Friday, May 25, 2012

Cheap End of the Year Student Gifts!

I gave each of my students this sand pail filled with goodies for their end of the year gift.  It only cost me a total of $22.00!!  I got each sand pail for a dollar from Dollar Tree.  The rest of the items I put in each pail are items that I had extra of or rewards from the school.  I used a Sharpie marker to write their name on each pail.



Here is some of the things I had in each pail and some additional ideas I have done in the past:

  • Extra supplies or supplies the students can take home such as glue, scissors, markers, expo markers, crayons, paint sets, rulers, spiral notebooks, etc.
  • Award Certificates
  • Birthday bags for students that have summer birthdays
  • Extra Workbooks (great for practicing those skills over the summer!)
  • Coloring/Activity Books
  • AR Rewards such as T-shirt, chain necklace, etc.
My students LOVED receiving these pails and I didn't have to spend a lot of money out of my pocket for them.  :)


Friday, May 18, 2012

Making Your Own Alphabet Strip


I searched all over the internet and every store I could think of for a cowboy themed alphabet strip.  I could not find one, so needless to say I made my own!  This is a super easy way to make an alphabet strip for your classroom to meet any theme you need!

First, I found computer paper that had the theme I was looking for.  I found this bandana themed paper at Hobby Lobby.  If you can’t find computer paper that works for your theme, you could also use scrapbook paper!

Next, I laminated and cut each paper.

Then, I took the existing alphabet strip that I had and cut the pictures off.  I also added the green start dots and handwriting strokes to each letter.


I purchased this alphabet strip from Mardels.
CLICK HERE to view alphabet strip online.


Finally, I hung the paper first, and then I hung the letters over the paper.  I didn’t laminate the paper with the letter already on top of it because I didn’t think the lamination would stick since the alphabet paper was thick.

Here is the final project!  I wanted a cowboy themed alphabet strip because I am using it as an outlaw word wall.