Favorites for Friday: Xyron Sticker Machine

Making labels for your classroom?  Goodie bags?  Group supplies?  Personalized magnets with your classroom theme to put on your board or filing cabinet? Crafts?  

This week's Favorite for Friday is the Xyron.  Do you have one of these yet?  If not, don't walk, RUN!!! to your nearest craft store.

I'm a crafter in my spare time, so I have lots of sizes of Xyron machines.  I like this 5 inch Creative Station for my classroom the best.  It doesn't take up much space in my cabinet and it's great for the little things I realize I need in the middle of the day.

I also have the Xyron 900 at home and I use this a lot for classroom items as well. This one is great because a standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper slides through it easily.  

These machines are great for putting adhesive on the back of any thin, flat, item (photos, posters, labels) and the adhesive comes in either permanent or repositionable (no more sticky putty!). Want to get really crafty in your classroom?  This machine can also laminate AND make magnets!

Here's a list of some of the things I have done with this machine in my classroom:

*classroom library books labeled with levels

*organizational bins labeled

*Desk name tags laminated

*Folder/Notebook labels

*Treat bag toppers/labels

*Nametags (first day, field trips, etc)

*Winning the Pencil War pouch labels

*Personalized magnets for my board and file cabinets (use your student's photos!)

*Personalized magnets for parents at Back to School night/Conferences with contact info

*Class Schedule items on magnets for the board (easily adjustable!)

*Stickers for teams during activities (kids can easily see who is on each team when they're wearing that sticker!)

*Prizes!  (For incentives, I let students draw pictures on an index card and then turn the drawings into stickers they can keep)

*Independent Centers/Games labels (stick the cover sheet from TPT right onto the folder/envelope!)

*Stickers that say "Ask me about..." for students to show off a great day

Remember, Joann's and Michael's stores have a teacher discount program.  At Joann's you need to sign up for their card, but both places will give you the discount as long as you can prove you're a teacher (bring your school ID).  

There are tons of sizes and versions of these machines.  Choose what works for you and your budget, but truly, I LOVE these machines!  I can't imagine not owning one.  (Even my husband uses them -- he uses the adhesive cartridge to make labels and laminates his fishing license every year so it doesn't get wet on the lake.)

Monday Made It: Mini Chart Stand with PVC pipes

A little late in the evening to get this post up, but better late than never, right? :)

Thanks 4th Grade Frolics for the chance to show off my new PVC skills!

So, I saw this on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect for independent stations and anchor charts this year. I thought I'd follow the link and see how hard it would be to make one.  I'm crafty, but not handy.  My husband isn't handy either.  Neither of us has ever worked with PVC before.  I was thinking "I'll never be able to do this...  I bet I don't have the tools and that they cost a lot... I'll probably glue a pipe to my forehead or something..."  

Thanks to Falling Into First for sharing this great idea!  She's got great directions on her site for how to make this.  Of course, once I saw the low cost, easy-to-make chart stand, I started wondering about what other PVC items I could make for my classroom.  Is it going to be worth it to get a lot of PVC or am I just going to make a couple chart stands?

I dare you to type "PVC classroom" into the search engine of Pinterest.  I found some GREAT ideas.  Ok -- I'm willing to take the plunge.  I decided to start with the chart stand and see if it's as easy as they say it is...

Voila! My chart stand!

                                             

After viewing several projects, I saw this tool on someone's directions.  They said it would only cost about $10.  I got mine at Home Depot for $11.98.

(And am I the only one who looks at that picture and sees a bird?)

The tool makes cutting the PVC pipes so easy!  It's just like a scissors with a ratchet feature, so there wasn't much pressure needed to make it cut.  It really is that easy, folks!

Here's the basic process I went through:

Measure carefully

cut with this PVC tool

put the pieces together

Add decorative tape (lengthwise was easiest)


And it's done!



And interchangeable for landscape charts with just one more short pipe covered with tape:

Total cost:
Tool = $11.98
Pipe = $1.38
(and I have enough left to make another)
elbow connectors = $0.50 for two
"adapters" = $0.74 for two
corner "side outlet elbows" = $3.72 for 2

So, now that I own the tool, it will cost me $6.34 for any more chart stands that I make.  (Or less because I'll have leftover pipe.)

I'm not sure it's sturdy enough for me.  I might try a few other methods of making a more stable base.  I'll let you know if I find something better!  It actually took me longer to apply the tape than make the stand.  It's taking me longer to write this post than the entire process of building the project.

Anybody have any good PVC projects they've made?  Any great pins you've found?  Any suggestions for a better base?  I'd love to hear your comments in the space below!

Fun Friday: Corner bookmarks

My class needed some motivation last year to make sure they had all their work done and behaved well during the week.  After a schedule change in March, we had a 30 minute block at the end of the day on Friday that was too short for a lesson, but too long to not do something productive.  We called it “Finish Up Friday.” Students with everything finished were rewarded with a fun project related to our 5^th grade standards.  Click on the tag “Fun Fridays” to see other ideas you might want to try.

Corner Bookmarks 

We made some corner bookmarks as gifts to give our Kindergarten Reading Buddies.  My class had so much fun making them!  Students who had finished all their work were allowed to make extra bookmarks for themselves or to give to others as end-of-the-year gifts.  

Check out these links for design ideas:

Best Youtube video for DIY Corner Bookmarks

(watch out for some of the other ones -- I found several with inappropriate language!)

Check out Tally's Treasury for a tutorial on these cute little monsters

Or go to my Pinterest board for Crafts and Indoor Recess ideas:

Follow Clever Endeavors's board crafts and indoor recess activities on Pinterest.

Classroom Library Organization? There's an app for that...

One of the things I needed to do this year was update my classroom library to include Lexile levels.  The school I where I'm teaching uses a reading test three times each year which gives us each student's Lexile range.  I'm used to the Guided Reading levels.  No matter what you may find about how those two systems work, they don't actually align well.  They use totally different features to determine reading level.

So anyway, I needed to make labels for my books that had Lexile levels included.  (I also included Guided Reading and Accelerated Reader if I could find them.)  I'm so glad I found two AMAZING resources to find these levels.

First, I used "Classroom Organizer."  Check it out here:  http://classroom.booksource.com/ 

I was able to quickly scan the barcode on the back of each book with the smartphone app.  The site then provided me with an Excel spreadsheet of every piece of information they had about the book (title, author, levels, genre, list price, etc.).  Some books had tons of information.  Other books had very little information.  Since it was all in a spreadsheet, though, I could easily sort the books and use other resources to find the missing pieces.

Scholastic has their "Book Wizard."  This is the resource I went to when I needed more information.  Check it out here:  http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/ 

Next, I took the spreadsheet and created a "mail merge" document in MS Word.  I used the address labels feature and placed Title, Lexile level, GR level, AR level and AR points all on a small label and printed them.

Now, you can purchase labels and try to get everything to line up just right, or you can print on paper and then run it through a sticker machine.  What?  You don't have one?  You've got to check out the Xyron machines.  I use them for everything!!

Xyron

http://www.xyron.com/enUS/Categories/Creative_Station/9__Creative_Station.html

You can find these in many of the big box craft stores, online, or sometimes at your local scrapbooking stores.  They will do not only sticker-making, but also laminate and make magnets.  If it's flat, it can become a sticker!   No electricity needed -- you crank the handle by hand and out slides  your project.  The machines come in many sizes.  This 9 inch version is my favorite machine at home, but I also have the 5 inch version in my classroom and the 1.5 inch version at home.

So, with just a few minutes of scanning with a phone, an hour of searching for missing book levels, a few minutes to mail merge a document and print,  and seconds to crank them into stickers, I have labels ready for several hundred books.  Now, if I could just remember to bring them to school, I could start attaching them to my library.  :)

Hope this Helps!
Heather Q

I Scream for Ice Cream! (Homophone match up activity)

I finally got the graphics worked out on this one.  (Strange black spots were appearing on the printer, but not on the screen.)

Ready for classroom use, it's the Ice Cream Match Up for Homophones!

Print on cardstock, cut out, and fold the cones around behind.
Instant center for practicing homophone definitions!

Check it out at my TPT store!  (Click here)  

Exit Tickets on Sticky Notes!!

Need a quick Exit Ticket for your students?   Wouldn't it be great to have a sticky note version that students could stick on your door or wall as they exit your room?  Well, I thought so, too!

I created a file of 8 different Exit Tickets (shown in the picture above) for all kinds of different situations.

To create them, simply print the file one time, place a 3x3 inch sticky note on top of the page, put it back in the printer the same way, and print again!  

Each page holds 6 of the same exit ticket.  If you don't want them on sticky notes, you can print on paper and cut apart.  Either way, you'll have a great informal assessment or closure activity for your students to complete at the end of a lesson.

Check them out at my TPT Store! (click here)

Attendance and Lunch Count Board

Here's a picture of that board I got earlier this summer.  I've got magnet clips with cute little smiley faces :) on them.  Each student will get a number at the beginning of the year.  In the mornings when they arrive, they'll take a card for the type of lunch they are having (blue = lunch from home, orange = school hot lunch, green = school salad) and hang it with their clip.  I can easily see who has arrived and their lunch choice so I can quickly enter it into the computer system right away.  One student will have the daily class job of removing the cards once attendance/lunch count are entered. 

Do you do something like this?  Do you use magnet boards in other ways?  I'd love to hear about it!  Comment here.  Share your blog address.  I'll come visit! 
HQ

Welcome sign ready to hang!

I'll be in my classroom a lot this week, since we have meetings all week the following week.  I need to get my room all set up and pretty ASAP! 

So, here come the posts of what I've been working on and what will be part of my decor as I get going.  Today's post is my new Welcome sign.  I painted it myself.  This was so much fun to do.  Years ago, a student gave this sign to me, but it had really old-fashioned teacher stuff like apples and a teacher's desk.  It was cute, but not my style these days.  Nothing a few scrapbooking supplies won't fix!  :)

What do you think?  Do you have a welcome sign in your classroom? I'd love to see a picture!

Prettier than cardboard

I need to get ready for my new classroom in the fall, but it's not ready yet.  They're still cleaning it and I can't get in to do much.  So I've got a lot of projects I'm working on and a TON of stuff in my basement.  I decided to get some of those cardboard file boxes from my local office supply store.  I had planned to get the cheapest ones possible because they'd be temporary.   But, when I got there, I saw THESE:

DiVOGA File Storage Box


 They were only a little more expensive than the basic cheap ones, so I splurged.  I plan to decorate my classroom in black and white with a splash of blue, so I thought these would be PERFECT!!

I excitedly began to fold the 6 boxes and lids into shape.  Then I looked at my hands.  The black was rubbing off on my fingers!  EWWWW! 

I decided to get creative and cover the lids with contact paper.  Here's my step by step tutorial for you on how to cover a box lid with contact paper smoothly.

1st:  Measure and cut the contact paper a few inches bigger than the box lid (enough that you can cover the sides and roll the excess to the inside of the lid.

2nd: Peel the backing off of MOST but NOT ALL of the contact paper -- you'll need somewhere to hold it where it won't stick to you.

3rd:  Line up the side of the lid with enough excess that you'll be able to roll it over to the interior.

 4th:  Lay the lid flat on the table carefully so that the contact paper has no/few wrinkles.

 

5th:  Peel the remaining backing paper off of the contact paper and press against the side of the lid.

6th:  Cut a slit in the contact paper from the edge of the paper to the edge of the lid.  Do this to all four corners, then fold over the two sides.

7th:  Cut the contact paper where the folded part meets the table. Do this at all 4 corners. (I used binder clips to help hold down the contact paper as needed.)

 8th:  Fold the contact paper over the side.  Then fold in the corners.
9th:  Cut a slit in the contact paper to make a triangle in the corner. Fold down the larger part.  Then fold the triangle part into the corner of the lid.  Repeat on all four sides.

 10th:  Sometimes contact paper does not hold well on certain surfaces.  Black duct tape did the trick here!

Here are the finished boxes:

But wait!!! As long as I have the duct tape out... let's cover those handles so that I don't get black stuff on my hands when I move the boxes.




Well, that's it for now.  Tomorrow's another day!  :)
HQ