Author: TCR Staff

Back to School Dollar Store Crafts & Tips

August 12, 2014 TCR Staff Comment

Saving money in the classroom is a top priority for teachers. There are many educational lessons and activities to put together for students, so money saving tips are always welcome. These 5 Dollar Saving Teachers created budget-friendly dollar store crafts using Teacher Created Resources classroom decorations and supplies from a dollar store. They offered up tips on stretching your dollar for classroom projects and organization, and also pinned all their projects and ideas on our Pinterest board.

Erin from Creating & Teaching

Erin is a Preschool Special Education Teacher and is in her 5th year as a teacher. As a special education teacher she is always making classroom activities and lessons herself to help differentiate instruction. She posts tons of teaching ideas on her blog, Creating & Teaching. Because of this, she also tries to find ways to save money when shopping for the classroom. There are tons of items I pick up at the local dollar stores to help in the classroom. She always shops them mid-end of summer to stock up on classroom bins.

Erin’s Dollar Saving Tip: A huge money-saving tip I stick to is “shopping a year in advance.” I buy seasonal supplies on clearance and save them for the following year. This helps me get items for 70-80% off! And lastly, never forget you can always re-purpose. It might just take a simple ribbon you already have on hand, or a can of spray paint to spruce something up!

Leslie Ann Rowland from Life in First

Leslie Ann is a former 1^st grade teacher, and is currently teaching reading and language arts in 5^th grade. She posts about her classroom in Life in First. One of her absolute favorite things about teaching is designing and creating her classroom each year. She loves finding different ways to cozy up a space that she spends a ton of time in!

Leslie Ann’s Dollar Saving Tip: I’m always looking for ways to save a little money while still creating cute things. One way to do this is to stock up on cheap containers and decorate them! There’s no need to break the bank on fancy containers when you’re going to label them anyways! Save the containers after you are done with them and reuse again and again!

Nicole from Teaching with Style

Nicole is the teacher and blogger behind Teaching with Style! She has taught grades Pre-K through 3rd for eight years in Oregon. She is currently starting her third year in the beautiful state of Hawaii and is moving back to her first love: first grade! Nicole loves to read, craft, and play at the beach with her family and dog, Bruce!

Nicole’s Dollar Saving Tip: Learn to be creative with ways to save money and stretch your dollar for creating inviting spaces and fun activities for classrooms by reusing items you already have.

Lori from Teaching with Love & Laughter

Lori has been a primary teacher for 20 years. She writes Teaching with Love & Laughter Blog. Lori has taught everything from Pre-K to 5^th grade. Although she loves all grades, kindergarten and first grade are her absolute favorite! She is a laid-back, casual teacher. She quickly earns the respect of all her students by treating them fairly. She teaches each day with love and laughter.

Lori’s Dollar Saving Tip: Buy plastic tablecloths at the end of seasons and holidays on clearance to use to cover tables for art projects and to cover your classroom furniture for the summer, instead of wasting bulletin board paper. You can also get inexpensive cards and stationery on clearance to use at your writing station.

Jennifer from Kinderdrama

Jennifer teaches Kindergarten in the California desert. She is the owner of Kinderdrama blog. Jennifer is in her sixth year and is excited to start the year off organized in a newly decorated classroom! She loves shopping, crafting, decorating, and most of all teaching the little ones at home who inspire her daily. Teaching Kindergarten is not my job, it is a way of life!

Jennifer’s Dollar Saving Tip: Glue sticks can be so pricey and in Kindergarten we use a ton each day. In order to save money on glue I purchased the UPPTÄCKA bottles from IKEA and use them for white glue. You get 4 small bottles for .99 (member price) and they come with 4 different colors in each pack. I fill them 1/2 way so the glue does not come out too fast. They are perfect and DO NOT clog!

Behavior Management, Bulletin Board Ideas, Classroom Management, Classroom Organization, Teacher Resources

10 Terrific Ways to Use Library Pockets

July 29, 2014 TCR Staff Comment

Library Pockets aren’t just for checking out books. They are so versatile, you can use them in many creative ways in the classroom. As teachers start preparing for back to school, organization is key. You can use library pockets to stay organized with a classroom job chart, birthday bulletin board and more. Check out a few of our favorite library pocket ideas for some classroom inspiration.

CLASSROOM JOBS

Write different classroom jobs on each library pocket. Use string and clothespins to hang the library pockets to a bulletin board. Write student’s names on craft sticks and place in appropriate job pocket for each day. Use letters to spell out “Classroom Jobs”

LUNCH COUNT BOARD

Keep track of lunch count by labeling each library pocket as: brought lunch, hot lunch, salad bar, and potato bar. Write each student’s name on an accent and glue to a craft sticks. Place craft sticks in the appropriate lunch pocket for each day. Use letters to spell out “Lunch”. Complete by adding a coordinating border trim.

TREAT POCKETS

Surprise students with a reward by writing their name on a library pocket and filling it with rewards, special treats or school supplies. Treat pockets filled with pencils & erasers are a great first day of school gift.

BIRTHDAY BULLETIN BOARD

Create a birthday bulletin board by using decorative letters to spell out “birthdays”. Label each library pocket by month and attach to a chart or bulletin board. Write each student’s name on a mini accent and glue to craft sticks. Place each student stick in the library pocket of their birthday month. Use coordinating border trim to complete the look.

WHAT WE ARE READING CHART

Label each library pocket with reading genres such as, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, fantasy, and biography. Glue library pockets to a large chart. Write each student’s name on a mini accent, and glue each accent to a craft stick. Place name sticks in appropriate category pocket.

CLASSROOM CALENDAR

Hang a calendar grid with calendar cards. Below the calendar, write the days of the week on each library pocket. Write yesterday, today, and tomorrow on mini accents and glue to craft sticks. Use Create & Decorate pieces to write the current month, season, and weather. Put the whole look together with border trim.

FACT CARD HOLDER

Add each student’s name to a library pocket. Punch a hole on the top left and top right of the library pocket. Loop ribbon around the holes and secure with a knot on each side. Decorate with stickers and mini stickers, and give to students for an easy way to hold fact cards for field trips or special events.

NUMBER MATCHING CHART

Create a number matching chart by writing numbers 1-10 on each library pocket. Glue library pockets on a chart. Write numbers 1-10 on accents, and glue them onto craft sticks. Have students match the numbers by placing the numbered craft sticks in the corresponding pocket. Other varieties of this activity include using even or odd numbers, counting by fives, etc.

SYNONYMS WALL

Make a synonym wall by writing a word on each library pocket. Stick the library pockets on a bulletin board. Write synonyms of each word on accents, and attach the accents to craft sticks. Have students place the synonym sticks in the corresponding word pocket. Embellish with decorative letters and scalloped & straight borders.

LIBRARY CHECK-OUT SYSTEM

Assign each student a number. Label each library pocket a number to represent each student. Place on a chart and hang in the library or reading center. Insert a library check-out card in each pocket. Each time a student checks out a book they write down the book title, the day it was checked out, and the day it is due back.

Bulletin Board Ideas, Teacher Resources

Back to School Banner Craft

July 8, 2014 TCR Staff Comment

It’s never too early to start thinking about your next classroom theme. Classroom decorations help set the tone for a fun and stylish learning environment. Make back to school setup and decorating easy by preparing classroom decorations ahead of time. Try this back to school banner craft using pennants.

Materials:

1 Pack of Orange & Teal Moroccan Pennants
1 Pack of Navy Sassy Animal 5” Letters
3-5 Various Types of Ribbon
Scissors
Glue

Instructions:

1) Cut 19 pieces of ribbon. Each piece should be approximately 6″.

2) Separate the pennants into 3 sections:

4 pennants for “Wild”

5 pennants for “About”

7 pennants for “3^rd Grade”

3) Punch out all the letters and numbers required for “Wild About 3^rd Grade”

and glue on top of each pennant.

4) Thread the orange ribbon through the pennants pre-cut holes to connect.

5) Lay 3-4 different ribbons flat above the pre-cut hole, and secure by using

the orange ribbon to tie a double knot. Continue to do this until entire

banner is complete.

Making a custom banner is a great way to welcome students back to school. It can be repurposed as an open house banner, first day of school photo backdrop, or bulletin board. Mix and match different letters and ribbons to decorate your classroom.

Teacher Resources

2014 Back to School Giveaway

June 27, 2014 TCR Staff 4 Comments

Could you use an iPad for educational apps and organization this coming school year? The 2014 Back to School Giveaway is here and we’re giving away an iPad and an iPad Mini!

Here’s how you can enter to win:

Enter once a day by completing the entry form.
Once you’ve entered on the giveaway page, an email confirmation will be sent to you. Click the link in the email to confirm your email address.
Earn additional entries by sharing your personal link with friends. For each person you refer, you get an additional entry.

Here is the best part! If one of the people you refer wins the iPad, you win the iPad Mini.

Contest ends September 30, 2014

Enter Here