Almost No Sew Sit-Upons

Back to school is just around the corner here in Australia. I am excited about starting a new year and meeting my new group of kids!

This year, instead of a classroom mat, I have decided to make sit-upons for carpet time. Although I like mats, they can be a bit of a tripping hazard and I think the variety of sit-upons will add a nice pop of color to the room. As I am not much of a sewer, I have managed to make the sit-upons with the least amount of sewing as possible! I thought I'd share how I made them for any other stitching challenged folk out there ;)

The sit-upons are approximately 18" square. First I cut an 18" and a 19" square template from cardboard. I mixed and matched fabrics, tracing and cutting an 18" square of fabric for the top layer, and a 19" square of fabric for the bottom layer. I also cut an 18" layer of wadding.

At the ironing board I sandwiched the materials, with the top layer showing the good piece of fabric, then the wadding, then the bottom layer with the wrong side facing up and the good side against the ironing board. I centered the materials and then folded and ironed the bottom piece so the raw edge of the bottom layer was against the raw edge of the top layer. Armed with my glue stick, I then ran the glue along the edge, folding and ironing it to the top layer of fabric. This really sets the fabric in place and means no pins when it comes to sewing!

 

I then folded the corner and set with glue. I repeated the steps above along each edge - folding, gluing and attaching to the top layer (glue and fold) until all edges were set on the top layer. 

I couldn't avoid it any longer. I then needed to get the sewing machine and sew around each side of the sit-upon. This really was super easy as the glue meant that everything was fixed in place really well! Not nearly as scary as I anticipated!

  

And that is it! I'm really excited about these little sit-upons. I am thinking I will have each child 'own' one through the year so there is no fighting over them and they will need to take responsibility for their own mat.

 

Christmas Tree Craftivity and Freebie

Christmas really is my favorite time of the year! I love spending time with family and friends and showing my love to them through gifts. I also love celebrating Christmas in the classroom with Christmas Countdowns, Christmas Sight Words and this Christmas Tree Craftivity!

 

 

 

I love this simple activity for helping students write lists and think about others (not just themselves!) at Christmas. It also makes a beautiful bulletin board display.

 

 As a whole class, we discuss that while it is nice to receive presents at Christmas, it is also a great time to show our family and friends how much we love them by making or buying gifts. Then we brainstorm things that parents, siblings and friends might like as gifts. This is a great opportunity to read shopping catalogues and explore the value of money within a budget context.

Following this, I model writing a shopping list for friends and family using a sheet included in the download.

The students then view the Power Point (also included in the download), which has step by step instructions of how to construct the Christmas Tree Craftivity.

 

I think the end result makes a lovely Christmas display. Just remember to hand the trees to your students to take with them on their shopping trip! Click HERE for more details about the craftivity.

And for sticking with me until the end, a little gift for you! This Free Sight Word Print and Go is a great Christmas activity for your literacy centers! Click HERE to download.

Merry Christmas!