Monday Made It- Daily Five and Burlap

   

     Hey there!  This week's post is actually a combination of some things I've worked on over the last couple of weeks because in reality, I spent the past week helping my parents **begin** to go through, sort, and pack up their house after living their for 20 years.  It's bittersweet as that's the house I pretty much grew up in.

     I've got a mix of things I've made for home and for school this week.

      For school, I had a request to make a Daily Five matching set to go with the Coffee Shop Daily Cafe pack I already have in my TPT store.  That pack includes headings and strategy cards for all of the components of CAFE- comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and expand vocabulary.  In my classroom, I used these like an anchor chart for my students to refer to after each strategy was introduced.  They loved it! It's a play on the CAFE menu metaphor and it really helped my first graders understand what the CAFE menu was because they could compare it to a menu like when they go to a coffee shop or restaurant with their parents. They understood that they could use it as readers like a menu to choose a strategy to try out.

You can click on the pic to check it out.

     So, I created this new Coffee Shop Daily Five Pack.  The Daily Five has some great ideas for how to launch the school year and help build independence in your students.  The Coffee Shop Daily Five pack includes all the basics you need to launch any or all of the Daily Five routines, with cute coffee shop graphics.  Here are a few sample pictures from the pack.  Click on any of the pics below to check it out.

     I also bundled The Daily Five and Cafe packs together so you can purchase them in one large file at a discount.  Check that out here or by clicking on the pictures below.

 

     For home, I got out some burlap and made a few lot of burlap flowers to embellish two plain white lampshades I have in our family room.  I read a few tutorials on Pinterest and then just tried a couple of different methods until I got something that I liked.

     For each flower, I used:

• about a 2 inch white circle of felt 
• a strip of burlap- 
• I found that a little wider strip worked better- about 2 3/4 inches wide. 
• hot glue 

     First I glued down a corner of the burlap in the center of the felt circle.  Then, I folded the strip in half and just began turning it around the circle, putting dabs of glue as I went.  Every so often, I would fold the burlap over and glue it down.  I ended up with something like the this-

    Finally, I glued all of the flowers to the bottom of the lampshade with hot glue.

     I still need to find some rhinestones or something sparkly for the middle of the flowers, but it's much less plain already. :)

     Hope you have a very Happy Monday!

-Jenny

Burlap Banners Monday Made It!

      I'm baaaaack! So, I know I haven't blogged in almost a year (yikes) but I am getting back on track and am so excited to continue as a I begin a new role this coming school year.  Last year, I moved half way across the country, taught a different grade level, bought a house, began updating the house, etc.  It was a busy time.  This year, I will be the literacy instructional coach/reading teacher for our primary grade levels.  I am so pumped to be able to work with the primary grades in such a focused way.  So, please stick with me as I begin yet another new journey.  Oh....I almost forgot.  My time away from the blog also included a trip to Hawaii to kick off my summer break. :) Ah. maze.  ing.

Me at a memorial site for a tidal wave.  The turquoise water was so beautiful.

        Alright, so something you may not know about me is that I have a slight obsession with burlap.  Not because it's trendy, but because it's natural and airy.  I have made a few burlap banners for different holidays to decorate around the house, but I wanted to make one for my new room at school.  To fit my new role, I made a "Read" banner in my favorite color. Although it fits my color scheme, I won't leave it on my mantel. ;)

     It's hard to tell in the pic but I added glitter to the polka dots.  Here's a quick recap of how I did it:

• I cut out a template for the banner pieces with my Silhouette Cameo.  Then I traced it onto my burlap and cut out 6 of them.
• I painted the banner pieces with acrylic paint.  This also helps to seal it so it doesn't continue to fray.  The color is called "Caribbean."  It reminds me of Hawaii- which I know is not in the Caribbean, but you get the idea. :) 
• Next, I cut out letters using my Cameo again so I could stencil them on.
• Once the aqua was dry, I used the hot glue gun to attach them to the twine.  I left a foot on each end to hang it from.
• I cut off any remaining fringe pieces.  Then, I stenciled on the word 'read' using white acrylic paint and my card stock stencils from the Cameo.
• I used a circle foam brush for the polka dots.
• When the dots were still wet, I added glitter.  

    Without drying time, it took me a little over an hour to finish.  Stay tuned to where it ends up in my room as I begin to organize and put it together.  Happy Monday!

-Jenny