Saturday, August 16, 2014

Do You WASHI?! A Crafting Obsession Turned Bright Idea

Time for another installment of the Bright Ideas Link Up!

I love this linky because I have already gathered so many different ideas to implement in my classroom from the last few ones! I cannot wait to see all the ideas this month, too! When you've gone through my bright idea, be sure to scroll to the bottom for the link up of the other bright ideas from a variety of teacher bloggers across all grade levels!

My bright idea is all about that WASHI stuff.
OH my gosh. Do I have an obsession with washi or what?! What you see above is only HALF of what I've got. I have a box stuffed in my closet full of the stuff!

Well, washi tape is obviously great for crafting. It's decorative, fun, bright, and just all around useful. I've used it in scrapbooking to hold pictures in, I've used it to wrap my presents with, and I've even used it to seal envelopes in a cutesy way!

BUT, do you know of the AMOUNT of uses that washi tape has in the classroom!? OH MY GOSH. The possibilities are endless!!!

This year alone, I've used washi tape in 4 different areas of my classroom. The first area I used it in was on my whiteboard to divide it up into sections. I've got an area where my kiddos are responsible for their attendance (they move their number to the "here" side when here, and leave it on the "not here" side when they aren't here). I've got an area set up to display my standards for the Common Core. And I've got an area for my homework club. The area that's not "roped off" is where I write throughout the day. LOVE the way it looks!!

Then, I took the same style washi tape and I divided my tables down the middle so each student knew where their "space" was. This is my first time having tables instead of desks and so I wanted to make sure my kiddos knew what area they had so that they didn't interfere with other students' areas. 

Not only does it make the room feel functional and well planned out, but it's also BEAUTIFUL!

The tape I used is by Glitz and it's called Color Me Happy. It ties in PERFECTLY with my classroom decor which is just bright rainbow colors.

Beyond that, my students have individual composition books for each subject: science, math, reading, and social studies. In order to identify which black/white spec composition book is the correct one, I put a color coded tape on the spine.

Science is green, math is yellow, reading is red, and social studies is blue. This helps my students be able to find the correct notebook for each subject when we need to use them. Instead of pulling out every composition book or looking in every cover, they can easily look at the spine and see the correct color notebook that they need.

Washi tape is SO versatile and I cannot wait to see how else I can find ways to use in the classroom.

Do you use washi tape, either at home or in the classroom? I'd love to hear about how you use it, where you get it from, and how many rolls you have ;)

If you'd like to check out other ways that I use bright ideas in my classroom, please feel free to head to my Facebook page or my Pinterest page.

Now that you've read my bright idea, make sure to check out the other 70+ ideas below! You'll be sure to find some fantastic ones!

Friday, August 1, 2014

A Fundraiser Giveaway for Our Friend Jen!

We teachers know all about journeys.  Many of us are getting ready to journey back to our classrooms to prepare for the new school year.  Each school year becomes a journey of sorts, with its own set of students, challenges, and rewards.

We teachers also know all about support.   Year after year, we give so much of ourselves to help our students learn, build confidence in their abilities, and empower them to become the future our world needs.  We also support our fellow teachers, our families, our communities.  In the midst of it all, it becomes easy to forget that, simply put, teachers touch lives.
 Every. Single. Day.
Graphics credit to Melonheadz;  Font credits to Hello Literacy, Miss Tiina, and DJ Inkers.  Thanks to Joey Udovich for designing!

While many of us are thinking of back-to-school, Jen Bengel and her family have been preparing for a journey of another kind.  They will soon be traveling to Uganda to adopt a child!  Check out Jen’s blog post HERE! (Prepare to be inspired!)

A number of fellow teacher-bloggers have joined forces to offer a measure of support to Jen and her family as they prepare for their special journey.  Each of us has chosen a resource from our store that, between now and August 31, a portion of each sale’s proceeds will be donated to Jen’s adoption fund!

This is the resource I have chosen:
Between now and August 31, I pledge to donate $1 of each sale of this resource (my best seller!) to Jen’s adoption fund.

Hop around to the blogs featured below to see what my friends are pledging!
Apples & ABC's
Beyond the Worksheet
Crafting Connections
Create Teach Share
Flapjack Education
Learning with Mrs. S
Miss V's Busy Bees
One Stop Teacher Shop
Tales of a Teacher
Teaching Trio
The Teacher Desk 6

We hope you will find this to be a win-win opportunity, where you can purchase some great resources for the upcoming school year, knowing that you are supporting a meaningful cause at the same time!

Note that Jen also has a fundraising bundle available at her store. Don’t miss checking this out, too! 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-To-School-Adoption-Fundraiser-Bundle50-Savings-Limited-Time-1331612
Finally, to make it worth your time to check out all the resources, we are also hosting a raffle giveaway!  The winner of the giveaway will score a great prize package, full of resources from our team – just in time for BTS!

From me, the giveaway winner will receive:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Space-An-Integrated-Science-Unit-1234751
So, hop around, check out some fantastic resources, support a cause, touch a life!

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