Taming Pinterest

Pinterest is an addictive, sneaky, time-sucking website.  I also suspect that it encourages envy and jealousy in some.  And, despite these negatives, I love it!  Why?  I love it because I have always wanted to make design boards like interior designers make for rooms.  Everything you want for a room is right there so you can see it - all together, not piece meal like most of my decorating is.  I also love it because it allows teachers a new, visual way to collect and organize activities, lesson plans, and time-saving tips.  Last, but not least, it helps me corral all of those random recipes that I find and want to try....but forget to bookmark and, eventually, forget about completely.  My goal is to use it as the tool that it's meant to be and not a source of discomfort, envy, or self-loathing (you know, those why can't my house look like that? kind-of thoughts).

Here are the pins that I have actually used so far this year....

 1.  I searched and searched for a new duvet and shams that would coordinate with the new furniture in my master bedroom.  Using Pinterest as a virtual file folder, I was able to compare lots of different designs side-by-side with a minimum of stress, driving, and returns.  Also, hubby got some input before I spent the money on something he didn't like.

 2.  Since January 16th is Martin Luther King, Jr Day, this activity is in my plans for the week.  I will have to modify this a little since it is designed for 1st graders, but that's OK because without Pinterest, I probably wouldn't have found this activity in the first place. 

 3.  One of our math standards in 3rd grade is finding the area and perimeter of rectangles.  Thanks to this nifty lesson, my kiddos were engaged and began quickly computing the perimeter of different Cheez-it rectangles. Another bonus - during today's review lesson, they were able to create several different rectangles with the same area. 

 4.  I saw this idea on a 1st grade teacher's site.  Her science notebook was about rocks and soil so I looked at the pages then created my own notebook about matter and energy. So far, my students have enjoyed the hands-on activities and experiments that I planned.  I'm enjoying the fact that I have a month of science lessons planned so I don't have to worry every day about what I'm going to do. 

 5.  I made this recipe for 7-layer cookie bars this weekend.  Unfortunately, my cookie bars do not in ANY WAY resemble the delectable bars in this picture.  Oh well, you win some; you lose some.  

 So, how are you using Pinterest?