QR Codes

Are you all familiar with QR codes? I have seen them around but my only schema about them was that you take a picture of them and it (the magic box OR iPhone) would give you information about the product. I followed a great link on Pinterest about what QR codes are and how to use them in the classroom if you have some iPads.


What is a QR code?

A QR code is a matrix barcode (see inset photo) that can be read by some sort of a scanner or smartphone.

How is this useful to teachers?

There is a website called KAYWA that allows you to enter a website URL and it automatically creates a unique QR code for that site. You can print out the QR codes and even laminate them and post them in your classroom. When you want your students to visit a certain website such as your class site, spelling city, etc., they simply take a photo of the QR code with the free ipad app called Qrafter. The app then takes the student directly to the website, alleviating time spent navigating the internet for it. If you want to test this out, install the free app on your smartphone and snap a picture of the QR code at the start of this post. It should take you to my classroom website. So cool!

If this sounds interesting to you, please visit the original pinterest link here. The link provides a quick video about how to use the app in the classroom.

Lastly, my husband mentioned to me that nowadays businesswomen and men often put QR codes for their online resumes or product information directly on their business cards. I headed over to Vistaprint for the tenth time this summer to create my own business cards to hand out at back to school night that have my classroom site QR code on them. Here is a mock up without my info. on it.




Have a great Wednesday everyone:)

Luna Giveaway

Hi everyone. Happy Tuesday! Amanda over at One Extra Degree is hosting the most amazing giveaway right now. Check out Amanda's blog to learn how you can use the Luna as a resource in your classroom.

Monday Made-It Link Up

Hi bloggy friends, long time no post! I took a year off from blogging; writing, not reading all of your wonderful blogs. In my year off from writing, I pinned like crazy but just recently decided to start creating some of the cute things I have been inspired by. Seeing all of your amazing creations is so inspiring and I realized how much I missed this community of teachers so I decided to link up with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics.

Here is what I have been busy with so far this summer:

It seems like the hottest teacher item this upcoming school year is going to be the Teacher Toolbox. I think the original idea may have come from Create, Teach, Share. What an amazing idea! I ended up ordering my 22 drawer toolbox from Amazon and using cute scrapbook paper from Walmart. Ta-Da! It is so cute.


I had some left over scrapbook paper so I up-cycled some Crystal Light containers to hold popsicle stick multiplication facts, etc. I made 5, one for each table group.

Still more leftover paper AND a new addiction to Mod Podge so I Mod Podged the heck out of anything plastic! I started with this two drawer storage unit I use to hold money, base ten blocks, calendar pieces for my Everyday Math Calendar. I think it certainly livens it up!

Lastly, I made this sign. I can't claim to love it. It was actually my first Mod Podge attempt using wrapping paper. It bubbled quite a bit. Not sure if the wrapping paper was just too thin or if I rushed. Either way, it might look cute somewhere in my room. Perhaps I should have just splurged on this super cute one from Etsy?

Sigh. At least I tried! I hope to be back blogging a bit this summer about some exciting changes in my third grade classroom. First, I won't be doing the team theme anymore. While I loved it, I was ready for a change. Next year, my classroom will be Rocking and Rolling because third grade ROCKS! In the upcoming weeks, I'll share a few things that I am doing in my classroom to make this theme evident to my kiddos when they come back to school. I think these two Vistaprint creations count as being made or at least designed by me. The first one is a car door magnet that I will put on my white board as part of my homework board. The second one is actually a window cling so it will appear clear where the white parts are.



Can't wait to show you some of my back to school purchases later this week! Happy Monday!

Halloween Surprise for your Kids

Happy Halloween fellow bloggers! Sorry I've been an absentee blogger recently...you know how it goes with the start of the year, new standards pilots, etc. Time just gets away from ya but I have enjoyed reading all of your blogs lately.


Here is a little treat I created for my third graders for Monday.


I purchased this clipart from Lettering Delights, so I can't share it but you can snag it for $3.00 to use year after year! I found some ghost shaped marshmallows at Target, so I picked them up not really knowing what I was going to do with them yet. At the very least, I could have made rice krispy treats. Then I found the ghost poop clipart and voila! I had a need for cute marshmallows!

All you need are a few items to create these treats for your kids:


I didn't add a poem, but I found this one online somehwhere:

I hear that you've been playing tricks,
So listen, here's the scoop ...
I'm running short on candy treats,
So this year you get Ghost Poop!!

A happy surprise!

Thanks so much to Dana over at 3rd Grade Gridiron for awarding me this fabulous blogger award! I appreciate all of my followers and I hope to start blogging a bit more frequently once I get settled with my family's new routines.

Daily Five/Workstations

Hi everyone! I hope you have all had a great start to your school year. I've been missing in action from my blog for awhile but you all know how that first week back to school is...super busy. I was absolutely exhausted by Friday! I was finally able to upload my updated classroom tour to my class website. Click here if you want to check out my cabin or past years photos.

Last year I posted my Daily Five bookmarks and I have received a ton of emails asking for an editable version. I'm sorry to say that I don't have the original anymore. I cleaned up my desktop and files over the summer and since I wasn't using them anymore I got rid of them. If you want to view my original post about them, click here. You can also view or download the pdf bookmark. So many fantastic teachers have shared their great ideas with me free of charge so I wish to keep these bookmarks free of charge for you. I would be very disappointed if they turned up on tPt or teachers notebook for sale by someone else. Spread the love people!

I'm so glad those bookmarks were a hit! I posted towards the end of last year that I was more of a Debbie Diller Work Stations fan and so I was going to be using them in place of Daily Five this year. I really loved my book marks though so I reworked them a bit for my third graders this year. Here are my workstation bookmarks. I plan on using paper copies when I introduce workstations so that my kids can physically check off or highlight what they have done to help them get in the habit of rotating through the various activities within each station. As the year progresses and my students are able to demonstrate that they are using their workstation time wisely and being productive, I will switch from the paper version to my laminated version where students can use them only as a reference to ensure a variety of skills practiced each week.

Link to Google Docs Workstation Bookmark

It's all in the details

I've had my precious family in town for awhile but now everyone has left and I'm starting to get back into school mode. My classroom is nearly finished and I've posted some of the pics on my last post here. I have worked from home on some of the tinier details that make my classroom a special place to be. Here are a few of the projects (inspired by pinterst and some of my favorite teacher bloggers) that I've completed.


Smarty Pants:
I just had to share these Smarty Pants first! Abby at the Inspired Apple shared her cute smart pants on her teacher blog and this is my version of them. I used my son's old 2T size cargo pants. I used heat bond to seal up the bottom legs so that when I do get around to filling the pants with smarties, they won't fall out! How funny are these? Love them!


Name Tag Banner:
My name tag banner was also inspired by Ms. Babbling Abby, although my version is much smaller. She posted a tutorial on how to make a fabric banner but due to space constraints in my classroom, I chose to make a scrapbook paper name banner for the side of my teacher desk. I just printed out cute font letters and used my exacto knife to cut the flags. Then I ran them through my Scotch Laminator. Next I hot glued each banner/letter to yellow ribbon. I love how it turned out! It is much easier to read in person, trust me.


Special Birthday Surprise:
Here are my Birthday Ballon Silly Straws. I saw a teacher do the same thing using giant pixie stix candy Birthday Balloons on pinterest but I wanted to make a healthier alternative (plus giant pixie stix are so not easy to come by.) I came across these silly straws at Target in the Birthday Aisle. The balloon labels came from Teaching in Flip Flops. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us!


Planter Sticks:
These were so super easy and really make a difference! I just found super cute scrapbook paper with these cut outs, laminated them and hot glued them to some bamboo skewers I had laying around. How cute!


Clipboard Update:
A little scrapbook paper and a lot of mod podge goes a long way! I love this cute clipboard.



Imagine:
This pencil was inspired by Pottery Barn Kids, one of my favorite stores! I have this beautiful green wooden pencil stenciled with the word "Imagine" hanging in our playroom. Until my boys are too old for a playroom, this cheap version will have to do for my classroom. I found the felt pencil at the Dollar Tree, then I printed out cute letters, laminated them and hot glued them to the pencil.



Table Group Placemats:
Lastly, this are easy placemats that I created for each table group. I got some fabric and heat bond (I'm not a sewer!) from Walmart and then just cut them to the size I wanted and ironed the seams with the heat bond. They make the tables look homey and they don't get in the way of name tags (not adhered to desks yet, but I tested them out just to check).


I'm getting so excited to head back to school on Monday! If you haven't checked out pinterest yet, please do! You can follow my classroom boards by clicking on the red pinterest button on my sidebar.