Tuesday, July 16, 2013

I Made It and A Flip-Flop Product Swap

I have been busy with one long project for this week, and an easy one. For the first endless project, I had this old bar stool in my screen room for years. Replaced with a set of new ones, I still couldn't bear to part with it. I envisioned a teaching stool, and need one since my rocker was broken in the spring. I wanted one that would remind me of my dear friend, Peg, that got me hooked on inclusion and fifth grade. She had a wild purple teacher's chair that spoke volumes about who she was. I hoped to someday be like her. Fast forward more years than I care to admit, and I find myself being compared to her, by others that loved working with her. To honor Peg, and to make my stool match my new theme, I got busy gathering supplies.

Since my stool was previously stained and varnished, I sanded it smooth and gave it a coat of primer. The spindles didn't make this an easy task! I used black semi-gloss paint bought previously for a bookcase, and lots of leftover acrylics.  I planned to do black with teal and gray accents, but gave in to my wild side. Be forewarned, it looks like a neon rainbow threw up on it! The neon colors required so many coats of paint! If I had to do it again, I would either tape and spray paint, or use one color. After a failed attempt at writing my name, I gave up and added the teal chevron paper and hand-painted "H". I love the way it turned out.

BTW - The stool matches my new renewed black and white with some splashes puddles of color.

My second project was so much easier! I agreed to do a "Flip-flop Product Swap" with Teresa at Confessions of a Teaching Junkie. She sent me her awesome Build-a-Banana Split Multiplication Facts center. The set is beautiful. The clip art is colorful and enticing. All I had to do was print, cut, and laminate.

Students roll a set of dice, multiplying the two numbers. The total determines what part of the sundae they earn, after needing to roll two "1"s to earn the bowl. This set is CCSS aligned for third and fourth grade, but my fifth graders will need a quick review of facts in the fall prior to our MEAP test. This will also be perfect for my inclusion students that struggle with math. All I need is a set of dice to add to my container, and it is ready for my students to enjoy.

Teresa has the cutting file for a Silhouette machine that she is willing to share, but I don't have one, so my daughter was coerced with a real ice cream sundae as her pay!

The storage container is an up-cycled Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom ice cream container.  A quick spritz of black Fusion paint and contact paper, and it looks beautiful! The pieces will fit, with the "bowls" and "bananas" hugging the sides.

I swapped my Equivalent Fractions Are Fun (Anytime). I loved doing the swap and would love to find more  teachers with whom I could trade products. 

Don't forget to check out Tara's blog for more Monday Made It projects, and Teresa's blog for more flip-flop products swaps.

One last thing, since this post won't be until Tuesday, July 16th, my wedding anniversary, I am going to do a quick sale at my TpT store. It will be from the time I finish here, until I wake up Wednesday morning. 



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