D.Z. Mars Creative

My students are starting to have a lot of missing assignments.  What can I say... it's that time of year.  So, over my Thanksgiving break, I made this cute little mouse missing homework record sheet . I figured others might be having the same problem, so I posted it in my store on Teachers Pay Teachers.

So, I've finally had time to make a color-by equation activity I've been thinking about for a while.  You can find it HERE in my TPT store. It's a winter holiday color-by-number for 5th-7th grade math students. This activity has numbers represented by equations. For example, the number 12 might be represented by the square root of 144; 2 squared times 3; 3 to the second power plus 3; 48/4; or just the number 12. In order for kids to enjoy this activity, they should understand exponents and square roots, as well as order of operations and different ways to represent multiplication and division (dot, x, fraction, slash, division symbol). This activity should not be used for students with trouble seeing small numbers or for children with dyslexia or dysgraphia. Picture depicts a bunny rabbit bringing presents to put under a decorated pine tree in the snowy woods. File includes worksheet, colored key, and copyright page. Roughly 1/2 of the numbers are hand-written and ...

If you're short, or you like long pants, and you're not into high heels, you might find yourself with your pants dragging under your heels and getting wet when walking through grass.  Or, maybe you're into buying too-big pants for your kids so they can grow into them, but you don't want them tripping over their pants legs... whatever works... Here's a quick tutorial for how to make magnetic strips that keep your pants rolled up.  They're cheap and quick to make, and if you color-coordinate them with whatever you're wearing, you'll look super-awesome as well ( I made that last part up ). You will need: -A piece of felt in whatever color you want -Coordinating thread (and a needle if not using a machine) -Four super strong round magnets Cut a strip of felt about an inch to an inch and a half wide.  Make sure your magnet can sit on it and have a border around it.  The strip should be as long as you want it, plus about 2"-3" extra.  ...

As a fun little side project, I created some Rubber Ducky themed PDF printable nameplates.  I may actually use these in my classroom this year, as my theme colors are turquoise/teal, lime, and black.  If you're interested in having these in any other color combination, please feel free to contact me on the teacherspayteachers comment section for this item! :)  I may turn this into a whole theme at some point when I have more time. Click on the photo or here to get to the link.

That pile of "stuff" in the corner                                  If you live in a tiny place or just don't have enough storage in your home, you may end up with a pile of "stuff" in a corner. OK, it's neatly stacked up and it's in storage bins, but when it's in a room you frequent every day, it might ruin the visual appeal of the room. Here's how to make a quick fabric storage panel / curtain (also works as a freestanding headboard for a bed!), with no tools, little time, and if you plan it right, for under $45. You can probably put the whole thing together in under 20 minutes, which is great for the "instant gratification" DIY set (of which I am part). What you'll need: -A fabric shower curtain (72"x72" is standard) -Shower curtain hooks (will not be visible, so buy the cheap kind) -A rolling garment rack that stands at least 72" high and extends to about that wide (less is ok on...

I've been working on ways to cover my shelves and make my room look more unified, all without spending too much money.  Here's how I've been doing this: Take black butcher paper and cut to desired size. Put a cute picture from a calendar in the middle (Dollar Store calendars rock) Put a border at the bottom. Laminate the whole shebang. Attach with a strip of color-coordinated duct tape to the shelf above. If you're working with a very wide shelf, it might be a good idea to make separate "doors" that are half or 1/3 of the width of the shelf.  That way, you don't need to lift a long, heavy flap.  Just lift the little door you want to move. As an added bonus, you can say, "Hey, Joey, go get a dictionary.  They're behind the tiger!" The side of my cheap utility shelves that make the side of my classroom library area:   Covered back side of my (sagging) utility shelves.  I store class library books on the other side...

So, this year, I'm trying really hard not to spend a ton of money on my classroom.  I think last year, I spent well over a thousand dollars, which is kind of silly.  This year, I want to totally change my color scheme (from every color known to man in a dizzying melange guaranteed to induce hyperactivity) to teal/lime/black.  I'm hoping to accomplish this with spray paint made for plastic (Rustoleum in light blue and lime green) and black background paper.  I reallllly want to buy black fabric, but I don't want to spend even more than I'm already spending. This is part one of how I am uniting my color scheme for (somewhat) cheap this year.  I will do more posts when I can actually get into my classroom, which is currently being used for a summer academy, I've been asking around for those cruddy wire shelving storage cubes that get put together with the corner connectors.  Everybody seems to have some to give away because they fall apart.  The tr...