How to make a poster- Cheap!!!

I have the issue that so very often the poster I want either I can't find, is to expensive or just isn't quite right... so over the summer I decided to figure out how to make my own! It takes some time- I won't lie, but the end result is quite impressive! It is a two part process, one that you have to be comfortable with the computer and Microsoft Publisher and any online Poster printer- I used Vistaprint. I like their company. They do very nice work, have good coupons, ship for free often, have great customer service and usually get the posters to me before the estimated date. Vistaprint is great, but they only print the poster- you need Publisher to create the poster!
Step 1- Go to Vistaprint (or other poster making website) and in the search box type in poster. The first line is going to say Custom Poster- click on it! In the green box to the right determine which size poster that they offer you want to make. This is important because you are going to use the pre-determined size in Microsoft Publisher when creating your poster there. For this particular poster I used 11.25" x 17.3" (small size). It made a poster a little smaller than those usually purchased online but it was perfect for what I wanted. I also, in the past, have made the medium size (18"x 24"), which are the clock and Watch Your Attitude posters.
Step 2- After you have determined your size then you go back to Publisher and open a Blank Page Sizes- bottom right option is Create a Custom Page Size- choose this option and input your chosen size in Width and Height (17.3 & 11.25). On far bottom right press create.
Step 3- Choosing your picture. It is recommended that you choose a picture that is at least 1600 x 1200 pixels. I found the best way to find pictures that meet this expectation (if you are not taking them yourself on your own camera) is to Google images and then after your desired picture name, put 1600 x 1200 pixels. This will find you pictures that meet that requirement.
Step 4- After you have chosen you picture click on it to enlarge it, right click,"copy image" and then go back to publisher and right mouse click on the center of the blank page and "paste" it there. You can stretch by clicking on the picture until there is a little green dot at the top of the picture and then scroll over the corner dots until the double sided arrow shows up- left mouse click and drag it to the size you want. Once this is complete you can add a text box above in the "Insert" column and then add text if you life. Save this poster to your desktop as this makes it easier to find when you are moving it to Vistaprint for printing.
Step 5- Go back to Vistaprint and pick the size poster that you want (11.25 x 17.3) and pick "Upload a design".  The next box that will pop up is "Vertical or Horizontal". This depends on which way you made your poster in Publisher but I usually make mine horizontal.... pick...click "choose a file" (the one from your desktop). You are able to make changes within this area if there are things that you see that you would like to change but you can't change your original piece because you uploaded it as a single piece but you could add words or shrink the whole things etc... if you need to change any details you have the change the original and then upload it again. Click "Next". Click the box for Online Proof Approval and then click "next" again. If you haven't created an account or signed in, this is where it will ask you to do so now.
Step 6- Now you will just follow the steps of cashing out. I hope that you enjoy your new poster!

Here are some of the examples of ones I have made. I apologize for the lighting, the reflections are not great. The last time I made posters I made 8 of them for $50. This included shipping.

First day of school

Today was the first day of school. It was a whopper! Crazy as always, but wonderful too! I always enjoy the first day. It's great seeing all the new students and getting the welcome back hugs from those who can't wait to return! As you can see in the pictures we began our new attendance initiative called Ready Freddy. It is to encourage Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergartners to attend everyday. Too often we hear that they are not mandatory and therefore not necessary and this is soooo untrue! So, we were encouraging the kids by wearing our yellow Freddy shirts and hanging out with our life size Freddy (didn't get a picture with him-but I will next Friday at his next planned visit!). Also my intern was able to complete putting up the Be You bulletin board- it looks great!- see below. Thanks for reading!

My office for the year...

So... my office is finally almost done! The pictures don't do it justice; especially since I had to turn the overhead lights on in order to get good pictures.  I hate the overhead lights! I normally only use lamps. They offer a calm, relaxed atmosphere that is warm and inviting. The overhead lights also insight migraines, which I also suffer from, so I try my hardest to avoid turning them on. Anyways this not about the lights, but it is about setting up your space. I have two interns this year, so I needed to divide up my space so that they could see students (under my supervision), while I am also seeing students, all in the same space at the same time. This took some thought, space management and good sense. I divided the room into sections: couch area (comfy space with pillows and relaxation stuff- including music, calm down jars and bean bag frogs), my desk (not pictured), interns desk, student computer area (not pictured), group table, and younger child play area (rice table, doll house, and puppet theater). I hope that the students enjoy it as much as I think they will! :-)

Calm Down Jars...

Ok, so I tried these multiple times before I figured out the best way to make them and I'm going to give you a few tips!
1. You will need the following ingredients....
     a. glitter glue (if you want the water clue, buy clear- if you want the water colored buy that color...etc)
     b. glitter (the large flaked glitter) 
     c. warm water
     d. I searched and searched Walmart for PLASTIC wide mouthed containers that were not to large (kids could fit their hands around) that had flat bottoms (important because the first few trial runs I found that the glitter gets stuck in the crevices of the bottles if they are not flat!) and finally landed on PLASTIC (so if dropped by a student in my classroom there won't be a watery clean-up) Planters peanut containers. Now I am allergic to nuts, so this involved me wearing gloves and sterilizing the heck out of these containers to make sure that not only me but any student who came into contact would not have an issue.... but they work great!
     e. You will see in  my clear jar I added a few extra things to make it more visual (ribbon, beads, stars chains and fake snow)  
     f.  Peanut jars are not water proofed... so you will need to super glue them shut- I also put a piece of plastic bag in between to make sure they were sealed... again didn't want any watery accidents!
Ok, so when actually making the jars- It is absolutely important to fill the jar only half full with warm water and then add approximately 1 tablespoon of glitter glue per cup of water (so if your bottle holds 4 cups then you use 4 tablespoons of glitter glue). Then shake the jar well until all the glue is mixed in well with the water. You don't want to see any lumps. Once they are mixed then add all your extra goodies. If you add all the stuff at once they glitter will adhere to the glue and become large clumps of glitter glitter glue... yuck! Not a pretty affect at all! That's it! Enjoy!

Hello All...

My name is Kristine Pieczonka. I am school social worker in Buffalo, New York. I work for the Buffalo Public Schools; which I love! The teachers are great, the students are unique, diverse and wonderful! The days are filled with many different experiences and no day is ever the same (as I am sure many of you know!). Our district is very involved with PBIS, so you may hear me speak A LOT about that and the activities and ideas/paperwork that I am involved with/running that pertain to this. I'm sorry if this does not pertain to you, but if it does I'm sure you will appreciate what we are doing! We work closely with Kim Breen and Illinois PBIS to make our programs as rich and growth inspiring as possible (while still not breaking the bank!)

So, I have been reading all the many blogs of other counselors and social workers and have been so impressed with the ideas and suggestions that I thought I might give it a try. I also thought it might be therapeutic to talk about what I do and get some of my ideas out there. The summer has been hectic and I haven't had much time to try out many of the ideas that others have suggested though I have borrowed a few and am excited about them. I made the "Calm Down" Jars and and will talk about them below and also am going to try out the "BE Yourself" bulletin board; however school does not start until next week for me so you will have to wait with baited breath for how it turns out... :)