Chalking like a Glyph Girl

Chalking is a great way to add fun characters around your classroom! It is easy to do!!

What you need:

 I get my pastel chalk at Hobby Lobby- make sure 
 you get chalk pastels (NOT oil )  I usually wait
 until they are on sale or use a 40% off coupon!!
** The eraser is a major part of chalking!! Gum 
erasers are the best. A pencil eraser will not work.

  The chalks are easier to use if you break them.
  Them may come with some broken- but that is 
  okay.

After you have your chalk you need paper. I use jumbo card stock paper from Learning Tree. You can use poster board- but make sure you are not on the slick side of it.

Draw your character with pencil or use your projector to enlarge clip art. Then trace over the pencil with a sharpie marker. (not a thick permanent marker)

 I always start with the main color first. Turning the chalk on its flat side outline your character. Get very close to the small parts.

 Use your fingers to rub in the chalk. If it is not as dark as you want, add another layer of chalk. The harder you rub, the better it sticks to the paper. After you have this done, very carefully take it outside or over a trash can and shake off excess chalk. (It is not advised to chalk near carpet!!!)

Next, use the chalks to color in smaller areas. See how close the red is to the green- that is okay!
it will blend- if not use that great eraser!!
shake again!

   To add shading to your character, I rub black on part of the paper that is not going to be showing when you cut it out .  Then I rub some of the black on my fingers and add shading around the edges.

   I shaded around the crown, eyes, and the frog's face. To add cheeks- rub some pink on the paper then rub your fingers in it to add cheeks. I used a big marker to do the eyes.

 The final step, after you shake all the excess off, is to spray it with hairspray. This locks the chalk in and helps the lamination stick. After I spray it I
take the white piece of chalk and add accent marks.  
Then laminate on high and as slow as it will go! If it is not hot enough, it will peel off.  Then cut it out and ta-da!!

New Classroom. Kindergarten 2014

This year I moved schools and am going back to kindergarten. It has been fabulous!!
Here are some pictures of my new room-which is still a work in progress!!

Outside bulletin board

Teacher Feature: Pirate Theme!

Ahoy there, matey! We are delighted to give you a peek into

our colleague, Jessica Wheeler's Pirate Themed classroom today.

Jessica teaches 1st grade at Union Hill School in Alabama.
She just switched to 1st this year after several years in Kindergarten. She has also taught 3rd grade and Talented & Gifted students.

We love how Jessica includes everything she needs to run a smooth classroom, yet keeps her room uncluttered and easy on the eye. As you can tell, she is super organized!

 

Here's the view from the door.

 

This pirate ship is my favorite feature of her room!! She had some assistance from her sweet husband, Shane, building it.

It makes the perfect reading nook!

 

The pirate ship bulletin board is another great feature! She had a little help from Angela creating it. Angela can whip out a ship in no time! Look how cute the ship looks with photos of her firsties...

 

 



 

 

This is her back wall. She painted this "blob" last year. It's awesome for hanging art projects, student work, or anchor charts.

 



 

Mrs. Wheeler's  new students made our Pirate Glyphs

to hang on the blob. They turned out so cute!

Here's a view of her back door...

 

Don't you just love her colors display???

She has the Glyph Girls Alphabet she made up above her board.

Her version is a tad different than the one in our store.

It's truly an original!

 

 

Above her alphabet she has the most adorable

pics of her little pirates...

 

 



 

This is her front door...

That's Mrs. Wheeler on the door (she's the captain of the ship!)



 And now that school has started, Mrs. Wheeler has the whole crew on her door!

 

 

Notice her cute chevron nametags all ready for her new students...

 

She had an adorable welcome gift ready

for Open House, too...

 

Here's a close-up...

 



She's ready for anchor charts on this bulletin board...

A birthday graph dresses up a back corner...



 Mrs. Wheeler made this bunting and added strings of

lights to hang from her ceiling.

She's ready for whole group instruction with this director's chair and all her supplies at her fingertips!

 



 

 

Then she has her number charts hanging above

the Biggie Board (as her kids call it!).

 

 

She found this darling poster on TpT and had it enlarged at Staples. It's hanging by her front door.

 

 I especially love how she designates her leader and helper each day. So simple and easy to change.

 

 

 

 

Let's cruise on out to the hallway...

 

Students and parents are greeted by sweet messages she leaves

on her hallway chalkboard. She changes the message seasonally

and for special holidays.

 Finally, this is the spot in the hallway where Mrs. Wheeler's pirates will show off their work...

 

The kiddos are crazy about the Pirate Theme...





 

 

Meet my precious friend, Jessica Wheeler and her family.

 

 

Sam, Shane, Jessica, Hallie, and baby Nora Kate.

The Wheeler are in the process of adopting. They were not able to keep Nora Kate, but she will always be a part of their family. Now they are waiting patiently for the fourth child that God will bring into their lives. Please pray for them on their adoption journey!

 

Thank you, Jessica, for letting us feature your classroom!

 

 

 

If you also have a Pirate Theme, you might be interested in these products from the Glyph Girls...

 

Both include lots of supplemental resources

to extend the learning.

 

Click on a photo to go to our TpT store

and purchase.

 

We also have similar alphabet patterns available if

you'd like to create a display for your classroom.