S"mitten" with Winter

Because changing your bulletin boards can be very time consuming, often teachers are looking for fun seasonal boards they can put up and leave up for awhile.  If you're anything like me, you would love to decorate more for the holiday's. Unfortunately, it only gets to stay up a short amount of time; particularly with Christmas break coming so soon.  So, here is a possible alternative that will allow you to be a little festive and get away with leaving this cutie up until at least March!  :)  Here are the products I used...

• PAC57218-12 - Light Blue 48X12 Fadeless Paper
• T92164 - Snow and Ice Trimmer
• T79741 - 4" Black Playful Letters (Used these on top of the mitten accents)
• T10912 - Mittens Cut Out Accents
• T8127 - Super Snowman BBS

Wishing You A Wonderful Winter!  :)

School is Cool

Penguins seem to be all the rage in winter and there are few cuter than the ones sold by Trend Enterprises!  This idea can be used on a board, door, or hallway.  Best of all, you can leave up until at least March!  Here are the products I used...

• PAC56388 - Winter Time 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• CD1234 - Icicles Border (This item has recently been discontinued by Carson Dellosa, but any other icy looking border would look great.  My recommendation would be T92164 - Snow and Ice Trimmer from Trend.  It's super cute and gives the same effect!)
• PAC5430E - White Poster Board (I cut this out to use behind the words, giving it a snowy effect.)
• T79045 - 4" Snowflake Casual Ready Letters
• T8202 - Playful Penguins BBS

The best thing about these patterned papers from Pacon Corporation is that you don't have to do a bunch of paper layering to get the snow scene effect.  Just unroll the paper and it looks great!   

Farmer's Market Math

This math bulletin board is an interactive way to teach adding money.  In this activity, students pull a worksheet from the big pocket and complete it using the information given on the board.  Here are the products I used...

• PAC57148 - Emerald 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• TF8290 - Fruits and Veggies Trimmer
• TF8422 - Farmers Market Math BBS
• TNT6450 - Bright Jumbo Pockets

The directions for the activity are found on the front of the yellow pocket.  In case you don't have a magnifying glass, here they are...

1. Remove the worksheet from the pocket.
2. Write your name on your paper.
3. Complete the worksheet using the information found on the market bulletin board.
4. Show your work on the back.
5. Turn into the red basket for a grade.

An example of the kinds of word problems found on the worksheet are...

Jennifer has a pot roast simmering at home.  But she needs some vegetables to finish making dinner.  How much will she owe if she buys 4 carrots, 3 potatoes, and 5 ears of corn?  _____________________________________

Using the names of students in the class or teachers names from your school is one more way to make this fun for your students!  You may also find other ways to use this bulletin board set. It could be used for patterning, subtraction, or fractions!  It's very versatile with a little imagination.  Enjoy!  

Nativity

I love Christmas and I particularly love celebrating the birth of Christ.  For those who don't have room to set out a Nativity Scene in your classroom or church, here is a way to display it on the wall!  Here are the products I used...

• PAC56228 - Night Sky 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• CD10074 - Sand Big Border
• T92136 - Stained Glass Border
• T79751 - 4" Stained Glass Playful Letters
• T8125 - Nativity BBS
• CD6324 - Names of Jesus Chartlet

I must tell you that this photo doesn't do the artwork on this bulletin board set justice.  It is really beautiful and although it is a cartoon drawing, it is sophisticated enough to look nice in a church foyer.  

The "For Unto Us A Child Is Born..." scripture reference is Isaiah 9:6.  

Merry Christmas!

Peacemakers & Peacebreakers

I was inspired to make this board after I found an anchor chart about Peacemakers and Peacebreakers on Pinterest.  It would look great on a classroom door or a large cabinet door as a gentle reminder to students about what kind of behavior you expect in your classroom.  Here are the products I used...

• PAC57878 - Deep Purple 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• TCR4668 - Yellow Polka Dot Trimmer
• FST5144 - 4" Green Polka Dot Fun Font Letters
• TCR5147 - Peace Sign Cut Outs
• TNT3512 - Assorted Flash Cards

Peace Out!  :)

Paisley Parts of Speech

This center is a great way to review Parts of Speech with your students in preparation for a test.  Here are the products I used...

• FLP30045LB - Light Blue 3X4 Tri-Fold Board (I cut it in half, that way you get two games out of one!)
• CTP6511 - Paisley on Brown Trimmer
• T1789 - 2" White Stick EZ Letters (I cut apart the blue paisley pockets in the package to create the backing for the title.)
• CTP6921 - Paisley Doodles Library Pockets
• TNT3512 - Assorted Flash Cards (Cut down to fit in the pockets, they come a little long.)
• TNT6450 - Brite Jumbo Library Pockets
• CTP4916 - 2" Dots on Turquoise Letter Stickers (The paper behind the worksheet pocket and the directions is the library pockets cut apart and glued together.)

The directions on the right side are hard to see so I have included them below...

1. Remove all the cards from the pockets.
2. Read the sentences on each card.
3. Determine if the word in bold is a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.
4. Place the card in the appropriate pocket.
5. Complete the response form and turn it in for a grade.

Here is an example of how the sentences are written on the cards...

Anna Brooke laid her head on the soft pillow and immediately fell asleep.

Hope your students have a blast learning about Parts of Speech!

Sophisticated Syllables

Looking for a center that will teach syllables?  This game is for you!  In this game students will choose cards from the "bank" pocket.  After reading the word on the card, they will clap out the syllables and decide how many they heard.  Then they will place it in the appropriate pocket.  Here are the products I used...

• FLP30045PU - Purple 3X4 Tri-fold Board (I cut mine in half, giving me 2 games for the price of one!)
• FST3138 - Black Decor Double-Sided Trimmer
• CTP4193 - 2" Black Dot-to-Dot Uppercase Letter Stickers
• TNT6097 - Big Flowers Black and White Library Pockets
• TNT3512 - Assorted Flash Cards (Used on the front of the pockets and as the cards inside)
• CTP4630 - 1" Black Dot-to-Dot Uppercase Letter Stickers
• TNT6450 - Brite Jumbo Library Pockets (The paper behind the "Work Sheets" Title is the reverse side of the trimmer.)

In case you can't read the instructions on the right side here they are...

1. Remove the cards from the bank.
2. Read the words on each card aloud.
3. Clap out the syllables you hear.
4. Place the card in the appropriate pocket.
5. Complete the response form and turn it in for a grade.

The paper behind the instructions is the library pockets cut apart.  The fonts on the cards and for the instructions were downloaded for free online.

Sassy Sentences

Here is a center idea for identifying parts of a sentence!  The items I used are as follows...

• FLP30045OR - Orange Tri-Fold Board (I cut mine in half, 2 games for the price of one!)
• CTP1108 - Jumbo Dots on Chocolate Trimmer
• CTP4192 - 2" Dots on Chocolate Uppercase Letter Stickers
• CTP6919 - Dots on Chocolate Library Pockets
• TNT3512 - Assorted Flash Cards (I cut them down to size a little, they come a bit too long for the pockets.)
• TNT6450 - Brite Jumbo Library Pockets 
• CTP5930 - Jumbo Chocolate Dots Cutouts

As you can see the big pocket on the left is for the worksheets you will create for your students to complete.  

Here are the directions on the right side that you may not be able to see...

1. Remove the cards from the bank.
2. Read the sentences on each card.
3. Decide if the bold words in the sentence tell who/what, action, or where.
4. Place the card in the appropriate pocket.
5. Complete the response form and turn it in for a grade.

Here is an example of each kind of sentence used on the cards...

The eagle perched on a branch. (Who/What)

The eagle perched on a branch. (Action)

The eagle perched on a branch. (Where)

You could even make up your own simple sentences using the names of students in your classroom.  This makes the game even more fun!

Perfect Punctuation

More and more often it seems that as text messaging becomes more prevalent, punctuation seems to be falling by the way side.  Here is a center to remind your students that good punctuation skills are always important and fun!

Here are the products I used...

• FLP30045OR - Orange Project Board 3X4 (I cut mine in half, so you can get 2 centers out of one!)
• CTP6510 - Dots on Turquoise Paisley Trimmer
• CTP6920 - Dots on Turquoise Library Pockets
• HYG43317 - Pocket Chart Cards - Assorted (Used on the front of the pockets)
• CTP4916 - 2" Dots on Turquoise Letter Stickers
• PAC5178 - Assorted Index Cards (Used these for the sentence cards)

You can also add a jumbo library pocket (TNT6450 - Brite Jumbo Pockets) to the back of your board to hold worksheets.  The worksheet can be completed by the student after playing the game to turn in for a grade.  Another good reminder is to laminate your pockets and cards.  This will ensure that you don't have rips or tears in them as they are used by little hands.  Happy Punctuating!  :)