Christmas Classroom Door Ideas

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Squarehead Teachers

I love how creative teachers are! I’m always impressed at the clever door decorations I see. Here are some of my favorites from my web-surfing this year!

This is how you show you’re a trendy teacher!

This one seems like it would be one to laminate and reuse.
I just love the Peanuts Gang! They’re pretty timeless.

Just plain cute!

New perspective of a snowman! I love it! (If you’re not a math teacher, obviously, you can change the text to fit whatever subject you’re teaching!)

I found these on Pinterest, and sadly, my 4 favorites didn’t have good photo credits. If these images are yours, please email me and I’l post your photo credit! Merry Christmas!

List of Patriotic American Songs (And YouTube Video Links)

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Squarehead Teachers

A friend of mine plays patriotic songs in her classroom all year long. After all, appreciation for your country shouldn’t just happen on holidays. Whether it’s during clean up time, line up time or as a reward, her kids LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing these songs! Most of the kids have even learned the words too! How great would it be if the rising generation could regain the fire of patriotism of the past?!

Here’s her list of songs/video links to help get you started:

A Salute to all 5 military branches (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force & Coast Guard)

Air Force Off We Go (lyrics)

America The Beautiful (lyrics)

Anchors Away (lyrics)

Anchors Away no lyrics

Caissons Go Rolling no lyrics

Caissons Go Rolling (lyrics)

Coast Guard Marching Song (lyrics)

Fifty Nifty United States

God Bless America (lyrics)

God Bless the USA (lyrics)

Marine’s Hymn (lyrics)

My Country Tis of Thee (lyrics)

Off We Go

Star Spangled Banner (lyrics)

This is My Country

This Land is Your Land

What’s More American

This Land is your land Simple

You’re a Grand Old Flag

Giant Spider Web (Classroom Halloween Decoration)

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

Check out this cool Halloween decoration idea submitted by a reader! She purchased a cheap spider web (the wad of web in a bag for a few bucks) and then stretched it out around the legs of student desks. Have your own cool idea! Send it to me at squareheadteachers at gmail dot com!

Self-Portrait Color Wheel (Collaborative Mural)

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

My friend, Rachel, recently helped coordinate this mind-blowing art project at her school:

I. LOVE. THIS. IDEA.

It incorporates so much good stuff into one project! Collaboration, color wheel discussion, self-portrait and drawing principles, and the list goes on. It’s especially cool to see the improvement kids make in drawing as they get older (there were drawings from all grades in the mural). Although it is a fair amount of work to put together, this art project is definitely something that all the kids (and community members) will love to look at. Finally, the kids who participated can feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that they contributed and that as part of a team, they accomplished something they could never do on their own. Great job, Rachel!

Here’s some information about how you can organize this project.

Lord Of the Rings Classroom Ideas

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Squarehead Teachers

Some teachers like to have a theme for their classroom. If you’re into Lord of the Rings, or your class reads Lord of the Rings as literature, you may enjoy these ideas (that I found on Pinterest!)

Encourage your kids to become familiar with your school’s library website

(I could not find the source for any of these photos, so if they’re yours, please let me know!) Any other ideas for a Lord of the Rings classroom theme? Comment below! Thanks!

Easy Chair Numbering

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Some schools have one specific teacher teach special classes like art, music, PE, health, etc. Often the general classroom teacher does that, but not always. Anyway, if you teach a class in a room with chairs but no tables (like the music classroom pictured below), this idea might interest you.

First, number note cards from 1-30 (or however many seats you need). Consider using different colored markers or cards so you can group students easily (all the students with purple cards are in a group, etc.). Then tape the numbers to the back of the chairs. Then you can assign each student to a seat. Having numbers on the chairs helps students be accountable for a single chair if you’re a teacher who has students move their chairs around a lot. No this idea is not complicated or extra cutesy, but it’s helpful. Also notice that the teacher divided the class up into 3 sections using masking tape on the ground. (Always check with your principal or custodian to make sure this is ok at your school.)

Have an idea you think is pretty snazzy? Send it to me (squareheadteachers at gmail dot com) so you share it with other teachers! Thanks!

Write On Plastic Pocket Charts

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Check out this cool idea a reader submitted. It’s simple, but genius!

If you use a pocket chart to hold vocabulary words, you can diagram them right on the pocket! Use an overhead marker or a whiteboard marker to diagram words onto the clear front pocket of the chart! This way, you can leave it up for the week while you’re focusing on a specific principle, and you don’t have to write on the word strip.

Have any other great ideas? Send them to me (squareheadteachers at gmail dot com) and I’ll post them on this blog! Thanks!

Minimize Distractions and Visual Clutter in Your Classroom

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Piles and clutter drive me crazy (in my classroom and my home)! And it’s not just physical clutter that I can’t stand. Visual clutter also bugs me. Here’s a super easy trick to hide stuff and minimize the visual clutter in your classroom.

Use panel curtains and a tension rod to hide sections of a bookcase and other areas. But more important than addressing my pet peeve, these curtains minimize the distractions in your classroom. If every inch of your classroom has multiple colors, shapes and patterns in view, your students will have a harder time concentrating on what you’re saying and showing them. I recommend choosing a solid color or light pattern for your fabric. It doesn’t have to be boring white, but it shouldn’t be super eye-catchy. While it’s pretty trendy right now to pick a bright color scheme and use it in every pattern possible all over your room, think about what it does to your students who already have a harder time focusing. Kids only have so much focusing power in them, so help the focus on what’s really important (which probably isn’t your cute color scheme). 🙂

How have you minimized the visual clutter in your classroom? Send me a picture (squareheadteachers at gmail dot com) and I’ll post it here to share with other teachers. Thank you!