Weekend Projects

Well, attempted projects! I found this amazing frame that I wanted to make this weekend.

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Here is my attempt…I’m not lovin’ it.  I thought the frame was going to be big enough if I tilted the letters, but the “S” is so much bigger than the “L” that it throws the whole thing off.  Maybe I’ll try turning it so that I can put the letters on straight.  Then I thought that I should make the paint match my classroom theme, but I rather like the gold and silver.  Somehow, I accumulate spray paint and those were the colors I had that were not too girly!  My attempt will have to wait for another day because I am a little frustrated with hot glue and spray paint – they don’t play nice together.

While I was at Michael’s (BTW did you know they give teachers a 15% discount if you show your badge or a pay stub?) I was in the wood section to get the letters and found these cute little packages of wooden things.  I saw on someone’s blog that she bought a bunch of these and used them as inspiration for writing centers.  I thought I would give it a go and they are pretty cute. 

I could write about a zebra that follows footprints to a treasure, a dog who sails on a pirate ship to an island, or a cow who rides a bus to school.  I’ll put them out for my third graders and see what they think next week.

Well, I  have reached my crafting frustration point today, so I think I will watch a movie while I do laundry and worry over my missing thumb drive.  I hope, hope, hope I left it at school because I can’t find it here at home.  The worst things are that 1. I remember putting it down and thinking to myself that I had better pick it up before I forget I put it in such a strange spot, then I walked away, and 2. I went to school this morning and did a quick check only to convince myself it was at home.  It’s not.  Alas, no TPT work for me today because EVERYTHING is on that disk – silly, I know :)

November Books

 

These are some of my favorite Thanksgiving books!  Can you believe that I have JUST pulled them out?  LOL!  That tells you just how crazy things have been!  I still had pumpkin books out on the shelves!

I have brought back a couple favorite crafts for the season.  We are going to make dried bean candle holders.  They always look so beautiful!

This image and craft is from:

Click on the images to check out the directions.  I change it up a bit and use tea lights.  I have the kids mix the white glue and beans in a Dixie cup, then press a tea light into the mixture to leave a dent.  After it dries, we tie raffia around the beans and put the tea light back into the holder.  They look great for Thanksgiving!  Plus, it’s a perfect project for a 2 day week!

We also make a table top turkey that is from a really old copy of CopyCat – remember that teacher magazine?!?  I don’t have a picture because we plan to make them tomorrow, but here is a link to a blog with the directions and the recipe that goes along with it:

Well, November is flying by! Our first report cards went out and we had parent-teacher conferences (I actually have my last after school today).  I have to say, teaching a new grade, while exciting and energizing, can along make you feel stressed out and like you don’t always know what you’re doing.  Fortunately, my parent conferences gave me a great boost and I feel like my students are growing and they are enjoying school.  You can’t ask for more, right?

If I don’t pop in any time soon, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hoarders For Teachers

I have a confession…I am a first grade teacher…and I am a hoarder.

Okay, so maybe I’m not THAT bad…but definitely a packrat!

I am cleaning out my room and packing for a move to another building when school lets out.  I cannot believe how much “stuff” I have collected over 5 years in first grade! See the gray tubs under the tables?  There is one under every table in my room.  And the computer tables.  And in the bathroom. And under my desk.  The kids kick them and it drive me nuts, but you wouldn’t believe how much I am storing in them!  I have committed to weeding through 1 each night. 

Here is the recycling bin – exciting, I know!  But I literally had it dumped today and it is at least half full.  How many trees died to fill that box?  So sad, but a friend once told me that sometimes you have to waste a little to maintain your sanity!  It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see that box because I can see that I am making progress.  Now if I could just stop from going back to pull something out!

I guess that fact that I am leaving the building has forced me to purge things that I have been saving for years.  Worksheets that I “knew” I would use and years later, I didn’t even knew I had them, and if I did I had no idea where they were.  Can I tell you, there are copies I collected my first year, when I taught kindergarten 11 years ago?  I have NEVER used them!   Then there are the things that have followed me through multiple moves and transitions. I am giving  up that balance and the tub of unifix cubes that I personally bought for math.  That means these things have been packed and moved by my own little hands 5 times! I am trying to be brutal!

I am committed to moving into my new classroom with a minimum of “stuff” and not getting trapped by things and materials again. This is the Clutter Free Classroom Project on steroids – it is forcing myself to start from scratch.  Plus, I figure 50 medium size moving boxes should be the limit for moving a classroom across town!

But…and there’s always a but!  I’m returning to a grade I have moved from and still have things packed in my garage from the first time I taught third.  I am also certified for special education, so I never know what I could use!  It is an endless cycle!  My solution, I don’t purge on days when I am thinking that I need to save things – I just leave my room and close the door.

On another note, to offset the craziness of never-ending assessments, I have been doing crafts with my kids. 

(I tried to cut off the end-of-year clutter on the counter!)

I love how the fish turned out!  The kids used bingo dotters and you could hear a pin drop!

They are loving the crafts and I wish I had done more this year.  Is anyone else looking back and thinking of all the things they shoulda/coulda/woulda done?  I guess I am just that kind of person – I always think of what I could have done better. I’m trying to remind myself that I am seeing the wonderful things I did when I see the progress my kiddos have made!

Off to make my happy "”to do” list for the week