Made It Monday and Freebie

It is almost almost Monday and I am having mixed feelings.  I have one official week of summer left, however I can finally get into my classroom and I have LOTS to do!  So my plan is to work hard in my classroom for the first part of the week and then hopefully have Thursday and/or Friday to relish my last day of summer.

Enough about me and my world!  I love blog world on Mondays.  Two of my favorite linkys happen every Monday, Manic Monday and Made-It Monday.  Not only do I enjoy linking up to share, I really love blog stalking hopping to find all of the great things out there.

I have two things to share for Made It Monday this week.

Every year most of us start out with some type of an All About Me poster.  I have done this in the past too, but this year I wanted something different.  I created a template for an All About Me Dodecahedron.  (In case you are wondering what in the heck a dodecahedron is, it is a 12 sided 3D shape.)  I am taking All About Me 3D!  You can get it at my TpT store here.

The students will complete the 12 pages writing and drawing, assemble and then share with one another.  I will hang them in the room for Open House.  I think the students will be so excited to use their new school supplies to make these.  I do think they will take a while to complete, but will be worth it in the end.

My next Monday Made It is a charging station.  Last year, I was lucky enough to have several iPods for the class.  I loved them for the students, but they laid all over my desk while they were charging.  This year I am getting several iPads too and needed a solution for charging.  Here is what I came up with!

It is a small dish drainer I got at the mart for like $7.  I had to bend the wire a little bit and moved the silverware cup to the side.  There is a power strip behind the basket and I wrapped the charger ends around the wire to keep them in place.  It will be perfect and it was cheap too!  Click here to download the labels free.

QR Codes and A Manic Monday Made It

Hello!  I have been busy making things, trainings and getting ready for school.  I have 2 weeks until I go back to work (or should I say getting paid to work!)  My ADHD has me all over the place.  I start something, have another idea and go off on that tangent.  I have so many projects started and not finished.  My goal today and tomorrow is to finish things!  I will try really hard not to start something else but, we will see....

All summer I have been meaning to join in the linky fun with Made It Monday!

I finally finished a project and thought I would share!  I turned these empty Pringles cans into my sharp and need to be sharpened pencil cups.  I have seen similar cups made with paper.  However, why use paper when you can use duck tape!

 

First, use yellow duck tape to cover the can.  I overlapped it to give it more of a pencil look.

Next, I took the pink duck tape and covered the bottom of the container.

 Then, I added the silver duck tape.  (My girls were amazed their dad silver duck tape!)  Then I added the pink for the eraser at the very bottom.

 Now for the pencil tip I used masking tape.  Folding it, I made it into a triangle and then taped it inside the pencil container.  I used black sharpie to add the lead. 

Of course the Pringles can is taller than pencils and falls over easily.  I filled the cans 1/3 of the way with dried beans.  This weighted them down a little and makes it easy to get the pencils out.  These were so easy and turned out super cute.  I am making another set for my daughter's teacher too!

I am excited to share a new idea and project with you that I actually started and finished yesterday! 

This year I am taking our hunt around school for the Gingerbread Man digital!  Not only will this make exploring the school fun, it will also teach the students how to scan and use the codes.  I plan to use QR codes quite a bit this year in class.

The activity includes a rhyming story I wrote to share with the class about the Gingerbread Man coming on a secret mission to visit our class with the Fox hot on his tail!  He is running around school looking for us and will leave clues as he goes.  He doesn't want the Fox to be able to read them, so he will use QR codes.

I will post the Gingerbread Man QR codes all around the school.  For added fun, I will make them a little hard to find. 

We will use and iPad or iPod to scan the codes.  (I haven't decided if I am going to do this whole group or with our buddy class.)  When they scan the code the clue will pop up.  It looks like this.

Would you like to take your Gingerbread Man digital this year?  Good news, I have done all the work for you!  You can purchase this activity at my TpT store.  Just download, print and scan to find the Gingerbread Man!

Now for a Manic Monday Freebie too!  I always start my year off with "all about me".  Here is a template for students to use as they draw their self-portrait.  (Don't forget to save them for their end of the year memory books!)  Click here to grab it free.

Looking for more freebies?  Check out Classroom Freebies for More Manic Monday Freebies!