School Girl Love

I am still drooling all of the new Chalkboard Classroom and can't wait to decorate! I have so many ideas and then I saw this post on the Organization Station. LOVE LOVE LOVE the versatility of this new collection. She simply replaced the "red" with aqua. The possibilities are truly unlimited. You could even combine it with some of her other styles... sigh....

I love this bulletin board. Its a great an easy way to organize things. I was thinking this would be great for in the hall just outside my door as I have so little space in my classroom or perhaps just inside my door next to the emergency binder.

What is your favorite theme for decorating your classroom?

Valentines Day Love

I know... you are probably thinking this is going to be some sappy love story about my husband or kids or my students BUT its not.

You are probably wondering where I have been hiding at.... and I haven't really been hiding just working over at Technology Adventures as tomorrow is the big day.

Buuuutttt.......

I had to interrupt my work over there to share some very important news with you. 

Sigh............

Did you see this?? I have been drooling over it all morning. It is the NEW CHALKBOARD CHARM classroom from SchoolGirl Style. I am totally over-the-moon in love. Its PERFECT! Its just what I wanted. Add in a few squiggles here, and a few polka dots there, and maybe some damask just because and perfect. 

This is on my must buy list for March!! Anyone want to guess what my classroom is going to be decorated as? I have been staring at this for hours. Shhhh! No tell my bff that while she has been stressing about coding issues I have been drooling. 

Melanie... you have completely stolen my heart!

Teacher's Mailbox

Do you remember the days when mailboxes used to be in front of the house?

As a kid, we always ended up hanging out with our friends at the mailbox. Not because we were waiting for the mail but it is just where we ended up. They were typically found at the end of a driveway and so we naturally stopped there waiting for our friends to arrive. When you sent out a letter, you raised the little red flag on the side.

This is the inspiration for my teacher's mailbox. I wanted something that would look adorable, hide what was inside so that it could remain confidential but yet catch my attention when needed.

You can pick up a mailbox for about $15 at Home Depot. This is so on my list of craft ideas for next summer but I couldn't wait to share this idea! My rule will be once it goes in the mailbox it does not come out. This means no more losing money, transportation notes, or other stuff from home anymore.

YIPPEE!!

Check out some of these cutesy ideas I found for decorating your mailbox.

I tried to find the one that first sparked this idea but could not. I found this beautiful mailbox while searching for wedding ideas years ago. It was covered in black and white photos of all of their favorite things and ideas.

I really like the monster but I think I am going to create something closer to the first one. What do you think?

Community Bulletin Board

A few days ago, I shared chapter 2 with all of you from Conscious Discipline. In case you missed it... I LOVE this style of classroom management. I am finding similar ideals in my favorite teaching resources and it is all starting to blend together into one seamless foundation. At last!!

Do you remember my community board?

I have had many comments and questions about this.While many of you seemed to love it, I was struggling to feel the same way. In fact, all those stripes were driving me batty.

Inspiration finally struck when this banner arrived in the mail. I purchased matching fabric but soon found out that the black print would just not work for what I had envisioned so I used it on another project and it came out perfect!

Armed with these fabrics - I redid my cork boards on my community board. I created this:

I love this look so much better. Please ignore the dust on my quotes. I should have dusted prior to taking the picture! This was taken on my living room floor. I can't wait to hang this in my classroom!

You cant see it clearly in this picture - but the red fabric is actually a red and white polka dot and the black and white is a damask. Here is what the fabric looks like up close:

The black school print fabric was not used in the design but since I am using black magnetic chalk boards with quotes in white - it is a close match.

Question: Is each board separate or is it one big piece?
Answer: Each board is separate. In the new picture I made two long strips instead of a square with the pieces.

Question: What size is each square and how much fabric did you use?
Answer: Each square is 14x14. I purchased them at Joann's Fabric when they were on sale for $8 a piece. There are 8 cork boards and 8 magnetic whiteboards that I made into chalkboards. 1 yard of fabric covers approximately 4 boards. To complete this entire project, I used just less than 2 yards of fabric. Yes, I have a plan for the scraps. =)

Question: Are the chalkboards glittery?
Answer:  Yes (giggles)!! I have a love affair with glitter hairspray. I have found many many uses for it. Prior to putting on a clear coat to seal the boards I sprayed them with glitter hairspray and let them dry. It applies and even coat of glitter that is subtle but still catches the light. I love how it works.

Question: What quotes did you use and why?
Answer: I looked for quotes that had character traits that I wanted to see emulated in my classroom and also by people my students should recognize. I also wanted a variety of people so that every student could perhaps find someone to connect with. I wanted the quotes to have meaning to my students.

Efforts and courage 

are not enough without 

purpose and direction. 

~ John F. Kennedy

Try not. do or do not. 

There is no try. 

~ Master Yoda

All of our dreams can come true - 

If we have the courage

to pursue them. 

~ Walt Disney

In the middle of 

difficulty

lies opportunity. 

~ Albert Einstein

Nothing great was ever

achieved without enthusiasm.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The dictionary is the only place

where success comes before hard work. 

Hard work is the price we must

pay for success. 

~ Vince Lombardi

The more that you read,

the more things you know. 

The more that you learn, 

the more places you'll go. 

~ Dr. Seuss

No legacy is as 

rich as honesty. 

~ William Shakespeare

Question: Do you change out the quotes?

Answer: I have contemplated changing out the quotes to ones with more meaning for my students and may do so at some time in the future. I had a long list of ideas to use but with the help of my children narrowed it down to these 8. I have also contemplated changing out the cork boards seasonally but I think this maybe more work than the impact of the board will warrant. Besides - now it matches my classroom perfectly.

Question: How will you use this board?
Answer:  I originally designed this to go behind my desk but quick realized it was probably too large to do so. Instead, I will either hang it above eye level but still reachable along a wall or perhaps even split it into multiple areas of my room. The cork boards will hold pictures of our school community. My students, their families, and other people we encounter throughout the year.

This is an idea that I had when asked to create a way to celebrate diversity in my classroom. It was always made to hold pictures of our class from the beginning even when I was going to put it behind my desk. The change has been to the made as I found a similar idea in Conscious Discipline.

So what am I gonna do with the stripe fabric? I am not sure to be honest. I am saving it for that one day when I will have another ah ha moment! And find the exact thing that it will work on. =)

Back to School Cuteness

School started back on Monday for all of us but with all the drama going on... you missed the cute parts.

Here are my youngest two sons on the first day of school trying to convince me that Miss Piggy wanted and needed to go to school, too. The one holding "the pig" is in third grade and the one "introducing the idea" is my fourth grader. See how close in size they are? They are actually wearing the same size clothes. No wonder everyone thinks their twins.

This is the oldest one at home and is in 8th grade. He claims he is too old for first day of school pictures but I caught him making fun of his brother as he still had 2 more days of summer.

Take a good look... this is the cleanest I have ever seen these children. It is not likely to reoccur any time soon. AND look... no one is injured. That hasn't happened since that middle trouble-maker was.... no! IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED! Said middle one is always up to something even as an infant.

He is the one that got sick on the third day of school! Geesh!

Isn't this adorable!! I am in total love with this. I won it! It is a burlap sign custom made for my class. I am going to use it for my writing center. Stop in and visit Nicole to see what other signs she has made.


And remember my friend Jessica over at Dandelions and Dragonflies?


Yep... the one where I drool over her classroom and steal... err borrow... pictures of her class for use in my grad class assignments. I received a box in the mail yesterday from her full of stuff for my own classroom. SUPER HAPPY DANCE!!

Remember the caddies I bought but then I couldn't figure out how to make them cute like Jessica's? Well she helped me out and sent me all of the pieces to assemble them and make them perfect. Aren't they cute? Doesn't my ruler holders look cute in them? Perfect fit. The hand sanitizer is in there too ya just can't see it!

And look! She made me trash cans! I am so excited about these little guys. The kids getting up to walk across the room to throw away scraps of whatever all day long drives me crazy. I want you there in your little area, not wondering the rooms. This was one of the things I thought of making but after my last fiasco with the polka dots that became epic faces... I was not relishing the idea of attempting another polka dot project. Problem solved!!





Jessica is now selling the trash cans in addition to the caddies as so many of us have asked for them. Not just me. I am not the only crazy neat freak teacher. So she is adding it to her collection of items for sale.


So any new cuteness on your side of the world?

More Classroom Love!

Yesterday I went and helped a friend of mine set up her classroom (beach theme!) and I forgot to take pictures.=( I know... I know shame on me!

Now we will have to wait for Bethany to post them for me. It is her room after all. =) However, I have pictures of my son's third grade classroom to redeem myself!

Bethany and I have a running joke about how picky I am. I even suggested we iron the bulletin boards yesterday and was told ummm... no. We're not gonna even if it does have fabric fold lines. I love Bethany and her carefree attitude! I wish I could be like that but it will never happen.

She's right - I would be in the middle of a lesson and say "stop, stop, stop! I can't take it anymore!!" and then run over to iron the bulletin boards to get rid of the wrinkles or move something just a hair so it would be perfect.

Oh Beth--an--y!!

I found my twin!

Let me introduce you to my baby's teacher Beth!

SHE ironed her bulletin boards!

SEE??? 

I am not so crazy afterall!

Or maybe I am and just not willing to admit it. 

Anyone else out there who irons the fabric for the bulletin boards?

Anyone? 

Someone?

Please??

 

I will just assume one of you confessed! =)

So pictures anyone? 

 In our school districts bulletin boards are arranged from the floor almost to the ceiling all along one wall. Teachers are expected to utilize this entire space. There are 5 different "panels" of bulletin board space that are connected.

I love how she used the fabric (and ironed it) to create the various boards. The ends are the same the centers are different. The borders are alternate from one board to the next.

Look up on top... see the alphabet? She used border to cover the original design to create a coordinating piece!

The other neat thing was how she used the designer cut outs for creating steps and posting strategies. Name tags are used for the word wall.

Every classroom has a shelf of built in cabinets and cubbies. This is the only place to store student belongings, there is no place to store backpacks. This drives me crazy. I wonder what she is gonna do with backpacks? I may have to email and ask.

Why does only one cubby have stuff in it? That is my son's cubby. I brought all of his supplies on met the teacher night. None of the teachers were prepared for that. Oopsie! But they let me put it in their desk or cubby for Monday. 

Instead of keeping books in the desk they are all kept on the back shelf in easy reach of the student. Between each one is a book and stuffed animals. These are part of the collections that you can purchase at Kohl's each quarter. She buys the complete set and then uses them to feature an author in her classroom. You can see a few others if you look closely at the upper shelves.

My third grader LOVED this. He wanted to stay just because of the books and cuddly friends. Note: his teacher used to be the school librarian so she has tons and tons of books. Another reason my son already adores her.

Oh! And she gave him a cookie last night and asked him about multiplication at meet the teacher night. He also got his first homework assignment and has been diligently working away. He loves that he got homework but he is disappointed that it is not math. Its an all about me poster.

Poor kid -- still math deprived. 

On the bright side, his brothers are JEALOUS about his homework. Yes, my two who HATE homework want to know why their teacher's didn't have cookies and homework. My oldest doesn't have meet the teacher night until Tuesday so there is one mystery solved but alas he is still jealous.

Great idea! She divided  a long bulletin board into two sections. The orange looking thing is a clear page protector.. All of the boards have them on there to hold objectives throughout the year.

The classroom economy. She took a piece of small poster board and again with the border created her own poster. She used the small bulletin board letters to match the set for the title and printed her own classroom money.

This is the schools mandated behavior management system. She used the designer cut outs to create the information to go with it. She simply used construction paper to coordinate the levels to the cards in the pockets.

Here it is again -- more creative ways to use the name tags, designer cut outs and posters. She bought the helpers, calendar, and welcome kit that also match the set but what to do if you can't find a poster set you love? 

Why create your own!! Her she took a number chart that had the right center colors but the wrong outside. She trimmed off the edges and glued it onto one of the mini charts. Wala! It instantly seamlessly flows into the design.

So you know I had to ask.... what did this cost and about how much time did it take? 4 nights of intense labor and about $400 at the teacher's store. I am thinking that she didn't do so badly at all.

Classroom Makeover & an Unbirthday Celebration

I got a call yesterday from one of my mentors asking me how my summer went and inviting me in to see her classroom makeover. I couldn't resist. She is such an amazing teacher and each time we talk I learn so much from her. She has also become such a great friend!

Plus... she decorated in RED, BLACK, & WHITE!! Dr. Seuss theme... ahhhh! How could I not love it!

Wanna see pictures? 

 

So what did I learn from my trip in?

1 ~ Using the same type of bulletin border throughout the room provides uniformity and makes it less busy. I am not going to head out and purchase about 5 sets of my favorite border. I am not. I can resist the urge to shop. I can behave... I can. I can. I can!

2 ~ Using a slightly different border makes a great accent/focus piece.

3 ~ Changing the fabric on the bulletin boards is enough to distinguish them as different.

4 ~ Think outside the box when it comes to what you use on your bulletin boards. You can use the old stand-bye of butcher paper or try fabric, plastic or paper table clothes, wrapping paper, a tarp... the options are limited only by the size of your board!

5 ~ Its true.... glitter does make everything better!

6 ~ Every teacher needs at least 1 glue gun and a good one at that as well as lots of glue sticks. Oh and tape and modge podge!

7 ~ Pinterest is EVERYWHERE!!

8 ~ Sometimes something is merely for decoration and has no purpose. =)

9 ~ Shop the sales and ask your teacher friends to warn you about the sales as they come up.

10 ~ Consult with others for ideas on how to do something better. There are always ways one can improve!

I am heading into a friend's classroom on Thursday so will probably be posting more pictures on Friday! She is putting me to work. I asked to learn and so I shall have my first lessons on how to put together a class.

Monday is a big day. I am sooooo nervous. 

It is my first day back at a new school not "my" school. I will be finding out if I am in 3rd or 4th grade this year. I will help set up, attend meet the teacher night, and be in this classroom off and on all year long. I will complete my practicum and student teaching here.

I also find out about those test results FINALLY!

And the little two start school... my oldest still has 2 more days of summer while we are away at school. He has BIG plans. He is gonna sleep in, play video games all day without the advice of his little brothers, and eat junk food as his mama isn't there to tell him no.

Speaking of little ones - my baby just had his 8th birthday. He wanted no decorations, birthday songs, balloons, cake, or even presents. He wanted cash, to go swimming at Grandpa's, and a key lime pie.

WHAT??? 

He is 8 not 13! 

So wrong I tell ya.

I am not ready yet! 

I want presents and decorations!

I wanna sing the birthday song!

He told me I can have it for my birthday.

So we had an unbirthday birthday celebration.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

But I did break the rules just a weee bit!

I found a great idea on Pinterest and copied it... 

I didn't go all the way to the floor for fear of Piggy eating it. No worries she jumped up on her hind legs and did it anyways! The night before they were talking about how they wish they could tear into something so I figured they would have a blast with this. There is a sign facing in that reads "happy birthday."

Wrong!

The two little ones share a room.... they thought it was a decoration and so crawled under to leave their room. Hubby had to tell them to go tear it so as not to disappoint me. 

They took a trashbag!

To clean up the mess

Cuz 

this Mama doesn't do messes!

I came out about then and hubby was trying so hard not to laugh but I laughed hysterically! I had to explain to them how to do it. Now that the procedures have been laid out and the mess approved by Mama .... they want me to do it again!

I'll think about it....

My First Bulletin Board

Since I am still home, I haven't really done any bulletin boards yet. I have a feeling that I will be done quite a few over the next few weeks as I am helping a friend set up her classroom and shadowing her for the first few weeks of school.

I should have taken a before picture but I didn't. I had a medium sized bulletin board at home that I used to use for homeschooling, then when I worked at home it was in my office, and now it just kinda hung out in the hallway collecting dust.

I decided to snag it for my classroom and created this:

I used the fabric I had that matches my banner for the center. I purchased it for a different project but it ended up being too dark for that. Then I used a red wavy border backwards and then the black and white scrolly border is hot glued to the frame.

My inspiration was from Mrs. Noble's class. I am not sure what happened but her classroom site is gone now. =( So all you have is this picture and some others I have.

I love the idea of having somewhere to stick reminders for the students and extra copies of fliers that went home. This will reduce some of those "Mrs. Poland... what are we having for lunch? When is ....? questions.

Do you have a place in your room to place reminders and extra papers? If not, how do you manage these items? 

Made it Monday - Posted Wednesday

I have been hiding from my blog this week. It is not my blogs fault --- it is my classroom blogs fault. That thing is making me so frustrated that I finally closed blogger and said "I am not speaking to you!" Then I didn't for 2 whole days. I am still not speaking to my classroom but blogger and I are on glancing terms now so I can post again.

So... what did I make this week?? Nope... I didn't make my bed. So glad some of you got my sense of humor on that one. I made my bed this year, we are over that now. =P

I made this:

Well, I supervised anyways while hubby did a lot of it. I am HORRIBLE at making straight lines. Even with a ruler.

What you will need... ruler, exacto knife, 1 magnetic white board (on sale for $5 at Wal-Mart), 1 roll electric tape, and 1/4 roll of fabric tape (the original idea used fabric and hot glue).

 Yes.. my razor blade matches! hehehehehe... so do the scissors if you are curious.

So he used the ruler to make the spaces even he just laid in down so it is 1 ruler width apart for each line. Then I put the tape on the silver part all around the edge. Wala - done! It took us like 5 minutes to do.

I forgot the puddles when I went to Dollar Tree (which is WHY I went) which I am going to use as magnet numbers. If a student doesn't finish something when I collect it, I will write it on a line and he/she will put his number next to it so I can see across the room who has work to do.

You can check out the original idea here:

I made a few other things but I think I will save those for another day. However, I am gonna wait for another day to post. Teachers go back on Monday!!!  Where did summer go?

What did you make this week? 

Must Do Classroom Stuffs

I get sooo many great ideas from blog stalking that I have begun to lose track of what is on my "must do/buy/create list." Does this ever happen to you? So I decided to create a list here to share with you all the inspiring ideas that are on my list.

I blame Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for the hit to my bank account. If hubby asks... I am just going to point at her and say "she made me do it!!"

Seven weeks and counting of amazing ideas! Did you see what I made this past Monday?? (giggles) MY BED!!! So see hubby got something out of all my blog stalking but I claim it is still Tara's fault.

Shhhh! Don't tell her I said so. She is on vacation. She will never know my secret.

YES... I am hiding from my spelling lists. 

No its not done. 

But I am not gonna cry! 

I am the teacher!!

ONTO THE IDEAS!

This is from Hopelessly Devoted to Teaching (love that title!). She picked up a jewelry organizer at Michaels, ear buds at Dollar Tree, and then made the numbers and title. So love this! I am adding ear buds to my supply list.  Bad part - only holds 25. Most classes are bigger than that around here... would need a second one. 

This is from Mrs. Whitehead's Thoughts from Third Grade. This is soooo close to being perfect but for some reason she mixed up the colors blue and red. Maybe she can fix it before I "borrow" it permanently for my room or else I will have to make one of my own. 

Hmmmm... I never thought about having a place for lost and found items. I am adding it to my list. Not sure of I want to copy this design yet or something else but I am now thinking on it. This is from Stellar's Students. 

This is from Hooty's Homeroom. I need her to make me one. Wouldn't it be perfect with a P in the center?? I need to add this to my classroom inspiration page. 

Does lack of spacing or too much spacing drive you as crazy as it does me? I love these cute guys from Ms. Alley's Second Grade Class. My son saw the picture and asked if I could make some for his teacher. =) They are now officially kid approved!

Down the Learning Road found these monster markers! They are called Scentos... never heard of them. I have been looking everywhere for monster pens/markers for Australia but nada until now. Where do you get these at?

UPDATE: 

Found these at Walmart for $0.88 per marker! I bought the entire set!! Spent WAAAAYYY to much on a set of markers but they are so cute and smell so good!

Library book stick genius with GLITTER from a Cupcake for teacher. Pure genius I say! I am planning on making 2 per student to start with and then will go from there. 

Now there was something else I wanted to share but I can't remember what. I thought I pinned it but don't see it. See why I had to make this post? Do you ever lose your pins?

So... my most favorite places of all of blogland

Well... all the places I know is this

The School Supply Addict page.

If your a new teacher.... 

You HAVE to visit here!

Shhhh! 

It's a secret!

Its just been updated with
NEW Classroom inspirations.