Do you have a Cricut, or you are interested in buying one? Are you wondering how you can use it as a music teacher? I've enjoyed my Cricut Explore Air 2, and today, I have five ways to use the Cricut for your music classroom!
One note: I do have some affiliate links in this post, but only to products I absolutely love for my own classroom!
#1: Sit spots
Because of COVID-19 regulations at the start of this past school year, I had to have students distanced at three feet…but couldn't use a carpet. Sit spots, made by the Cricut with removable vinyl, came to the rescue! Here's what they looked like:
I made them with a musical symbol cut out of them in the middle, but halfway through the year decided, as I was covering up spots that had been torn, to make them without the symbol. That seemed to work better, as it was more difficult for students to rip at the spots (which, of course, I told them not to do, but some still got torn!)
Even if we don't have COVID-19 regulations this upcoming year, I think I may continue to use these sit spots, as students knew exactly where to go each class, and I liked having them a bit more spread out instead of all being squished together on my carpet!
#2: Line-up markers
Also because of COVID-19, I wanted to have my students spread out when they lined up. I took the inside part of the sit spots and used them as line-up markers, so students could line up on a treble clef, an eighth note, etc.! Here is a picture of those:
These could also work for games, if you want students spread out in the room.
#3: Bulletin board headers
The Cricut is great for making bulletin board headers as well! Here are some bulletin board headers I've made with the Cricut, with scrapbook paper:
This one, above the bulletin board, was made with removable vinyl:
#4: Decorations on wall
I had a boho rainbow theme in my music classroom this year, and was able to easily make this cute rainbow with removable vinyl:
#5: Restroom markers
For years, I've had students write their names on a dry erase board when they leave my room to use the restroom. Here is an image of that:
Sometimes, though, students take a long time to write their name (because who doesn't love to use dry erase markers??) So this upcoming year, I'm going to try to use restroom magnets on a cookie sheet. Here is an image of the one I created, using ribbon, velcro, a cookie sheet, these magnets from Amazon, and stickers with my Cricut:
When students need to use the restroom, they simply move their magnet to “restroom,” and if they are going to the nurse, they move it to “nurse.” Here is a close-up of the magnets.
I used clear sticker paper, but you could also use white sticker paper so the numbers are even easier to see. For “restroom” and “nurse,” I used removable vinyl.
If you are interested in making these exact stickers with your Cricut, sign up below to receive the SVG file, which you can import into Cricut Design Space! (Thank you to Kaitlynn Albani for the cute clip art!)
Here is another article, written by a classroom teacher, with tons of ideas for the Cricut.
How do you use your Cricut? Tell us about it below. Happy creating!
2 Responses
I love this idea! I have a Silhouette and made a vinyl sign for my door so everyone could find the classroom! Do you think the vinyl would work on carpet? I’ve got carpet in my classroom and currently use poly spots but I like the idea of something for the kids to line up with.
Hi April! I just checked in the Cricut for Teachers Facebook group (which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/726991191129328) and it looks like vinyl comes off the carpet when it’s vacuumed. Maybe you could use Velcro instead?