5 Back to School Must Haves

 I am very excited to bring you my 5 must haves for back to school.  Many purchases I am sure you already have, but if you are a new teacher or forgot a few items, I hope I can help you out!

1. First and foremost, I wouldn't be anywhere without my laminator! I can print any of the amazing TPT products that I have bought or created, and LAMINATE them to stay durable for years to come.  Not only is this perfect for fun and engaging printables for activities and hands-on work, but also for classroom decor and materials that I just want to make sure stay in place!

The Scotch laminator shown above is the exact one that I have had for years! Love it, and very inexpensive.

2. I don't know about everyone else, but I am hooked on smelly stickers and markers, and so are my students!  My 4th graders loved them just as much as my Kindergarteners did last year.  It is a little treat for them and more than a reward to them :) Besides Trend Stinky stickers, Scentos, and Mr. Sketch markers, I also love the scented ink pads (and they last a long time!)

3. Cardstock is something that I always make sure I have enough of.  It can get expensive, but I usually get great deals at Michaels with a coupon or a deal that they already have.  With cardstock, I will print out special projects for my students that are keepsakes or gifts for their families.  I will also use it for important cards or if we are doing a project that requires durable paper.  I don't use it often, but the children know and respect that when the cardstock comes out, we are doing something special! :)

4. Paint! This is something I definitely ran out of as a Kindergarten teacher.  So I make sure, that if I see a sale or a coupon, I get a bunch of colors that I know I will be using.  Painting is so freeing for children and can be used in SO many ways... for example, last year we did dot paintings.. canvas paintings for gifts.. finger painting.. hand print painting... and painting for fun!  Art supplies in general I make sure I pick up if they are on sale or if I think I'll have a need for them. 

5.  My last must have is something that you personally may not need to think too much about in your school.  However, at the school I work at, we all make sure that we give the best parent gifts that we can.  Of course we are all on a budget, and for the holidays that we celebrate, I always want to make sure that I purchase craft and gift items ahead of time, or make sure that I have money saved up. 
Examples of parent gifts are from this post and this one as well. 

Also on my list:

Glue gun (holds anything!)

 

 Book bins (why didn't this make the cut as one of the 5?! A must!)

 

Mailbox (to stay organized and the best way for your kiddos to get their mail)

 

 I hope you enjoyed my must haves for back to school :) I will be posting pictures of my room soon!

If you liked this post, please consider following me on my blog, facebook, and TPT store.  Thank you so much for stopping by, and make sure you check out the other bright ideas in the hop :) There are tons of different ideas with different grade levels!
 

An InLinkz Link-up

Fun Way to Book Shop

Happy Summer! I am already thinking about "bright ideas" for back to school - how can we not, they are all over the place ;) 

A cheap and fun way for students to book shop is with... book bags! Not the book bags you put on your back, but the cute little shopping bags that you can find in Target and other stores near you (I got "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "One Fish, Two Fish.." at Target for only $1 each!)

My students use these books during Daily 5, but you can incorporate them into any of your literacy blocks.  After talking about good fit books, the students are able to exchange their books weekly.  Especially with the little ones, they find it so much fun to use these bags and book shop! I let them do it a couple at a time, and with consistency and modeling, they quietly select books that they will enjoy and read for the week, while putting their other books back.  

 

 I use the little hooks like these and they will hold forever since the bags are so light :) I also recommend making a schedule for your children so they know when their book shopping day is!

Thank you so much for reading about my bright idea :) If you would like to stay in touch with me, please consider following me xo
My Blog
My TPT Store
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter

Click below for more bright ideas ranging in all different topics and grade levels! Keep enjoying your summer, and remember to do things for you!

An InLinkz Link-up

Being a less wasteful teacher

Today I am bringing you an idea of what to do with scrap paper.  There is always so much of it after the children are done cutting, and even with recycling, sometimes I feel bad "throwing it out."  I thought of something fun for the kids to do with their scraps - they were so excited about this!

During their free time, four of my Kindergarteners were very excited to make books out of construction paper.  And not just any books.. different shaped books! Rectangles, squares, stars, even trapezoids! I let the kids write about whatever they wanted and use crayons, markers, pencils, and stickers - anything to make it even more enjoyable.

 

My student below wrote about "Art and Glass" - can you tell she is quite the artist? :) The other two books were going to be for her sister and parents.  Such a nice little sentiment to give to your family and write from your heart.

Always remember that you can create something beautiful using old materials.  I hope this inspires you to think outside the box with paper and scraps!

Please stay in touch with me on my blog, facebook, and my TPT store.  I appreciate you stopping by and I'm always here to help :) lauralove2teach@gmail.com is the best place to reach me as well!

For more bright ideas from 100+ different bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you. Thank you so much!!

An InLinkz Link-up

5 Easy Word Work Ideas for Daily 5

I am excited to link up and bring you 5 easy (and inexpensive!) Word Work ideas for Daily 5... The simplest activities can be the most engaging - I hope these can help you out in your classroom!

1. If you head to the dollar store, they usually have cute game boards that can be used with any word work game.  Make a list of words for your children to practice, and with a dice and some buttons/game pieces, your students will have so much fun!

2. My kiddos enjoy magnetic letters and a cookie sheet - making words and sentences has never been so fun for them! I love how this particular set has punctuation marks as well.

3. At the dollar store, I have also found practice dry erase boards for making words and sentences... many ages have fun with dry erase!

4. A lot of word scramble products or ideas are out there for students to practice their sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation.  This is one of my most popular word work choices in my classroom this year (also: different colored dry erase markers makes for fun rainbow words for spelling!)

5. Any type of sight word cards can be turned into an engaging activity for students.  This will help with their sight words and fluency.  If you don't have cards, you can make them out of index cards :] Very fun and easy, and can be used with a game board (see #1) or as a fun matching game!

And a really quick bonus - I found these sets of cards at the dollar store, and my kiddos just LOVE using them for writing during Daily 5 or for special occasions.  It is so touching when they write their loved ones such a sweet note!

I would love if you could stay in touch with me on my blog, facebook, and my TPT store.
Thank you so much for reading about my bright idea!

For more bright ideas, please browse through below by grade level and topics... I hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy many new ideas :]

    An InLinkz Link-up

Unifix Cube Writing

Hi all! I am so excited to link up for the month of April with my bright idea... so many amazing bloggers and ideas that I can't wait to shuffle through and see how I can become a better and more efficient teacher.  Bright ideas rock! Thank you to Shelley Gray who has made this monthly blog hop possible!

 

I learned about this bright idea about 4 years ago when I was a reading teacher, and a woman had her first graders use unifix cubes to demonstrate where they were in the writing process.

This helps to keep your classroom more organized and less disruptive.  You are able to meet with individual students and not have all of your kids coming up to you at once with questions.  It's a great check in process that I know can be used for any grade level!

  All you need for each student is a green, yellow, and red unifix cube.  It's kind of like a "traffic" tool! : ) Feel free to make it your own and use any colors that will best fit your classroom.  

Below shows the different colors and what they mean:

 

If you enjoyed my bright idea, please consider following my blog, facebook, and my TPT store : ) I also have a Pinterest!! (Got to love social media!)

For more bright ideas from 150 different bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you! Thanks for visiting!

An InLinkz Link-up

Dry Erase: Great Invention!

I am so excited to be a part of the Bright Ideas Blog Hop this month :] I hope that you each take with you, many different ideas for your classroom or at home teaching. 

Today in my blog post, I wanted to express my love for dry erase boards.  Not only because they can be used in any grade level and for any subject, but also that the kids LOVE them.  One of my biggest components about teaching is my students to enjoy what they do, and make it as hands-on and fun as possible. 

Dry erase boards come in all different shapes and sizes... some have lines, some don't.  I always find great deals on markers and boards at Target and Staples when they have the teacher sales.  The more colors I have, the more the kids love! Dry erase helps with math, social studies, science, spelling, handwriting, I think the most I ever use them for is REVIEW.  A wonderful way to review different concepts for children!

I store my dry erase boards in one of my drawers.. the students know exactly where to get them! And we have a "dry erase cup" (that I got at Target, 3 for $1) with all the different colors.  My kinders love searching through the cup for the right color :] I make sure they are quick about their choice so they can get right to work.  For example, a Daily 5 Word Work choice! How do you store your dry erase products? :]

 Examples of how to use dry erase for math and literacy! :]

 My sweet student Ella volunteered to do some dry erase work.  She did it within a few minutes and loved it! She thought of the idea, picture, and what to do with the dry erase board all by herself.  I didn't tell her to write, draw, or anything.  I love the creativity that comes with this!

 Then she decided to do some math facts as well!

 

 You can laminate ANYTHING and make it dry erase... I absolutely love using it for Calendar and other centers.  All of the students I have taught, younger and older, have LOVED using dry erase.  Hope yours do too!

 

Please hop on over to Mrs. Lovely Farrah Shipley, who is absolutely wonderful! I think you will love her Bright Idea! :)
 
 

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up