Make it Monday- Getting Ready for International Dot Day 2012

Okay, so a few of my blogs have been about Dot Day lately.  I am much like my mother and I am thankful for connections I make and the stories that I hear along the way.  Dot Day is just that! After following the #dotday tag on twitter I found some amazing teachers, librarians, authors, illustrators.. and so many more that wanted to remind people that you just need to make a mark to make a difference.  You can even check out some really cool authors and illustrators and other celebrities that have taken the time to share their talent by submitting their own dot at Celebri-dots

Reading more about Dot Day my brain started running.. and I wanted to do so much more than just an activity in my classroom (now.. do I have a TON of cool things planned for my classroom.. of course I DO! Keep reading to find out what)  I got with my art teacher, got the okay from the principal... and decided to hold an International Dot Day Event!  Saturday morning from 9am-11am we are inviting families to come make their mark with different dot activities.

I wanted to do something creative with the teachers that are helping, so today after school (oh convenient for Make It Monday) we had a Dot Day T-Shirt Making Party!  Super easy to do.. and I have to admit, so far they look fabulous!

Dot Day Shirts- Tie Dye with Sharpies

Need: sharpies, rubbing alcohol , eye dropper, t-shirt, cups, rubber bands 

Choose where you want to put the cups or cup.  It is up to you what kind of design you want to use!
Once you have the spot, rubberband

Add designs using sharpie (or permanent marker)  Add eye dropper  of alcohol to get your desired effect
Once dry remove rubber bands and cups and throw in dryer to heat set

For Dot Day on the 15th we are going to have 4 stations.  Families will come in and add their dot (made from construction paper) with their signature on it to a paper eagle (our mascot is an eagle) and get their ticket for the stations.  There will be a welcome where The Dot will be read and stations will be explained. We are going to divide k-2 and 3-5 for the day. Stations at school will include: -Glow in the Dark dot station- creating pictures using glow sticks -Thank you station- creating thank you cards using dots to thank those that helped us make our marks -Cookie creation station- decorating cookies -Tie Dye Station- make those cool coffee filter crafts

Making Cool Station Signs!

I am excited about Saturday... but Friday in my classroom is going to ROCK! By following the twitter hashtag #dotday (have I mentioned that few times?) I connected with @matthewwinner who posted some fantastic want ads for connecting with skype in the classroom to connect on Dot Day!  We are connecting with a classroom in Canada so far (more to come!)  There are also some great blogs out there from @mcteach

 Check out my pinterest board for some of the ideas that we are doing!

Thank you @tjshay for helping so many educators dream big, and thanks @peterhreynolds for reminding us to make our mark!