Monday Made It: Pointer Sticks and Decal Letters!

Happy Monday! Today I am linking up with Fourth Grade Frolics for another Monday Made It. I had big plans for this week, but I only got through a couple of projects. I have had a crazy busy week (including whitewater rafting for the first time!!), and I am preparing for my family to arrive to visit us tomorrow for about two weeks. I'm excited they will be here!! Anyway, on with the craftiness!

My first (completed) project this week is a fabulous collection of animal pointer sticks that cost me next to nothing to make!! I was inspired by Greg @ Smedley's Smorgasbord of Kindergarten's Monday Made It from last week, and decided I needed to do this too! I have a few pointers already, but this just kicked it up a notch. They turned out SO CUTE!

All you need are wooden cutouts from any craft store, hot glue or another strong adhesive, and dowel rods. My wooden cutouts (.39 each) and dowel rods (.99 for a pack of 6) are from Joann's. (Plus 15% off for educators, people!)

Simply glue your dowel rod to the back of your wooden cutout and there you have it! I made sure to fill in all the cracks around my dowel rod to make sure they were as durable as possible for all that kinder love!

How cute are these, seriously?!?! You can store them in a milk crate like I have shown here, or just in a bucket as demonstrated below. I think these will be great not only for pointers, but also to incorporate into writing and dramatic play. I know they're going to just love these!

I have seen my next project on Pinterest many times and I finally decided to do it. It ended up being super easy, with the only downside being the time I had to wait between steps to let the letters dry.

All you need are some kind of wooden or sturdy cardboard letters, scrapbook paper of your choosing, Mod Podge (I used glossy), ribbon, a pencil, scissors/exacto knife, and hot glue.

Start by flipping your scrapbook paper over to the non-printed side, and lay your letters down to trace. Trace them with your pencil, and cut them out with scissors or an exacto knife.

Next, cover your wooden letter with Mod Podge and lay your paper cut-out letter on top. It should adhere instantly. Be careful to line up your actual letter and your paper letter very precisely! Don't worry about if some hangs over. You can use the exacto knife to trim the edges down if you wish when you're finished.

After you've adhered your paper on top, seal it in with two coats of Mod Podge on top of the letter. I like to let one coat of Mod Podge dry before putting on the second.

Once your letters are dry, it's time to put the ribbon on so that you can hang your letters. If you don't want to hang them, skip this step! Just put a little hot glue on the back of your letters and press the ribbon on the back.

Here is my finished project! Obviously I'm not going to hang these with Broncos clips as shown, but hey - you gotta improvise when you're at home! I picked a K and a D to hang outside of my classroom door. At my school, our classrooms are named by your grade level (K) and the first initial of your last name (D). I used to be 4D and now I'm KD, which also happens to be my initials :)  Am I meant to teach kinder or what?? I will show y'all where their permanent home will be once I get in there and start movin' and shakin'!

What did you make for Monday Made It?? Link your project in the comments below!

Please follow my blog journey! I have LOTS and LOTS of great things to share in the coming weeks!! (I'm now on Bloglovin'!)

cheers!

Kelley

Five for Friday!

Hi y'all! Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! Five for Friday is where you link up with other teachers, sharing 5 random things from your week - school related or not. So let's dive in!

Can I just say that this summer is flying by like nothing I have ever seen before?? Summers are short where I live anyway, but holy moly! Hubby and I have been living it up outdoors this summer, though. You have to when you live in a place like we do! So my first thing to share are some pictures from our hikes this week. Yes, this is practically my BACKYARD! I can't believe it either.

Secondly, I am overwhelmed at the response to my Alphabet Gems Made it Monday from this week! I have had an amazing number of views and Pinterest pins from that page, so THANK YOU! They were so easy, quick, and fun to make and I can't wait to use them! Has anyone seen any "blingy" number stickers anywhere that would work on these?? If they're in the same shape (for example a number in a circle) they work best to use to create these gems. If they're die-cut, they don't line up properly, and you have to Mod Podge over them, creating an extra step. So, if you have seen number stickers please let me know! Have you made Alphabet Gems?? Link your post in the comments!

Yoga has been super important to me for awhile now, but I love my studio here so much, it just kicks it up a notch. Maybe it's because I'm practicing at 10,000 feet elevation??

If you have never tried it, do yourself a favor and give it a whirl! Tell the teacher beforehand that it's your first time and be okay with leaving your comfort zone to better yourself! I promise you will be thankful you did! I am linking a page that has great beginner videos. (No, that is not a picture of me, but that would be amazing to do!)

I am gearing up for a serious Monday Made It if my printer cooperates. Some projects may take longer than I'm anticipating though. We shall see if I have one or multiple projects to share this week! Here are some purchases that I made to gear up for my kitchen table craft-fest:

Can you guess what I'm making?

Lastly, I went to my classroom this week, but just for a few minutes! I moved rooms this year, and I went to check out if my things had all been moved (MANY THANKS to our custodian!!! New teacher tip: befriend your custodian and your secretaries!!! They can REALLY help you out.) and everything was there! I wanted to check out what was left in my closets and cabinets from the teacher before and to see what kind of furniture I was going to be working with. I can't wait to start putting it all together!

What did you do this week? Link your Five for Friday in the comments!

I'd love for you to follow my blog journey!

cheers!

Kelley

Book Talk Tuesday! Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

Hello, hello!

Today I am linking up with Mrs. Jump's Class for Book Talk Tuesday!

I really really love the book that I picked this week, y'all. It is just beautifully written and has such a fantastic message for my kiddos to hear. They take it very seriously too -

 melt my heart!

So, I tried to write my own summary of this book, but let's face it: Barnes and Noble just sums it up perfectly:

Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. They may not speak the same language. Their lives may be quite different. But inside, they are all alike. Stirring words and bold paintings weave their way around our earth, across cultures and generations. At a time when, unfortunately, the lessons of tolerance still need to be learned, Whoever You Are urges us to accept our differences, to recognize our similarities, and-most importantly-to rejoice in both.

Despite the differences between people around the world, there are similarities that join us together, such as pain, joy, and love.

Discussion/comprehension

 This book is a great one to use to introduce Venn Diagrams or an Alike/Different T-Chart to students. You could have a great discussion with students about the differences we see on the outside of our friends, but how the inside of all of us is so very similar! 

Art

This is a great time for students to do self portraits. I have heard of many teachers having students draw a self portrait and write their name as an assessment every month to track fine motor skill progression throughout the year. Have any of y'all done this?? I'm considering it and would love your feedback. 

Music

There is a great CD that you can use when you study this book, which is super fun! 

Multi-Cultural Children's Songs by Ella Jenkins

It explores familiar things in different languages - counting, saying hello, thank you, etc. Very cute.

I'm dreaming of how I can incorporate my Made It Monday alphabet gems into this!

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to read some of your favorite books in the comments!

cheers!

Kelley