Monday Made It! DIY Teacher Monthly Calendar

Hey everyone!  Sorry about skipping last Monday, but I needed a bit of a break and to relax without thinking about school.  Summer vacation is quickly coming to an end and I was spending time catching up with old friends and enjoying the beautiful weather.  It was a nice week with my friends & family.

Now, back to business and linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for todays Monday Made It!  I have been admiring all your Instagram posts about Erin Condren's Life & Teacher Planners.  They are beautifully designed and I'm envious of how some of you decorate and organize them!  So adorable!  I, unfortunatly, can't seem to fit an Erin Condren planner purchase into my budget this year.  A lot of my funds went right back into my classroom and grad school (which starts September 2...EEK!).  An EC planner will have to wait until next year.

Anywho, just last night I was browsing through Instagram and TPT, and came across Mrs. Dow's Little Owls' Nest store.  OH. EM. GEE.  She creates the most aesthetically eye pleasing teacher planners that's budget friendly ($6.00!) and includes everything a regular planner includes, but with polka dots!  CUTENESS OVERLOAD!  Here is a description from her TPT store:

Weekly Planning Pages:
-Days Horizontal with notes section (Subjects Editable)
-Days Horizontal with place to put the week's objectives (Subjects Editable)
-Days Vertical (Subjects Editable)
-Days Vertical with notes section (Subjects Editable)
-Days Vertical with place to put the week's objectives (Subjects Editable)

Calendars:
- Holidays & Dates to Remember (with Text boxes to input your dates!)
- Student Birthdays (with Text boxes to input your students' birthdays!)
- July 2014 - June 2015 Monthly Calendars
- 1-page spread with notes page OR
- 2-page spread with 2-page note spread behind each month

Gradebook/Checklist:
-Enough rows for up to 29 Students and LOTS of columns for each 2-page spread (Also, with text boxes for you to enter your students' names)!

Notes:
-Meeting Notes
-Notes

Amazing right!??!  I wanted to download the planner, but my district submits lesson plans online, so having the planner wouldn't work for me.  What I DID need was a monthly calendar.  As I was searching through her store, I came across this Teacher Monthly Calendar for FREE!  AND IT HAD POLKA DOTS. AND IT WAS TEAL COLORED!  I immediately downloaded it, printed it, and ran to Staples to get it bound together.  BAM!  This adorable planner only cost me $4.98.

 *Side note: I created my own label for the front.  Personalize it!


What are you still sitting there?!  GO MAKE YOUR OWN PLANNER OR MONTHLY CALENDAR!

Mrs. Dow also has a blog; check it out here.  Don't forget to leave her feedback on her product!  She has great products and she should know how great they are!

Thanks for reading!  As always, feedback is welcomed.  Until next Monday for my last summer Monday Made It!  After that, SCHOOL BEGINS! AAHHHHH!   Now back to organizing my monthly calendar....

Best wishes & kisses,
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P.S.  Papermate Flair Pens...why did I not buy them sooner?!  L-O-V-E them!
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MONDAY MADE IT #3! Alphabet Punctuation Chart for Fluency!

I'm linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for today's MONDAY MADE IT!  I loving all these projects I'm getting to share with you all this summer.  Hopefully it has sparked some of those creative bones I know you all have!
 What have I made for you all today?  An ALPHABET PUNCTUATION CHART for FLUENCY!


Last Monday, I attended a workshop hosted by a local and family owned teacher resource store Bosland's Learning Plus.  Their guest speaker...drum roll please.....CINDY MIDDENDORF!  She is the author of my favorite book Differentiating Instruction in Kindergarten: Planning Tips, Assessment Tools, Management Strategies, Multi-Leveled Centers, and Activities That Reach and Nurture Every Learner. Her book helped me differentiate in my Kinder classroom my second year of teaching and beyond!  She has another book that was recently published by Scholastic.  If you're interested in purchasing her new book, click here to take you to Amazon!

Anywho, the 2 1/2 hour workshop was filled with a plethora of wonderful differentiated ideas for the classroom, but one really grabbed my interest: ALPHABET PUNCTUATION CHART for FLUENCY!  See below for the step-by-step instructions on how to make your own for your classroom!

Supplies you will need:

  • Poster Letters (you can find pre-cut letters from the Dollar Tree) I chose the blue and red letters so I can differentiate the consonants from the vowels.  
  • Glue Dots or anything adhesive to stick the poster letters on the poster board.




1. Use the Glue Dots to stick the letters on the poster board like so:


2. Laminate your newly created Alphabet Chart!

3. With a dry erase marker, write random punctuation marks throughout your chart.

Everyday (or every other day) during your morning meeting, right after lunch, before dismissal, have the students read the Alphabet chart expressing the punctuation marks accordingly.  This is a fun activity to do and only takes a minute to do with your students!  Don't forget to change the placement of your punctuation marks every day, every other day, every week, whatever!  Change it however often you wish!


Don't you L-O-V-E this idea?!  I can't wait to use this with my students, once they learn punctuation marks and how to read, of course!  

As always, feedback is always welcomed.  To all you teachers who start school this week, good luck and have a wonderful school year!  To all those teachers who don't start until September, enjoy your last weeks of vacation!  They always seem to go by the fastest. Happy Monday!

Best wishes & kisses,
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