Having worked in large schools with anywhere from 800-1,100 students I know how difficult it can be to “find” a class or particular student in a hurry. On one large campus where I worked, the principal required every teacher to hang a laminated paper sign outside their classroom door listing all the places in the building they might possibly be.

Each time we left the classroom we had to clip a clothespin next to the correct location; this worked really well to solve the problem of locating students and classes quickly but it wasn’t very cute and it didn’t have any pictures so I had to remember to move the clothespin. Do you see the problem here?

Where are We Sign? Requirements

I started looking for a cuter better way to display this information but I had a few requirements:

• It had to be COMPACT, I didn’t want 8 feet of anything hanging outside my door and getting caught in it
• It had to be QUICK, no time to be searching for cards
• It had to be something the kids could do INDEPENDENTLY because I knew I certainly would not remember to do it!

Where are We? Sign Solution

I came up with a compact, yet still cute (if I do say so myself!) solution by using a pizza pan, some spray paint, and coordinating ribbon. Here’s how you can make your very own Where Are We pizza pan sign.

Supplies

• Metal Pizza Pan
• Spray Paint {color of your choice}
• Ribbon {color/design of your choice}
• Magnetic Tape OR Avery Printable Magnet Sheets
• E6000 glue or hot glue gun
• Printable “Where Are We?” cards {4 color choices}
• Scissors

E6000® Craft 3.7 fl oz Adhesive	Offray Grosgrain Polka Dot Craft Ribbon, 1 1/2-Inch x 9-Feet, Navy	Magnum Magnetics Corp ProMAG 1/2	Avery Printable Magnet Sheets
Krylon 53517 Bright White ‘Satin Touch’ Decorator Spray Paint – 12 oz. Aerosol	Xyron 3/4-inch Wide Magnet Tape, 25-feet	New Star 1 pc Commercial Aluminum Pizza Tray Pizza Pan Coupe Rim 12	Surebonder GM-160 Mini High Temperature Glue Gun, 10-watt

How to Make a Where are We? Sign for Your Classroom

First, select your preferred color of Where Are We? signs HERE. You can print the cards on regular cardstock paper and laminate or print directly on Avery magnet sheets. If you are using cardstock paper, add a piece of magnetic tape to the back of each card after it has been laminated and cut out. Don’t forget to do the same with the arrow.

Next, select your metal pizza pan. The pizza pan in the picture above is rather small, if you have a lot of different places to include then you will probably want to select a larger pan. Once you have your pizza pan, spray paint it the color of your choice and let it dry completely. When the pan is dry you can attach your ribbon to the back using E6000 glue or a hot glue gun.

Place your cards around the outside edge of the pizza pan and hang outside your door. A 3M Command Hook works well for hanging on most surfaces.

Now all you have to do is add a “Where Are We? sign helper” to your list of daily classroom jobs and you’re good to go!

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