I had the awesome opportunity to try out an Ellison Super Star die cutter. I was so excited to try it out and cut out all sorts of goodies during the summer. Of course, I've been busy training my munchkins and have just gotten around to putting them to use! 

The first thing I wanted to use was the 'flash card wheel' as a way to partner up the kids. So, I got out my new Ellison AllStar die cutting machine, these dies, and some brass fasteners. I used various colors for the top and I laminated them first to make the spinner a little more durable. I used white construction paper for the die with 10 sections, but didn't laminate because I wanted the kids to write on them.
After I got them all put together, I gave each child in my math class a spinner with their name & the numbers 1-10 on it.
Then, I had them all turn their spinner to number 1. They went to another child in the room and asked to be their partner. Then, they traded spinners and wrote their own name on the other child's spinner.

After writing their name, they raised hands in the air together so I could make sure everyone was partnered up. I highly recommend taking this process slowly and one step at a time. Otherwise, you will end up with chaos ensuing! Check out this video of one of the rounds.
So, now when I need the kids to find a partner, I can just say "Find your number 8 partner!"

I'm so excited to use some of the other dies that I got with my AllStar. I got this really nifty card die that will hold several sizes of pictures. I cut these on some of my scrapbook paper that I never seem to get around to using. 



See the slanted cuts? You can just pop a picture in there and let the kids make a special note for Mom, Dad, or another special person in their lives!


Isn't this a neat little tool to have for your classroom or even for your kiddos at home? Well guess what! You could get one of these puppies of your own with all the dies above AND these to boot! I know if you are like me, your brain is thinking of all sorts of things you can do with these goodies! I think I'm going to make some envelopes to put at my writing station. The kids LOVE to write little notes! 

Are you ready to win one for yourself? Just enter the contest and you can have this awesome machine and ALL the dies to go with it for your very own. 







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