I have digressed....Back on Track!!

Since the holidays, I have digressed from my original intent of sharing how I've used my Cricut in the classroom (and other places as well). I am by no means a fanatic, but I have found it to be a very useful tool.

Last week when I posted about Curly and the monster fort (click here) and was looking at the pictures of the girls' room, I remembered I had used the Cricut to help stencil the walls. The house we moved into nearly 3 years ago was 2 years old and still had contractor's paint on the majority of the walls. We systematically went through the house and painted.

The girls room was a tough one. Their last room had been pink (Boo's favorite color). So Curly wanted her turn and wanted the room purple. I searched high and low for the better part of 6 months for affordable, cute purple bedding, only to come up empty handed. I can't take credit for the bedding we finally went with, my cute husband found it one day in Target. Though the quilts and shams do not have any purple, the matching sheets do! So it was a compromise Curly was willing to make as long as purple was somehow incorporated on the walls as well. The hubby had a stipulation as well, whatever wall the girls bed was on could NOT be pink. We learned from their last room that little feet and handprints show up well on the pink and washing walls on a weekly basis was not something we wanted to do again.

So with that, and this as my inspiration, I came up with a plan.
To appease the husband, the wall with the bunk beds was painted chocolate. And to appease Curly, a variety of randomly placed polka dots were added for color (and to get the purple in). I cut about 5-6 circles using the George and Basic Shapes cartridge and went to town with my little Benjamin Moore Paint samples and a round sponge brush.
The remaining walls were painted pink. But they needed a little something too, to tie it all together.

So I added these cute flowers in 3 different colors (one of course being purple). I tried to match the flower from the bedding as close as I could. In order to do so I actually used the asterisk, setting the Cricut on 'shadow' mode, from the All Mixed Up cartridge. Then I cut smaller circles for the flower middles and I hand cut the leaf shape. Again with my little sample paint jars and sponge brushes, I went to town.

Though the walls were painted over a 2 day period, the stenciling took much longer. I am a bit of a detail freak and went back over each flower, the centers, and the leaves, and hand painted the stitching with a liner brush. That took another week's worth of time. But it turned out adorable!

My mom was kind enough to make this adorable valance using the top sheet from the bedding, some brown fabric, and pink ribbon. It is the perfect finishing piece. Well that and the vinyl saying I am going to one day add to the wall their dresser is on. I'm just waiting for the perfect saying. So if anyone has any suggestions...I am completely open.

The next project moves back into the classroom. It is another of my centers. My District has a list of words for each grade K-3rd, that students should be able to read and spell. These are the words I have included on my word wall. So using the Garden of Words cartridge, I created my 'Word Power' Center. On most days, I think this is one my students put near the top as fun.

This summer, I hit the jackpot at the Dollar Store. I found high frequency word strips that I cut smaller and laminated. The words have lined up with my District's word lists for the most part. Each week the students work with 5 words. So I add new words depending on the number passed off the previous week.

I do not provide the students with a list of the words because I want them to rely solely on the wall. I use star shaped Post-It notes to mark the words for the week.

On Monday the students write the words 4 times each on a form I have developed. (If anyone knows how to download a document to attach to a blog, I would love to attach it.)

Tuesday, they use letter tiles to spell out the words. I cut the letter tiles using the Learning Curve cartridge. But you could use anything from Scrabble tiles to magnetic tiles.

I pull the letters needed, plus about 10 extras, and then they use the word wall to help them spell out the words.

I included a picture of the word wall from one week as well as the words spelled out with tiles. When they are done they have to show it to me or my aide and read the words.

You will notice in above picture that one of the words does not look like the others (Sesame Street anyone?!) When I don't have the word, I use sentence strips and laminate them. Yes, it bothers me they aren't all the same, but I'm trying really hard to let it go. :)

On Wednesday they do Rainbow words on another form I have developed. For those of you who don't know what Rainbow words are, its easy. The student writes the word 3 times, each time in a different color. They love using their markers, colored pencils, or crayons.

On Thursday, they use Wikki Sticks or Play-doh to spell out the words. This is by far a favorite!

Friday, they have to write each word in a sentence to show they have an understanding of the word, as well as practice sentence writing.

This next center is definitely a student favorite. My listening center is used a little differently than most. I do use it for literature as well, but let's face it, sometimes we have to mix it up a little.

My students take a turn at the Song Lyric center daily. Think about it, words of a song are catchy and sang at a fast pace. The idea is to increase oral reading fluency.

So I found songs I thought my students would like from Disney movies/tv shows, other movies like Alvin and the Chipmunks, oldies, Kidz Bop songs, etc. I chose songs I thought kids like and are, or course, appropriate. I spent a great deal of time pulling lyrics from the internet and making sure they matched the version I had.

I placed them all in this binder in plastic sheet covers. The image on the front of the cover was cut from the Locker Talk cartridge.

As the student listens to the song, he/she is suppose to use his/her finger to track the lyrics as the song plays. I can always tell the students who are doing it right, because more often than not they are singing along (the correct lyrics), finger in the book, completely oblivious to the rest of the room. It is a crack up! By the end of the week, even if it was an unfamiliar song, everyone is singing it at random times throughout the day.

Some of my very favorites have been listening to the kids sing The One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater, The Monster Mash, and Charlie Brown. Hilarious!

P.S. The monster fort is BAAACK! I don't think it's for monsters anymore, more likely a very particular girl clinging to her ritual. I have no idea where she gets that!