Classroom First Aid Kit

Although many schools have a nurse's office for serious illnesses and injuries, most of the time small cuts and scrapes can be handled right in the classroom with minimal disruption to the day! Print off this FREE checklist and make sure that your Classroom First Aid Kit is stocked and ready to go.

Click HERE to see the list and to PRINT the free checklist.

Editable Class Dojo Parent Letter FREEBIE!

Hi everyone, Alexis here from Laugh Eat Learn! I'm here to share my favorite classroom management tool and a freebie for you! Back to school is a little different for me this year because, for the first time in 5 years, I'm not in a "traditional" classroom anymore. I haven't decided yet if Class Dojo will work with my older ELL students but it's still something I stand completely behind as a huge classroom management tool. I've used Class Dojo in my classroom for my first four years of teaching, with Kinders to 4th Graders, and every single one of them loved it. 

HEAD OVER TO LAUGH EAT LEARN TO READ MORE ABOUT CLASS DOJO AND SNAG THE FREEBIE! 

Teacher Hacks {For Teachers of All Grade Levels!}

Hi there! It's Gina from Miss Peluso's Kindergarten back to chat with you here on The Primary Pack today!

I am super excited about this blog post, not because I've had it planned for a while {seriously, it came to me while I was not sleeping on Sunday night!}, but because teacher hacks are one of my favorite things to read about, and I know that they can help ALL teachers! 

I promised myself that I would refrain from viewing other teacher hack posts on Pinterest and do my own searching for some great ideas in my school, and I am very proud to say that this post is 100% things that I've found to make my life easier {although I am sure many of these ideas are already out there on other lists!} Here we go!

Talk about easy! Laminate parts of your bulletin board so that they can be written on with a dry erase marker! This makes text so simple to change- just erase and rewrite! I use this for my calendar bulletin board, and I can just think of all of the possibilities! Who wouldn't love to write on the wall?!

Do you ever wish that you had rotating bulletin boards for all of your small groups? I do! For example, each of my guided reading groups is working on different reading strategies, and I wish that I had different focus walls for each of them! Enter… the binder stand! You can create your anchor charts or focus walls to place in a binder, and use the stand to make your binder stand up. What a genius idea! {On my radar thanks to my genius mentor!}

Last year, my kiddos were constantly arguing in line that they were "squished," which led to pushing, more arguments… you know where this goes. So, this year I marked my line with stickers. When lining up, students look for an open sticker, and stand on it. This cuts down a lot on the line drama!

I blogged about these adhesive name tag pockets a while ago on Miss Peluso's Kindergarten, but I just had to mention them again! It is so simple to change seats when all I have to do is slip in a new name tag! Want to change the number of students at a table? They're adhesive, so all you have to do is peel them up, and rearrange! 

Another wonderful idea from my mentor… a storage bench! Teachers love double duty. Not only is this an adorable and comfy bench, it gives you lots of extra storage! I'm definitely going to need to make some of these for myself this summer- I could always use the extra storage!

Do you need more bulletin board space? I was seriously lacking bulletin board space in my room last year. I had to tape a lot of things up to the wall which ended in re-taping each morning. This year, I bought some cork roll from Michael's and made my own bulletin board! It hot glued right to the wall, and it comes off clean so your custodians don't have to worry. It is so nice to have extra space!

Do you wish you had a way to streamline your anecdotal notes, cut down on the number of papers you have to file, and be able to find what you're looking for by a simple search? Check out my video tutorial on Teacher Notes!

These pocket folders are super simple to make! Just take a regular folder (I got them at WalMart for 49 cents this year), and use a 9" round baking pan to trace a half circle. Then, cut on the lines, and fold over. That's it! I added velcro and some labels to make sight word pocket folders for my students!

I don't have a photo of my own markers {blogger fail!!}, but I am borrowing this photo from The Teaching Thief to show you. This is one of the best projects that I did last year. No more missing erasers or needy students. Everything they need is right there!

My favorite new teacher hack thanks to my teammate, Barb! This one almost didn't make it into the list because I didn't know about it until today. I am so happy that it did because I think every teacher can benefit from something like this. I can't wait to start using this app tomorrow!!

So… did you find something that makes your teacher heart happy? There are so many great teacher hacks out there, and I'd love to hear some of yours! Comment below with any descriptions or photos that you have to share! Don't forget to visit me at Miss Peluso's Kindergarten!

Have a great end to your week!

Wreath Making for $10

Wreath Making With Mrs. Labrasciano

Hi everyone! It's Amy from Learning Lessons With Mrs. Labrasciano. I was recently invited to a friend's house for a wreath making lesson.  My friend Courtney is very talented.  Every room in her house looks like it is from a magazine.  If you don't believe me, check out her front door at the bottom of this post.  When Courtney told me we could make wreaths for around $10 I was a tiny bit skeptical.  Boy was I wrong!  Wreath making works perfect for the teacher's budget.  You can make them for gifts, yourself or your  classroom.

Deco Ribbon and Burlap Ribbon

You can find everything you need for a basic wreath in the floral department of Walmart.  Extra fancy materials will need to come from a craft store.  Make sure to bring your coupons.  The fancier wreaths will be closer to $15.

Materials Needed:

Deco Ribbon ($3) and/or Burlap ($3) (a total of 2 spools for a 24" wreath)

24" wreath frame ($2.50)

pipe cleaners(take from your classroom)

Misc. Decorations ($1)

Wire 24" Wreath

 The first thing that you need to know is that there is no right or wrong when making wreaths.  You can take the wreath apart and start over if you don't like it so take risks and don't be nervous.

 Cut small pieces of pipe cleaners to attach the ribbon and burlap with.  Start by attaching your ribbon or burlap.

 Bunch your burlap/ribbon and attach to another wire.  I go back and forth for my wreaths.  Some people like to stay on the same wire to create a more uniform look.  Look through this post to decide which one you like.

 For the wreath pictured at the top of this post I used the entire spool of burlap and went around twice.

 Try to fluff the burlap or ribbon so that it covers as much of the pipe cleaners as possible.

 Now you are ready for your second color.  I only used a small portion of the deco ribbon.  That leaves almost a whole spool for another wreath.

 Don't mind me in my pjs. We craft whenever time allows.

 Try to attach the deco ribbon inside of the burlap to cover the pipe cleaners. 

 Once you are done, fluff the ribbon to your liking.

 The final pipe cleaners can be covered by decorations.  If you don't want to use decorations you can cover the pipe cleaners with tulle or another fabric.   Hot glue the decorations on.

The following wreaths came from the wreath making party that I was at.  You will see a combination of ribbon, tulle and other materials used in wreaths.

 The wreath below was created by attaching the deco ribbon to the same wire throughout.

 The wreath below only cost about $8 to make.  You can get deco tulle from Walmart for about $1.50.  The ribbon is hot glued in.

The wreaths with the fuller look are made with large sheets of deco ribbon.  This deco ribbon makes two  wreaths.

A huge thank you goes to Courtney for inviting me into her beautiful home and introducing me to wreath making.