All For the Love of Teaching: Mid-Winter Break Creations

Well, February break has arrived friends.

A week full of creating, cups of coffee, and pajama-wearing-days is certainly in order!

Even over break, I can't help but think about my kiddos. I have already made a trip to the used book store to shop around for some new additions to my library. My local book store had a awesome deal on all of their books this week! I bought a bunch of books and I was super impressed with their quality and selection.

I find that once your library grows, it can be hard to remember which books you own and which you don't (of course there are some titles that owning more than one copy of is completely justified). Whenever I go on a book-buying binge, I utilize my all-time favorite library inventory app: Book Crawler. The app (available on iOS) allows you to scan the ISBN code right on the back of the book using your iPhone or iPads camera! Talk about simple! Immediately you can choose to add that book to your library. Whenever I am unsure of whether or not I already own a book, I simply pick up my phone and scan away. It tells me if I own the book, what other books I own by that author, and how many copies are already in my library. I LOVE IT! No more wondering, simply scan away!

On another note, all this cold and snow this winter has lead to many indoor recess days. My kiddos have games to play, but they are getting understandably restless. I made them a promise the week before we left for break: If they could show me they could take care of the materials that they have, I would add to their indoor recess inventory! Let me tell you, they did an AWESOME job.

True to my word, I have created a indoor recess bin. I just love that everything fits neatly inside of this plastic crate! I can tuck it inside my cupboards and be sure that it is all in one place. OOOOOH THE ORGANIZATION!

For the outside of the bin, I found this adorable poem on another blog. I plan to read it during our morning meeting on monday when we go back. I'm hoping it really encourages them to clean up after they are done playing. Download this poem by clicking here!

I find that card games are a great way to keep them occupied and sitting down, however the boxes that they come in are constantly being torn up. Don't get my started on how many times I have found an Old Maid card lying on my classroom floor. I took a trip to the Dollar Tree and purchased tiny plastic containers. I bought two sizes to accommodate to the many sized card games. On the outside of the box, I hot glued the front of the package. On the inside, I glued the instructions. This is a simple way to simplify a game. The students simply snap the box closed when they are finished playing. As a side note, I absolutely love the bulky snap handles on the side of these boxes. They are perfect for little hands.