Follow Me on Bloglovin'

Follow The Creative Classroom on Bloglovin to keep updated with the latest news and freebies.


Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Another Fun Classroom Freebie

If you're like me, you are always looking for something cute for your classroom that will catch your students' attention. Well, this week I'm going to share one of my classroom freebies with you. Head on over to my TPT store to download my "Please Raise Your Hand..." Mustache Posters. They come in a variety of colors that will match all classroom designs and themes. 

Featured Teacher on Rockstars in The Classroom's Blog!

I am super excited to announce that I am featured today on Teacher Feature Tuesday over at Rockstars in the Classroom's blog. Head on over to learn a little bit more about me and check out the amazing blog that Steph and Manda have put together. You won't be disappointed! 

http://rockstarsintheclassroom.blogspot.com/2013/06/teacher-feature-tuesday-creative.html

The Creative Classroom Freebie Link Up Party

Add your favorite freebie from your store in the link-up below! Great way to get exposure for your store. Leave a blog comment below explaining why this is your favorite freebie! :)

get the InLinkz code

Add A Little Creativity to Your Classroom (for FREE)!

This week I decided to share a little creativity from my classroom to yours. Click here to download 13 Power Words Digital Posters that you can print out and hang in your classroom. They can be used to create a bright and colorful bulletin board or even to use as a digital anchor chart during any lesson!

Until next time, keep the creativity flowing!

All Signs Point to A Creative Addition In Your Classroom

If you are like me, you have a slight obsession with all things Pinterest (especially when it comes to your classroom). I can't even begin to name all the great ideas that I have found on Pinterest and used in my classroom, but there is one that is my absolute favorite! I came across this pin last year and knew I had the perfect way to implement it in my classroom. 

Last summer, there were electrical upgrades made to every classroom and they encased all the wiring in these large white cases. I was looking for a way to dress it up and make it a little less of an eye sore in the classroom. This was the perfect solution, but it was made with wood and hand-painted. I am definitely not an artist or capable of creating that. I was a little stumped at first on how I would make my own version of this project come to life. I wanted something cute, creative, and durable.  

So like everything else I got started making my list of what I needed and got to work:

1. I created my list of the fictional places that I wanted to include. These were place from my favorite novels, short stories, films, or television series. Everything from Harry Potter to The Hunger Games to Doctor Who was on the list.

2. I went in search of fonts that were similar to book/movie titles. These signs needed to be completed personalized and instantly recognizable when viewed.

3. I started coming up with color designs to represent each fictional place. For example, I picked  Gryffindor  colors for Hogwarts, Tardis Blue and White for Gallifrey, etc.

4. I began to work on the designs using iWork Keynote. Keynote is a great designing tool and so EASY to use. I used one of the arrow designs and made it large enough to fit on a sheet of regular paper. Then I worked on creating the color scheme and names on each sign until I was satisfied.

5. I printed out each sign and then cut out each sign with scissors. This was probably the toughest part because I am terrible about cutting things out. I never mastered that skill unfortunately. :)

6. I then used my laminator to laminate each sign to make the signs more durable (A personal laminator has been the best asset I have this past school year. I'm not quite sure what I did before it!) 

Here are a few of the fictional signs that I created:

Once I had all the signs printed and laminated, it was time to construct my fiction road map in my classroom. I used duct tape on the back of each sign to attach it to the white cases in my classroom. I really had no plan other than to just stick the sings up there in a random order. Here are some pictures of the fiction road map in my classroom:

One thing I immediately noticed was that I needed a few more signs to add, but it got pushed to the back burner because of all the other things required to do during the school week; however, I finally got around to creating additional signs a few weeks ago (now I just have to print them out and add them!). I'll definitely add those pictures when the new signs are added.

Since I know how popular that pin has been on Pinterest and how many people have complimented the project on my Facebook page, I knew that I wanted to share this with other teachers that would want to have a similar road map in their own classroom. Click here to get these signs for FREE:

If you use these signs, I would LOVE to see pictures of them in your classroom! It's always so amazing how people can take a common thing or idea and put their unique spin on it. Also, I would love suggestions of other fictional places that could be included. What are some of your favorite fictional places?

Until next time, keep that creativity flowing!

Creative Ways to Reward Students

In my last blog post, Creativity and Groupon, I discussed creating teacher postcards to reward my students for their positive behavior and academic success. I got to thinking how much I enjoy writing these notes to my students and how quickly they get to the front of the classroom to get theirs when their name is called. 

I decided to start working on a few new designs for next school year and just couldn't keep them to myself. I knew that I wanted to share this creative way to rewards students with other teachers.  I am very happy to introduce the newest product in The Creative Classroom's TPT store, Teacher Postcards: Rewards for Positive Behavior and Academic Success. There are six different designs included in this file and they can all be seen in the product preview in the link above.

Here is an example of how you can use the postcards in your classroom to reward your students!

Here are all the designs that you will get in this product. You can print these out on card stock and make your own instead of buying similar, more expensive products in stores. 

Regardless of whether you teach Kindergarten or Eighth Grade, never underestimate the impact that kinds words can have on your students. For some students, your words may be the only encouraging messages that they hear each day.

Thank you so much for following my blog! Stay tuned for more creative ideas from my classroom to yours! 

The Creative Classroom Giveaway

I reached another milestone this week with my TPT store, The Creative Classroom! I finally reached 150 followers so I am having a giveaway to celebrate! Enter the giveaway below to win one of five prizes from my store! The giveaway ends on June 9th, at 7 PM (CST).


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Creativity and Groupon

I don't know about you, but sometimes it is really hard to be creative on a teacher's budget. That's why I am so thankful for Groupon and their daily deals with Vistaprint. Any time I see a Vistaprint deal on Groupon (most of the time it's $17 for $76 worth of products), I buy as many as I can. Not only do you save a tons of money on the deal itself, but Vistaprint also discounts their products. The last order I made was worth $185.00, but I only paid $40!!! You can get anything from customized stamps, classroom posters or banners, postcards, and so much more. Thanks to Krissy Venosdale from Venspired, who offers amazing free posters on her website, I have been able to make some colorful and creative posters for my classroom for a great price.

This is just one of the posters that I have created for my classroom using Vistaprint.

In addition to the classroom posters, I have also used some of Venspired's designs to create other items in my classroom. My favorite are probably the "I Learn...What's your Superpower?" postcards. I use these to write notes to my students on their positive behavior and academic achievements. They are a big hit in my classroom! 

This is the coolest way to reward my students. It allows me to write hand-written notes to my  students congratulating them for their success.

The blank side is where I write my notes and decorate them a bit.

The last items that I have created using some of Venspired's designs and my own are the classroom magnets that get from Vistaprint. I use the small car door magnets and they are the perfect size. The definitely liven up my classroom.

Who doesn't want Chuck Norris in there classroom? 

This is a constant reminder for me of the importance of my role as a teacher.

My newest creation. A magnet I created using my TPT and blog logo for my classroom.

Last, but certainly not least are some of my own designs that I created for my classroom stamps. I plan on making many more of these to use in my classroom.

I got inspired by some other customized stamps created by other teacher bloggers and decided to try to crate my own. Not too bad for a first time attempt!

As you can see the possibilities are endless when it comes to Vistaprint and creative ideas for your classroom. Don't forget to buy your  Vistaprint Groupon deal before it expires!

Check back soon for more creative ideas from my classroom to yours!