Giveaway: Canvas Factory

Look at this amazing photo canvas that I received from Canvas Factory! This gorgeous doggo is our beloved furry family member.  He's a 3 year old Golden Retriever.  We might be just a *little* dog crazy around here.

Canvas Factory's website was super easy to use.  First, you choose what style you would like. I chose the canvas.

Next, you upload the photo. I was able to drag and drop easily.  The photo loaded and then I was able to click and drag it to exactly how I wanted it to display on the canvas. If you want your photo less centered you can move it over.

Finally, you choose if you want the wrap (where the photo goes around the edges) which is what I chose.  You can also just get a color on the edges, or a mirror edge.

If you'd rather display several photos at once, they had some neat looking collage options.

Checkout was a breeze and I loved seeing that they accept PayPal in addition to major credit cards. Here is a screenshot of my cart.  You can see this canvas was originally over $100 but on sale for $45.

As soon as I submitted the order, I got a confirmation email.  Production is quick!  2 days later I had a confirmation that my canvas was shipped via UPS!

The finished project is fabulous! I was nervous and not sure what to expect but once I opened the box I knew Canvas Factory was LEGIT.  The picture turned out great. My husband is already wanting to order a print for a friend and another one for us.  We just loved how this turned out.

Look at this handsome boy!

Obviously we did a print of our beloved doggo but this would be stunning with a vintage (or new) wedding photo, family photo, newborn baby, or a scenic photo from one of your vacations.  Thanks to the generous folks at Canvas Factory, they are offering one of my readers a chance to get their own free canvas!  (Size restrictions apply).  See below to enter.

GIVEAWAY

One lucky winner will receive a coupon code for their OWN free canvas print!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fine print: Open only to U.S. or Canada Residents aged 18 or older.  Giveaway fulfillment is the responsibility of the sponsor: Canvas Factory.

This post is sponsored by Canvas Factory. I received a free product for review purposes.  All opinions are my own.

"Don't Break The Ice" : A Social Skills Game

Last week I talked about the many ways to use this $10 game for academic concepts in the classroom.  Today I'm back with ways to utilize this game for your social skills group.  I use a lot of Zones of Regulation curriculum but of course you can adapt my suggestions to match your own classroom needs.

Don't Break the Ice is a game available readily in stores and online.  The amazon option is usually listed at just under ten dollars.

Here are some ways to use it in your social skills group!

1. Just play the game as-is!  Great for turn taking and dealing with frustration!
2. Students get to take their turn after they state which color "zone" they are in at the moment. For those of you without Zones of Regulation, just have the student say which emotion they feel right then.  Or they can point to an emotion face if they have trouble verbalizing.
3. Give a scenario and have them identify which color zone the fictional person is in. Then they can take their turn.
4. Give a size-of-the-problem scenario. Have the child state how big the problem is.
5. Practice asking and answering questions. Child can draw a card with a question on it and then choose another group member to ask the question of.  Ex: "How are you today?"  "What time is lunch?"  "Can I have a pencil?"
6. Hold up a colored card (red, yellow, green, or blue). Ask the child to state when someone might be in that color zone.
7. State a simple feeling (tired; nervous; ready to learn) and have the child identify which color zone that is before they take their turn.
8. Use the game to reinforce tools for self-regulation.  Ask the child to state a tool they can use to get back to the green zone. Then they can take their turn. Tools might include: stress ball, bouncy chair band, carrying heavy books, weighted lap pad, lazy 8 breathing, jump on trampoline, squeeze putty, get a drink, etc.
9. When teaching a breathing strategy, have the child practice the strategy once or twice before they get to take their turn. Example: once you teach Lazy 8 breathing, have the child do two rounds of it before they take their turn.  This can motivate some of your more reluctant breathers to give it a try since they have to do it in order to get a turn at the game. ;)
    

Have more ideas?  Share in the comments!  I'm always up for learning more ways to help kiddos practice their social skills!

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Friday Funnies: Late Night

This week's Friday Funnies are brought to us by some of the best late night television hosts! Enjoy!

Using "Don't Break the Ice" in Your Classroom

We all know that students love to play games!  When we sneak educational concepts into game playing we have a win-win situation: engaged students practicing the new skill.

I received a grant and one of the items that I had requested was this game:

We got so much use out of this last year!  I'm going to share a ton of ideas here for you to take back to your own classroom. You may be surprised just how much mileage you can get out of a game that is usually available for under $10!


Math:

• Answer a flashcard (addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, etc) and then take your turn.
• Roll a die, identify the number, then take your turn.
• Draw two number cards.  Add (or multiply; depending on the skill you want). Then take your turn.
• Draw a missing number card, state the missing number and then take your turn.  Missing number cards are just index cards with a pattern...for early learners it might be "2, 3, ___, 5" and they would have to say "4".  For older learners it might be large numbers with a skip count pattern such as "___, 450, 475, 500" and they would have to say "425"
• Rounding.  Give students a number, have them round to the nearest tenth/hundredth/etc.
• Place labels on each piece of ice. Each label has a number.  Students first identify the piece of ice (and it's label number) they want to tap. Then they roll a die and multiply the two digits together before taking their turn. Ex: Student wants to tap the piece of ice labeled "7".  They roll a die that lands on 4. They must multiply 7x4 and say "28" before taking their turn.

Language Arts

• Read a sight word flash card, then take your turn.
• Put small labels on each piece of "ice" that contain sight words. In order to tap that piece of ice you have to read the word.
• Put a label with a LETTER on each piece of "ice".  In order to take your turn you have to identify the letter name and sound.
• Rhyming: You say a word, student has to generate a word that rhymes before taking their turn.
• Phoneme Segmentation: You say a word, student has to segment the phonemes before taking their turn. (Ex: Teacher says "bug".  Student says: "/b/   /u/   /g/".)
• Word Talk: Especially for those of you that use Fundations phonics.  Lay out 10 or so word cards.  Before the child takes their turn you ask a question.  Examples: "Stacey, which word is a synonym for  close?"  Stacey would find the card that says "shut".   "Thomas, which word has a digraph after the vowel?"  Thomas may find the card that says "luck". And so on.  Great way to weave review of your current and past concepts!
• Spelling practice.  You say the spelling word, student orally spells (or writes on a scrap of paper), then takes their turn.

More ideas on how to use Don't Break The Ice to teach social skills!

*Links may be affiliate links. See full disclosure here.*