The Amazing Binder Clip

I'm a little OCD when it comes to school supplies (what teacher isn't!!) and one of the tools I like to hoard is binder clips.  I looked through my carefully organized drawer of binder clips (in 5 different sizes and 4 colors) and tried to figure out some ways I could use them up!  Here's a few ideas that I came up with that really helped me get some spaces more organized!

 We have a station for charging all our devices, but the cords keep falling down, so if you clip a binder clip on a desk or shelf, you can feed those little cords right through them (and for the small ones, clip them on with a smaller binder clip to the large clip) and they won't fall down anymore! This also keeps them super untangled!

 I love to read chapter books (this one is from the Magic Tree House series), but I often lose my place.  Not anymore!  Just pop a small binder clip on and never lose your place again!

 How many of these tiered folder holders do you have?  I've got three! One sits just to the right of my desk, close enough for me to see from my computer screen and phone.  I clip the staff directory/roster here and I always have every classroom extension number handy--and I can't lose it this way! 

 I also have a set of wire shelves next to my desk holding all my teacher books, but the little trinkets and bracelets that my sweet students give me often fall through the shelves, so enter the binder clip! I can clip one on the side of the shelf, hold their sweet gifts and hold up other important papers as well!

 How many of you have LOTS of little scrap papers floating around on your desk? They need a home, but not in a drawer? Yeah, me too! Use a large binder clip to act as a giant paper clip, and as a bonus, it will stand up on its own! 

 I use binder clips to display student work in the hallway too! Makes it super simple to change out their work (so easy they can do it!) and holds it on firmly attached! Much better than clothes pins!

We have a computer program that requires us to have a separate user name and log in for each student.  You can see how beat up these papers are and we are only 1/2 through the year! So by using a binder clip and hanging it from a Command Hook, we can keep them together for longer and they won't get lost!

 

 Short on space in your classroom? I have curtains up over all my open bookcases to help cut down on the clutter you see, but to also keep my kids with sensory needs happy. :)  You can use binder clips to clip on large charts and other student work to the front of them to make better use of your space!

 I just discovered this idea and I LOVE it! I have paper lanterns and lots of other student work hanging from my ceiling, but the old paper clips and strings keep falling out of the ceiling tiles.  So, by tying a string to the handle part of the binder clip, you can clip them to the drop ceiling tiles and they aren't going anywhere! :)

 

A few years ago, I switched from making labels for student mailboxes each year to using binder clips.  BEST DECISION EVER! Once my students put their mail in their mailboxes, we couldn't see their names any more, so by using binder clips, we can ALWAYS see their names and know where to put their items. :)

I hope you found a new idea or two that you can use your stash of binder clips for--or maybe you're rushing out the door to buy a big box? 

Come visit me over at Kristen's Kindergarten!

Retelling Bracelets

Hi Everyone! I'm Kristen from Kristen's Kindergarten back with an easy way for your students to practice story or song retelling at home!

I love for my students to be able to share what they learned at school with their families.  Sometimes when my students are sharing with their families, they end up giving their family members some new knowledge!  

I have my students make a variety of retelling bracelets throughout the school year.  They are inexpensive to make; you just need pony beads and pipe cleaners and I stock up on both throughout the year when they go on sale at Michael's. 

There are a variety of retelling bracelets out there:

 

This is a bracelet we use to retell the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly.

Clear bead = egg

Black Bead = caterpillar head

Yellow Beads = caterpillar body

Green Beads = chrysalis

Butterfly (or orange bead) = butterfly

 I also make them to retell the pumpkin cycle, the Little Red Hen, the water cycle, the gingerbread man, and many more!

 

There are MANY more ideas out there!  I get lots of them from Making Learning Fun.  (Just scroll down a bit to see them!)

Dr. Jean also has lots of them:

 

She's got one for Thanksgiving that will help your students retell the story of Thanksgiving too!!

I love that these bracelets are easy for my students to put together and even easier for them to take home to share their learning.

When we make bracelets, I usually place each color of bead in a separate container labeled with the quantity needed of that color and what it represents.  I set those containers up on a table and my students work cafeteria style down the containers, taking the beads that they need and placing them in the correct order on their pipe cleaner.
I meet them at the end to twist the ends together. 
We then either work on a song, poem, or retelling of a story and use the bracelets to help us.

I hope you'll give these bracelets a try! 

Click on my signature to come visit my blog for more great ideas!! :)

Reken-What?

Hey Everyone! I'm Kristen from Kristen's Kindergarten and I'm excited to share an exciting math tool with you today! Rekenrek's (wreck-en-wreck) have been around for many years and I was finally able to take a math workshop to learn more about how to use them with my Kinders.  

I figured out a way to make them for about $20 (for my whole class!)

 All you need are a few simple materials to make a class set of rekenreks.

I got all my materials from Michael's

• Adhesive Foam Sheets (6 x 9 size) 30 pack
• Black Pipe Cleaners
• Red pony beads
• White pony beads
• Poster board (2-3 sheets)

          You will also need: 

• Scissors or Exacto knife
• marker
• Self healing cutting mat
• Ruler

 Begin by turning your foam sheet over and measuring in 1 inch on all sides.  I drew this on the back side so it will not show in my finished rekenrek.

Using a self healing cutting mat, carefully score the lines with a pair of scissors or Exacto knife.

Push your scissors gently into the foam and cut on your score lines.

Take 2 pipe cleaners and trim them to fit just inside your foam mat.  Mine are just over 8 1/2 inches.

Thread 5 red and 5 white beads on to each pipe cleaner.

Peel off the backing to your foam mat and stick the pipe cleaners to it.  I press one end of the pipe cleaner down firmly and then stretch the other end, keeping it as straight as I can before pressing it down.

Stick the adhesive side of your mat to a sheet of poster board.  I  stuck mine in the corner to make it easier to trim.

You're rekenrek is finished! Be sure to press the mat down firmly to the poster board, paying special attention to the areas around the pipe cleaners. 

Rekenreks are great for helping your kiddos to see numbers in different combinations.  Even my Kinders can show ways to make numbers to 10 using both racks on the rekenrek.  Below you can see one of the ways to make 5.

Later in the year we can use both rows to show numbers to 20 and all the different ways to make that number.  

This is a great book to help you get started with Ten Frames and Rekenreks.

Rekenreks are quick and easy to make and will truly help develop your kiddos understanding of numbers!

Visit me at my blog:

 

Kristen's Kindergarten

Simple Science

Hi Everyone! I'm Kristen and I'm excited to be sharing some simple science ideas with you today!  I am a BIG fan of Science in the early childhood classroom (K-2).  In this day and age, Science is often the first thing to get booted out of our busy schedules, but I find it so easy to incorporate and it fits in with so many subject areas!  I recently presented a session at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference in Chicago and thought I would share a few ideas with you!

I love to start out my Science units with a great piece of literature; but if you don't have a copy of these, substitute your own!

This idea is all about camouflage! I like to read this book first:

 Then I pass out squares of fabric (I got these at Jo-Ann's and they are precut fat quarters for quilting--so no cutting necessary!) and a variety of plastic bugs/amphibians purchased from the Dollar Tree.  The children work with the plastic critters to find the best camouflage for each one!  As an extension, the children get a critter cut out (fish, butterflies, etc.) and try to camouflage it in the classroom.

My students are always amazed that on a days when we have a rainy morning, the puddles are gone by our sunny afternoon recess.  They love learning about the water cycle and how a drop of water travels.  

I start out with a book about the water cycle:

Then, we do this activity.  I have pony beads in several different colors and location cards that show the different places a drop of water can travel (dirt, plants, animals, pond, lake, cloud, etc.).  The children roll the die; pretending they are a drop of water, to determine where their droplet will travel.  Each time they visit a station, they place one of the pony beads on a pipe cleaner to form a water droplet travel bracelet. They keep rolling the die until you tell them to stop.

 

This last idea, is one of my favorite! My Kinders and I do a big study each year about the Monarch Butterfly.  I read any one of my favorite Monarch life cycle books and then we make these life cycle bracelets.  I place the pony beads in plastic containers so the children can walk down both sides of the containers as they make their bracelets. I label each container with what part of the life cycle it contains and how many of that bead the child needs to take and add to their pipe cleaner.

I get all my pony beads at Michael's or Jo-Ann's and use my 40% of coupon, wait until they are on sale, or use my teacher discount card.  I also always buy the largest bag possible because I won't have to buy that color again for a long time! :) 

You can get the handouts from my session here.  They contain all the directions for the two bracelets as well as some songs and other ideas for teaching Simple Science in your classroom!

I hope you'll try some of these ideas in your classroom! Follow my blog for more Simple Science ideas!

Making every moment count...

Hi everyone! This is Kristen from Kristen's Kindergarten. I'm super excited to be sharing for the first time here on the Who's Who blog!

 

I don't know about you, but sometimes I find myself so overwhelmed at the end of the day, that I don't know what I need to get done before I go home.  So I decided to create something to keep myself on track.

 I made these cards, one for each day of the week, so in the moments when I am overwhelmed or can't get my tired teacher brain to think straight, I can see what I absolutely need to do before I go home for the day.  These cards are a little bigger than 5x6, so they will be difficult to lose and I laminated them because not only are they items that need to be done each week, but if I think of more things I need to add, I can add them with a Sharpie. I can also cross items off when I'm done!

 I am lucky enough that my son, niece, and nephew all attend my school and they often have some time before school starts each morning and I offer them jobs to do.  I created a card for them, so they know what they can do to help me get ready for the day.  Another plus of laminating them is that they can cross the items off the list as they finish them.  I can leave this card with my 10 year old while I am at one of our morning meetings and he will know what I need for him to do to help his mom. :)

 I plan on punching a hole in the top left corner and putting a ring through them so that I can keep all 5 cards together.  I think of them as portable to-do lists! I am a list maker by nature, sometimes just so I can cross things off--its a great sense of accomplishment to see your list get shorter! 

I also used cards like this when I have a student teacher.  These are a great tool to give to them so they know what they need to finish before they can leave for the day too.  

You can head to my TPT store if you'd like to see more of my products! :)

Thanks for reading!