New Blog Alert!

My friend, Marlana from Lil' Country Kindergarten  created a new blog! It is a resource blog of several educational blogs. This is such a great idea and a wonderful way to find new blogs all in one place! Check it out! I know you won't be disappointed! Thanks Marlana!!! ~ Lisa

More Pinterest Inspired Crafts!

I am really enjoying my summer break, but today's temperature is 101! I decided to make some crafts and stay cool in my air conditioned house. So, I made some more Pinterest inspired crafts to go along with my school's PBIS theme: ocean/beach. I am really excited about decorating my classroom for next year. In a previous post, I showed photos of 2 decorated clipboards. Today, I decorated a "mini" clipboard to hold post-its or a small notebook. I'm sure I'll find lots of uses for it!

I also altered a regular size composition notebook and 2 mini notebooks. I'll use the regular size one for professional development. Our school will begin our 2nd year of MRI (Missouri Reading Initiative) this fall and will be focusing on writing. Our trainer asked us to decorate a composition notebook. The idea is to have something "cute" that we make our own so we'll be more excited about writing. It's important to feel positive about writing so that it will help us teach writing. I hope it works for me b/c I've never considered myself to be a good writer! I'm really looking forward to this training. I also decorated the back of the notebook.

It was fun decorating these mini composition notebooks too! The backs are also decorated but I didn't take pictures!

I also made a Memo Board out of a picture frame. I stamped, "To Do:" on a piece of scrapbook paper and inserted it into the frame. I used velcro to attach a dry erase marker. I'll probably change the marker to one with a small eraser on the lid. I think I'll enjoy using this!

Here's a photo that shows the size differences:

I love Pinterest! Please share your ideas/crafts that you have made for your classrooms.

Sources:

clipboards - http://applevalleygirl.blogspot.com/2010/10/organizing-for-christmasproject-1-make.html

memo boards - http://gooseberrypatch.typepad.com/blog/2011/09/lgc-memo-board.html

Altered composition notebooks  -http://www.plaidkidscrafts.com/2012/03/12/MondayFundayRevampedCompositionNotebook.aspx

~ Lisa

I Have a Blog Award!

Recently I have joined the blogging world and I love it! I have "met" so many teachers and received so many great ideas, lesson plans, and activities for my kiddos! To my amazement, I have been chosen by Hillary from littlemissbartee.blogspot.com to receive the "One Lovely Blog Award"! Thank you so much Hillary! Now, I get to pass it on to 15 other blogs!

Once you get your award, there are 3 rules to follow:

1. Follow the person that gave you the award.
2. Link back to the person who gave you the award.
3. Pass the award on to 15 new bloggers.

This is a great way to connect with other blogs and meet wonderful teachers! I am giving the One Lovely Blog Award to the following people:
(some may not be "new" blogs....I hope that's ok!)

http://lilcountrykindergarten.blogspot.com

http://creativekindergartenkids.blogspot.com

 http://kellyandkimskindergarten.blogspot.com/

 http://heathersfirstgradeheart.blogspot.com

 http://krazykinderteacher.blogspot.com/

 http://1stinmaine.blogspot.com/

 http://www.kindergartenworks.com

 http://conversationsinliteracy.blogspot.com

 http://www.kindergartensmiles.blogspot.com

 http://missnelsonsgotthecamera.blogspot.com/

 http://www.littlemindsatwork.blogspot.com

 http://www.kindercraze.blogspot.com

 http://kinderblogger.wordpress.com/

 http://yearn4learning.blogspot.com/

 http://susancoxinabudhabi.blogspot.com/

I Won a Contest!

I was so excited to find out I won a contest from: It's a Kindergarten Word Work packet with lots of activities for my kiddos. Check out her blog for lots of ideas, activities, and her TPT store. Thanks so much! ~ Lisa

Kinder Craze - Contest!

Hi everyone! Here's an opportunity to win a $25.00 Target gift card from: http://kindercraze.blogspot.com/2012/06/300-followers-time-for-giveaway.html

Just go to her site and follow the instructions. It's a generous offer! Also, if you haven't been to her blog, it's amazing! :-)

~ Lisa

A New Giveaway!

Here's a great offer from: http://kinderkraziness.blogspot.com/ in honor of her 1st year anniversary of blogging. Go to her site and get all the details! I'm so glad she is offering this because now I am following new blogs. Have fun!

~ Lisa

Pete the Cat Giveaway Contest

Heather's Heart is having a Pete the Cat Giveaway contest. See all the details on her blog! Good luck!http://heathersfirstgradeheart.blogspot.com
~ Lisa

Pinterest Inspired Clipboards

I decorated 2 clipboards with scrapbook paper using Mod Podge, stickers, and ribbons. I made them to go along with my school's Beach/Ocean theme next year. If you try it, I recommend making sure the paper is smoothed out really well. I ended up with a few bubbles on the Ocean clipboard. But, it was still fun and I am getting more used to working with Mod Podge. Let me know if you've created anything for your classroom. I would love to know! I'm going to decorate some composition notebooks in the near future (for gifts). ~ Lisa

Pinterest is Addicting!

I love Pinterest! Since school is out, I've been spending more time browsing & pinning! I pinned the following from Donor's Choose. It's so funny! I've already created one thing I found on Pinterest. It's a decorated clipboard. I used scrapbook paper & Mod Podge! Pinterest has inspired me to get crafty! Does anyone else get motivated from reading pins?

This is from: somecards.com

Kindergarten Graduation

Our school has a traditional graduation ceremony for kindergarten students in our high school gym. They always look so cute! This year I found a great idea from: http://eberhartsexplorers.blogspot.com/2012/05/graduation-kinders.html Each child made a self portrait out of paper plates, crayons, and construction paper. All 3 kindergarten classes participated. The portraits were displayed on bulletin boards in the high school hallway for all the families and friends to see. The kiddos were so proud of them! Also, a friend of mine gave me the suggestion to take a picture of each child holding his/her portraits. They were so adorable! This is one activity that I will repeat next year! Here's one picture with the names of the children distorted. I was amazed at how some portraits looked exactly like the children!

School's Out!

This past school year went by so fast! Our last day was May 18th and I am enjoying my break. Of course, I am already thinking about next year. The main thing I need to concentrate on is incorporating lessons to the Common Core Standards. I also have a goal of making emergency sub plans and making more "Daily 5" centers. Pinterest is something I am becoming addicted to! I have found so many good ideas from room organization to lesson plans!
Our school's theme for next year is Beach/Ocean. I'm going to decorate my room by using a Tropical Beach theme. I've found lots of cute things from the Dollar Tree already. There are also a lot of ideas on the Internet and blogs. Here are a few things I've purchased already. I welcome any ideas from bloggers! Thanks!