Have comment or review you'd like to share? Click here!

Learning Décor

Interactive Centers Using Mini Bulletin Board Sets
“I purchased several of the mini bulletin board sets to create interactive centers. The ones that I purchased were The Earth, Moon, and Stars, Plants, Investigating Matter, Simple Machines, Sound, Three Branches of Government, Types of Animals, and Weather Mini Bulletin Board Sets. The mini bulletin boards sets are perfect by reinforcing skills using hands-on learning to meet the standards for TCAP. I purchased science fair boards and Velcro sticky backs and velcroed every piece to make the interactive centers. It was a lot of work over Spring Break, but it was worth it to see the children come into the classroom and see the colorful displays. I have ten centers, and I placed the interactive boards into five of them. The children were excited to work in the centers. I enjoyed monitoring and hearing the children problem solving in each of the centers! All of the centers were fun to watch, but the Earth, Moon, and Stars Mini Bulletin Board Set was interesting because of the phases of the moon. The children knew that there are eight phases, and they would lay out the eight pictures and sort them in order (making sure that CTP was in the bottom left corner) and they would keep saying that there in not a New Moon. I told them to think about the phases they knew and work out the process of elimination. The children were amazed that the New Moon could look like the card because it was not like the picture in their textbook. Several colleagues liked the interactive bulletin boards and plan on creating some in their classroom. I plan to purchase more mini bulletin board sets and to create more interactive centers. They are wonderful, easy to store, and are interactive! Thank you Creative Teaching Press!!”
–Wendi A.
Fourth Grade Teacher
Tennessee

Magnetic Centers Using Mini Bulletin Board Sets
"Last summer I bought several of the mini bulletin board sets that I turned into magnetic centers. I purchased the Symbols of America, Simple Machines, Black History, Plants, Types of Animals, and Sound sets. After laminating all the pieces, I put magnetic tape on the back so they could be used on my white board. I have used these sets as a teaching tool during whole class instruction, work for centers, and then chapter or unit reviews before tests. The children have really enjoyed being able to move the pieces around the board, sorting, classifying, labeling, and demonstrating what they have learned. I would highly recommend these products to other teachers as they have such versatility and were a great price."
–Allison V.
First Grade Teacher
Illinois

Mini Bulletin Board Sets as Interactive Lessons
"I am a 17 year stay-at-home Mom who re-entered the work force two years ago. I am fortunate enough to be a third grade teacher AND to have discovered Creative Teaching Press. I believe at this time that I have purchased almost all of your mini bulletin sets. I use them as introduction and interactive learning lessons for my students. I have separate bordered sections for social studies, science, and math. Each of your mini bulletin board sets corresponds to a different subject and my students love to be able to either place a picture, name the covered term, etc. When you added the new sets for Earth Day, I displayed them in the hallway so all of our school could enjoy and learn from them. I love your products, they are clear, extensive, and so easy to use. I have purchased many other items but the mini bulletin boards are my hands-down favorite!"
–Kathleen F.
Third Grade Teacher
Illinois

On Sale Learning Décor Decorated My Classroom
"I teach 6th grade homeroom in a Christian School. Because we are not state funded, we only get $25.00 per year for room decorations, any other funds we pay ourselves. Last year, because of your sale selection, I was able to decorate my entire room at a reasonable price. Teachers from other grades sent their children in just to see my room. I have 7 walls in my room because of 2 smaller restrooms inside my room. I decorated each section with a different border and inside the border, I did posters relating to that border (academics, seasonal, pledges, bees, birthday, 100's, etc.) I have been really impressed with the quality of your products as well as the prices. Please keep the sale items coming!"
-Marcie T.
Sixth Grade Teacher
North Carolina

 

Name Plates Make My Students Feel Special
"My students loved their name plates that I bought from CTP. Every morning the first thing they did was find their seat, look at their picture next to their name and tell me "this is my name". I bought two different kinds one for the fall one for spring. I guess that made them feel important and special. I also used my bulletin board borders that I bought from you and made them even better. Thank you, you made my life as a teacher better, much better."
–Rosie R.
Pre-K Teacher
North Carolina

Cut-Outs Are Great for ELL
"I really enjoy the bulletin board cutouts. These are particularly useful for my English Language Learners. They often need more pictures and words to make connections and the examples correspond to the subjects that teaching. The colorful images make these topics more engaging and when words are used they are clear and concise. All of these things have improved my ability to capture students’ attention, not to mention making my classroom colorful and inviting! Thank you."
–Stephanie, B.
Seventh Grade Science Teacher
California

Stickers Make Great Reading Rewards!
"I am a Title I Reading teacher and work with students in Kindergarten through 5th Grade. My main focus is on K-2 because we know we have to catch them early. My school has a 75% free and reduced rate and our parents are literally the working poor. They want to help their children, but many times find it hard to motivate them. I have the same difficulty, but went back to a childhood favorite to change that. I can remember the few times in school when my teachers gave us the "smelly stickers." I wondered if my students would get as excited as I did about them. I WAS BLOWN AWAY BY THEIR ENTHUSIASM!!! They turned into reading machines when I started rewarding them with one of their choice Scratch 'n Sniff stickers for each night they read. They soon started asking for two and three books at a time. It is worth every penny I spent to help a child find that love of reading (and smelly stickers!)"
–Kimberly Y.
Title I Reading Teacher K-5
Tennessee

Make Big Books Using Bulletin Board Sets, Letters, and Cutouts!
“I have used the CTP bulletin board sets, letters, and cutouts to make engaging big books that my kindergarten students use to follow along with educational songs. These sturdy, colorful books are used by me at whole group time and by the children during literacy centers. Because of the kid-friendly designs of your products, my students are eager to use the books. This is the first year I've used them, and I have seen remarkable gains in the following skills: letter recognition, letter sounds, rhyming words, counting, coin recognition, spelling, and even social skills (please and thank you!). I just love your products, and my students do too!”
–Lindsay B.
Kindergarten Teacher
Oklahoma

Mini Bulletin Boards are great for a document camera!
"I am enjoying the Mini Bulletin Board Sets. They are a great learning tool. The size of the Mini Bulletin Board set is excellent! It fits perfectly on the document camera. Also, it is a matte finish so it does not create glare when projecting. I am a fan! The photographs are outstanding. It brings the concepts to life for my class and is perfect for my ELLs."
–Kim A.
2nd Grade Teacher, Gr. 3-5 GATE Coordinator
California

Mini Bulletin Boards help my students better understand the Science!
"I have limited wall space and 6 different grade level curriculums for science. The Science Mini Bulletin Boards sets are colorful, bright, and can be broken down to fit in smaller spaces. Science is a subject that is hard for my students to visualize. By using the instructional Mini Bulletin Boards sets in my class, my students were better able to understand the subject."
–Sam U.
California
Elementary Science Teacher, K-6

Readers

Learning To Read at Home
"I purchased 48 books from the series Learn to Read to complete my "Home and Back Literacy Packs. I sent them home throughout the year to give children and their families an extra opportunity to read to/with their children and complete the accompany activities/journals. The children shared their completed journal entry or hands on activity with the class. It supported our reading instruction in the class as well our creative writing in journals. Every student in the class far exceeded the benchmark as measured by the instrument Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. I have since purchased multiple copies of each title to continue the program with next year's class."
–Wendy G.
Kindergarten Teacher
Arizona

Dr. Maggie's Readers taught my son that books can be fun!
"My elder son spent the first 7 years of his life in China, where we ordered from CTP and other publishers via internet, back in late 1990s. CTP and a few others were the ONLY English reading materials that were allowed through customs and I am grateful. Not only did my son manage to learn phonics, he actually “realized” books can be fun and that started him on his “romance with books.” A child that loves to read and reads well – what more can a mother ask for (especially when English is not our mother-tongue)?"
–Hazel S.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

Dr. Jean keeps class engaged and having fun!
"My students and I absolutely love Dr. Jean! Her songs are perfect for getting my kids up and moving. My class is always fully engaged when we sing and act out Dr. Jean's songs. Most importantly, my students learn important skills while having fun!"
– Edde C.
California

Using Dr. Jean ... best thing I've done in my teaching career!
"Incorporating Dr. Jean's music into my classroom was the best thing I have ever done in my teaching career to date. Her songs are easy to sing (for both students and teachers), educational, and most importantly, fun."
– Vanessa L.
Texas

Resource Books

Using Math Minutes as a Warm-up.
"I used Math Minutes as a warm-up for the first time this year and found them motivating, effective and fun! Students were so excited to work accurately (but fast) and enjoyed keeping their scores. I was pleased that these exercises really prepared the children for standardized math testing, which switches math topics from page to page! One question may be about patterns and the next may ask them to interpret a graph. It helped them become more accustomed to this kind questioning and really enjoyed seeing their own progress!"
–Debbie A.
Third Grade
New Jersey

Build-a-Skill books are enjoyable and fun!
We sent the Gr. 2-3 Build-a-Skill Instant Books series to a 2nd grade class at Heritage Elementary School. They had such a fun and enjoyable learning experience that they sent a letter thanking us! Click here to read it.

 

Best activity book for teaching body systems.
"I have been teaching children health and physical education for more than 30 years. Yesterday I purchased the Power Practice Human Body activity book. This is one of the best activity books on teaching the body systems that I have found. It breaks the systems down into understandable parts that do not overwhelm the students. I highly recommend this book!"
– Danny G.
Kentucky

eBooks

"I have purchased several CTP products over the past few years and have found them all to be very useful. I recently purchased Build-a-Skill, Math Facts to 20 on-line. I was really impressed by how I could download and use it in literally seconds! I have made a number of the activities for my class as independent practice at this time of year (nearing the end). The children love the wallets for the basic facts! They took them home to show their parents for homework and reported that Mom and Dad liked them, too! It's definitely a resource I'll use again and again! I'll also use the eBooks method of purchasing for other products in the future!"
-Debbie W.
First Grade Teacher
BC, Canada

"I love using eBooks with my interactive white board. I’ve been using your Math Minutes book with my class for the last few months. I project one of the pages each day as a warm up for my lesson. Then after we complete the problems I save the file and post it to my class website and the students can refer back to it when they are doing their homework or reviewing for a test."
- Jo W.
6th Grade Math Teacher
California

General comments
"The CTP awards allow me to present awards in a professional yet creative manner."
–Tarica L.
Montgomery, AL
2nd, K, and Reading Coach

"I would say to anyone needing instructional tools to go check out the CTP products. They have a huge variety of products for different curriculums of all grade levels. You can always find something with CTP."
–Sam U.
California
Elementary Science Teacher, K-6

"The bulletin board charts create a fun learning environment for my students. The grade organizer helps keep me on track as well as the lesson plan book. I am able to show my principal the details of my teaching through the plan book. Visually, the borders and wall charts encourage the kids learning and remembering concepts, this makes my job easier when the students want to remember!"
–Nancy C.
Newport Beach, CA
4th Grade