Line Up By Colors with Floor Crayons

One of the things were we struggling with in our classroom was lining up and staying in our own personal space. We haven't exactly mastered the concept yet, but these crayons sure are helping. ;)

I admit I can't take credit for this idea. I saw these recently at a school where I was observing and really liked the idea.

Our crayons are made from bulletin board paper. First, my assistant used a die cut machine to cut out all of the letters. This was her guide for how long the crayons needed to be. Then she hand drew a pattern which she used for all of the crayons. She glued on the letters and added a black stripe to make them look like crayons. We taped the crayons to the floor with masking tape and then added large pieces of clear contact paper over the top of them for durability. This also enables the floor to be swept and mopped.

The floor crayons have many purposes:

• As already mentioned, the crayons help to provide some structure. It gives a defining place and tells the student that this is where we should be.
• Use the crayons as an every day way to teach the children their colors when lining up (Sarah, line up on red. Ben, line up on orange.)
• Use the crayons to provide spatial boundaries/personal space when lining up. (Stay on your color.)
• You could also use the crayons for a game. Our children enjoy jumping from color to color. You could use bean bags and play a toss game.

What ideas do you have for the floor crayons?