The Apple Tree Room: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Chalkboard Theme Agenda Cards

Here's a set to go along with the other chalkboard theme sets.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Agenda-Cards-Chalkboard-Theme-802498

Apple Theme Job Chart

This is a set of apple themed job cards, with the cutest set of apple patterns!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Helping-Hands-Classroom-Jobs-Apple-Theme-802297

Monday, July 29, 2013

Attendance & Lunch Count Clip Charts - 2 themes

I have to admit that I am terrible about keeping to administrative deadlines such as submitting attendance by 8:50. I finally put this task on my students. They handle taking attendance with a clip chart that also tracks the lunch count. Students know that as soon as they come into the classroom every morning, they clip from the “Attendance” card to a “Lunch” card. A student helper lets me know when all students have moved their clips. Clips that are left on the Attendance card alert me to an absence. Super easy and it saves me time!

This set is available in the chalkboard theme or ribbons and stripes theme. Check my store for coordinating sets in both themes.

This is the link to the chalkboard set: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Attendance-and-Lunch-Count-Clip-Chart-Chalkboard-Theme-798144

Here's the link to the ribbons and stripes set: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Attendance-and-Lunch-Count-Clip-Chart-Ribbons-and-Stripes-Theme-798188

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Tales of an Ugly Wall Display

I have a big problem.

I am seriously jealous of the wall displays my first grade teammates put up. They are amazing! Every year, they transform the hallway into an ocean, a rainforest, a desert. These displays are so beautiful that when kids walk through the hallway, they kids hold their breath and "swim" through the desert. Jenney Alvis and Heather Worf (creative wonders extraordinaire) even pipe in sound effects.

I have this.

On one side, an ugly window with peeling film. I've tried clipping student artwork to clothespins on a clothesline that I strung across it, but the clothesline kept falling down. I don't want to tape directly onto the glass and further damage the film, and I don't want to cover the window with butcher paper because I like the light it lets into our dark hallway, and thus my classroom.

On the the side, a difficult brick wall. I can't staple into it, tape falls off, and even velcro and hot glue won't adhere to the brick. After years of spending hours trying to figure out how to keep something up on the brick wall, I've given up.

So...what's a teacher to do? I got the idea from Pinterest and another blogger, and made a few modifications. This is what I've come up with.

Decorated, magnetized clothespins stuck on the metal window sill!

Here's what how I did it.

1) I spray painted the clothespins and let them dry.

2) I glued on pieces of bright ribbon.

3) I used a glue gun to attach magnets.

4) I taped a bulletin board border onto the metal sill and then put of the clothespins. (You can see that I still have to trim the ribbon on this one.

Whew! What a relief! We'll see how it work out. If I do it again, I'll do a few things differently.

1) I won't spray paint. Instead I'll dye them with Rit Dye if I want them to be colored.

2) I won't glue on ribbon. Instead I'll use Washi tape. I just got some tape that I ordered from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Washi-Masking-Rolls--Starter/dp/B007VTTNTM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1375026163&sr=8-8&keywords=washi+tape+set

It's WAY easier and I love the patterns! I just pulled the tape off the roll, tore it and formed it around the clothespin. I can't wait to use the taped clothespins on my clip charts! They are super easy to write student names on them!

So, what do you think?