A "How-To" And A "Ha-Ha"

     First, the "Ha-Ha."  One of the things that makes me laugh the most is when one of the kids sees something with their unobstructed, five-year-old view of the world and then says something so completely unfiltered and true.  For example...  Last weekend I got my hair colored (a few too many grays have been popping up lately!) and cut, but it was really just a trim and barely noticeable.  One of the girls in my class noticed the change however and asked me if I had gotten a haircut.  Pretty impressed with her observational skills, I told her that yes, I had.  After a sweet compliment from her, one of the boys (who is super literal, btw) standing nearby chimed in, "You did?"  He looked and looked at me, trying to see a difference then said, "What did you do, just cut out the white ones?"  I was rolling on the floor!  Note to self - don't go so long before heading to the salon next time!
    Now for the "how-to."  I promised a little tutorial on how to make the sign I have on my classroom door.  (Click here to enter my giveaway if you'd like a chance to win one for your classroom - you have 'til Sunday.)  
     It's super easy.  You can do it in Powerpoint or Notebook software (and probably a bunch of others but these are the ones I know).  I started by inserting a shape, a big black circle in the middle of my page.  Then, I added a text box with a large font with the word "kindergarten."  Just make sure you have the text box formatted as "no fill" and the background will stay transparent.

     Then, I changed to a smaller font and added a text box for each child's name - the quickest way is to choose a color for your first name (let's say pink) and cut and paste it three or four times so your font size stays the same.  Then change the name in the duplicates so you now have four pink names.

     Change one of these to your next color and repeat.  You can rotate the text boxes and scatter them all over the circle. (I had to play a little to get them evenly spaced.)

     When I had those all positioned I went to even a smaller font and using the same cut & paste/color change trick as above, I added "kindergarteny" words like reading, crayons, recess, etc. Scatter those and ta-da!  All done.

     Then, save your page as a jpg and you're ready to print.  Make sure that you save it with a high resolution if you're planning on blowing it up to poster sized.  I had mine done at Walmart - who knew they made posters in their one-hour photo centers?  It was only 10 bucks and totally worth it I think!  If you give it a try and have any questions, let me know, I'd be happy to help.  I'd love to see a picture when you're done!   Happy Creating!