1-2-3 Come Make A Back To School Icebreaker With Me

"It's 'owl' About Me" is an easy and fun activity that help your new students learn about each other.  Completed projects also make a cute bulletin board.  If your boards are already filled, use these as a boarder on a hallway wall for an eye-catching display.

I LOVE owls, and by the looks of items available in stores, and PINS on Pinterest, I guess I'm certainly not alone.  The word "owl" can be used for a variety of word plays, such as this  "Owl" (all) about me activity.

Run off the template on white construction paper.  Have students answer the numbered questions, by putting their short answers in the matching numbered areas of the books. The questions appear on the template.

Students color and cut out their owl, and share it with their classmates.  Collect them and scatter across a bulletin board. I've included a large owl, with the questions inside, for you to use as the center of your board.

I like to use bright-colored material, burlap, or pin-dot wrapping paper as alternatives to plain b. board paper. 

To add more pizzazz to your students' work, give them wiggle eyes and a photo to glue to their creation.  Click on the link to view/download the It's Owl About Me Icebreaker.

Thanks for visiting today.  As always feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful. My "Pin it" button is at the top.  If you'd like to see all of the other wonderful educational things that I PIN, simply click on the "Follow me" heart to the right.

"When a person points a finger at someone else. they should remember that 3 are pointing back at them." -Louis Nizer

1-2-3 Come Make A Class Family Tree With Me!

Going to school can sometimes cause separation anxiety in young children; this doesn’t just happen to “first timers” who have never been to school.  No matter what the grade, students often miss their families at some point during the day. Sometimes all it takes to comfort a lonely child, is to look at a photograph of their loved ones.

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to decorate a class family tree, where children could go to catch a glimpse of mom, dad, siblings and even pets.

You can include the instructions and leaf in your summer letter, or open house packet, or you can wait, and allow students a color choice and then send the leaf and note home on their first day of school.

Run off the maple leaf template, on a large variety of colors of construction paper.  Make only 2 of every color, to avoid a mostly pink and purple tree, due to the fact that little girls are very likely to choose only those 2 colors.  By offering weird color choices for leaves, you will get a whimsical and very colorful tree, that won't look out of place when fall is over.

Run off copies of the instruction letter asking parents to please take a picture of their family, including pets. They will also glue the photo to their leaf and cut it out.  Children fill in the blank with their name.  i.e. Kelli's family.

Write in a due date for the leaves, as students will be showing and sharing them with their classmates, and then putting their leaf on your big family tree. A good place to put your tree is on a wall in the hallway.

Use brown bulletin board paper, or butcher block paper to make your tree.  I liked to make my trees flat, but I've also seen teachers make trees by twisting paper, for a 3D effect.  Cut out a large red paper heart and glue the "Our Class Family Tree" sign on it.  You could also diecut letters to spell: "Come and see, our class family tree!"

I hope you and your students enjoy this back to school activity and that it helps alleviate those first-day blues. Click on the link to view/download the Class Family Tree packet.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.  My "Pin it" button is at the top.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the other wonderful educational items I PIN, simply click on the "Follow me" heart button to the right.

Sign on a high school bulletin board in Dallas: "FREE knowlege every Monday through Friday; bring your own container."

1-2-3 Come Make A Back-To-School Treat With Me!

Are you looking for an inexpensive little something to give your students as a welcome treat on the first day of school?

You've come to the right place.

I've designed several money templates that you might enjoy: A "You're going to have a grand time in (grade)" and "Welcome to school. You're worth a million!" that make sweet bookmarks.

The US never created a million dollar bill, but some novelty shops sell them for gag gifts.

They feature everything from The Statue of Liberty, to various presidents and even Betty Boop!)

There was however, a real thousand dollar bill (featuring Grover Cleveland).

The largest bill the government ever made was for 100 thousand dollars (featuring Woodrow Wilson).

Whenever I'm designing something, I love doing a little research. I found an excellent article telling the stories behind large-denominaton currency. Click on the link to learn some fascinating facts.

How To Make A Back-To-School Bookmark:

Print a copy of the template of your choice. I've made one for every grade from preschool to high school.

Trim a photo of yourself so that it fits into the oval. Run the template off on light green construction paper.

If you want, buy a 100 Grand candy bar for each child and include that as an extra special TAKE IT HOME treat.

You can also wait, and take a first-day photo of each student.

To make cutting ovals of student photos quick and easy, make an oval template by printing off mine.

Trim and then trace onto a sheet of clear contact paper, lamination scrap or overhead projector paper, and trim.

You can now place the clear oval on your students’ pix, trace and cut out.

Run off the blank money template on green construction paper. 

Print, trim and glue their photo inside the oval.  Laminate the page to make a bookmark that's sure to become a special keepsake.

You may want to make extra copies and turn this into a back-to-school bulletin board.

Die cut black and green letters to say: "We’re having a grand time in (grade)." Alternate the letters in an ABAB color pattern.  A yellow background will really make your board pop.

Click on the link for the Back-to-school money bookmark templates.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find helpful. My "Pin it" button is at the top.

"We are all capable of climbing so much higher than we usually permit ourselves to suppose." -Octavia Butler