Classroom Set-Up!

Pin It I haven't abandoned you - pinky promise, I was just starting the school year! I had a pretty great response from some of my education-related posts and wanted to share a few more of my classroom ideas with you. Remember, I teach high school ESL, but a lot of this would work for different grade levels too. And, as the the saying goes, all good teachers steal... I definitely ripped off all some of this from Pinterest so feel free to steal from me too! :)

First up, plural bulletin board:

We decided to use some academic words and more basic words to include all the levels that we serve. Also note the fan... three early outs to start the year because of heat!

 Just some more examples of how the plural board works!

Next up, our preposition/position board. I love this because it is sooo simple but so so helpful! This is something I know my kids struggle with!

Now showing the contraction flip chart! This is what our second level kids started with this year and I thought this would be a nice thing to stare at/play with.

Another steal - a great way to keep kids organized and focused while answering test questions.

I think its pretty important to include the students in the rule/expectation creation. This year I did it like this!

I just projected onto my wall/whiteboard and let my kids sticky note their answers (because they're still nervous to talk a lot at the beginning). We went over them, they chose the way they wanted to answer it as a class and created posters, pictures to come... maybe! It worked really well.. minus a couple of less-than-sticky-sticky-notes.

I hope this gives you some ideas for your classroom! Have a happy school year - I know mine is off to an awesome start :)

Cuter Puppy Bed

Pin It So this is a follow-up to my previous post (don't know what I'm talking about? Click here). My husband chose the fabric for the first one, and I chose the fabric for the second doggy bed... this one is more living room worthy! It has cuter (but cheaper - Walmart clearance!) fabric and has more fluff to it. Again, my puppy is a Weimaraner, so she'll get BIG, you may want to adjust the number of pillows depending on how big your puppy is.

Cute Doggy Bed Project: $46.5
6 Pillows: $24 - Again, I used old ones (so they smell like us) and put the new ones on our bed!
1 Shower Curtain: $7
2 Yards Main Fabric (Burlap): $5
1 Yard Trim Fabric (Yellow): $2.50
Zipper: $8
Duck Tape, Thread, Sewing Machine: Already Had

The first step was to make the same type of removable, waterproof interior using the shower curtains and pillows, but this time with six pillows. Again, see my previous post.

Then, measure the height, length, and width to cut 4 strips of fabric out of the trim. Next, measure the length and width of the main fabric and cut two identical pieces.

Pretty sophisticated measuring huh? Ha!

Sew together the yellow trim pieces at the corners. Then sew on the tops, again its a pretty simple pattern that I just winged. Add the zipper between the trim and top fabric and you're done! None of the pictures I took really show the process - check out my previous post if you need more of an idea, its a similar pattern. Here are the finished pictures!

I'm sure she'll grow into it!

Big belly!

Sooo sweet! Check out this GIANT paws!

Apparently the husband likes the dog beds too?

"Manly" Dog Bed

Pin It We're adding to our family with... a puppy! We got our new puppy on August 11th - she's a little Weimaraner and is as sweet as can be!

Say hello to Cedar!

Such a big dog! Ha!

In preparation for our pretty little girl we went shopping at all the pet stores - and guess what??? Dog beds, especially the big ones, are expensive and not terribly attractive... this does have to sit in my house you know! I just couldn't go there, so I decided to make it. While at the store, Zach picked out some more "manly" fabric for the puppy and decided we should make two beds - so here we are.

Adorable Puppy + Homemade Puppy Bed = Comfy naps!

Want to see a slightly bigger and fancier (but still simple) version? See my other dog bed post!

Project Expense: $36
2 Yards of Fabric: Varies (My hubby has expensive taste so it was about $15)
2 Pillows: $8
1 Zipper: $6
Shower Curtain: $7
Duct Tape: Already Had
Thread/Sewing Machine: Already Had

Step 1: Remove magnets from your shower curtain. I can just see puppy chewing through and finding these!

Magnet in the hole...

Magnet out of the hole....

Step 2: Slice your curtain in half, using the pillows as a guide.

We used our old pillows so it would smell like us... ignore my my husband's drool stains!

Step 3: Make a pocket out of the shower curtain, using the duck tape. I know this isn't fancy, but it creates a waterproof, removable interior.

Step 4: Slip the pillows in and use the duck tape to seal it up like an envelope.

Step 5: Measure and cut your fabric so it will fit around your removable, waterproof interior. I'm not too exact, but you can be! You're basically making a giant, sewn-shut pillowcase.

Carefully selected fabrics chosen by the hubby

And no, our downstairs floors are still unfinished... don't judge.

Step 6: Proceed to sew it all closed, just like you would if you were making a pillowcase, right sides together.

Always wanted to do a sewing machine shot... tre professional!

Step 7: On the final open side, sew in your zipper. I've never done this before, so I'm sure my picture/technique is all wrong, but it seems to be working!

Tah - Dah! You have a finished puppy bed!

Blurry much?

Were my nails that chipped?!

Then, wait three agonizing days to bring home the puppy so she can try it out... then take it home, use it in the car, and pretty much show it off to everyone! (In case you were wondering, everyone loved it!)

Puppy beds are for cute little nieces too, right?

Sooo sleepy after testing out the lake!

Sleepy husband and sleepy puppy!

Brain Breaks!

Pin It

I teach my students two periods in a row everyday for the same class. I love that I get that much time with them everyday - we get to really delve into the material and have plenty of time for practice and review. However, when you're 15-20 years old sometimes an hour and a half of studying English can seem like a never-ending eternity long time.

CC: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baileysjunk/

To mix it up, I like to incorporate brain breaks. You never know when your class will need them and sometimes it can be hard to come up with a fun, but academically appropriate game off the top of your head. So I created this matrix based off of a cute elementary idea on Pinterest.

I can imagine that we might have a brain break a couple times a week, which means that by the end of the semester we've done each activity only a few times (if the die is fair!). Many of the activities involve some sort of physical movement too - which may feel hokey to some of your students, but it all depends on how you present it! The activities (except for "Deep, Dark Box") require little to no prep work, just basic classroom supplies. Each activity is fully described in the pages following the matrix.

You're welcome to use/modify this for your classroom. Here is a link to the Microsoft Word version (just click File:Download), and here is a link to a PDF version. You may need to edit and adjust some ideas if you don't teach the same clientele ("Where in the World?" may not be as challenging or fun if you don't have a classroom full of students who are new to the US and from all over the world). Enjoy and good luck!

Front Yard

Pin It First of all I'd like to say my mom is a superstar... amazing... incredible.

She has come up to visit us (3 hour trip both ways!) the last two weekends to help us with our house. And by help, I mean really help and tell us what to do - we've never done this after all! But fist she prepared us an awesome and adorable picnic lunch.

Back to the yard... Yesterday she weed-wacked everything like a pro. This morning I woke up to her doing our very dirty dishes (thanks mama!). Then today, she masterminded, and did more than a fair share of the labor for this amazing feat (plus the backyard... which is to come later).

Yep, she is amazing... and this doesn't even show it all! And my amazing husband is a pretty great hard worker too, I think he took about 100 yards to the recycling center to haul all the yard waste... oh yea and he carried all the granite landscape rock! But can you see that stone edging... all me baby! (Even if that is pretty much all I did!)

Here is what we did, mixed in with several trips to the recycling center and the store:
1) Trimmed bushes
2) Raked around bushes
3) Pruned (lopped) off the unwanted bushes
4) Laid PREEN 25 year fabric over the ground to prevent weeds
5) Stapled in the PREEN
6) Relocated rocks to create a natural edger
7) Transplanted and watered some flowers (not in the picture) into the PREEN
8) Put 43 bags of pink granite over PREEN

And tomorrow we will go buy more... because we still aren't done, but the store was sold out of our color of stone! Steps 1-2 were last weekend and the rest we did this weekend.
I've got a hardworking husband and mom... maybe it has something to do with them sharing the same birthday? I swear they're the same... more on that strangeness later, ha!

Movin on up...

Pin It First projects!
Goodbye tonue cover! Now we actually have a usable teensy tiny small truck.

Goodbye 70's style blue and brown carpet! Hello hardwood floors!

I promise his head isn't that blurry in real life

All grown-up!

Pin It Note: I know some of my pictures aren't rotated correctly... no matter what I did they wouldn't rotate. Sorry, but tilt your head!

My niece is going to kindergarten in August. Crazy... it doesn't seem like that long ago I was holding her at the hospital or wearing pigtails.

Anyway, the other night while she was getting ready to go to bed she was showing off all of her reading skills. She was so into that she didn't want to go to bed, which of course isn't in the least a stalling technique, simply the mark of a young genius. So what does an English teacher who loves her niece and just happens to have a lot of time on her hands because her house still hasn't closed do? Make reading activities of course!

First up, my basically free "Reading Slider". First the supplies:
Paint samples in 3 colors, get the long ones
1 larger "fat" paint sample
Exacto knife
Sharpie
Scissors


1) Cut the colored paint strips in half (you don't really have to do this, but I felt guilty about taking the paint samples, so I tried to conserve).
2) Place beginning letters on one color, vowels on another, and ending consonants on a third. You can find the best letters to use by visiting sites like this.

3) Use an exacto knife to cut small slits in the "fat" sample, make sure they're large enough so you can weave your letters in. You could even laminate these pieces to make them more durable. I chose to make 4 slits so she has room to grow. Check out the pictures to get an idea of what I mean.

Level 1 - CVC Construction.

Level 2 - CCVC Construction, blending beginning sounds.

Level 3 - CVCC Construction, Blending ending sounds

Level 4 - CVVC Construction, Vowel blends

4) Teach the child how to use it to practice their mad skills.


The other project I did, the "Beginning Sound Exchange" was her favorite. It was also very budget friendly! Here are the supplies:
1) Markers
2) Word families site
3) Scissors
4) Spiral Bound Index Cards (I used these from Wal-Mart for $1.24)

1) Choose a few word families that you'd like to use and the words you would like to use. I used "an", "ap", "at", "ed", and "ip". I went with pretty simple ones for her to start with, but I also wanted to vary the ending consonant to give her more practice.

2) Give each section a heading card to keep them all separate and attach a "tab" (I used extra index card paper) to the title page. Cover the entire tab with tape to make it durable.

3) Count the number of index cards needed for the word family and make a slice 1/3 of the way through each card. Then, remove the large section from all but one card. This sounds confusing, but really isn't. Just write the beginning sound on the smaller, 1/3 portion. Only one piece should have the family's ending, like "an".

See how you can flip through the beginning letters without touching the word family part/

4) Repeat this step for all of the word families.

5) Then you can decorate/laminate the booklet. Next time, I'll reinforce the perforation to make sure it lasts.


I gave her all of the reading supplies in a decorate pencil pouch so she can have it all organized so her mom doesn't have to clean up paint samples and index cards for car trips or in the house.

I don't have a picture/video of her using it, but trust me, she was all about the "Beginning Sound Exchange" booklet. The "Reading Slider" takes a little more time and practice to figure out, and the skill is a little more advanced because she has to create the words, not just read them. Happy reading!!