HOLIDAY HANDS

There's nothing quite as sweet as little hands and little feet! You can trace around your children's hands and cut them out, or let the children dip their hands in paint and print.

P.S. These hand and feet projects make great bulletin boards. The hand tree or wreath could be used on your door. The reindeer could be used for "Teacher's name Herd." Or, how about "Teacher's name Little Angels."

Hint! Use fabric paint and make holiday shirts with handprints and footprints.

        

       

BACK TO SCHOOL - CLASSROOM MAKEOVER

If you’re stressed about getting your room decorated for the first day of school, I've got a great idea for you!!!! Wrap yellow caution tape around your door and post a sign that says “Under Construction.” Explain to the parents that you are trying to develop a classroom community and you want your students to decorate their own learning environment. Invite parents to come back at the end of the week to see what their children have created!

Clare Ashford has a great idea to take “under construction” one step further.
“Before Meet the Teacher night (before school starts), I wrap all my bookcases, computers, etc. in butcher paper and then put an ‘under construction’ sign on them. It serves 2 purposes. 1- that way kids don't get into things while I'm busy talking to people! and 2- we ‘unwrap’ the items together as a class when we're ready to use whatever it is. It is very helpful and makes for an organized start to the year!”

Here are some crafts your students can make to decorate the classroom.

Welcome to the Neighborhood
Make a house from construction paper for each child. Fold the paper in half vertically. Open. Fold in the top corners to the middle. Fold up the bottom. Let children write their name on the front of the house. They can open the house and draw their family. You could also ask child to bring in a photograph of their family. Add some trees and a school and you have a great bulletin board.

Class Quilt
Use group art to create a visual representation of the “community” in your classroom. Give each child a 9” square and have them decorate it with pictures of themselves, drawings of their families or favorite things, collage materials, etc. Punch holes in the corner of each square and tie together with yarn to make a quilt to display in the classroom or hallway.

Friendship Chain
Give each child a strip of construction paper to decorate with their name, symbols of favorite things, or designs. Children sit in a circle and one at a time give the teacher their strip to staple and make a chain. Remind the children that your classroom is just like that chain. Everyone must work together to keep it connected and strong. Drape the chain over the doorway.

Banners, Pennants, and Name Plates
Use construction to let children create banners or pennants that reflect them. They might include hobbies, favorite foods, pets, family members, goals, etc.

Fit Like a Puzzle
Take a large sheet of poster board and cut it into puzzle shapes. (You will need one puzzle piece for each child in the room. Mark the back of the piece with an “X” so they will know which side to decorate.) After the children have decorated their piece, challenge them to put their pieces together to make a puzzle. Glue pieces to another sheet of poster board to create a picture puzzle for your classroom.

Isn't this a great sign for your classroom door?

Mirror, Mirror!
You know how much kids love to look at themselves in a mirror. Each day put a positive word or note on your classroom mirror to remind the children how special they are!




Lights, Camera, Action!
I loved this idea from KIRPC Head Start in Indiana. The teacher said she bought sheets, tied the ends with ribbons, and then hung them on hooks around the smart board. Taaa daaa!

P.S. LOOK AT THIS COOL IDEA FOR DISPLAYING CHILDREN'S ARTWORK OR WRITING USING A PANTS HANGER.

BACK TO SCHOOL

"Selective nostalgia" is the ability to remember the good things and forget about the negative things. Most children are more adept at this than grownups - thank goodness! Here are a few ideas to involve your class in recalling special memories as well as welcoming your upcoming class.

The Best Thing About…

Invite children to recall some of their favorite memories from the school year. Give them a sheet of paper to illustrate it. Ask them to write (or dictate) a sentence about it. Put their pictures together in a cover that says, “The Best Thing About (Grade)” and bind. Save the book to read to your new class when school starts.

Welcome Brochure
Demonstrate how to fold a sheet of paper into thirds to make a brochure. Let each child create a brochure called “Welcome to Grade.” They could include things they’ll learn, special events, etc. Save these and give them (or send in the mail) to your upcoming students when school starts.


Hint! Have children do a “rough draft.” Edit and then make a revised copy.


Back to School Bulletin Board
Invite your students to create a bulletin board to welcome the new class. Cover with newspaper to protect over the summer, and you’ll be ahead of the game when school starts. How about one of these themes?

Lights, Camera, Action! (Photos of Special Events)

A Great Batch (Gingerbread Cookies)

(Teacher’s Name) Bunch (Bananas)

Round Up for a Great Year (Horses)

Lookin’ Good! (Giant Mirror)

Kick off for (Grade)! (Football & Goal)

Join (Teacher’s Name) Team! (Pennants and Pompoms)

Welcome Super Stars (Stars)

Swim into a New Year (Fish)

Bloom in (Grade - Flower Garden)

Note! I'm smiling to myself because we used many of these same themes years ago. Some things just don't change!

INTEGRATING ART AND SKILLS

Don't we all need a little more beauty in our lives these days? Art is active, open-ended, and encourages children to think creatively and use their imagination.

Most of the time when we ask children to draw something they pick up a crayon and get going. Here are some tips that might help them plan their illustrations before they begin.

1st Explain that they should think about what they want to draw and plan how they are going to do it. Suggest they close their eyes and get a picture in their brain.

2nd Remind them to add details. Just like we add words to sentences to make them more meaningful, the more details you add to your drawings the more interesting they will be.

3rd An easy rule for children to follow is to ask them to use as many colors as they are in age. If you are five, you should use at least five colors in your picture. If you are six use at least six colors, and so forth. And, of course, “fill in the page” is always a challenge.

Hint! One teacher said she discovered that when she gave her students colored paper they were more likely to fill in the page. (Give it a try and let me know what you think.)

4th Compare and contrast illustrations. Show children several books with different illustrations. What media did the different illustrators use to make their pictures? Which illustrations do they like best? Why?

*Remind your students that they are illustrators, too!

How many different ways can you think of to use common materials like crayons or colored pencils in your classroom?

Skills - Instead of giving children worksheets, give them blank paper and challenge them to illustrate sight words, phonics, shapes, numbers, vocabulary, etc.



Comprehension - Draw what you learned from a science or social studies lesson.


SEL - Let children draw how they feel or express themselves on paper when upset.

Songs - Encourage children to illustrate favorite classroom songs and chants and then put them together to make a book.



Cards and Letters - Write and illustrate cards and letters to friends and family members.


Bulletin Boards - Use children's original work to decorate your bulletin boards, door, hallway, and so forth.

Note! What a clever way to display children's artwork!

HOLIDAY HANDS

There's nothing quite as sweet as little hands and little feet! You can trace around your children's hands and cut them out, or let the children dip their hands in paint and print.

P.S. These hand and feet projects make great bulletin boards. The hand tree or wreath could be used on your door. The reindeer could be used for "Teacher's name Herd." Or, how about "Teacher's name Little Angels."

Hint! Use fabric paint and make holiday shirts with handprints and footprints.

Note! Some of you might not do holidays in your schools, so feel free to adapt these projects.

#12-BACK TO SCHOOL FOR YOUR BEST YEAR EVER! Design on a Dime

As I was looking through old blogs I found some super simple and inexpensive ideas to add a little BLING to your school.

Mirror, Mirror!
You know how much kids love to look at themselves in a mirror. Each day put a positive word or note on your classroom mirror to remind the children how special they are!

What a clever idea to use a real picture frame to display children’s artwork!




Or how about displaying children's artwork or writing using pants hangers?




I loved this idea from KIRPC Head Start in Indiana. The teacher said she bought sheets, tied the ends with ribbons, and then hung them on hooks around the smart board. Taaa daaa!

Chalk Board Table
Is this cool or what? Ms. Smalls found an old table they were going to throw away. She painted the top with chalkboard paint and let the children write special messages, draw pictures, write sight words, etc. on it. The kids LOVED it!

How about addition facts on the stairs? The science vocabulary leads to the upper grades. Letters, numbers, shapes and so many skills could “step up” learning.

Display Pocket
Make a display pocket for each child from a file folder. Cut a 1 ¼” border around the top half of the file folder. Let children decorate it with their name and pictures. Laminate. Fold in half and staple to a bulletin board or tape to a cubby. Children can display their own work by slipping drawings, stories, etc. in the pocket.

Hint! You can also use a clear sheet protector to display children’s work.

#11-BACK TO SCHOOL FOR YOUR BEST YEAR EVER! Under Construction

Are you stressing out about getting your room ready before school starts? Have I got a plan for you! Take yellow caution tape and wrap it around your door. Post a sign for parents and students that says:

“This room is under construction because it will be ‘home’ for all of us this school year. It is important that the children help me decorate it with their artwork and personalities. Please come visit us in a week and see what we have created!”

How about some crafts your students can make to decorate the room?

Welcome to the Neighborhood
Make a house from construction paper for each child. Fold the paper in half vertically. Open. Fold in the top corners to the middle. Fold up the bottom. Let children write their name on the front of the house. They can open the house and draw their family. You could also ask child to bring in a photograph of their family. Add some trees and a school and you have a great bulletin board.




Class Quilt
Use group art to create a visual representation of the “community” in your classroom. Give each child a 9” square and have them decorate it with pictures of themselves, drawings of their families or favorite things, collage materials, etc. Punch holes in the corner of each square and tie together with yarn to make a quilt to display in the classroom or hallway.

Friendship Chain
Give each child a strip of construction paper to decorate with their name, symbols of favorite things, or designs. Staple the strips together to make a chain. Remind the children that your classroom is just like that chain. Everyone must work together to keep it connected and strong. Drape the chain over the doorway.




Fit Like a Puzzle
Take a large sheet of poster board and cut it into puzzle shapes. (You will need one puzzle piece for each child in the room. Mark the back of the piece with an “X” so they will know which side to decorate.) After the children have decorated their piece, challenge them to put their pieces together to make a puzzle. Glue pieces to another sheet of poster board to create a picture puzzle for your classroom.

Make a banner with the words above to go on your door. Remind your children each day that they really are the WORLD'S GREATEST STUDENTS.

I saw these positive bulletin boards several years ago when I visited a school.  Aren't they great?

THE BEST THING ABOUT

"Selective nostalgia" is the ability to remember the good things and forget about the negative things. Most children are more adept at this than grownups - thank goodness!

The Best Thing About…
Invite children to recall some of their favorite memories from the school year. Give them a sheet of paper to illustrate it. Ask them to write (or dictate) a sentence about it. Put their pictures together in a cover that says, “The Best Thing About (Grade)” and bind. Save the book to read to your new class when school starts.

Welcome Brochure
Demonstrate how to fold a sheet of paper into thirds to make a brochure. Let each child create a brochure called “Welcome to Grade.” They could include things they’ll learn, special events, etc. Save these and give them (or send in the mail) to your upcoming students when school starts.

'

Hint! Have children do a “rough draft.” Edit and then make a revised copy.

Back to School Bulletin Board
Invite your students to create a bulletin board to welcome the new class. Cover with newspaper to protect over the summer, and you’ll be ahead of the game when school starts. How about one of these themes?

Lights, Camera, Action! (Photos of Special Events)

A Great Batch (Gingerbread Cookies)

(Teacher’s Name) Bunch (Bananas)

Round Up for a Great Year (Horses)

Lookin’ Good! (Giant Mirror)

Kick off for (Grade)! (Football & Goal)

Join (Teacher’s Name) Team! (Pennants and Pompoms)

Welcome Super Stars (Stars)

Swim into a New Year (Fish)

Bloom in (Grade - Flower Garden)

Note! I'm smiling to myself because we used many of these same themes years ago. Some things just don't change!