How "Tues"day Tip #3

Today's project is one that can take anywhere from a week to several months to complete.  It is based on the concept of bottle cap art.  So the first thing that I had to do was start collecting lids.  For about the past six months I have collected every cap, lid, and container top that we have used in the Perry house.  

We go through a lot of apple juice, bottled water, and gatorade so it didn't take long for them to accumulate!  Most of the plastic within the bottle containers can be easily recycled, however, the lids are a different story.  This project is another great way to "go green."

I also used a piece of wood from Home Depot.  They have all kinds of scrap wood, and most of the time it's either very inexpensive or free (especially if you tell them you're a teacher)!

I used two small paint samples that we had lying around the house.  We're also in the process of completing renovations in our dining room (chair rail installation, painting, and new flooring-soon)!

I painted one a turquoise color (deepest aqua).

The other one is called rich navy.

Christian helped me out by sorting all of the caps by color...he had so much fun!

Then I selected the images for the paintings.  The first one is a crab.  

My very very very talented brother in law began painting, and I was so impressed!

Here are the final touches!

I added the orange bottle cap lids and made a letter "c" with some yellow caps.  You can either use some small screws and a drill or some basic wood glue.  I used a drill because I like the effect of the metal in the middle of the caps.

 

The next painting is an octopus.

  I added two bottle caps for the eyes, and some additional clear ones for bubbles!

"C" is for crab.

"O" is for octopus.

I have one more to add to the collection which will either be a sea turtle or a seahorse.  I loved this project!  If you're in the DFW metroplex, and you're interested in some bottle cap art for your classroom, e-mail me.  My brother in law does a phenomenal job, and he completed both of those paintings in one evening.  I just added the caps and the words.  The inspiration from these paintings came from two resources.  

 

This year I plan to have my students collect bottle caps to create their own art for our classroom and school.  I also plan to use the handprint art to make our classroom a more inviting and engaging place!

Fab Finds. . .

This week's fab finds are from Target (that Dollar Spot is SO addictive-their marketing directors are definitely keeping teachers in mind) and Lakeshore (which I absolutely LOVE since there's one less than a mile away from Mr. Perry's job).  It's kind of a blessing and a curse at the same time)!

I usually keep most of my plans, assessment data, and important info in digital form, but these are so cute-I'll find some way to use them for planning and note keeping!

 

I got a class set of these dry erase boards-perfect for penmanship practice and writing along while we complete shared and interactive writing activities.  They're two sided, lined, and only $1!  

The Dollar Spot has all kinds of stickers, awards, and bookmarks right now!

These number and alphabet puzzles caught my eye because my three year old loves puzzles!  I grabbed some for him and some for the classroom. 

I fell in love with these cute little cards...how perfect for teaching action words (verbs) and animal characteristics! We do two huge units on animal research so these will be fun for the kids to use as they write their reports. 

This is a giant pocket chart from Lakeshore.  It's a word ladder!  I know I could probably make something similar, but this one was so so cute!  It's made by Educational Insights.  It's $29.99, but I had a coupon for $5.00 of a purchase of $25.00 or more so I think it was well worth it.  The pocket chart set includes 40 different word ladders in picture form and the letter cards to build the words. 

This will be such a phenomenal phonemic awareness activity for readers who have difficulty segmenting, blending, and hearing sounds.  I really like how it provides a place for the picture, letters, and writing.  Later this summer I'm hoping to make some more versions of this type of activity for my Promethean board.  I would love to practice them on the Promethean board in a whole group setting then allow students to use the pocket chart as a word work activity during Daily 5. 

That's it for this week...did you find any great deals?  If so, let me know!