Snowmen Decor | Student Gifts to Parents

It's the New Year and I'm finally updating the blog. As you can already guess my New Year's Resolution for 2015 will definitely be keeping this blog updated with the latest and gratest ideas that are happening in my classroom. 

How cute are these snowmen home decor?!?!?! My students created these super adorable snowmen for their gift to their parents. It's the perfect gift to give during the holiday season because it doesn't require a Christmas tree. Any parent can decorate their house with this cute home decor piece that their child made for them!

Materials:

2x4 cut wood blocks 

(local home improvement store can cut it for you)

Black Sharpie

Pom Pom

Pink & White paint

Scissors

Orange construction paper

Glue

*Hot Glue Gun

Ribbon

fuzzy sock

*Please be careful when using this tool it can burn you

Prepping the project for students: make sure that you cut enough wood blocks for each student. I always make extras just in case. You can either have your students paint the blocks white and let them dry for a day or you can paint them before. Hot glue the ribbon around the base of each block.

Students work: using the black Sharpie, students will draw the face of the snowmen (minus the nose). Using scissors, students will cut out a nose and glue it on with regular school glue. Using the pom pom & paint, students will paint on the rosy cheeks of the snowmen. To top off the snowmen, students will take the fuzzy sock, roll it up a little, and place over the top of the wood block to create the hat. 

Lots of Love,

Katie

I Spy | Storybook Parade Costume | DIY

I work at an AMAZING school, where the love of reading is definitely celebrated! Every year we have a Storybook Parade where students dress up as storybook characters! I love seeing all the wonderful creative costumes our students and their families come up with. This year, there was a student dressed as The Giving Tree, several animals (Yay for the Non Fiction books), and my favorite, lots of Dr. Seuss characters. Last year, I dressed up as Minerva Louise and wore a hen hat on my head. This year's costume was so much fun to put together!!! I went looking through my craft supplies and made a trip to my local dollar store to find all the items. After assessing what items I had, I created this cute poem to go with the items to find. To make sure I could reuse this shirt, I velcroed the bigger items and the paper items. Everything else, I hot glued on. Not pictured is a hat I wore with items stuck to it. 

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Lots of Love,

Katie

DIY Chalkboard Clothes Pin Labels

When I went shopping the other day, I saw super cute chalkboard clothes pins. I thought I could use them for all sorts of things from labeling bins in my classroom to labeling/clipping student's writing on the wall. I turned over the box and boy were they expensive. I thought I could make these easily at home and so this project began. I had chalkboard paint at home that I had purchased a couple months back from Joann Fabric and Craft Store. If you haven't purchased this item yet, I advice you to go out and get some. This chalkboard paint comes in handy for many DIY projects. Don't forget to use a coupon when purchasing it. 

Materials: 

Plaid FolkArt Chalkboard Paint

Basswood 1/16" x 3" x 24"

Clothes pins

Ruler

*Box cutter

Paint Brush or Sponge brush

Pencil

*Hot Glue Gun & Glue

*Please be careful when using this tool. If needed, ask an adult assistance.  

Step 1: Measure down the piece of wood 1 1/2" using the ruler and make a small dot with the pencil. The width of the wood will stay 3". Do this on both sides and draw a line to connect the dots. With the box cutter you will cut on the line you created. You will be making 1 1/2" x 3" rectangles. 

Step 2: You have 3 choices during this step.

1st choice: You could paint the entire piece of wood you just cut out with chalkboard paint. Follow the instructions of the chalkboard paint you purchased (instructions will vary by product). 

2nd choice: You can free hand a smaller rectangle with the chalkboard paint to leave a border as seen in the photo above. Follow the instructions of the chalkboard paint you purchased (instructions will vary by product). 

3rd choice: You can create a smaller rectangle using tape to create a clean border. Using tape, place it around the edge of the wood to create a rectangle. Paint the inside of the none taped area. Follow the instructions of the chalkboard paint you purchased (instructions will vary by product). 

Step 3: After letting the paint dry, plug in the hot glue gun and wait for it to heat up. Once your glue gun is ready, place glue on the clothes pin were you would like the chalkboard wood to lay. Place chalkboard wood onto the clothes pin. 

Let it dry and you are all set to use them!

I'm planning to use them on my writing wall to showcase my student's writing for this upcoming school year. I'm going to write their name on the chalkboard area. I haven't decided if I'm going to put a tack on the back to hang them or use ribbon.

Lots of love,

Katie