Saturday, January 05, 2013

Bring in the NEW YEAR with a...MOBILE!

When I thought about what freebie I could make to share with my wonderful Created by MrHughes friends, I knew I wanted something that would be useful (a must) and creative (a must). I also realized that I like to have student work in my room. If you have seen my room, you will notice that I do NOT have much room on my wall because of the way my room is.

That means the only real "empty" space I have in my room is the ceiling. I told myself that I need to use this space better. Thus the New Year's Goals and Resolutions Mobile kit was born. I went through several different models of models before I settled on this one:
Okay, so that isn't a very good picture. The ones I wanted to use aren't all the great either. Sigh... However, you can totally get the idea! :)

I made the copies and stapled them into packets (or rather, the copy machine did that for me- I LOVE technology!). I knew that having 60+ students make these mobiles would be an undertaking, and I was excited for the challenge. So, with the copies are ready and me excited to go, I still have one challenge: HOW?

My next thought was... how do I hang 60+ mobiles without making a million (okay, okay.... 60) new holes in my ceiling. Then a good friend suggested that I just hang string around the room and use clothespins to hang them. Well DUH! That made perfect sense. So I ordered clothespins (mini-colored ones) from Amazon. That was an interesting experience. Let's just say that I need to read better next time. I spent over $15 on 250 one inch clothespins. I was VERY upset when they came. I must not have been thinking when I read 1 inch. I was totally expecting the "mid-size" versions. My wife just laughed at me. Oh well. When you live in the middle of no where you take what you can get. Ha ha. Here a picture of some of the costly beauties:

I do have rather large hands, but even so, those are tiny little buggers. However, they have some super gripping power. So, all in all, it wasn't a total waste.

Anyways, I hung the string around my room in a big "U" shape. If you do this, pull the string fairly tight, otherwise the mobiles will hang much too low. Then, as the students completed them I hung them up. That way I was not left with a pile of tangled mobiles to hang.

If you can't hang them as they make them (after all, not everyone is 6' 3" tall), then have the students lay them out on top of each other carefully so they don't get tangled. You could also send them home the same day they finish them. But, I like the idea of them being where the students can see and enjoy them for a week or three.

Here is how my classroom display turned out. I LOVE it!




As you can see, they make a very impressive display. And, the best part? This is a FREE resource in my TpT Shop.

You can click on the picture OR you can click HERE to get YOUR free copy now. Oh, and I plan to update it each year with the current year, so don't think that you missed it if we are in 2014 or 2045 or something.

THE 2015 UPDATE IS NOW AVAILABLE! WAHOO! Click above or on the picture to download! :)




Cheers!
-MrHughes :0)

11 comments:

  1. LOVE this idea! Printed it right off and planning to use it next week . . . lesson plan rewrite, oh well. Too bad about the costly mini pins, but you'll probably find some use for them.

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  2. Howdy Gale!
    Thanks for your comment. I am so pleased you are going to use this (even if it means rearranging your plans!). I think you will be very pleased with how it turns out! Have a great day!
    -MrHughes

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  3. I wish I would have known about this before I started school on Thursday! I spent the first day back doing some New Year's activities that were not as cute as these! :(

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  4. Melissa-
    It's never too late- Make it a Monday activity! :) They take about an hour or so to fill out, color, cut, and glue. :)

    Happy New Year!
    -MrHughes

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  5. Did these with my 3rd graders on Friday. They enjoyed it and we're really serious about setting goals. They are hanging from my ceiling. Thanks for the great activity!

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  6. were really serious...autocorrect makes me crazy! :)

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  7. Sherie-
    I am so pleased that your kiddos set some good goals! Don't they look AWESOME hanging on the ceiling? I love it. Thanks for sharing, and I totally agree about AUTO CORRECT! I personally think it is evil! ha ha
    -MrHughes

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  8. The mobiles look great, John! You've got me thinking about how you can use those clothespins now! How about some clothespin Art? Maybe clothespin symmetry snowflakes?

    Thanks for all you do, it's really fun to see an upper elementary classroom incorporate "making stuff" as my second graders say!
    Linda
    AroundtheKampfire

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  9. Linda,
    Thanks for your kind words AND for your ideas for using those stinkin' expensive clothes pins. I love the idea of the snowflakes... I will have to think on that one. :) I am a hands-on person, so I am always looking for ways to incorporate the "making" aspect!

    Have a wonderful day!

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  10. Ha, those clothes pins are way too cool! Can you hear me laughing all the way over here? But they did the job and that's what counts.

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  11. Hey Diplo-
    I was wondering what that sound was... ha ha.
    Yeah, they held, so that is all that matter! Hope you are warmer than we are here.

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