TpT store AND if you just aren't sure how awesome they are, check out the TpT preview and you might just find 4 of them for FREE!!

 This week was spent with more color coding in my room.  I constantly use the rainbow to help keep me organized.  This year, my room will be MMD colors!  Magenta, Citrus, Lime, Teal and Purple!  

I'm currently using these awesome colors to create Behavior Incentive Boards.... Hoping to get those finished up this week so that I can post them!  Make sure to check out my blog to see more updates there!

Here's what they look like so far!  LOVE how the color turned out on the canvas!

And, to top that off, I've been creating more planners to help everyone else get organized! I made quite a few this past week... I'm learning that creating fun organization tools might be my new calling... maybe now I can convince myself to use them!

Okay enough with how I'm getting myself organized!  Here are some ways you can get yourself organized!

First, FREE editable labels to help bring some fun pops of color to your classroom! 

Then, because so many of you are working with the CCSS this year, FREE Common Core Checklists for MATH Common Core Standards. Click each picture below to go directly to the download!

   

Remember to leave some love if you download these freebies!

I sincerely hope that each of you is taking some time for yourself over this summer break!  Leave a comment telling me what you are doing to refresh yourself for the upcoming year!  

Don't forget to download, not 1, but 5 freebies!! AND.... a ONE lucky commenter will receive a FULL How to Be a Good Mathematician Poster set (winner to be chosen on Friday 7/19!)  Make sure to leave your email in order to be eligible to receive the Posters!

 

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Oh What Do You Do In The Summertime?

Hello Friends,
I decided that since it was summer, and I didn't want to think about school (yet), I thought I would share what my family has been doing for fun. After all, don't we all need a short break from thoughts of our "other" lives?

This summer has been exciting for me. This is the first time in 14 years that I haven't spent nearly every summer day at school preparing, stressing, prepping, stressing...

What changed this year?

Good question.

By all accounts I should be freaking out. I have 3 writing classes that are using a new writing program this year which I have barely glanced at, AND, I am teaching all the science for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. I know 6th, and most of 5th, but 4th grade science is ALL new to me.

BUT- I realized that if I didn't start taking time for my family, and for me, and for creating (which I enjoy doing), that something would give, and, I realized, it just might be my job! Best part is, I have thoroughly enjoyed the break. I am actually looking forward to school starting for the first time in years. WAHOO!

So...

What has the Hughes clan been up to then, with all this extra "together" time?

Well, just this week we took this idea from pinterest:

OH MY HECK! The kids LOVED IT! We used dollar store glowsticks and cheap-o water from the store. We didn't have a soccer ball, so we used a mini-basketball. This is a keeper, and we will be doing this at my wife's family reunion next month. WAHOO!


We go swimming twice a week and the kiddos are LOVING that. We bought a season pass for the local pool here in town. I am not a big fan of swimming, but the kids get me to go at least once a week. I even get in the water and play with my cutie-pie 2 year old girl (pictured below).

One of our most favorite events is hosting the Hughes Summer Cinema at least once a month. We started this tradition last summer and we have really improved on it this year. In fact, we got all sorts of serious this year and invested a small fortune to make a viewing screen. We bought the materials for and created a HUGE screen for our back yard. We used 2" PVC for the frame we designed and a painter's cloth for the screen itself. My wife sewed it all up in about an hour while my father and I played measure and cut with the PVC. We break it down between viewings as the finished screen is about 10 feet tall and 18 feet wide! WAHOO!

As you can see, this is a HUGE event and we LOVE having our family and friends over. Everyone comes early and eats treats and visits. This last time we secured a subwoofer and it was pretty amazing.
So far this summer we have watched: Brave, Life of Pi, and Emperor's New Groove. We are planning our next showing a week from Friday.

As part of each movie, we have a theme for a treat. We made this for Brave. I think the theme was BRAVE something new, or maybe it was just bring a tasty treat to share, I don't know... ha ha. Whatever it was, this is what we made. S'Mores Mix. It was super easy to make and OH SO TASTY! I think I ate most of it myself.

(Click on the picture to see the Pin on Pinterest)

We have also made and played Kick Croquet (idea on pinterest, but couldn't find the pin). Dollar Tree hula hoops cut in half, small balls (1 per person), and 3- 36" dowels but into 6" lengths (from our local ACE Hardware).

I have also been busy creating resource for the FOUR on-line stores I sell in. It is very relaxing (most of the time) to take a blank screen and turn it into a resource that will help my students learn a concept better. I enjoy sharing those with others as well. Here a few of my latest:

There are many more, but I will let you find them if you are interested. :)

As you can see, I have been enjoying my summer. This is all new to me, and I think I can handle this EVERY summer. I didn't realize how much a break can truly do for the soul of a teacher.

How about you? Are you MAKING time for you? What is your favorite summertime activity?

I wish you a restful summer!

Cheers!

-Mr. Hughes

 

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