Pinterest At Work!

Well my various Pinterest-inspired crafts and creations also found their home this month. 

My bathroom check-out system has been working GREAT! The kids come in in the morning and move their magnets from the "Out of Class" side to the left side. When they go to the restroom, they move their magnet under the girl or the boy label. It makes it easy for me to see who is out at a time and I love it! Also, the kids are really good at remembering to move their magnets back. Pinterest craft #1: Success!

Next, comes Mr. Tattle Monster. Oh my was he a HIT the first day back! As you can see in this picture, I originally put paper out for the kids to write notes on, but after the children got too over-zealous with that, I had them whisper. (The funniest "tattle" was one saying "______ is using up all the paper!") Hehe, silly kiddos. :) Luckily, our tattling has died down, and now they know who to go to if they have something to say!

Another quick little project. Nothing extraordinary, but it reminds me of what is important to me in our classroom. :)

A Teacher's Prayer

Just a little reminder of why I am a teacher. :)

Some finished projects...

So an update on some projects that I have finished.

I love the idea of having a "Noise-o-meter" in the classroom. I think having a visual representation of what you expect from the children is very beneficial, especially at the young age of six and seven. I found this on Noise-o-meter on Pinterest. After some tweaking, I made my own!

Next, I finished my bathroom check-out system. I also found that neat idea on Pinterest. I'm going to use the children's classroom numbers with a magnet on the back, but I'm waiting until I have the use of a laminator to make them.

Last, I made a cute little "Brain Food" jar. When a child gives an extra special answer or works super hard on their work, I'll reward them with some Brain Food (most likely Smarties).

Still have so much to do!

So many projects...

So yesterday I discovered the benefits of PowerPoint. I have been trying to make labels in Word for the longest time now, and have now come to find out that it is MUCH easier to use PowerPoint for projects like that!

Yesterday, inspired by this adorable painting, I created this sign using PowerPoint. Yes, I realize it is not as original as hand-painting it, but I really like how it turned out! And my, my it was SO much easier and cheaper than painting it onto a canvas. I'm planning on just buying a dollar store frame to put it in.

For my next project, I bought a white board and some knick-knacks to make a cute bathroom check-out board that I also found here. 

I also found some really cute graphics at Shabby Blogs Freebies and decided to tweak them a little to make my labels for the sign. I hope they turn out cute once it is all put together!

Lastly, I have been working on that nightmare of a classroom library. After many hours of sorting and labeling and sticky-ing and MORE... this is what I have: 

NOT so fabulous. It is definitely a work in progress and hopefully will come together sometime in the near future. Until then... I will probably have an unusable TV room. Hope no one comes to visit, haha. 

The next projects on my list are the Noise-o-meter and possibly a variation of this sign in PowerPoint (since I'm not quite talented enough to paint something that looks that good!). Wish me luck!

New Destinations

I have been so blessed to find out that I will soon be teaching first grade! What an exciting time this will be preparing for my first classroom! It's going to be some hard work, but I am always up for a challenge. I have decided in my time until I actually take over the classroom, I am going to challenge myself to create things for my classroom. Hopefully when the time comes for me to step foot in the classroom I will have lots of cute and useful things to bring with me! :)

So here is my list:

1. Organizing my library (eeek!) 
2. Cute Sign
3. Find a desk fairy
4. Pencils, pencils!
5. Sweet Gift
6. Library Check-out System
7. Word Work Activities
8. Brain Sprinkles
9. Quiet Critter

What have I actually completed?...

1. "READ" Scrapbook Letters 
2. Crayon Wreath 
3. Noise-o-meter
4. Bathroom Check-out
5. Brain Food

99 Cents for that... pipe?

I visited my local thrift store today and left with some good finds. About $5.00 for these books and... what's that? A whisper phone?? Also known as a Phonics Phone these little buddies are great to help children with their reading fluency. Unfortunately it was unpriced, so a lady threw out "99 cents for the pipe..." I'm sure she thought I was crazy buying a... pipe? But I knew better! 

I also made a visit to my new best friend, Hobby Lobby. I picked up some little crafties to make a personalized picture frame. Haven't decided if I'm going to make it yet, but we will see. 

Thanks for reading!

Crafts, crafts, and more crafts.

So my most recent crafting escapade I found while "Googling" online.

This awesome tutorial is what I found! It explains step-by-step how to adhere scrapbook paper to wooden letters. I decided I wanted to make a "Read" sign for my library. I went to Hobby Lobby (my new favorite store) and picked out some cute scrapbook paper. I also bought the letters, Modge Podge, and some paint to paint the edges with.

I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out! I think I may add ribbons to hang it with once I have somewhere to put it. 

Sweet Memories

Hoping to have a place to put this some time soon. 

Musings of a journeying teacher...

Well hello there, I'm so glad you found my blog! I am just beginning to tread water in the world of blogging. After stumbling across so many creative teaching blogs, I had to join the hype! I am a certified teacher in Alabama, recently graduated from Auburn University (War Eagle!). I have not yet found a classroom to call my own, but I am happily working my way there! In the mean time, I have been blessed to substitute in some wonderful school systems in Alabama. I have found that God truly has a path laid out for me, and I cannot wait to see where it leads! I have learned so much through substituting and I am so grateful for that. Nowhere else would I be able to experience teaching in all grades (K through 6th) as well as several special education and ESL classes. I have learned so much in such a short time and I am so thankful for that opportunity! Since I have the luxury of teaching during the day and not having to plan at night, I have begun to fill my time with planning and creating things for my future classroom. I absolutely love crafting and creative activities, so I will be posting my various ideas, discoveries, and attempts at being creative here. :)

Starting with my crayon wreath which I saw while substituting one day (yet another perk of visiting tons of classrooms!).

I'm pretty proud of this little buggar simply because I'm a perfectionist and was worrying about every little detail while making it. It's a neat idea that the teacher I spoke with discovered off of Pinterest (love!). I tweaked the directions a little.

I used a 12 inch wreath ring (Michael's), two packs of 64 crayons (didn't use them all), scrapbook sticker letters, flower embellishments, cute ribbon, and a hot glue gun! Pretty simple. I painted the wreath ring before gluing on the crayons since it shows through; I like the effect and the color matches the ribbon! :)

Well that is my craft for the day, thanks for reading!