Pinspiration

One of my new favorite pastimes is spending time on Pinterest.  Over the last few years I feel my creativity has waned with the stress and responsibilities of teaching and everything that comes in that mixed bag, we have all read the lists of teacher responsibilities, no need to rehash them here.

Curling up with an iced coffee and my laptop to peruse Pinterest on a rainy Sunday morning is the perfect way to reignite the creativity of even the least creative :).  This summer I've had the opportunity to delve into a few pinteresting projects!

In fact, this morning I tried the "baked" hard boiled eggs available on my YUM board, I baked the eggs at 325 for 25 minutes then plunged directly into ice water.  They were very easy to peel and the yoke was bright yellow.  Somehow I always manage to get a greenish tint when I boil them.  The only difference was that there were small brown spots on the whites where the egg touched the pan.

Last week I started working on the "no name" and "how we go home" boards during a craft day at my teaching buddy Karen's house.  Getting creative with friends (and maybe a mojito or two) is even more fun!

Used to hang papers with no names on, students are responsible for checking for their own paper and resubmitting properly.

I plan to use clothes pins with students names on them.  Parents will clip them to the board at orientation to let me know how their child will go home all year.  No more outdated lists for this girl.

Magnetic fishing pole!

The magnetic fishing pole was my own creation.  If you know anything about me or the activities I create they are almost all fishing games.  Up until recently, the Dollar Tree was selling plastic magnetic fishing poles.  This year they released poles with hooks on the end, not magnets.  I was at the craft store and came across dowels, hemp, round magnets, and knobs.  I made a huge batch of these magnetic poles, gave a few pairs away as gifts, and have spares for my own class (you know, since students take such good care of our things).  I'm considering making more and trying to sell them on TpT.

Pinterest inspires me to find/make/create new ways for my classroom to look more adorable and run more efficiently.  I find new teaching ideas, lessons, units, and activities to use to supplement my curriculum.  You can find new and sometimes better ways to organize yourself, monitor student growth, and generally create more engaging activities for your students!

How did you get creative this summer?