Surf Board Behavior Chart

Behavior Clip Charts are a very common thing in today's classrooms. I love how it recognizes students who are working hard and warns students who aren't. I think it helps students learn to self-regulate their own behavior- I don't need to yell. Most of the time I just move a clip and I see a change in someone's behavior right away. Plus it's not a distraction to the entire class.

I had a traditional clip chart this past year with multiple signs hanging from a thick ribbon, but I forgot to take a picture of it. I saved it, along with all my other Mo Willems classroom themed items. This year, I wanted one that really matched my new classroom's beachy, ocean, nautical theme. So today I made the surf board behavior chart:

The finished Surf Board Behavior Chart

Supplies Needed:

-very large piece of cardboard
-pencil
-box cutter or X-acto knife

-acrylic paint
-painters tape
-large paint brush
-printer & computer
-packing tape or scrapbooking glue runner
-fake starfish
-clothes pins

Step 1: The first step is to draw your surf board shape out on your large cardboard. I got my cardboard from the packaging of our patio set we got this spring. However, I was able to get cardboard for free from a local discount furniture store for free this past spring for an art project at school. So be resourceful! Also I think Home Depot sells some if you need to buy it. I chose to do a pretty large size with a flat bottom so I can just lean it up against the wall at school. You might also like this shape: Surf Board Pin from Pinterest.

Step 2: Cut out your surf board and paint it! I just used regular acrylic paint from the craft store. I had a lot of green paint at home, so green it is! I took a picture close up to show you that I didn't paint it a full, solid shade. I left it streaky- I thought it looked beachy.

The light coat of paint- you can see the cardboard through it.

Step 3: The next step is to use your painters tape and tape off a section right down the middle to make your white stripe. You might want to flank that stripe with two smaller colored ones for an even more authentic look. Acrylic paint dries pretty quickly so I was able to do a couple of coats right away and then peel off the tape. Then I marked off the sections for my clip chart and painted those blue.

Marking off the stripes with painters tape.

Stripes are around 1 cm.

Just a light coat of blue to separate the sections.

Letting it dry!

Step 4: I painted my fake starfish which I picked up at the Christmas Tree Store. I painted the words on too, but after doing the top I didn't really like the irregularities and so I decided I would stop there and paint over it to use printed signs instead.

Painted on the words at first.

Decided I wanted to print out signs instead. 

Just a little green paint will fix that.

Step 5: Next I used this free clip art frame from TpT and printed off my signs. I decided not to go with beachy phrases such as Overboard or Surfs Up or All Hands on Deck, because I thought it would be hard for my 1st & 2nd graders to understand what exactly that was. I don't want any confusion with behavior! Plus the chart lingo I used is what my kiddos last year are used to, and since they roll over with me, I already have half a class who "gets it." I attached the signs with packing tape, made into loops on the back, but then I ran out so I used scrapbooking glue runner/tape runner. My surf board won't be in a high traffic area so I don't think little bodies will be near it a lot so this should be sturdy enough. 

And that's it folks! It is really a quick project. The only thing left I am going to do is print off the kids' names on little sea creatures and laminate those and attach to the clothespins. That will add another cute element to this. 

The finished product!

A little bit closer.

Teacher Toolbox

I am addicted to Pinterest! I can't even watch TV without getting bored and going onto Pinterest. So many good ideas! One idea that I have seen a thousand times is the Teacher Toolbox. I never had a use of one last year because I kept all of these things in my desk.

Well... this year I am not moving my desk from my classroom upstairs to my new one downstairs. I've moved it from being caddy-cornered to straight and that was an extremely hard feat!  More than that, I have decided that my desk takes up so much space unnecessarily! I use the top of it for work space, but the inside just keeps things that I don't use on a day to day basis. I'd be better off storing the birthday, holiday items, etc. on baskets on shelves or in a closet and putting my files on a file stand and calling it a day! So that's what I have decided to do when moving into my new room. I'll grab some trapezoid tables that are in storage and use those as a reading group table slash my desk! I'm really excited about it.

I also had a curriculum bookshelf next to my desk and it holds so many reading books. I'm looking forward to moving them and other unnecessary teaching books away into storage and only pulling out what I need, when I need. Less clutter!

Hence my opportunity to make this wonderful Teacher Toolbox! First, Home Depot by me, did not have this box. They didn't have anything similar either. I was so sad! All they had were small boxes that looked like bead boxes or things that didn't have a complete front to the drawer, it was more like a tray. So off to Lowes I went after I looked it up online and found that these were in aisle 16. I hate going into a hardware store and looking like I don't know what I am doing. Even though I made a beeline to aisle 16, I still got asked if I needed help. (-: Anyway, this toolbox was very affordable and smaller than I had expected- which was a good thing! I don't need a huge toolbox on my shelf to house office supplies.

I was going to make my own labels but so many kind people on TpT had them for free so I found this great set from Amanda Hoffman (Amanda Hoffman Teachers Pay Teachers). I simply changed the font and added my clipart and it matched my new classroom theme. Thanks Amanda!

There is also a lot of talk on Pinterest and teacher blogs about whether to use Mod Podge to attach labels to Sterlite or drawers of any kind or to just tape it. I feel that taping is sufficient. I'm the only one who will be going in and out of these drawers, unless I send a responsible student over for a rubber band once in a while, so I can't imagine wasting my time with Mod Podge. Besides, I might change my classroom theme and want to switch out these labels a couple years down the road.

If you'd like to get my labels for FREE, please visit my TpT page: My Teachers Pay Teachers

Don't mind my fuzzy blanket! I wanted to assemble it while sitting on the futon out on my screened in porch!

Pens fit- but on a diagonal.

Yearly Planner

To begin planning for the 2015-2016 school year, I wanted to update my yearly planner. Last year I was pretty sure I got a free one from Tami from Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers  (Tami's Website). When I went to update it for the next school year, it was only $3, but I was hesitant, because I know I could make my own. Plus I am all about matching- so to have a new yearly planner that matched my new classroom theme would be amazing! 

So I went to work creating one in my own theme, but using elements from Tami's that I couldn't go without. I love using the post-it notes. I can move things around, if an event gets changed from one date to another.... I can pencil things in, without using a squeaky pencil! I love the colors of the post-it notes as well! How fun!

You can pick one up for yourself in my TpT store: My Teachers Pay Teachers Site

The cover to my Yearly Planner. With the crab that I edited all by myself!

A section that lists the months so I can record the student's birthdays.

After each month, there is a Thoughts page to reflect and leave myself notes for next year. Before each month there is an Inspiration & Ideas page.

Each month is a double page spread. Fits small post-it notes perfectly!

Lastly, I'm always scurrying to find a parent's email address, etc. so now I don't have to ask the secretary in the middle of the year for information.