chicka chicka blank slate

Today I am a survivor of the first week of Kindergarten. We had a wonderful unpredicted turn out of too many kindergarteners, making the first day pretty interesting. Thankfully I have found a supportive team that has tried to combat the 54 and especially thanks to a flexible colleague, I am down to 28 (phew!). We celebrated the start of the school year with a wonderful theme of Chick Chicka Boom Boom, and so without further ado, welcome to our new room!

Coconut tree: puffed up to have a 3D feel.

Calendar wall: Theme section, math number line, months, days of the week, counting the days of school, tally the days in the month, Velcro pattern block, calendar, pocket chart for focus stories, pocket chart for jobs, and weather window visuals.

Library corner: dollar tree baskets and color coordinating zip ties, paint chip labels.

Supply Station

Activity corner: "Jobs" change monthly to grow with students. Currently I have blocks, beginner puzzles, magnetic alphabet, animal cards, lacing cards, etc.

To step back and gain an almost 360 degree view:

The word wall seems so empty, but we add to it throughout the year all together. (Teacher's corner-ish, word wall, rug area).

On the board I have found rocks that I have painted the ABCs and glued magnets on the back. (Library corner, book boxes, writing center).

The garland in the windows is punched paper that is sewn together. (Playhouse, activity corner, supply station). 

(Art center, rice table, to the right are the bathrooms).

Side note: This is a shot of the garland in process. Cute blues, purples, and greens.

I'm just so happy to be in a room this year that I could truly make my own. I am minimalistic, and very cautious to put up anything that does not serve immediate need. That being said, it does seem more bare than my usual room without student artwork. I cannot wait to get started so we can fill up our art wires and art gallery. I also have the chance this year to forgo having a teacher's desk. I like giving as much space to the students as necessary. I have a few filing cabinets and one bookshelf- what more could a girl need? As much fun as it was getting ready for the first few weeks I am already planning for my tree to change as the next set of themes appear!

By the way, we are calling the battle of the rooms a tie. All is fair in love and war.

paint chips and fifth grade

Today I am an amazed and proud wifey. As our busy summer is coming to a close (yay!) both my husband and I have returned to the salt mines. Which also sparks a little classroom competition we have going on: who can be more creative with their space? I have to admit currently my husband is kicking my bottom! He has taken our current addictions of chalkboards, paint chips, and children's literature to a whole new level. Don't believe me? Welp take a peek:

He has a bank of drawers and shelves that run just below his wall of windows. The white paint was looking shabby, so he used some left over chalkboard paint from our wedding and just did a swipe to give it a raw industrial feel. He has labeled items in each area helping make the classroom materials more accessible to the students.

This is paint chip mania! He has made schedule cards to use in a pocket chart so to adapt and change the schedule when needed. He also made a calendar that is laminated so he can use a dry erase marker each month to fill in important dates. His behavior chart received an upgrade with numbered paint chips for each student (side note: the number is a student's classroom number, if having a hard time in class he moves it down to the yellow pocket chart). And finally, to help him label his hand-me-down filing cabinets he attached this fun multicolored paint chips. He has also made absent folders to place papers in for students to who have missed a day and need the homework or handout; now they will not have to ask and he won't have to dig around for them.

This is my favorite paint chip idea he has had! He has students turn in homework as soon as they walk through the door each morning. To help him sort through it quicker he has decided to use these labeled tubs. Since some of the homework subjects change he decided to be a bit more creative than just simply tape the sign in the box (or leave it loose to fall in with paper shuffling). He bought these containers at the dollar store, drilled a single hole in each, and affixed laminated paint chip signs with a book ring. Now all he has to do is flip a card over until he reaches the desired subject for that day's homework.

He has also worked hard on making an inviting but mature library corner. He found great chairs and rugs to warm up the space. Oh, and yes, those are paint chip labels to help organize his library to make it more kid friendly and easier to find the "just right" book.

True to his perfectionist side he is still tinkering away in the room trying to make it just right for this years students. But if this is still the planning stages I cannot imagine the final product. Just be warned husband- I might be down, but I am not out! Here's a quick peek at the competition:

That's right, colored duct tape on upcycled soup cans, and that just the beginning!

paint chips and cats

Today I am a crafty thief. Recently my husband and I have become obsessed with paint chips. You know those little sample cards you can find for free wherever paint is sold? Well we have struck there, got some, and turned them into more than they were designed for. 

I just love that now wherever we go I hear him question, "I wonder if they sell paint?" And soon I find myself face to face with more colors than a crayola crayon box. As we stand there our true personalities shine: I think carefully and craftily on what exactly I am going to make, what precise colors I need, and the exact amount (I do not want to take more than I will use), and then there is my husband, not too sure what he is going to make, something "neat", but really just looks at the random shapes and sizes and walks out with more than he will ever use. I love his non-planning non-OCD side, we balance each other well. 

I know this idea of using paint chips is not new to the world, but it is new to us and we are going strong! Take a look at our first attempts as we master this new crafting skill. 

I cannot craft without cats trying to "help." Sometimes I wonder why this blog is not called "Crafting with Cats."

Prepping random sized pieces for clay pot.

I was given a flower from one of my lovely students the last week of school. Of course I killed the flower in a matter of two days (I have black thumbs). So I decided my new pen cup needed an upgrade. I cut up pieces of paint chips in my favorite color, hot glued the pieces to the clay pot, and then covered the whole piece in a few layers of mod-podge.  This picture was taken mid-process. I lined the rim in some green accent pieces. 

I found a black canvas on great sale so I decided my sister-in-law's bedroom needed a new art piece. I wrote the word in chalk to get my sizing right. I then used a circle and button paper punch to get pieces that matched the room's color scheme. I used hot glue to affix each dot, then covered the entire canvas in a high-gloss mod-podge. 

The next project was a calendar for our office. We have a red, orange, and yellow kind of room, so I picked some vibrant paint chips in those colors. I then found a frame at Ikea for a really good price. Scrunches helped make sure nothing was hiding behind it. The nice thing about matting squares in the frame is that the piece becomes an instant whiteboard. To complete this my husband helped try to cut pieces to size (somehow they are not perfect, but who needs perfect), and then I glued them to the gray paper that came in the frame. I left all of the pieces without writing on them so I can use this piece as a whiteboard calendar, or replace the days of the week with a title and instant to-do list or record keeper.

I think having Crumpler help with measuring did not work out too well.

The final piece I worked on was a large picture for our dining room. Much like the previous item I found the frame at Ikea for a great price. It is a bit larger than 2' by 3' so it makes a great statement for a fraction of the cost.

Marked off how large of a piece I was making, then glued different size quadrilaterals down.

These are just the projects we have finished so far. A lot of other ideas for our classrooms are in the works, such as bookmarks, behavior cards, classroom calendars, and word families.

I dare you now to walk passed those paint chip samples without looking at them thinking what else could be made... I double dog dare you.