My Train Wreck of a Classroom

AKA:  Before pics.  Ha!

But seriously.  If you are needing to feel better about the crazy state your classroom is in, never fear.  You've come to right place.

Here are some before pics when I went in on Monday:

These 6 (ish) desks are covered with FILES from my 2 tall filing cabinets.

I have since gone through ALL of this, filled a giant recycle bin to overflowing, filled a cardboard box to overflowing, gotten rid of 1 of the file cabinets, and rearranged the desks.  :)

Here's after working/sorting/recycling/filing for about 6 hours.  Yeah.  Ridic.  Oy.

This poor recycling bin didn't know what hit him.

After 6+ hours of work, I still had to sort through these piles, plus the bucket in the pic below.  

I thought seriously about harming myself, lol!

The last of the last.  I know you'll be happy to know, and will rest easier, knowing I COMPLETELY FINISHED sorting/chucking/filing all my files yesterday.  It gave me great joy to announce that I was finished to my teamies, who were also up there working.  They expressed their pride that I was able to stay focused on this one task for 2 days without getting distracted by shinier, more exciting objects.  Yay me!  :)

Moving on...

A bunch of the crap stuff I bought.

I'm keeping my awnings from last year, even though they are a little worse for the wear, or as I like to say--rode hard and put up wet.  But oh well.  Ain't nobody got time for that.  I re-did the borders on the left and right sections.  Go me.  :)

Birthday board.  Yay chevron!  Just need kiddos' pics for each month!

Now.  These next few pictures are the collective banes of my existence.  Cords.  Frickity frackin' [insert 4 letter word(s)] cords. 

No, but really.

Still more.  (I didn't even take a picture of the ones under the student computers.)

And one of my very favorite parts of my room this year:

What's that, you ask?  THAT, my friends, is the spot on the wall where my t.v. used to be.  They removed all of our t.v.s over the summer but neglected to patch/paint/etc.  So fun!  Guess I'll be finding a poster to slap over this hot mess.  (Do you like the shrine to my son on my cork board?  LOL.)

I rearranged my desk set up for this year.  Again.  (Yes, I change it every. single. year.)  I need a fresh start, people.

I'll be back soon for an update on my classroom progress.  You would think each year would get a little faster, wouldn't you?  Because in my 7 years of experience in setting up classrooms?  It so doesn't.  :)

Monday Made It--August 5th!

Ugh.  I seriously can't get over the fact that it's already August!  However, my hubs and I are super excited that the final season of Breaking Bad starts in less than a week!  Amazing series.

Alas, I still have to wait until OCTOBER to find out what happens on Scandal.  SIGH.  *pout*

Well, mamacita has been a busy girl these days.  I have been creating and printing and laminating and cutting and spray painting and silhouette-ing and mod-podging and sealing and YEAH.  Busy.  It's a sickness.  But I've got some cute stuff to show for it, so there ya go.

Linking up, of course, with the fabulous Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It.  Yes, on Tuesday.  Don't judge.

HOME MADE ITS:

Last week I made a sign for our house, and I love it.  I bought one of the unfinished wood plaques at Michael's, spray painted it with Heirloom White (best color), then cut the letters in vinyl on my Silhouette Cameo and applied.  TODAY, I finally topped it off with Mod Podge and a sealer spray.  Hope it lasts.  I hand painted a similar sign on the cutest wooden oar (from Joann's) right after we got married 5 years ago, but my cat was throwing herself against our screen door one day, knocked it down, and broke it in half.  *tear*  So you know, 4 years later, I finally got around to making a new family sign.  :)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I made another sign for our front window.  I saw a similar one on Pinterest, but it said Thin Mints, which I don't care for, so I changed it to Tagalongs.  :)  Loves me some Girl Scout cookies.  I actually WAS a Girl Scout as a child, and I looooooved selling the cookies.  It was back in the day when it was relatively safe to go door to door in your neighborhood.  

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Sorry; not a great picture, but I was too lazy to pull it out of the window.  LOL.  I think it's cute, but I'm a little bummed that the vinyl letters somehow got moved when I painted on the Mod Podge, so they're not spaced very well.  Boo.  But oh well.  Probably no one but me cares.  :)

SCHOOL MADE ITS:

I'm really excited about this one.  I was in my classroom moving furniture Friday, and I came across this old calendar from Scholastic.  Each month featured a children's author whose birthday fell in that month.  I remember using the calendar a couple of years ago, but I saved it for some reason.  Well, I figured it would make a fun display near our class library!  I trimmed each author page and laminated them.  I created some letters on my Silhouette to say "Authors We Love," and I plan to make it a focus wall above the library.  FUN!  

I plan to mount the title and posters on the lime green fadeless paper I bought, 

so hopefully they'll really pop.

This pic sucks.  I'll post a better one when the wall is finished in my library.  :)

I also made a couple fun goodies with my trusty can of lime green spray paint and upcycled frames from Goodwill!  Check out these before and after pics!

BEFORE:

Pretty, huh?  What?  No?  LOL.

AFTER:

Dry erase board!  POW!

BEFORE:

(Another beauty.)

AFTER: 

Frame for the kiddos to hold as I snap their cutie pie pictures on the 2nd day of school!
Can't wait!  Cuteness.  I (of course) used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the letters,
laminated and cut them out, then used glue dots to attach.   LOVE glue dots, people.

Well, I posted some of the posters I made before, but here they are printed and laminated!  My new Daily 5 posters to match the colors in my classroom, and my new teaching binder in chevron brights!  LOOOOOOOVE me some chevron, and equally (actually even more) love me some bright/neon colors.  Holla.  

I also made a new alphabet line to match my classroom.

Hope you enjoyed--thanks for stopping by, and happy August!  If you haven't started back yet, enjoy the remainder of your summer-- know I am!

Check back later this week for an update on how my classroom is coming along and to make yourself feel a whole lot better about whatever state YOUR classroom is in.  Trust me--you have to see these pictures to believe them.  It's a like a freakin' sharkNADO tore through!

LONGEST POST EVER.  OY!

Say It Ain't So. (Currently August)

Sigh.

August.

'Tis a sad, yet exciting month.

I hate summer coming to an end, because I love spending more time with my little one.  I hate summer coming to an end, because I love being able to sleep later and lounge around in grungy clothes (or my pajamas) and do nothing but watch tv and play.

But I do get excited to meet my new group of kiddos and get my room and bright and shiny for them.  :)

So here we are.  I go back to work officially for in service on August 16th (which, unfortunately, is the same day my musical opens), but I also have a luncheon for mentors on the 15th.  Then the following week we have in service, and the kiddos come back on the 26th.  The musical I'm in closes the 25th.  LOL.  {What was I THINKING???}

So anywho.  Linking up with the fabo Farley!  (Click the pic to visit and/or link up!)

So yeah.  I think the Rangers have actually won a few games lately.

I am super excited (and possibly crazy) to be doing a musical (we open Aug. 16th and close the 25th).  This is my first show since I got pregnant and had my son, and I actually did this same show 6 years ago.  It is one of my very favorite shows EVER, or I wouldn't be doing it again.  It's called Songs for a New World, and it's written by Jason Robert Brown.  The music is amazing and DIFFICULT!  I am so thankful to have already done the show and to be familiar with the music!  (Back to school is a stressful time as it is without added stress, even if it is for fun!)

I am SUCH a night owl.  I have rehearsals Tuesdays and Thursdays until 10:30 (at least), and by the time I get home, I'm wide awake (from singing and dancing).  I do my best thinking at night.  Also...I may or may not be sliiiiiiighty addicted to Candy Crush.  Ahem.

I went up to work in my room for the first time today.  It didn't look too bad when I got there.  I wish I could say the same for when I left.  OMG.  Can you say disaster area?  Because I can.  I'm somehow going to have to squeeze in 2 more desks than last year, so I decided to get rid of one of my huge file cabinets, and I rearranged and scrunched some furniture together.  We shall see.  Make it work, people!

Mmm....margarita.  Something about summer and margaritas.

Back to school must haves!

1.  Sonic drinks are just a must for working in my classroom.  I pick one up on the way to school almost every time.  Makes life so much better, dontchathink?

2.  A new package of Flair Pens.  This is on your list, too, isn't it?  ;)

3.  I literally rearrange my classroom set up every.  single.  stinkin.  year.  I just have to change it up.  Makes it seem even more like a fresh start, I think.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks again to Farley for hosting!!!