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!

Something Old, Something New

I can honestly say I am back in the swing of things since winter break ended and we are back in the the daily grind, counting down the days until ISATs (state testing) are over and Spring Break will begin. January and February are tough months here. It is frigidly cold, which means days on end of indoor recess, cabin fever, and utilizing the creative side to get kids out of their seats and moving, while learning at the same time. I find myself overly tired at the end of every day. It's not so much that I count down the days until Spring Break, but more so counting down until the days get longer and the sun shines.

Over the course of the last few weeks I came to the realization that I am officially OLD! I can't say that I feel much different that I did in my 20s, other than the fatique, so I have secretly held on to the belief that I am still young. I guess I'll have to settle for young at heart. :)

The first instance was over the holidays. We had a few friends over for dinner. The one couple was slightly younger than we are. A conversation began revolving around the healthy appetite of my oldest. Since he began eating table food, he has always been able to consume a great deal of food. He isn't a picky eater (the exception being Kraft Macaroni and Cheese). He will eat just about anything. So he is often affectionately referred to as Mikey. When I made this reference at the dinner party, it was met with blank stares.

So who is Mikey? This is Mikey: He is the young boy who was featured in the Life cereal ads when I was kid. The catch phrase was "Give it to Mikey, he'll eat anything." So the nickname seemed appropriate. After explaining I thought, wow, I am part of a slightly older generation.

The experience that sealed the deal occurred this last week. I was in the car with 'Mikey' who asked to play his iPod through the car speakers. Feeling in a generous mood, I obliged. So I drove down the road as he played song after song filled with words I didn't know. My only choice was to try to find a beat I could appreciate as he repeatedly asked me, "Do you like this song?" All I could think was I'm OLD! Yikes!!

So that is my old, here is the new. Over the last week, my students have been studying for their science tests. I have to teach both 3rd and 4th grade science this year. (In other years I am also responsible for 5th grade, thankfully this year they push into their homeroom class.) I needed to find a way for my students to constantly be studying/reviewing the concepts I have taught. I found the answer when I was thumbing through a copy of the Family Fun magazine. The following idea/article got my creative juices flowing: http://familyfun.go.com/playtime/homework-game-919268/
I already make flashcards for my students to study from at home, but what a fun way to 'trick' my kids into studying in the classroom. And they LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!

So I got out posterboard, markers, my Cricut, Cricut cartridges, and my laminator and went to town. Yes, I do have a laminator. It is little, only does 8 3/4 inches width, but it comes in handy. I generally order my lamination pouches at Oregon Lamination online, it was the cheapest I could find. But as of late, Sams Club has started carrying them. The price is the same, but no shipping! (Total side note)
One of my centers is Game. There are a variety of games my students play: POP! (practicing sightwords), Words Their Way (word study games), OOPs!, and others. After they have played, they place this card up on the board.

Disclaimer: The pictures on this posting were all taken with my old camera, so the quality may be lacking. Sorry, but I didn't have the time to retake all of them.

(I did take the gameboard to be laminated at OfficeMax. It cost around $6, but I know that my hard work will be protected for at least a few years.)

This is the finished product. I chose to 'decorate' the board with different science concepts across the 3 grade levels. I am hoping that while playing the game, the images will become implanted in their young minds and they will recall the info come test time.

I apologize for the lighting, but took close ups so you can see what exactly is on the board.

I included the stages of matter and the parts of a flower.

The rollercoaster reminds the students of our discussion on speed and velocity.

Two grade levels need to be able to classify animals and give an example.

So I included those visuals
A few simple machines:

The sun, earth, moon, and a constellation for the space unit

The seasons for when we study weather

The water cycle and a skeleton for human development

My students love playing OOPs! I found some Smurfs (in the Target dollar bins) to use as place markers. They have a great time. To be honest I'm not sure they even realize they are studying. But it is easy to tell who is studying the cards at home! Those are the kids who win the game. The funny thing is it has, in some cases, encouraged others to start studying.

This last week, I ran into the problem of two different grade levels needing to use it at the same time, so I brought in an old Candyland game from home. The students had to answer a question correctly before they drew a card to move forward. So if you don't have a Cricut or the time to make a board like I did, use what you have at home or what you can find at a garage sale, Good Will, etc. The kids really don't care...they just like playing a game!!

Just a few to start with...

Here are a few of the centers that my students work on. All of them are completed on a daily basis, except the first one, but may differ slightly from day to day. It took some time in the beginning, teaching the routines and expectations. But it was well worth it. 'Count your Money' is completed once a week. Each of my students is assigned one of the days of the week to count the money in their bank. They then make the decision to cash it in for a prize or save for something bigger. Last year, I had all students counting on Friday and it felt like 20-25 minutes of pure chaos and impatience. So I wised up and have 2-3 students a day take their turn. Now it takes 5-10 minutes depending on the students' abilities. But it IS getting faster...and that is the whole point. The more I can put money in their hands, the more secure the skill will become. I did devise a cheat sheet for students to reference, helping them see what coins equal a quarter or dollar and so on. Some use it, others have graduated from it, and others simply never needed it. It's fun to see the progress.

The dollar was cut from Cuttin' Up. The stickers were given to me by another teacher in my building.

Punctuation Poetry is the combination of two different ideas I've learned over the course of my career. For students with reading fluency issues, it is often recommended they read poetry because the sing-song cadence lends itself to speed with repitition. I also took a training where one of the presentors taught some kinestetic movements to help students recognize the conventions of writing: capitalization, periods, commas, quotations marks, questions marks, and exclamation points. All the things my friends ignore in both their reading and writing.

I spent the first couple of weeks walking the students through the movements as I introduced the new poem for the week. As the students read the poem, they raise their arms straight above their heads in a point for capitals (most of them end up clapping), swing one arm in front of their bodies for commas, stamp out periods, and more. I developed another cheat sheet for this one. My girls were nice enough to be my models and act out the movements for me while I snapped photos. Each student referred to sheet in the beginning for help. Now they have the actions down.

This one is fun because there is no doubt when a student is completing it. You see and hear them at their desk reading, clapping, jumping, swinging, etc. It's great! I do have them come and show me the card before they start so I know to give them a little peek while I am working with other groups. I did have a few sneaky friends who tried to put their cards up on the board without doing the work. So I found a way to work around it, if you don't show me the card and I didn't see/hear it, it didn't happen. I don't have a problem with it anymore.

This center helps students learn to pause when the they see punctuation. A lot of my little friends blow through punctuation in oral reading which can change the meaning of the text. When they have to stop and complete the action before reading the next word it forces them to pause. This idea can be used during guided reading as well. Trust me, it breaks up what can become mundane. And who doesn't appreciate getting up out of their chair and moving a little? It can also be used when students edit their own work. If they only stamp out one sentence, they have to go back and find where the ending punctuation is missing. And those capitals that are often left out...it's like a little treasure hunt in their own writing.

The punctuation marks were all cut using Disney's Mickey Font.

Not a lot to say here. These are more drill and practice activities, worksheets that review and reinforce activities we have worked on during math. So many of my friends get it during math group, but when presented in a different fashion, or left to independent practice, forget or get confused. So this is an opportunity to see where the holes are and what needs to be revisited. My aide will work with students who are making mistakes so we are not constantly practicing the same mistakes over and over. We have worked our way from 2-digit addition with no regrouping to 3-digit addition with regrouping, 2-digit subtraction with regrouping, and rounding. Multiplication is on its way...and the kids are excited!

The math symbols were cut using the Cursive cartridge.

FastMath is a computer program by Scholastic my District utilizes to develop automaticity of basic math facts. Each student spends 10-15 minutes per day working on their basic facts.

The computer image was cut from the Cursive cartridge.

One of my Favorites...

Here is one of my favorite things I developed with the use of my Cricut. Over the summer I had to give some serious thought to how I was going to keep students actively engaged in learning while I worked with 3 grade levels. For the last 2 years I had only juggled 2 grade levels. I was going from having a large number of 5th graders who were somewhat independent, to a larger group of 3rd graders. This was a test to my creativity as I tried to come up with meaningful, independent work they could complete that would enhance concepts we were working on.

My mom is always kind enough to send ideas my way, so I used one as a springboard. Over the next few blogs I will attempt to illustrate what 'Centers' look like in my room.

I use my whiteboard for students to show what work they have completed. It is a fun way for me to quickly see who deserves a little free time and who needs to get to work.

Each student has a 'name tag' that stays on the board. I used different images from the Life is a Beach cartridge. I assigned an animal or beach item to each student. This same image is found on their take home folder as well. At their desks, stored in a quart sized ziploc baggy, are 10-4x4 inch cards, one illustrating each center. When the students have completed an individual center, they place the corresponding card on the board. At the end of the day, students 'cash' in their center cards. Each center is worth a nickel and students have to complete a minimum of 5 in order to be paid. The students count the cards in front of me or my aide. Then they have to show us the easiest way to make that amount of money using the fewest coins. Students are working on skills such as counting by 5s, multiplying, money name and value identification, and counting money -- all those skills that need constant repetition in order to be retained.

Each student has a designated to day to count all the money earned in his or her bank. That is the same day assigned for cashing in for prizes. More on that later.

A few suggestions I would make regarding things I learned:

1. If I were to remake them, I would make them smaller. Probably 3x3.
2. The adhesive on the magnet strips I bought at Wal-Mart stick better to lamination than those I bought from Menards. (Thought I was saving money -- it's worth it to spend a few extra pennies)
3. About 2 months into school, I had to devise a way to identify each individual student's set of cards, making it easier to find and identify MIA cards. I put a matching sticker on the back of each card that is specific to an individual student. If I were to do it all over, I would place them on before laminating.

The nice thing about this, I can add centers or change them as I deem necessary. After the first of the year, I will be adding a handwriting center. Printing for some of my friends and cursive for others. The kids are eager to start the cursive.