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....

The Teacher's Board

Welcome to another Pinterest inspired project. If you checkout my Classroom Decorating Board or my Classroom Wall Board you will find a lot of ideas. Here is one for the how office that I particularly like. Wouldn't something like this be amazing behind a teacher's desk? Yea... I thought so too!

However, it would never work like this. I found several different ideas for this same type of board and pinned them. Then I came up with an idea that would work! I took 16 14x14 boards to create my teacher's bulletin board. I used red and white Seuss fabric to cover the cork boards. And then used chalkboard paint on the magnetic white boards to create this:

Ohhhh! Awwww! Isn't it pretty? Here are some close ups:

I used my cricut to print out vinyl letters for the quotes on the chalk boards. These are motivational. I used people my students should recognize and found things I want them to do. The corkboard will be used for hanging up pictures of my students hard at work. On the chalkboards, I will write the child's name who is living up to the quote. I can also use it to pin sticky notes and other reminders. Or I can use a magnet to hold up a new quote in place of the old.

I have it set up as a square here but I can add or subtract squares, rearrange, etc.. to fit the area I am working in. My sons actually did the lettering for me. They did a great job. 

What we thought was a relatively simple project turned into a GIGANTIC PAIN! I am not sure I will ever do anything like this again. The black boards are still having issues but I am not working on them any more. Only the Yoda square came out perfect. Sigh... I am a perfectionist and this project is still bothering me. I also wanted it to "pop" more. It is also much larger than I envisioned.

Lessons learned:
1 - always sand and wash before painting! This removes unseen greasy residues and primes the boards for painting. Yep... you even have to do this to metal.
2 - you cannot mix brands of spray paint and primer. Different brands can and will interact in unfriendly ways with one another (as one of my boards demonstrates. Grrr!).
3 - spray paint can expire. If there is dust on the can, don't buy it! (similar results to #2)
4 - Kyron has AMAZING customer service. Always buy their brand first! (They sent me knew paint for free and primer after #2)
5 - Test out your idea before jumping in with both feet. It will save you a lot of time.
6 ~ Cutout words in scrapbook paper and place on board where you want them. Remove one by one and replace with vinyl to create final project.
7 ~ A little glitter takes the results from awful to liveable

I really like the 3-D aspects of the pinterest board and may add some more things later to it after it is hung to create this effect. I am also thinking of adding in actual white boards for writing my own messages and reminders. It wouldn't be too hard to add them in. Or to create a few extra corkboards covered in holiday specific fabric to make it seasonal. The ideas are endless. Stay tuned...

YOUR SHOPPING LIST:
~ 8 14x14 cork boards
~ 8 14x14 magnetic white boards
~ 2 yards of fabric
~ Staple gun & Staples
~ Scissors
~ 3 cans Kyron Primer
~ 3 cans Kyron Chalkboard Paint
~ 1 hand sander
~ Sandpaper (600 grit)
~ Cricut
~ 2 packages of vinyl adhesive
~ 5 pages of scrapbook paper
~ Glitter Hairspray

IEPs, 504s, & Goals

There are many ways to help children with special needs. We generally think of only IEPs or 504s but I believe that every child is unique and should be treated as such. Each month I have my students create goals in their Brainy Matters Book.

We also talk about how keeping our goals in a visible location helps reminds us of what we are working on. If my students choose too, they make make a poster of their goals to take home with them and hang on a wall. I do not like to hang goals in the classroom as they are private. If we decided to set classroom goals (usually for behavior) then I will post those.

You can find a free copy of this goal poster in my TpT store.

Speaking of IEPs and 504s - I never dreamed that the process to identify and test a student would take so long! For a minimum of six months, students are being served only by the general education teacher while this process is being completed.

You have a teacher with no training in special education wondering if there is a problem. She/he shares their concerns, tries an intervention strategy for 3 weeks, it doesn't work, he/she goes back to the committee and shares the results of the intervention only to be given another strategy to try for another three weeks. And when that doesn't work another strategy for another 3 weeks and when that doesn't work they have 30 days to set a meeting to get permission to test from the parents. 60 days to test then a meeting to share the results. If the tests prove the teacher is correct and needs help, there is 30 days to write and sign the IEP.  If not, the student usually ends up with a 504.

What a lot of red tape for one little guy! As a parent I am frustrated with the process. As a teacher I am frustrated with the process. And I know for certain all my child or student wants is to be able to please me by doing what I request just like everyone else. But they can't.

Sigh... I wish there was another way! I think knowing this will make me a better teacher as this process only reinforces to me the need for monthly goals for every student.

I laughed so hard when I read this poem from Extra Special Teaching and just has to share it with all of you!

Why is it so funny? Well at the time my grad class was all about special education. Each week we studied a different disorder and then began writing IEPs for our invisible "students." One-Three IEPs a week and then we would meet with our "IEP team" to discuss each one. Then we would start all over again... and again... and again...

As soon as I read it, I sent off an email to all my classmates telling them they just had to see this. Only Dr. Seuss can make an IEP funny and make me want to write another one.

St Patrick's Day sale, freebie, & a winner!

St Patrick's Day Sale!! I have marked all St. Patrick's Day items to 20% off to celebrate the holiday!

 

My kiddos and I have St. Patrick's day traditions. I make chicken noodle soup and then dye it green and serve it with green cornbread and green butter. For dessert, I make Green Pie. When I married hubby (who is Irish), he told us we all had it wrong and insisted on Corned Beef and Cabbage but the pie stayed. It is everyone's favorite!

I thought I would share one of our family traditions with all of you and made up this cute recipe poster. It is so easy you could even make it in your classroom. Pick it up for free at my TpT store (as I still do not know how to use Google Docs!). What are your St. Patrick's Day Traditions?

I cannot believe how many people entered my 100 follower giveaway! So I went and used the random.org generator thing and the lucky winner of the pencil sharpener is...

Elizabeth at Fun in Room 4B!

And GUESS WHAT!!! Troy says he will order pencil sharpeners in red. I am so excited and told him I am first in line for 2 of them! One for home and one for school.

Isn't this just the cutest award ever! It is from The 3AM Teacher! She has yet to post rules for this award but since it is written in the singualar... I am passing it onto a new teacher that I discovered while peeking into all those intermediate grade party peeps.

Zombie Math Teacher

First, she is a zombie! My boys would never forgive me if I do not give her credit for this. In fact, my oldest was reading over my shoulder why I was blog stalking and suddently jumped up and asked what state she was in and if she wanted to relocate to his school.

Second, my biggest fear in teaching... is teaching math. I am such a kinesthetic kinda-girl. I thrive off of movement and making my lessons come alive. I can do this with any subject but I struggle with it when it comes to math. I have found so many great math sites this week and can't wait to turn this weakness into a strength.

Pinerly is a new site that you can use to organize your pins. I am a little leary of this after the whole issue with needing permission to pin.  They are slowly rolling it out and you need 10 friends to gain access. Without access, I don't know if this holds any benefit for me or not. Here is my link if you would like to join me: http://www.pinerly.com/i/M6H73

The 3AM Teacher shared with blogland a great post the other day concerning all of us. Dr. Seuss Enterprises is suing Scrappin' Doodles for the use of their art. They have been advised that they cannot sell nor can anyone use their graphics. As a result, I am removing all Seuss-items from my store (including my most popular item - the Lorax Calendar set) this weekend. If you have any Seuss items on your wish list, now is the time to get them before they all disappear.

Spring Break Randomness

I am interrupting my scheduled blog for the day to vent. I don't typically share a lot of "me" on my blog as I try to keep this more "professional" than "personal" but I am breaking that today to vent/update as I am just overwhelmed. In no particular order...

I have become obsessed with organizing my blog to perfection.  So I have gone back, read old posts, corrected spelling, added in the items now avail for sale at TpT, added links for peeps I found, and added my signature.

I have also been adding buttons to the blog roll. There are two now... one for PK-2 and one for 3-6. I may need a third one but it kinda looks funny rolling along as it does. I may need Erika to come back and fix my blog again with additional headers. I am a trouble maker!

If you follow me and are not on the list... let me know!

I didn't get the job. I had a second interview. They seemed to have loved me but alas... I got a computer generated email that said while I was a great candidate they hired someone else. Guess God has other plans for me....

I am so frustrated with my practicum hours I could cry!!! My classes are eight-weeks long. Like the overachieving student I am (yes... that's right I have a 4.0!), I went out to set up my practicum 5 weeks ago. A friend says I can come to her school but she is 2 hours away! So I tried to find something closer. One is "still waiting on one more signature for approval" and the other has "entered it into our system and your request is currently pending." Week 6 starts today... I need to complete 25 hours minimum and complete all the stuff to go along with it... in under 2 weeks and I have no clue where to do this at!

The saga with my middle son continues. Each doctor visit brings us more questions and no answers. It is frustrating. I smile for him, tell him it will all be fine and he will be better soon. But I am lying, I have no clue if or when he will get better. I don't even know what is wrong or why it is. I just want him to be his normal crazy self. Why is that too much to ask?

 

Onto the brighter side....

I was feeling left out of the K-2 linky party. Where was the one for 3-5? Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies solved the problem! I am looking forward to meeting so many new friends. I have learned so much from every teacher I have met but sometimes you just need ideas that don't require adapting!

Traditions, Laughter, and Happily Ever After is having a  Lucky 300 Giveaway! The winner should be announced soon. Good luck!

Don't forget to join in the Teachers Helping Teachers Linky! Together, we can make a difference!

Have you seen this? Scholastic has Lorax Lesson Plans! There is a writing contest, create your own storybook online, and the opportunity to win a $10,000 scholarship!

 

Lastly - Don't forget to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway! 

Remember.... I have all kinds of fun things planned for all of you during the Madness of March. Here is some of what you may have missed!

50 Follower Giveaway

Blog Makeover

31 Gifts Discount 

(Until March 30th!)

 And that is not including the ongoing things I already mentioned! There are more freebies, more giveaways, and more excitement to be had!

I have had several people ask if they can join in on the March Madness fun! Of course you can! Just send me an email (you can find it on the Contact Me Page (right under my header)).