So much to do..

Holy moly!
Last week we went to Relay for Life in Eugene - it was so emotional and beautiful. I'm glad I took the weekend off my classroom to go to it!
Now we are back home and I am on a roll in my room. Here is what my parents and I have done since my last post.

About a month ago, my dad made this little milk crate chairs for me. My mom and I upholstered them and added cushions - they are too cute! The tops lift off for storage. I'm planning on using these for my kidney reading table.

I went crazy at Class E Professor and bought borders, nameplates, stickers, incentive charts..etc. I spent a good hour in there debating over colors of borders..

 My pinterest inspired idea! I found jumbo stretchy book covers and reversed one side to stick over the chair and the other side is a pouch. I bought 22 of them for 97 cents a pop. I thought it was a steal!
They could hold heavy books, but I think I'll have my kiddos put their lightweight folders in there. That way 1 - it doesn't topple over and 2 - they cant say they can't find it!

Worlds cutest clock.
That's all.

 My mom made these curtains - aren't they the cutest?!? I love how symmetrical and colorful they are. They cover up all the clutter of books and games that looked ugly. I couldn't be more happy with how they turned out.

 FINALLY a bulletin board is semi finished! The background is black fleece.. this wall was a chalkboard but my crafty dad made a wooden *thing* to go over the chalkboard and under the fleece so I would be able to staple and pin my calendar and etc on top of it. I don't know how I could do this without my handyman of a father.

The birthday board!
Obviously..its not finished, but I will put the months up there and write the kids names on little celebrating cupcakes under their respective month.
More to come on this guy..its a work in progress right now.





 I added a blue border and put my voice levels up here..
I am not sure I like them there as of this moment. I think I might mat them? There is something about it that I am unsure of.. I just don't know what!

 I still have so much to do but I am more excited than ever. I got my roster and know my kids names so it seems so real now!
Next on my list..job chart and label everything!
Loves.

One of those days

Ever have those days when things just don't go as you planned?
Today was that day.
Both my mom and dad joined me today in my room.
We planned on laminating all of my labels and things that I want on my walls..and the school laminator breaks.
So we try decide to do my bulletin boards..there isn't the right color paper or size.
So we decide to go to Walmart to get my own laminator..and they are sold out.
So we decide to focus on the curtains to cover the cubbies in the back of the room...they are out of the print I wanted.
So we gave up.
I was also supposed to go to lunch with my girlfriends but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt like with the way my day was going..I would get a flat tire driving to lunch or something. :/

Here is what we did do today..

 My best friends mom, Aurora, made these adorable bunting banners for my birthday/graduation and finally we hung them today! I love how much color it brings to the room. I might end up moving them a little higher..but for now I wanted to cover up the cords to my projector.

 My room will be covered in these tissue paper flowers. We made probably 4 more and I have plans to finish off the pack of tissue paper. I think putting them on a corner or two of bulletin boards will add some spunk and color to it.

First off, my dad is adorable.
He is so excited about my first classroom, that he is scrubbing the tables, drawers, doors, walls, etc because he wants to impress my kids' parents. He has been such a big help in this process! I'm so thankful for he and my mom!
He organized the back counter for the time being until we get what I want back there. So for now it looks nice and neat!
His shirt says, "what part of 'go away' don't you understand?"..so applicable to wear at an elementary school. Only you dad, only you. :)
I never got around to painting my bookshelves, but I'm going to do it tonight and tomorrow. It's just so dang hot I don't want to go outside!

Loves.

Bookshelf love

Whew!
Just got  back from working in my room and man..amazing what a little elbow grease will do!
My awesome dad joined me and I put him to work!
We met the custodian and the maintenance men and they immediately became best friends with my dad. They even gave him a tour of the school!

View from standing behind my desk. We set up my kiddos desks and cleared off those back tables! Also, can my binder and calendar be any cuter? My theme is chevrons, bunting and bright colors. It is going to be wonderful..I can't wait till I get to that part of this process!

I believe that my kids should be reading books that are in their reading level. So I have been slaving over leveling and stickering every book in my room so they are reading something developmentally appropriate for them. These levels are determined through AR, so all of these books they can take tests on as well.
I'm extremely excited that I'm done with this process!

STOP.
Look how cute these are!  We painted them because they were 'well loved' before me and I wanted a fresher look. We got a small can of these colors for $3 each at the local ACE Hardware.
I love how they turned out.





Tonight, I'm going to paint the rest of my shelves and bring them in tomorrow!

Loves.

Let it begin..

This is where I will post about how I am organizing my classroom..
Watch how my room goes from a warzone to a bright cheery space for my kiddos.
I am so excited and nervous for what is ahead!
A few pictures to start us off..

 This is the warzone that I mentioned. I am in the middle of leveling and stickering my classroom library so this is the result of that. Also, I can't have anything on the tile (the back 6 ft of my room) until they clean it..so everything is shoved on the carpet for now.

This lovely wall is mainly covered with a CHALKBOARD.
Who has chalkboards these days?
This lady.
My plan is to cover it up and do calendar there..But I don't know how I'm going to have things stick to it because of the board behind it..hmmm.
This view is from middle of the roomish. The door is juuuust to the right of the picture.

This is when everything was pushed off the carpets and onto the tile.
Freshly shampooed carpets - the best.
That desk on the right is my desk - the picture is taken from the standing near the entrance.






These are just random pictures I had taken since I had visited my room in the last 2 months. Now that we are moved in  here only 10 miles away.. I'll be going there everyday I can until my kiddos get there.
Updates every other day hopefully!
It is ungodly hot here so writing a blog post is about as much physical activity my  body can handle in the heat!

Loves.