Statistics Suits

Here is an interactive bulletin board for upper elementary.  I've spent a lot of time lately looking for ways to help teachers of older students.  I really love it because, although students don't actually move the pieces around on the board, it is an activity for them to complete.  This could easily be transferred to a tri-fold board and brought out as a center activity.  It sure beats those boring worksheets!  The inspiration for this board came from an activity I saw on Pinterest (my latest obsession).  There are lots and lots of activities there and plenty of things to get those creative juices inspired!  See my link on the lower right hand side to see my Pinterest boards.  The items I used on this board are...

• PAC57038-12 - Flame Fadeless 48"X12' Paper
• FST3147 - Black Sassy Solids Border (It's 2-Sided!)
• FST5176 - 5" Bling Letters with Pearls (I didn't use the stick on pearls, but there are endless possibilities for using them elsewhere.)
• TNT3492 - Notebook Paper Chartlet-White
• TS4820 - Jumbo Playing Cards
• CD5415 - Red Calendar Cover Ups
• FX39-525VP - Plastic Gold Coins

The students are to fill out their papers the same way the chart on the board is done for each hand of cards.  The key at the bottom gives the values for the Ace, Jack, Queen, and King.  The hand numbers are some solid calendar cover-ups, but you could print some off to use if you don't have any old ones left over.  I mounted them on some of the left over trimmer and cut them apart (I wanted to make sure they stood out against the red paper.)  The plastic coins are lightweight and I just put them up with Mavalus Tape.  Once again, I'm sorry for the grainy cell phone photo.  I would love to hear any feedback about how your students like this activity!   

Hooked On Helping

I'm always looking for fun ways to make class jobs more exciting!  With this fish themed board, you can make a chore seem like a thrilling activity!  I always like to make fun names for my jobs (see the polka dot job chart), so with this one I incorporated the aquatic theme and here is what I came up with.  Here are the items I used...

• FLP30049BL - Dark Blue Foam Project Board
• CD120041 - Fish/Bowl Cutout Buddies 
• T436 - 2" White Casual Letters (I used a blue highlighter to draw waves on the bottom half of the letters, making them look like they go with the theme.)

And for those who are interested, here are the job titles I used...

• Flag Flounder
• Office Octopus
• Calendar Crab
• Table Tuna
• Lights Lanternfish
• Board Barracudas
• Papers Plankton
• Line Lobsters
• Supplies Sharks
• Attendance Angelfish
• Eraser Eel
• Pets Pufferfish
• Lunch Lionfish
• Computer Clam
• Sink Stingray
• Plants Piranha

I hope you enjoy this job chart and your students complete their tasks swimmingly!  :)

Back to School "Fur"-enzy

This year it seems as if Monsters and Furry Friends were all the rage!  There were so many cute items out there and creating a theme around it was a cinch! If you were one of those teachers on top of trends this year and you need an idea for Back to School, check this one out!  Here are the products I used...

• PAC57178 - Brite Blue 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• T92341 - Pink and Green Wave Striped Trimmer
• T79801 - 4" Furry Friends Combo Letters
• T8312 - Big Furry Friends Characters BBS (I layered them on the right hand side of the board)
• T8313 - Furry Friends Clubhouse BBS
• T8314 - Furry Friends Seasonal Fence BBS

The coolest thing about the Clubhouse and the Fence Bulletin Board Sets is that you can adjust them to fit the size of your board.  I have an unusually large board to fill, so perhaps you only need one set to fill your board. If your board isn't as tall or as long as mine, don't fret, there are several photo layouts shown on the inserts included with these 2 sets showing you the different ways you can assemble them to fit the size board you have!  That is one reason I especially like them!  I hope your year is FURtastic!  :)

Barrel of Monkeys

Who wouldn't love a barrel of monkeys?  Well, maybe stuffed monkeys would be a little less crazy. If you are doing a monkey/jungle theme or if you're looking for a way to decorate a hallway wall or maybe even the outside of your door...then this board is for you!  
I actually made a "barrel" out of a tri-fold board and attached it to the wall.  All it took was a little trimming...I cut about 5" off each side (mostly because I didn't want it to stick out from the wall too far), but if you have room then that isn't even necessary.  Then I covered it with the weathered wood paper, I taped a long flat box (like you would use to store things under a bed) in between the board and the wall.  This adhered it and also made it really sturdy (I covered it in the wood paper too, just in case anyone looked down inside).  You may have a better idea for how to attach this, but I improvised with what was available to me at the time.  :)  In order to make the monkeys sitting on the edge of the barrel sturdy, I attached the top half of a  popsicle stick to the back of the monkey and the other half to the back of the tri-fold.  This made them stand up straighter and kept them from falling.  I also used the banana cutouts as my "trimmer."  This allowed me to cover up those yucky crooked cutting edges on the side of the board.  Here is the full list of what I used...

• PAC56888 - Bamboo 48"X12' Fadeless Paper 
• T16009 - Banana Cutouts
• PAC56518 - Weathered Wood 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• A Tri-Fold Display Board in any color (White is usually cheapest, you'll be covering it so color is not important.)
• T8201 - Monkey Mischief BBS
• T79743 - 4" Yellow Playful Letters

This board was inspired by a bookmark from Trend Enterprises.  They are also the makers of the cute monkey bulletin board set!

Juicy Geometry

Of all the areas of math that there are to be explored, I must say Geometry is my absolute favorite!  It's the only math I ever got an A in, so when a friend approached me about doing a geometry game to help teach the basics I jumped at the chance!  In this game students are to match 2 cards to each pocket.  One card shows a picture of the word on the pocket, like an angle for example.  The other card has a definition of the word on it.  Students must master the vocabulary and know what the definition looks like drawn out in order to complete this game.  A large pocket could be attached to the back of the board with a worksheet inside, testing the student's mastery of these concepts.  It would be turned in upon completion of the game!  Here are the items I used...

• FLP30045LB - 3X4 Light Blue Project Board (I cut mine in half. Then you get  2 games for the price of one board!)
• CTP2663 - Playful Patterns Trimmer
• CTP4190 - 2" Dots on Black Uppercase Letter Stickers 
• CTP6918 - Poppin' Patterns Library Pockets
• HYG43317 - Pocket Chart Cards-Assorted Colors (Used these on the front of the pockets.)
• TNT3512 - Blank Assorted Flash Cards (I cut these down and used them as the cards that go in the pockets.)
• CTP5933 - Poppin Patterns Mini Dots Cutouts 

I hope this board creates a fun new way to look at Math!  

Birthday's Are "Cool"

Have you been looking for a "cool" way liven up your birthday display?  Why not try Ice Cream Cones?  On this board I used the Cut Out Buddies from Carson Dellosa.  The cones and scoops come separate, which is nice because it doesn't require you to take the extra step of cutting them apart.  I wrote the month names on the cones and the student's names and the day of their birth on the scoops.  It turned out really cute.  Just be careful to plan your placement of the cones ahead before you attach them, because if you have a cone with several scoops, then you will have to adjust everything so it will all fit!  Have fun!  Here are the products I used...

• FLP30045PK - 3x4 Project Board (I used Pink, but any other color would work too.)
• CTP6472 - Blue Sprinkles Border
• CTP6577 - 4" Sprinkles Letters
• CD120045 - Ice Cream/Cones Cut Out Buddies

That's all you need!

My Camera Went to Heaven

It is very, very sad for me to report that my camera went to live with Jesus.  :(  I have lots and lots of new boards and ideas to share with you, but have had no way to do so!  My camera died in the gift shop bathroom at the Jordan River Baptismal Site in Israel.  I was changing clothes and dropped him.  I guess that would be the best place for a camera to die right?  But not so great for me and not so great for you, who have been so kind to follow my little blog!  I missed out on plenty of photo ops in Israel, but thankfully many of the group with me shared theirs!  
I have waited and waited hoping to save enough money to buy a new camera, but I have waited long enough and really need to update before I forget about these ideas.  That said, I am going to post new entries...but the photos are from my smart phone camera.  Some of them are grainy and a little shotty.  I'm sorry for that.  Hopefully, I can get better shots soon...anyone have a camera they wanna loan me?  Haha.  At any rate, I post all this to say that more ideas are coming and I'm sorry for the quality of the photos!  I hope you like all that I have been doing!  Blessings to you friends!