With all the colorful enchanting flash cards, bingo games, and phonics cards lurking in teacher stores and catalogs, we catch ourselves ordering overpriced items that we can make ourselves without a lot of money, time or energy! Let's stop throwing money away on games that you can easily make yourself!
I have caught myself buying a sightword bingo game ($10.00) from a store just to get it home and realize that the words aren't exactly the words my students are working on, the pieces are just a little too flimsy, there are not enough boards for all of my students, and the layout is either too advanced or too easy! I end up spending more time altering the game to adapt it to my students' learning styles than I would have if I had just made the game myself!
How can you make these games when you do not seem to have any extra time as it is? Easily! Here's how to make literacy games:
1. Use microsoft word or another word processing program to create a basic table for your game. If you are using Microsoft Word, go to insert and click on table. Pick the number of columns and rows you want for the game, expand the sizes of the boxes (if needed), type in the words and/or insert pictures, and save! Once you have a basic table made, you can literally create hundreds of variations of different games within minutes!
2. Use DLTK's free worksheet and games generator! http://www.dltk-holidays.com/
I must say this is a really cute money and time saving way to make educational games that can be implemented into any literacy block! Once your are at the site, click on the category/holiday theme you would like to generate a game for. For example, I chose summer. There are lots of different online games (great for smartboard and technology goals) as well as worksheets and game generators. Then, I click on the games and puzzles section. I scroll down to "SUMMER THEMED PRINTABLE GAMES AND PUZZLES" and click on the games that I want to make. You get to pick the level of difficulty, color or b/w, etc. Basically, all you have to do is follow the step-by-step instructions and you will have wonderful learning games in seconds! The site makes jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, bingo at various levels, concentration (memory), etc. You really can't go wrong with this site!
3. Use the table you generated on microsoft word and type in spelling words, sight words, vocabulary, capital and lower case letters...you get the idea! You can then print these cards and use them as flash cards, concentration game pieces (have students take turns trying to read the words...if they read the words CORRECTLY and it is a match, they put it into their pile), sentence starters, rhyming pairs, antonyms, synonyms, etc. The possibilities truly are endless!
4. Use Carl's Corner. http://www.carlscorner.us.com/ With all of the wonderful resources abound, the site can be somewhat difficult to maneuver through; but trust me, it is worth it! Carl's corner offers a plethora of FREE literacy materials that are wonderful resources for any teacher to have. She has pre-made games, phonemic awareness activities, phonics fun, literacy wheels, and so much more! You can use her clipart and ideas in your own game or you can use one of the pre-made activities she has already done for you! Take some time to explore the site and click on the various links. It might take a few minutes to find exactly what you are looking for but it is there! Plus once you find it, you can bookmark it and keep it!
5. Comprehension cube game - My students love this game and it is completely free to make! I simply used a cube template from a math resource book (the template that you fold and glue to make a cube) and wrote questions pertaining to story details. For kindergarten my cubes say - who?, where?, beginning, middle, end, problem/solution. My students get with a partner and take turns rolling the die. Then, they answer the question and their partner can add to their answer if needed. There is no "winner" in this game. My students just think this is a really fun way to recall story details! It takes the work out of comprehension! Pretty soon, the students strive to remember more details in order to have quality answers. The game is a win-win for students and teachers alike!
The cube can be used for just about any game! If you would like me to send you a copy of the template, just send me an email @ afrugalteacher@gmail.com
Why waste money on expensive games that don't suit the learning styles of our students? You can save HUNDREDS of dollars and even time by making these frugal easy games at home! Not only are you saving money, you are making learning fun and enjoyable for all of your students and really isn't that what teaching is all about?!
Showing posts with label cute projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cute projects. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Frugal Tip #1 - Reuse, Reuse, Reuse!
The idea of reusing items and materials may be an obvious frugal tip; however, there are so many things you can save and reuse in a different way!
1. Get a big bin (you can get one from the dollar store ;) ) and instruct your students to save all of their paper scraps. Use these scraps for classroom projects and art activities. You would be amazed at what my children can come up with! For Dr. Suess Week, my students came up with the cutest "Wockets in their Pockets!" I will post pictures of their creations soon!
You can also implement the scraps as part of a center. I have a center called the "Creation Station." My students are allowed to make anything they want (sometimes with prompts or specific directions) using the scraps. They follow up this activity with a creative writing piece or a how-to writing that describes how to make the item the student created. My students absolutely love this and it truly is a great way to recycle!
2. I have been known to eat TV dinners on occasion (ha!) and absolutely hated throwing out the plastic trays the food came in. Now, I recycle and reuse the plastic trays by using them as paint holders or small bins to place crayons/other materials. These trays are wonderful for holding paint! They are deep enough to prevent splashing even with kindergarten students! If you are feeling especially adventurous, you may even use the trays in your "Creation Station."
3. For Earth Day, a parent gave me the cutest art project idea on how to reuse tin cans and other various items to make "tin people." These tin people were a huge success! My students were so creative. They used pipe cleaners and steel wool for hair, the tin can for the body, a nail for the nose, scrap metal for the mouth, and soda bottle tops for the eyes! I even had cans with mohawks! All you need to do is have a parent donate adhesive magnets. Simply cut the magnets to fit the back of the bottle tops, nails, scrap metals, washers, etc. This allows the tin people to be customizable! The students enjoyed scrambling the faces and rearranging them! I also found it helpful to use a hot glue gun to eventually glue down most of the pieces for the students. I am a kindergarten teacher, and my young students can get frustrated if the pieces do not stay on! My students all went home and proudly displayed these eco friendly toys in their bedrooms!
Check out some of the tin people my students made! This was truly a great Earth Day project. I must thank the parent for her wonderful money saving ideas and her recycling nature! I hope these simple ideas will help you save money and live frugally as a teacher! ** I cropped each student's face out of the pictures to protect his/her identity**
Here's the mohawk tin person!
Alien tin! My kids came up with all of these ideas on their own! I know...I know... I am proud of my little children!
A Tin Girl!
1. Get a big bin (you can get one from the dollar store ;) ) and instruct your students to save all of their paper scraps. Use these scraps for classroom projects and art activities. You would be amazed at what my children can come up with! For Dr. Suess Week, my students came up with the cutest "Wockets in their Pockets!" I will post pictures of their creations soon!
You can also implement the scraps as part of a center. I have a center called the "Creation Station." My students are allowed to make anything they want (sometimes with prompts or specific directions) using the scraps. They follow up this activity with a creative writing piece or a how-to writing that describes how to make the item the student created. My students absolutely love this and it truly is a great way to recycle!
2. I have been known to eat TV dinners on occasion (ha!) and absolutely hated throwing out the plastic trays the food came in. Now, I recycle and reuse the plastic trays by using them as paint holders or small bins to place crayons/other materials. These trays are wonderful for holding paint! They are deep enough to prevent splashing even with kindergarten students! If you are feeling especially adventurous, you may even use the trays in your "Creation Station."
3. For Earth Day, a parent gave me the cutest art project idea on how to reuse tin cans and other various items to make "tin people." These tin people were a huge success! My students were so creative. They used pipe cleaners and steel wool for hair, the tin can for the body, a nail for the nose, scrap metal for the mouth, and soda bottle tops for the eyes! I even had cans with mohawks! All you need to do is have a parent donate adhesive magnets. Simply cut the magnets to fit the back of the bottle tops, nails, scrap metals, washers, etc. This allows the tin people to be customizable! The students enjoyed scrambling the faces and rearranging them! I also found it helpful to use a hot glue gun to eventually glue down most of the pieces for the students. I am a kindergarten teacher, and my young students can get frustrated if the pieces do not stay on! My students all went home and proudly displayed these eco friendly toys in their bedrooms!
Check out some of the tin people my students made! This was truly a great Earth Day project. I must thank the parent for her wonderful money saving ideas and her recycling nature! I hope these simple ideas will help you save money and live frugally as a teacher! ** I cropped each student's face out of the pictures to protect his/her identity**
Here's the mohawk tin person!
Alien tin! My kids came up with all of these ideas on their own! I know...I know... I am proud of my little children!
A Tin Girl!
Welcome to The Frugal Teacher!
I am a first year kindergarten teacher who graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2008. When I began teaching, I realized just how easily I could spend my ENTIRE check on my classroom. After extravagant spending, I knew I had to do something! I started thinking of the best ways to save money without jeopardizing the quality of my teaching. After months of implementing my plan, I have ended up here! I hope to share my ideas with all of my fellow teachers out there! Check in regularly for money saving tips, classroom ideas, frugal art activities, cute projects, and more!
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