Sunday, July 21, 2013

New Attendance Board

Last week I got started working in my classroom.  I posted a few pictures throughout the week as I worked on it, so you can go to the last few posts to see how it's coming along.  Today I'm sharing my new attendance board.  I have always taken attendance and the lunch count in a system similar to this. We have several school lunch choices and of course the option of a home lunch.  Previously, I had a tall filing cabinet right by my door and I used the side of that as my magnetic surface.  For the student magnets, I laminated fun shaped sticky notes and wrote their names on them.  I loved that the shapes were already cut out and were relatively cheap.  They worked with the larger area on the side of the cabinet.  So, here's the solution for my new room and big kids:



Here's what I did: 
 I purchased supplies from my local Hobby Lobby except for the glue which I got on Amazon.  (links to items on Amazon are below if you don't have a local craft shop or prefer Amazon.  For the most part, the Amazon prices were better, for the bottle caps, way better.  I just wanted to do them right away, so I opted for local shop.)
I used the flattened bottle caps so I didn't have so much sticking out, and I liked that look better. 
The magnetic board is from IKEA, here's the link on the IKEA site: 




The glue I used is called Diamond Glaze.  It worked for both gluing the paper circles inside of the bottle cap and also gluing the magnets on the back.  (click the pic to see it on Amazon)

The E6000 glue would work well too: 



I punched enough paper circles from the star paper for 32 magnets.  Then put a dot of glue in the bottle cap and placed the paper inside.  Then I added the number stickers.  This pack is meant for making a calendar in scrapbooking, but worked perfectly for my purpose to have all the numbers I needed.  Or, use a permanent marker and write them on yourself. 
Once I let the glue on the paper set up a bit, I added the epoxy stickers over to finish the tops. 



To add the magnet, I put some glue on the back of the bottle cap and set the magnet on.  Then I went around the edge with a bead of glue like you would if you were calking.  

Speaking from experience...don't lay them too close together to dry. The magnets attract and you may end up with a jumbled blog of mess... just saying... ;)

To section the board, I used washi tape, which worked so much better than the electrical tape I have used in the past. I used my label maker for the section labels.  You could cutsify that part with a printed label in f a fun font.  To hang the board, I used 3M Command hooks at the top and then at the bottom I used the Command strips alone attached directly to the board to keep it from flipping up as the students move their magnets.  

Here are some more close up pictures of the finished 





I only labeled the first box in each row to give some benchmark for students to find and to replace their magnets.  I wasn't going to separate them into compartments, but my 9 year old said her teacher did it that way and that I had to do it that way to, so I did. ;)

Here are links to the supplies on Amazon, just click the pictures: 








How do you take attendance or lunch count in your classroom?

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18 comments:

  1. I do something very similar, but I use my white board in the back since it's magnetic. I usually get colored wooden animals from a craft store, stick a magnet on the back, and let the students choose theirs on the first day of school. Yours looks so organized.
    Pat

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    Replies
    1. Pat I love the idea of letting the students choose their animal on the first day!

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  2. Very cute! I bet that took a lot of time! We actually stopped having to do a lunch count a few years ago, so I just look around to see who's missing each morning. (BORING, lol)

    -Gayla
    Teach On.

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  3. What a great idea! I am headed to IKEA tomorrow for that magnetic board. I have been looking for one just like it!!! Thanks for sharing your project with us.

    Stephanie
    Teaching in Room 6

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad it was helpful Stephanie. I was wandering IKEA and happened upon it and knew exactly what I needed it for. Wandering IKEA can be dangerous!

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  4. Adorable! I need to purchase those bottle caps at Hobby Lobby instead of the real bottle caps that we spray painted. Yours are much cleaner and classy looking! Thank you for sharing. I'm going to go check out the rest of your room!
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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  5. Your newest follower - so cute! Please come visit my blog. Love the epoxy! where you able to find that at joann's? I could never wait for it to come from hong kong. :)
    justaprimarygirl.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. I wasn't able to find it at any of my local craft stores, but maybe you'll have better luck!

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  6. That is super cute! I have the kids use the SmartBoard to make their lunch choice and then I look to see who's name isn't moved yet for attendance. :-)

    Nichole
    The Craft of Teaching

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    Replies
    1. I'm not lucky enough to have a smart board, but that would work out great if I did.

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  7. Your attendance board is super cute. I'm your newest follower.
    Yashika
    http://somewherebetweenfirstandthird.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very cute! I like the advice of your little one, it looks great divided up!

    Lindsay
    For the Love of First Grade

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  9. These look so great with the bottle cap! I made attendance magnets with the very same number stickers last year, but they didn't get much use. I used them on my whiteboard but the students kept knocking them off and they would break on the floor!

    I have since been using my SMART board for attendance, and my kids loved it!

    Nicole
    First Grade Frenzy!

    ReplyDelete

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