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Monday, July 22, 2013

Top "Pop" Stars idea from Christi Fultz

Well, I did it! I made the board that I was inspired to make by Ms. Fultz. I made the Top "Pop" Stars board that I will use to check and see if all classwork and homework is complete each day.

I am making a change in my classroom by giving my students numbers. I usually don't do that, but the more I have been thinking about it the more I think it will save me time! I love the idea of having the students put the work in order each day by student number, and I can see who still hasn't turned everything in. It will be awesome!

Okay so to start I went to Hobby Lobby and bought: a Black Magnetic Board, Washi Tape, Bottle Caps, Scrapbook Paper, and Magnets.
Next, I got out my Cricut and cut out the letters for Top "Pop" STARS with the numbers 1 to 5. I used Multi colors to get this done. I love bright colors!! Once I cut the letters out I laminated them to make them last longer!! Lamination is another BRILLIANT invention.

Next, I arranged it on my board and used the Washi Tape to make a grid. Inside the grid I placed the Bottle Caps using the magnets to apply them to the grid. I wrote student numbers on each of the Bottle Caps. Currently, I only have 15 students in my 5th grade class this year, but I made 20 Bottle Caps. This grid will be used to roll dice for students to win rewards if they have their work turned in for the week. I will make one dice with the letters STARS on it and another dice with the numbers 1-5 on it. I will roll the dice and let's say I roll a purple S and a 2 then the student whose number is in that intersection wins! I haven't come up with all of the prizes, but they will be things like: take your shoes off for the day, sit with a buddy, teacher helper, etc....

The catch is students who have missing work will have to take their numbers off the board until their work is caught up. On Friday I will roll the dice and those students who have all of their work turned in will have a chance to win! They will be able to place their Bottle Cap anywhere on the grid if there is an empty space, that way they are more in control! I'm excited about this, and hopefully this positive reward will motivate students to always have their work done in a timely manner!!

Here is a what my board looks like! The lighting isn't great, and I need to get a better picture, but this is what I have for now. I had to use my phone to take pictures tonight!

This idea was originally from Ms. Fultz and you can see her completed board here! She has awesome ideas, and this was fun to make!

Children's Illustrated Book

I was looking through some of my things and I ran into something I made in my undergrad. This book was made in my Music Methods class. The idea was to take a book that had music with it, and convert it into a picture book for children. The kids in your class can create a book in class using this same idea! Since I found it, I thought I'd share it!! Here are the pictures of the book. Note the cover is made from cardboard and covered with fabric. The pages are legal size and they are stitched into the book.















Hope you enjoy!!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

New Blog Name

Well I have changed my blog name from Bournes Blogging Babble to Mrs. Bourne's Literacy News. Why, the change? Well I wanted the name to fit what I stand for. Babble wasn't really it, and Literacy is. I love READING and anything to do with Literacy. I will be sharing information about great Literacy ideas in the classroom as well as other fun ideas for the classroom. I thought this name would fit me better. I look forward to sharing ideas!

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Friends I have changed my blog name to reflect more of who I am.

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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Decorative Clipboards

I have had a busy weekend...refabbing my not too pretty clipboards! I got the idea from Pinterest and another blogger. The original blog was my inspiration, Literacy Spark. Thanks so much for the idea!!

So I went out to my classroom and I picked up 20 of my clipboards from my classroom. My husband and my son thought I was crazy when I told them what I was about to do, but they thought it was a cool idea. The next day I was off to Hobby Lobby to buy some supplies. I bought scrapbook paper, Exacto Knife, and Designed Scissors. I also needed Mod Podge, but I had some of that on hand. Once I had this I was ready to get started!! Yay!

Here is a picture of some of the clipboards before I started.



The next step was to create a template around the clipping mechanism on the clipboard. Let me tell you it was a pain, and I had to enlist the help from my husband! Once we got that under control I traced the template for the top half of my clipboards. I knew that I wanted two color designs to create a more custom look. After I had the template cut out, I checked it on the board to find out if it fit, and to see if I needed to adjust it anymore. Please make sure you do this, as I usually had to adjust it a bit each time. Once I was comfortable with the fit, I then used a paintbrush and put a coat of Mod Podge on the top half of the clipboard and also on the back of my cut scrapbook paper. Next, I carefully laid the scrapbook paper on the top half of the clipboard, lining it up as I went. I then smoothed out the paper and got out any bubbles using a ruler and a dish towel. I set it off to the side and allowed it to dry. I would wait at least 30 minutes. Below is a picture of what they looked like with half of a design.


Once I got the scrapbook paper and Mod Podge applied to the tops of my clipboards, I was now ready for the bottom half. Next I had to decide the scrapbook paper that I wanted to put with these. I once again had to create a template for the bottom half. I then cut out the scrapbook paper for the bottom half and did the same process as I did above by applying the Mod Podge to the clipboard and to the back of the scrapbook paper. Note: you may want to cut the top half with designer scissors, so you don't have to worry about getting the cut exactly straight. I remembered on some, but forgot on others. Be sure and get all the bubbles out and wipe of any excess Mod Podge.  Now, please set these off to the side and allow to dry again for at least 30 minutes. I waited a bit longer, because we were out running errands. You may also need to take an Exacto Knife and trim the edges of the clipboard. I had to do it on several boards, no matter how good I thought my cuts were going to be.

Once they were dry it was now time to add a layer of Mod Podge to the top of the scrapbook paper. So again I took my paintbrush and I painted on the Mod Podge to the top of the entire clipboard. I let it dry, and then I did the process one more time.



Once the clipboards were completely dry, I was all set and my new refabbed clipboards were ready!! I am so happy with the clipboards as they are bright and happy and will fit into my bright classroom.


Completed Clipboards!
Once I finished my clipboards I ran into another site that had some great ideas on this topic. One thing they suggested to do was to take the clipping hardware off the boards first. They also suggested painting both sides first. I left the backs of my clipboards as is, but paint on the back might have been a good thing to hide the ugly brown. I am happy with what I did, but click here if you want to see the other examples.

I had a ton of fun, but let me tell you this isn't a quick project. However, if you are willing to put in the time you will create some fun clipboards for your organized classroom!

So do you have any ideas to share about other cool ideas in your classroom??

Tammy





Thursday, July 11, 2013

Crazy Week!

Well it's been a crazy week! I started summer school, so I have been extremely busy with that. However, now it's one week down and three weeks to go. The nice thing is we only work 16 days of the 4 weeks. I'm teaching Reading so that has been fun, but I get so frustrated with some of my 5th graders who don't want to read. We have been trying to work on sticking with our books, and staying engaged. It's working for some...but of course not others.

I am headed to Hobby Lobby this weekend to get some supplies! So excited. I've been pinning things on pinterest and I've got some new teacher ideas I want to try. I will be working on a few things including my clipboards. I will post pictures as I get things done. Hopefully, I can do it!!

Tammy

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Daily 5/Cafe Forms

Hey there friends! Here is a link I found today that has a bunch of Daily 5 and Cafe forms. I didn't create this, and I haven't looked at it all, but thought I'd share. Feel free to check it out.

Tammy

Getting the Blogger in me Going!

Well, after 3 days of playing with another blog that I had, I finally had to scratch it because I couldn't get any of the links to work on it. Started from scratch last night and changed my blog from Bournes Blogging Blabber to Bournes Blogging Babble. Not sure exactly what the problem was, but I think it's because I had changed the name from something I had a few years ago that I only used in the classroom. However, once I changed it, I was surprised how I was able to start adding some links!! Now I still have a ways to go, but at least I am on the right track now.

I will be off at baseball today watching my son play, but I will come back tonight to try and get some more kinks worked out of this blog. I've linked the blog to Facebook and to Blog Lovin'! Please follow my page, as I will start putting more information up really soon! Thanks so much!

Tammy

Friday, July 5, 2013

Science Songs!

Okay so I have to give a shout out to a blog I've been following Science Notebooking! I was looking at past posts and I found a great link to a ton of science songs that will help students with science. The science songs are to help Mr. Parr's class learn about science in their 6th grade class. However, I know some of these songs will apply to my 5th grade class and I'm sure others. Check the link here, I'm sure you won't be disappointed! Science Rocks!

Welcome!

Okay, so this is my first attempt at blogging. I have been reading so many wonderful blogs and I wanted to give it a try. This is for sure going to be a rocky road, because I have no idea how all of this works! Hopefully, starting this summer I will learn more about blogging, so I can share some of the fun things that happen in my 5th grade classroom! More later!!!

Tammy

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