Thursday 14 July 2016

Classroom Decor Products -- Chalkboard & Brights, Rustic Burlap, or Rainbow Polka Dot!

The end of this school year has me full of mixed feelings.... I'm so excited to finally be on summer holidays and doubly excited to get to spend all of next year on maternity with Zoe and Baby Boy (who is due in 3.5 weeks... say what?!). But at the same time, I'm sad that I don't get to set up and decorate my new classroom! If you saw my classroom reveal last year, you saw that I had to move out of my classroom and into the junior high science lab because of construction at our school. Here are some of pics of last year's classroom:




It turned out to be an amazing space and I loved the chalkboard & brights theme that I created and decorated with. Well the construction finished up in mid-June, so after students were done on the 28th, a bunch of us got to move classrooms. (I think it was a total of 8 teachers moving classrooms, 3 teachers moving to new schools, and 4 new teachers moving in... All in a staff of like 18 teachers. lol. Craziness!). The two kindergarten teachers got brand-new classrooms and I got to move into one of the old kindergarten classrooms. It is so big with sooooo much storage! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures yet... that will have to wait until next summer! ;)

I'm planning on sticking with the chalkboard & brights theme when I go back, but will probably create some new things for it. I started by making a chalkboard & brights version of my "Where Are You? Hanging Posters" and "Dolch Sight Words". If you are interested in any of my chalkboard & brights products, click here!

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I had some requests for some of products in a Rustic Burlap theme with a D'Nealian font. They turned out so cute if you are doing a rustic/farmhouse themed classroom. These are the products I've created so far. If you are interested in any other products in a burlap theme, send me an email (firstgradegarden@gmail.com) and I would love to create something for you! I can also do any of the D'Nealian products with a regular type of font if you are interested. :) Check the products out here!

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I also have some rainbow polka dot themed products available as well!! Click here to check them out!

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What is your classroom theme going to be next year? Are you changing things up or staying with the same? Leave a comment below with a link! I'd love to see all your classroom pictures. :)

Friday 8 July 2016

Kwik Stix & Pencil Grip Review & Giveaway

Hey everybody! Having a great summer so far? You know what would make your summer even better... a giveaway! The lovely folks over at The Pencil Grip company sent me a couple of their products to try out and are offering one of my readers a little prize as well!

One of the products they sent me was a 12-pack of Kwik Stix. I had seen these on a few other blogs and was really excited to try them out!


Kwik Stix are tempera paint sticks in a marker-like form. They need no water, dry super quickly, come in tons of vibrant colours, and are SUPER easy to use! 



On the second last day of school, my students were having some free time at the end of the day, so I put out the Kwik Stix and some regular white paper and invited my students to try the paints out. I instantly had about 10 kids swarm the tables to try them out. They loved how easy they were to use and how smooth they were to write or draw with. 


Because they dry so quickly (it says 90 seconds, but it's almost instant!), the students were able to layer the colours to make some really interesting paintings. One boy drew an amazing night sky with the black and white paints. 



One of my sweeties also wrote me a little good-bye note with the paints. "Have a good baby!" Hehe. Love it!


The Pencil Grip company also sent me their 3 Step Training Kit. The kit contains three different grips: the Crossover Grip, the Pinch Grip, and the Pencil Grip. I didn't have a chance to use it this year, but I will definitely keep it in mind for my students next year! It's a three-step system to correct a student's pencil grip. This will definitely be helpful with the students who need some help with how they hold pencils. 

The Pencil Grip company is generously offering to give away one pack of their Kwik Stix 12pk in Assorted Colors. This will instantly become an essential classroom tool! I'm even planning on letting my 2-year-old create some beautiful artworks with them!


To win this pack of Kwik Stix, visit both First Grade Garden and The Pencil Grip, Inc. on Facebook. The giveaway will end in one week. I will announce the winner on Saturday, July 16th. Good luck! Enter on the Rafflecopter below.


In addition, everyone has the opportunity to get 15% off their total purchase at thepencilgrip.com. The coupon is good until 5/27/17. Just go to the www.thepencilgrip.com. Shop for any of their awesome products (I'm looking at the neon and metallic Kwik Stix next). Then enter the coupon code: YOUWIN15 at checkout to automatically receive 15% off your total purchase.