Author: TCR Staff

Classroom Activities, Holidays, Teacher Resources

Thanksgiving Photo Booth Props for the Classroom & Free Template

October 28, 2014 TCR Staff Comment

What better way to celebrate and capture what Thanksgiving is all about than with a fun classroom photo session. Create playful Thanksgiving photo booth props using borders, accents, and decorative items that you may already have in the classroom. You can use the free pilgrim hat and feather headband template here to trace and cut. A great lesson idea would be to discuss the history of Thanksgiving, engage students in conversation about what they are most thankful for, and then end it with a fun photo booth and photo props session.

For each prop you will also need scissors, glue, and a wooden dowel rod or any long stick. You can easily find them at any craft store.

Pilgrim Hat

Materials:
Black Construction paper
Zebra Chevron Dot Ribbon Runner
Orange Sassy Solids Double-Sided Border

Instructions:
1) Use the free pilgrim hat template to trace and cut a hat out of black construction paper
2) Cut Zebra Chevron Dot Ribbon Runner into a 5” strip and glue to hat
3) For the buckle, cut Orange Sassy Solids Double-Sided Border into a 2” square and cut a smaller square within it and glue to ribbon runner
4) Glue pilgrim hat to wooden dowel rod

Feather Headband

Materials:
Black & White Chevrons Double-Sided Border
Purple Sassy Solids Double-Sided Border
Orange Sassy Solids Double-Sided Border
Yellow Mini Polka Dots Scalloped Border Trim
Lime Colorful Circle Scalloped Border Trim

Instructions:
1) Cut the Black & White Chevrons Double-Sided Border so that it is about 8” long
2) Use the free feather template to trace and cut four feathers out of border trim
3) Glue all four feathers to the Black & White Chevrons Double-Sided Border
4) Glue feather headband to wooden dowel rod

Pumpkin Pie

Materials:
Orange & Teal Wild Moroccan Pennants
Chocolate Polka Dots Scalloped Border Trim
Chevron Frames Mini Accents

Instructions:
1) To make the crust, cut Chocolate Polka Dots Scalloped Border Trim into a 6” strip and glue to the edge of the Orange Wild Moroccan Pennant
2) Turn the Chevron Frame Mini Accent over and glue to the middle of the pennant
3) Glue pumpkin pie to wooden dowel rod

Gobble Glasses

Materials:
Turkey Accents

Instructions:
1) Cut a 1” hole into the middle of two turkey accents and glue edges together
2) Glue Turkey accents to wooden dowel rod

Note: You could also use Turkey Mini Accents for mini gobble glasses

For the Bow props, we used these Bow Accents.

For the Gobble Gobble Word Sign, we used Speech Thought Bubble Accents.

For the I’m Thankful for sign, we used Green Sassy Solids Name Plates.

Have your class take photos behind a white wall or decorate the wall with pennants and border trim to create a photo booth area. Use the props to take solo Thanksgiving photos as a gift to parents. Don’t forget to take a silly class photo all together! Check out our Holiday & Seasonal Projects Pinterest Board for more Thanksgiving classroom activities.

Classroom Activities, Holidays, Teacher Resources

Border Trim Pumpkin Lantern Tutorial

September 22, 2014 TCR Staff Comment

Have you started thinking about Halloween decorations for the classroom yet? If you have leftover border trim around, this easy hanging pumpkin lantern is a great way to transition your classroom into October.

Materials:
(3) 36” Orange Border Trim
(1) Green Border Trim
Ribbon
Scissors
Stapler
Glue

Instructions:
1) Cut your orange border trim into the following strips:
-13 inches (x2)
-11 inches (x2)
-9 inches (x2)
-8 inches (x1)

2) Stack the border strips altogether. The 8” strip should be in the center and then sandwich them from shortest strip to longest strip. Push the stack of strips down to make the pumpkin shape and staple. Push the bottom strip up and staple.

3) Draw or trace two leaves using green border trim and secure to the top of the pumpkin with glue.

4) Attach a piece of ribbon (brown burlap ribbon looks great) and hang a bunch of pumpkin lanterns from the ceiling.

These border trim pumpkin lanterns are also a great craft for students. Each student can make their own pumpkin lantern so you can hang them above their desks, or students can take them home to their parents. For more Halloween classroom crafts, see our Halloween Classroom Ideas Board on Pinterest.

Behavior Management, Classroom Management, Teacher Resources, Teaching Tips

Good Behavior Rewards Cards

August 27, 2014 TCR Staff 1 Comment

Need a way to reward good behavior in the classroom? Use a rectangular accent piece or thick card stock to make a rewards card for each student. Write each student’s name in the middle of the rewards card and use a hole puncher to give hole punches to students when they are demonstrating good behavior. Keep the rewards card in a visible place on the student’s desk. This way, you can check to make sure that you are not missing a student or unfairly giving one student too many punches on his or her card. Randomly reward good behaviors such as the following:

-Completing work assignments
-Following instructions well
-Studying with another student
-Attention to task
-Helping another student
-Showing kindness to fellow students

Set a time limit on the card’s use, such as a new good behavior reward card every two weeks or so. You will find that students will count the number of holes they have earned. This makes the card a constant reinforcer of good behavior. If you are a preschool on kindergarten teacher, have students thread a string around all the holes when their rewards card is full. Threading is a great way to strengthen fine motor skills.

Have a special reward or treat when each student has earned a set number of hole punches. Students must know they are working to attain a goal.

Teacher Resources

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!