I'm Retired!

Hello Readers and Pinterest Wanderers!

It has been awhile since I posted, but I wanted to let you know that I appreciate so much all the love and feedback I have received from my posts.  In March of 2012, I began a new job in a different field than Education and as a result I don't get the opportunity to create new bulletin boards and classroom ideas for you.  :'(  I am missing it terribly, as it was a great creative outlet for me.  I am loving hearing all of your comments though and I am so thankful that so many of you have found the ideas and tips useful!  Mostly now I just pin ideas from others on my Classroom Design Inspiration Bulletin Board on Pinterest.  If you are still interested in the things I find, I would love to see you over there!  Thank you again for all the support and I am so thrilled you love what I put my heart into!

Here is a link to my classroom design pinboard...

http://pinterest.com/sarahctree/classroom-design-inspirations/

And a quick link to my boards that I have created...

http://pinterest.com/sarahctree/my-bulletin-boards/

http://pinterest.com/sarahctree/my-tri-fold-games/

Bye friends!

Our Daily Schedule - Dots on Turquoise Collection

     Anyone who has worked with children for any significant amount of time will tell you that a well run classroom depends on structure.  Having something up so that children can visualize their day will greatly increase your chances of success with this endeavor.  Some of you may have seen a schedule like this in an earlier blog post using the Poppin' Patterns bulletin board set put out by Creative Teaching Press.  I love that set and looked high and low this year to see if they would put one out in their wildly successful Dots on Turquoise collection.  Sadly they did not release it for this year (fingers crossed for next year).  So, to take matters into my own hands, I created one myself using the products they currently have on the market.  Here is what you need to recreate this for yourself...

• FLP30045R - 3X4 Red Tri-Fold Board
• FLP30145R - Red Tri-Fold Header
• CTP1868 - 4" Dots on Turquoise Punch Out Letters
• CTP3883 - Dots on Turquoise Fancy Cards (Used these for the Digital Clocks)
• CTP3884 - Dots on Turquoise Dot Cutouts 
• SE84 - Clocks Notepad (Used these to create the Analog Clocks.  I cut out the edge of the clocks and pasted them to the dot cut outs.)
• CTP4521 - Dots on Turquoise Name Plates
• CTP7039 - Mini Dots on Turquoise Cutouts (Used these on the name plates)

     Enjoy!

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!  :)