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How to Create Wooden Ornaments for Christmas

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Create these adorable wooden Christmas ornaments using recycled game pieces and a little paint. Step by step instructions and design ideas are included

Have you ever seen something in a store and thought, “I can make that for way less money?” Maybe. Or, have you ever thought, “Wouldn’t it just be easier for me to buy it instead of making it?” That’s how we’ve usually felt looking for wooden ornaments for Christmas.

We accidentally made these little Christmas ornaments and they turned out so cute that we knew we had to write about them so others could make their own. This project started completely by accident, but sometimes, the happiest of accidents turn out to be blessings in disguise. So, this is our path to making some wooden ornaments from recycled game pieces, but you can take a few shortcuts with our lesson below.

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How to Make Christmas Wreaths With Recycled Materials

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This simple lesson can be done by anyone using recycled fabric. It makes a great Christmas gift from your students to their parents. Come read through all the instructions and make one for yourself and check out some of our other Christmas crafts.

Here is a great activity your students can do that is both environmentally friendly and makes a wonderful Christmas gift. If you plan on using this as a Christmas gift from your students to their families, you’re going to want to start collecting the materials a few months in advance so that you have enough pieces.

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How to Change Math With Interactive Notebooks

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Are you avoiding interactive math notebooks because they seem like too much work? Are you struggling to teach math because you worry about your own knowledge base? Never fear! We have the solutions! Let's get you teaching math today!

When a colleague told us we should try interactive notebooks in math, we agreed and then went on our merry ways and did math the same old way for another year.

At the end of that school year, she approached us again and DEMANDED we buy an Interactive Math Journal lesson plan set. We took a look, bought it and then went on summer vacation, never to think about math for a whole two months.

Near the end of the summer, we opened it up and it CHANGED OUR WORLD. We will never teach math the same way again. That being said, there are a few things we learned about the process and we wanted to share these tips with you so you don’t have to spend so much time figuring things out yourself.

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How to Create Recycled Paper Ornaments

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Use up all that paper laying around your classroom and make some great ornaments that make great gifts! These make great Christmas or Earth Day crafts.

Here’s a little task you can give to your students to make an environmentally friendly Christmas tree ornament. Using recycled paper products is good for the environment, especially if parents keep the ornaments that are created for generations. It’s especially great if you have lots of extra paper lying around. Rescue it from the recycling bin and use it to make the holidays a little brighter.

This is a great task to put into your makerspace for the month of December, but you can make these any time of year if your paper isn’t seasonal.

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How to Stretch Your Classroom Library

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Use these tips to expand the number of books in your classroom. Reach those reluctant readers and don't waste your money! We've collected all the different ways we could think of to get free or discounted books for your classroom library.

You are a great teacher, but don’t have a classroom library? Of course, you want your students to have a great selection of books for reading throughout the year, but most schools do not pay for classroom libraries. How on Earth are new teachers (and even the more experienced ones) expected to have a quality selection of classroom library books?

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How to Teach Research Skills in the Library

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With all the digital resources available, the library seems to be overlooked. Schools are cutting back on librarians and purchasing books. What a waste! There are so many valauble research skills that can be taught in the library. Come read some of the ways we do it.

When you want to do research in your school library do you often find your school just can’t afford the resources (or even the librarian) you need? This is why so often we take our students online to do research. In doing this, we often teach students that libraries are not a valuable resource because nothing could be further from the truth. Help your students build research skills by taking them back to the library and showing them the value.

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