Monday Made It #2 for me!!

I have had such a great time starting my little blog.  What a great experience!  I especially love Mondays......I know, that really sounds weird!!!  Well, the only reason I love them is because I get to see all the creative posts from all of you wonderful and talented bloggers!!! 
So........I couldn't wait until Monday to share my teacher organization binder so I kinda snuck it in on Saturday.  You can check it out here!!
Today, I am sharing several items that I have completed for my classroom.  I have been working like crazy and can't wait to show you my classroom reveal next week.  Here is a little sneak preview!!

Made It #1

BEFORE

AFTER

This chair has been in my basement forever!!  I was inspired by a little blog entitled Things We Fancy to give it a makeover!! I just love it and it has now become my new teacher chair.  It was very easy, but I have to admit that my sweet friend's husband did the seat for me. Thanks Laura and Matt!!! 

Made It #2

I am so excited about this little project.  I stumbled upon this idea at The Teacher Geek.  I just loved the idea and got busy making one for my classroom.  I have all of the 2nd grade sight words filtering through the frame. It is super easy!!  I also found this cool site(here) that gives you other ideas for digital frame uses in the classroom as well as tips on all the techy stuff!!  I am really not sure exactly how I am going to use it yet. My frame actually has a remote so that it can be paused and moved forwards and backwards.  I thought about possibly using it during my word work time.  Do you guys have any wonderful ideas on how to make the most of my digital word wall??

Made It #3



I know....I know....I showed you guys my clipboards last week, but if you remember I said that I wanted to make a few each day or so until I had a class set.  Well......that is exactly what I have been doing (with a little help).  These are my two latest creations!!  I am gearing up for football season as I am sure many of you are doing!  I just happen to be a HUGE Dawgs fan!!  I just hope I am able to part with them and allow my students to use them.  It will be difficult to say the least!! 


Made It #4

This is the trapezoid table at the front of my room.  I am always looking for more storage so what better way than to add a table skirt.  It looks neat and hides the storage!!  This one was really fun because I did not call on my sister who is very handy with a sewing machine.  Instead, I decided to do it myself!! It is amazing what a little stitch witchery and an iron will do.  I also covered the seat of my stool.  I used a foam egg crate mattress cover for my cushion. I actually had it left over from my crate seats.  I was very happy with the way it all came out!! 

I go back to school TOMORROW....Can you believe it???? I am going to be a very busy girl!!  I am really looking forward to getting everything completed in my classroom and showing you my big reveal!!  Stay Tuned!!

Every Teacher needs an Organizational Teacher Binder

I have seen several post on teacher binders.  I have organized all of my important information in a binder for years.  It seems as if each year my binder changes.  I know that all teachers like things organized in their own way, but I thought I would share what works best for me. 

I will go ahead and apologize for the pictures.  My cell phone got wet while we were at Six Flags on Thursday.  I had a great time with my family but if I never see Six Flags again it will be way too soon!!  Who am I kidding?!?! My boys are only 7 yrs. old and 10 yrs. old.  I have many visits to Six Flags in my future.  It is a good thing that I have a whole year to recover!!  My 7 yr. old informed us that Six Flags has season passes.  I just ignored that remark and got his attention on some yummy cotton candy!!  It worked for the moment!! Okay....back to the teacher binder!!

In this section I keep things such as class roster, daily schedule, and specialty schedule.

I like to keep a copy of my weekly newsletters for easy access. 

In this section I keep my weekly lesson plans.  In the following sections you will see that I have the Common Core Standards, curriculum maps, etc. This really helps when planning with my grade level. 

The following sections are my content areas.  This section is for ELA.  This is where I keep all of my standards, curriculum maps, and unit plans.  The Common Core Standards and Curriculum Map go directly behind the tab.  Behind that I have placed smaller tabs that are divided by units for my unit plans and assessments.  These tabs are simply numbered by units (ex. ELA Unit 1, ELA Unit 2, etc.).

In this section I keep any writing lesson ideas along with writing rubrics. 

This section is for Math. This is where I keep all of my standards, curriculum maps, and unit plans. The Common Core Standards and Curriculum Map go directly behind the tab. Behind that I have placed smaller tabs that are divided by units for my unit plans and assessments. These tabs are simply numbered by units (ex. Math Unit 1, Math Unit 2, etc.). This section is set up just like ELA. 

This section is for grades.  I have also included smaller tabs for each content area. 

I am probably going to change this section.  It says Assessments but it really needed to say Student Data.  I was creating this notebook at 2am so a mistake or two is expected!!  :)  This section will contain all of the data that I record on my students. 

I really hope that you can pick and choose some items from this notebook to help in creating your own.  I can't imagine not having all this information in one spot. It certainly makes my life a little easier.   

Mr. Slithers.....You are NOT Welcome in my Classroom

 I received a text message from one of the second grade teachers at my school.  She was informing me that Mr. Slithers, pictured below, was found in  my classroom.  No........your eyes are not playing tricks on you, it is indeed a snake.....YIKES!!  The second picture shows his hiding place behind my cubbies.....note the tail in the corner.

 That just makes my skin crawl!!   I am proud to report that our wonderful custodians captured my little visitor and took care of him, if you know what I mean. Poor little snake.....NOT!!! 
Dear Mr. Worker, Next time you prop the door open at the end of the hallway please be sure that you are the only thing entering the school! 
I am hoping that is how my little friend found his way in and I sure hope he doesn't have any friend that are awaiting their opportunity for a visit! 

On a happier note, I thought I would share a few things that I made this summer for my classroom.  I saw this super cute idea on pinterest.  This is my version of the dry erase picture frame.  I found this cool stickable ribbon at Joanns and just had to have it.  I also decided to make a mason jar to hold the expo markers.  I ran out of ribbon so they don't match.......which is driving me crazy!!  Will probably have to fix that soon!! 

I thought this project turned out so cute that I decided to make some for my second grade crew to match each of their classrooms. 

I am looking forward to sharing my classroom reveal.  CHECK BACK!!!

Monday Made It (my first)

I am SOOOOO excited to be linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for my very first Monday Made It.  I am new to the blogging world so this is very exciting for me. 
I have been VERY busy, so I have a few things to share with all of you. 

Made It #1

Okay.....so I have been admiring all the wonderful crate seats that you guys have been posting.  I just couldn't rest until I had some of my very own.  My room has a red, black and white theme.  I found these wonderful bandannas at Walmart for $1.  I just could not pass them up.  They fit my crates perfectly!!  Walmart has lots of fun colors in bandannas......you should check it out!!!  I only made three seats.  I decided to use them in my reading center instead of at my table like many of you did.  They are currently storing my math books.....LOVE IT!!

Made It #2

This is my WHERE ARE YOU board.  It was inspired by Second Grade Style.  I decided to use the stone magnets and instead of having students move their numbers when they leave the room I have them move the stones.  Each child has a stone with their picture on it. 

Here is a close up of the stones.....This little cutie just happens to belong to me!! 

Made It # 3

I am very excited about my new birthday board.  I was inspired by a post from Erica Bohrer First Grade .  On the first day of school I will take pictures of my students holding the date of their birthday and place it under the corresponding month.  And........guess what??  This little project did not cost me anything but a little time.  I simply used scrapbook paper, sticky letters, and ribbon all of which I already had.  LOVE THAT!!! 

Here are a few closeups!!

Made it # 4

I have had the most FUN creating these babies!!  I have seen tons of tutorials and projects on covering clipboards.  I finally decided to try it out. I am absolutely in love with them.  I plan to make a few each day or so until I have a whole class set.  This is another project that did not cost me much at all.  I again had all the scrapbook paper.  I ALWAYS have Modge Podge on hand.  The clipboards are my old wore out ones from my classroom (they really needed a makeover).  The only thing that I had to purchase was ribbon.  

I found these for $1 each at The Dollar General.  This is wired ribbon which is a little awkward to work with for this project.  I just loved the ribbon so much that I decided to buy it anyway and remove the wire.  Worked like a charm!! 

I also found this ribbon at Walmart. It was only .47 cents each. GOTTA LOVE A DEAL!!

Thank you much to 4th Grade Frolics for hosting this linky.  I really look forward to Mondays!!!  Now.....off I go to read about all your wonderful ideas!!! 

My Debut

I am so excited to be joining the world of blogging.  I have been blog stalking for a while now and have finally decided to jump on the bandwagon!!  I am anxiously awaiting the start of school.  It is just around the corner....Yikes!!!  I have had so much fun being crafty and stealing so many of your wonderful ideas.  I wanted to use my first post to share a few things that I have made for my classroom. 

Last year I had the handy dandy bucket seats but they were very plain and needed a little something extra.  I was inspired by a post I saw at Hanging Out in Third Grade Blogspot.  You can see what she did here. I added a coat of paint, some cute ribbon, and voila.......just perfect!!!  I have to give credit where credit is due. My very talented sister made my fabric covers.  They are super cool.  She added elastic so that they just stretch over the bucket.  I was able to pull them off and toss them in the washer this summer.  Important detail to remember!!! 



I have always had a difficult time trying to figure out how to store those pesky clipboards.  Well......when I saw the post from Step into Second Grade, I just could not resist the urge to make my own.  You can see her creation here.  I was also inspired by Kinder-Craze to fancy up my Sterlite Drawers.  You can see her creation here.  She has a wonderful YouTube tutorial that you can view here.  The container on the left was something that I picked up at Walmart in the garden department.  I decided to fancy it up for my forever books. 

I have been a busy camper.  I have lots of classroom creations to share so stay tuned!!!