Monday Made It (a day late!): Kiss Your Brain

I’m currently enjoying a fabulous family reunion with my dad’s side of the family. We are staying in a gorgeous mansion that was originally built by Mr. Warren. My family is so large that we are occupying both the main house as well as the carriage house. Our days have been spent lounging on the beach, swimming in Lake Michigan, shopping and golfing while our nights begin with delicious dinners and end with games and bon fires on the beach. The house is located right on the lake with over 200 feet of beach frontage. The remote location of the house means cell phone and internet have been nonexistent, thus my tardiness in posting this week’s Made It Monday. I had to drive to a tiny grocery store on the side of Broken Arrow Highway where they are kind enough to let me briefly utilize their internet to post this.

Pinterest is full of different versions of the “Kiss Your Brain” container. When I went about creating my own little version, I wanted it to be something that I could quickly and inexpensively make.

My first stop was Hobby Lobby where I grabbed some scrapbook stickers in the shape of lips as well as colorful alphabet stickers. Then I headed to Target to buy a clear container as well as large bag of Hershey Kisses. All together I got the supplies for less than $20.

The creation of my “Kiss Your Brain” container took less than ten minutes! I simply put the letters on the container to spell out Kiss Your Brain and then added the lips. Finally, I put in a large bag of Hershey Kisses. I found that my container was actually large enough to house two of the Hershey Kiss party bags.

When school begins this coming year I plan to use the “Kiss Your Brain” container as a way to reinforce student participation. Over the years I have come to realize that positive reinforcement of some type encourages students to answer and more fully participate in class. What better way to provide that reinforcement than with chocolate! Plus, I love chocolate and find myself needing the occasional piece so my “Kiss Your Brain” container will surely be put to good use!

Once again I would like to thank Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for allowing me to link up with her for Monday Made It.

Monday Made It: Alaska Chill Out Spot

Have you ever had a student that just needed a moment to “chill out” so that he or she can refocus and turn their day around? I most definitely have had several students of this nature. I saw a post from Made In The Shade In Second Grade about an Alaska Chill Out Spot where she sends her kids when they need a moment to regroup. I took the idea and gave it my own personal twist.

I work at a school that teaches our students the 7 Habits so I knew I wanted to incorporate the Habits into some sort of a chill out spot. As a result I came up with a short poem which I printed on a sheet of dark t-shirt iron-on paper. I then ironed the poem onto a beach chair that I got really cheap at Target.

 

Next I printed another copy of the poem on paper and Mod Podged it onto the top of a container. This container will be stored underneath my Alaska Chill Out Spot chair. Inside of the box I will keep books that students can read while they chill out and regroup. All of the books will be books we have read together as a class and discussed how the 7 Habits are exemplified throughout the books.

 

 

Do you like my version of the Alaska Chill Out Spot? Hop on over to my Katie Can Resources TpT store and download it as a FREEBIE! J

 

Many thanks to Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics for allowing me to link up with her again for her Monday Made It. Take a few minutes to check out what other fabulous bloggers have made!

Monday Made It: Share Chair

I am very excited to link up with 4th Grade Frolics for the very first time for my Monday Made It post.

There are many different versions of the “Share Chair” that can be found on the internet. As I was talking with my friend and colleague, Renee, we decided we wanted to have Share Chairs in our classrooms this coming school year. However, we wanted to make the Share Chair special for each subject we teach.

Renee and I decided that the easiest way to change the chair for each subject we are teaching is to embroider on pieces of fabric the various names we came up with. Once we came up with the names to make the Share Chair special in relation to each subject, we then grabbed some fabric, ribbon, paint brushes and acrylic paint from the craft store. Then we picked up a pair of chairs from Goodwill.

Our first order of business was to sand and then prime our chairs. Once the primer was dry, we unleashed our creativity and literally spent a leisurely day painting.

Since the painting took an entire day and I had to head up north to Michigan for a wedding, Renee graciously volunteered to make the flaps that can be changed based upon the subject we are teaching. Our plan is to make a classroom job that has a student flipping the fabric to the subject we are sharing.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, this Monday Made It project took several days and some help from a fabulous friend. I think it was time well spent. Renee and I cannot wait to have our students use these Share Chairs this coming school year when they are sharing their work with the class!

Before I sign off for the night I want to ask you to take a moment to follow my blog on Bloglovin. Thanks!