Third Quarter Bulletin Boards

Here are some of my third quarter bulletin boards:

I made this poster on Word and had it enlarged to 24x36.  I will post a PDF as soon as school starts up after the New Year.  It's saved on my work computer :)

I made this one because I noticed kiddos having problems remembering which program was which.  Here's the PDF of these posters.  They are enlarged to 18x24.

 The "i statements" are borrowed from somewhere on the net.  I reused the apps from my first quarter iPod.  You can find the PDF to those under that post.

This one is from last year.  I made new letters because I hated the old ones and put this in the laptop lab.

I have a few other bulletin boards that haven't finished or haven't photographed.  I will update when I get those finished!

Have a fun and fantastic Holiday Break!

Updated Type to Learn Bulletin Board

Here is the updated photo with ALL the leaves to date.

It's a bit crowded.  The kids are farther along than I had thought, which is great, but WHOA there are a ton of leaves!  You can see I ended up taking off the super cute, matchy-matchy border and adding leaves around the edges.  I filled out the tree and have made piles.

Fortunately, we have one full week of typing left to add to the tree.  I will probably make the piles bigger.  There is some space on one side of the bulletin board that I may take and pound up the leaves.  Right now it's messy looking and I prefer things to be neat, visually.  (Don't look in my closets. Behind closed doors. . . I'm a pig.)

I am very, very glad the kids are enjoying this project.  Even on the days I have the games turned on, most are opting to do the lesson and final challenge so they can put up another leaf.

Ongoing Tree Leaf Typing Bulletin Board

I changed out the bulletin board in the hall.  It measures five yards long. . . that's fifteen feet of board I need to decorate!

The background is green fabric and the border is from my hoard.

The trunk was cut out from the butcher paper.  I used some acrylic paint and schmered it around to create some texture.  The trunk was free-handed.  I have no artistic ability, trust me!  I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut.  The leaves hide most of it so it isn't a big deal that it's not perfect.

I cut out round shapes of different fall colors to put on the tree so it didn't look weird as I was filling it.  Turns out I didn't really need those!  You can see them peeking through at the top.  It also helps add color so that you don't see the background in places I didn't get the leaves close enough together.

The leaves are die cut out of the school's construction paper.

We use the program TYPE TO LEARN at our school.  Every time the students complete a Final Challenge and move on to the next level, they write their name on a leaf and it is stapled to the board.  I am surprised at how many leaves I have. . . I haven't had half of the students do leaves yet.  I would bet that I get as many, if not more, next week.  I may have to make piles of leaves!

Since this is an ongoing project, I wrote a blurb and stapled it to the bulletin board explaining this.

This bulletin board will stay up for a month.  I will pull it down right before the Holiday break in December.  I will probably recruit some students to help pull down the hundreds of leaves!!

This is really a huge bulletin board so I needed something big for the wall.  This works nicely!

Proud To Be An American Letters

I have been given the daunting task to make a backdrop for our school's Veterans Day assembly.  This is one of the many reasons I love our school.  Our principal is uber patriotic and every year he invites the students' Veteran family members to come to an assembly and be honored.  It is always a rousing success and every year he does something a little different so the assembly doesn't get boring.

This year there will be a reception prior to the assembly.  My job is to make a backdrop for a wall.  This doesn't sound too hard. . . except the Vets will be having a group photo taken in front of the wall - by me.  This means 1) the wall will be immortalized and 2) I better brush up on my photography skills.  The whole thing makes me nervous.

I will deal with #2 by taking at least fifty photographs, adjusting settings (the pre-set ones. . . I am pretty sure I will ruin the camera if I get creative), and praying.  Hard.  I may attend a weekday service in addition to Sunday Mass just to make sure my bases are covered.

Number one is still in the works.  I had a vision of some simple stars and strips with "Proud to be an American" across the top.  I decided to do the letters yesterday and they came out well.  Actually, they came out too good.  My simple stars and stripes will look really bad next to them.

You get the idea.

These were a pain in the butt to figure out how to make.  I spent too much time in Word 2010 KNOWING that I could do it there.  I couldn't. 

Here's how to fill your letters with a picture or clip art.  There is probably a better way.  I don't know it.  This is how I did it.  If you know a better way, more power to ya. 

Open up a PowerPoint Slideshow.

Click on the Design Tab (RED), Then Page Set up (BLUE) and adjust your slide size to the page size you will be using.  My letters were HUGE so I changed mine to 11x17.

Next step:  Add Word Art.

Insert Tab (Red), Word Art (Blue) and pick the first option (Green).

I like to type my letters, then highlight them but you can change this setting before you type.  Either way works.

Highlight your letter (if you are doing that. . . Red arrow)
Click on Home Tab (Blue)
Adjust your font and size (Green)

Now go to the design tab (red)
Text Fill (Blue)
Texture (green)
More Textures (Purple)

Click Picture or Texture Fill (Red)
Clip Art (Blue)
Insert what you are looking for and click GO (Green)
Choose your option, click OK.

There you have it!  You can adjust your outline while you are in the previous menu (before clicking OK, click TEXT OUTLINE and OUTLINE STYLE).

To be able to print them, I saved them as individual jpegs.  Photos tend to print out nicer and, truth be told, it was easier for me.  That's why I did it.

Click the FILE tab.  Choose SAVE AS.  Click SAVE AS TYPE (RED ARROW).

 Choose the JPEG File Interchange Format.  It will ask you questions like "For current slide or all slides".  Pick what you need.  I usually do all slides. . . it saves all individual slides as individual pictures.

Print out as a photo.  I sent mine to the UPS store and paid fifty cents apiece to have them printed out.  I laminated them on the school's laminating machine and cut them out. The result:  Letters that are WAY too nice for what I had intended on doing.  Unfortunately, this means I have to take it up a notch or two!

Update:  I showed my husband my letters and he said that I should put the flags of the five different armed forces on the wall.  I found them online for $6 apiece and bought all five.  It was PERFECT!  My husband is ex-Air Force so we always fly the American Flag at our house.  We now own the Armed Forces flags to put up on Memorial Day, Flag Day, D Day, Pearl Harbor Day and Veterans Day.   I'm sure there are a few others and I'm sure we will be proudly displaying our flags on those days, too!

Second Quarter Bulletin Boards

Second quarter is right around the corner for us in the Kansas City area!  I found some time this week and changed my bulletin boards up.  Here's what I came up with:

These are two posters I made and sent to our digital department to blow up to poster size.  Here it is: SHORTCUTS.  As always, please don't sell these.  It's my work.  For the time being I am offering it free.  I will eventually put them up for sale so take advantage while you can!

I also made the poster for this bulletin board.  I got the idea online. . .

I made it in Word and had it printed out.  I will include the link later. . . it's not on this computer!

This bulletin board is made up of some pre-fab insects I made mean. . . I posted earlier about it.  The link to the different kinds of bugs is HERE.

The font is super cute.  I got it from 1001 free fonts.  I think it's called "Bugs Life".

I reused the iPod I made for last quarter.  I was actually really lazy and just stapled the new Apps up over the old ones.  The font is Ravi- I think it's a standard Word font.  I just outlined it, printed it on colored paper, glued it to black paper, laminated it and cut around it.

This board is in the hall.  I will take it down next month and put another one up. . . I try to do the hallway board more often.  I had some of the braver teachers take a typing test (www.typingtest.com) and give me their WPM.  I took photos of them doing something silly while typing. . . one teacher is using Hulk Hands, another is pretending to sleep.  I posted their WPM on their photo.  The great thing about this is that some teachers are very fast and others are not. . . it gives the kids something to work for.  Kind of cool!

This is my big board in the room.  This took a bunch of black bulletin board paper and four packs of colored paper that I bought for half off at Michaels.  (I paid $8 for all the paper and had a ton leftover).  In case you are in an area of the world that doesn't play Minecraft, that's what this is!  I had my kids help me and we had a fun Saturday night fixing this up.

My daughter says I need a gamer tag.  I may do that. . .

This was pretty easy to do, it just took patience.  If I did it again I would not leave the black spaces between the brown on the ground.

The font was found online for free.  It's called Minecrafter.  Here's the deal on this.  I downloaded it, free, but ended up with two viruses that took me an entire Sunday to get rid of.  I was honestly surprised when I still ended up with the font!  Download with care.  I don't know if it was my computer, my connection, the site I found it on or what.  I just know it was a pain in the butt.

This bulletin board is HUGE!  It takes up an entire wall.

I also changed my computer numbers out.  I use the pre-fab calendar numbers that you get at a teacher store.  I laminate them and change them every month (or season, depending on how lazy I am).  I tried using the tacky strip stuff, then used the special restick stuff.  I now use masking tape.  It's cheap and it works.

I am ready for second quarter!

The Dot System

At our school, classes earn scores for behavior during the specialist classes.  Classroom teachers give incentives based on these scores.

A three is the best.  Classes can earn a three, two or one.

I use a dot system.  I like the idea of classes seeing where they are at.

I give a warning to the class and then I "pull a dot."  They have one more chance to keep a three in my class.  After both three dots have been pulled, they earn a two or a one, depending on what score is left up.

I do not let the students earn back their dots.  I tell the classes that good behavior at the end of class is appreciated but it doesn't excuse bad behavior at the beginning.

I made the dots by cutting out the shapes with my sizzix machine from mat board.  Mat board is very thick and durable and will last years.  You can purchase small pieces of uncut mat board for under a dollar at craft and framing stores.  I hot glued a magnet to the back of the dots.  You can use an Xacto knife to cut mat board if you don't have access to a die cut machine. 

New Blog Title and Addy

Thank you, thank you all for the great comments and feedback.

I recently had someone tell me that I should change my blog title so that people knew it was a resource for Elementary Computer Teachers.  I thought that was a good idea.

I thought and thought and came up with some catchy and pun-ny titles.  They were all taken.

I thought some more.  Those were taken, too.

I finally came up with this one. 

Teach the Bits and Bytes.

I figure it will be understood by those that have anything to do with computers.  Those that don't. . . you're still welcome!  I think a lot of these ideas would translate well into a grade level classroom.

Thanks for all the support so far!  I'm loving it!

~jennifer~

Word Cloud Update

I've had a bunch of requests for the PDF for the word cloud.  Here it is!!!

I made it in Word using text boxes.  I just changed the fonts (1001 free fonts dot com) and flipped some around.

Thanks for all the compliments!
~jennifer~

Making Frames

I'm getting my room ready for the beginning of the new school year and I wanted to frame some of the school posters that we are required to have up.

Frames are hideously expensive.

I hit Home Depot and bought some 3 foot popular boards in 1/4 inch thickness.  These are very thin and light.

I measured the poster with the wood.  It's very non-exact.

I cut them and used some liquid nails between the "seams".  To strengthen them, I also glued some ribbon on to the back.

When done, I spray painted it.

Since my poster was laminated already, I stapled it to my wall and used the Command picture hanging strips on my frame.  I stuck it on the wall over the poster.

Done!  Looks great and really dresses up the poster. 

Bulletin Board Updates

I've put links to the PDFs of a lot of the bulletin boards I made this fall.  It's updated!

Please remember that this is my work so please don't sell it!

Enjoy!

First Quarter Bulletin Boards

School starts in LESS THAN A WEEK .  I don't feel ready, but my room is!  I am a firm believer in appearing organized, no matter how unorganized you are behind the scenes.  No one will know!

Here's a preview of my bulletin boards this quarter.  I've got a few of the PDFs up on here. . . they're free, my friends!  I will eventually start a shop on the Teachers Pay Teacher's site but, until I get off my duff, you can get them free! (As always, please don't sell this stuff.  It's my work and the ideas may be mine or I may have taken inspiration from someone else.  It's not fair to me an not fair to them if you sell it.)

This is my word cloud.  I took some time and made it in Word.  I sent it to our copy shop to enlarge. 

WORD CLOUD

This is my version of the class rules this year.   I will probably have one other version of my rules and rotate them through the years.  CLASS RULES

I have some HUGE walls with no real bulletin boards.  I end up stapling the borders directly to the wall and creating my own bulletin boards.  This one is on one half of my big wall. CURSOR(1)  CURSOR(2)

This is the second half of my big wall.  Close ups below. . .  (PDFs available!!).  The Mouse Control one is a little different than what I printed. . . notice my mistake?  The last one should say OPEN instead of Select.  I fixed it in the download I put below the posters and fixed it on my wall.  That's what I get for not proofreading close enough!

SAVE OR SAVE AS
MOUSE CONTROL
 My other big wall has my all time favorite bulletin board on it.  This is my shortcut tree!

And close ups of this. . . .

 

Our school plays host to a family of barn owls every summer so I added an owl to our tree.

 The nest was printed as black and white on brown cardstock.  I used a nest clipart from Word.

This big ol' board is on the wall outside my lab.  This was the easiest of all because I used pieces from a few different pre-fab bulletin boards.  

This massive one is in the laptop lab.  It takes up an entire wall.  I have PDFs of the companies and their blurb for you!  MADE IN AMERICA

I researched the companies and put pins in the city that the companies' headquarters are located.

The other side of the laptop lab has this:

The iPod measures over three feet tall and about four and a half feet wide.  They are HUGE!    I will have PDFs of the apps up.  APPS

That's it for this quarter!  I have a lot more in the works, including those cute turned menacing bugs I made.  Give me a few days but I will eventually get up the PDFs of some of these up.