I am very excited to share my first Monday Made It with you. I'm also participating in my first Linky Party with 4th Grade Frolics.
I have loved exploring all the neat classroom ideas I find on Pinterest, TPT, and various blogs. Now it's my turn to start sharing my ideas and creations! My first Monday Made It might seem a little "been there, done that" because they certainly aren't new ideas... I can't take credit for them or give proper credit to the ideas because they are ALL OVER the internet. BUT this is my spin on these popular ideas, and I am incredibly proud of these projects. :)
I know you have seen the ever popular "Teacher's Toolbox." I got so excited about this project that I ordered the first toolbox I saw on sale. As it turns out, I should have figured out my list of materials first. The box I ordered had 6 large drawers and 24 small drawers. It took a while to think of 24 different (and small enough) things to fill these spaces. I'll try this set-up for now, but may end up changing things if something else seems more practical.
I know that I will have to stay super organized to survive (and thrive) in my first year, so in addition to the toolbox organizer, I made an organizer for my daily materials. I will use each drawer to hold my copies for each day, special props, and books for the day. I haven't decided what to do with the last drawer yet, but it will most likely hold things for the next week or things we didn't get to each day.
I love the bright colors, but I'm not completely sold on the look of this because it doesn't necessarily "match" the toolbox above. Once I get everything in my classroom, I'll change it if I feel like it sticks out.
I have been in enough classrooms to know that pencil sharpening in the middle of the day drives me crazy. I plan to use these cups and allow the children to quickly trade their dull pencil for a sharpened one.
I found the little pails in the Target dollar spot a few years ago and used my Cricut Expression to make the pencils and words.
I don't know if I will ration out pencils per day or week like other teachers have done, but I think this is a good start to pencil management.
My treasure chest is something that I have been working on for a while. I knew that if I taught PreK through third, this would be a must-have in my classroom. My mom and I have been saving up various knick-knacks and fast food toys for several years.
I found this cute container at Wal*Mart last year for only 3 or 4 dollars! I used my Cricut Expression to make the letters.
I don't know just yet how or how often students will earn a trip to the treasure chest, but as you can see below, I will definitely be prepared!
I have invested in some beautiful new graphics and I'm looking forward to incorporating them into some new products, as well as updating some older products.
To start this make-over process, I have developed a new credits page that will be included in my products from here on out. Right now I just have links in the footer of each product page, but I think this will be a more streamline and attractive way to give credit.
Thanks for checking out my first Monday Made It! I'm looking forward to reading what other teachers have been working on lately.