"Make - Over" My Chairs

Good Bye Old Chairs....Hello Cute Chairs!

So those of you who know me...already have heard how I love to go to garage sales on the weekend and "dumpster dive" in people's garbage 

on bulk trash days!!  

I have found the most special and unique treasures! 

They make me smile every time I look at them.

Fast forward to today! I was playing around in my classroom on a summer day, moving furniture around & materials.  As I was playing with my "teacher toys"...I looked at my rocking chair which was donated to me by one of my Kindergarten Kiddos families a few years ago!  It is very special to me because I know that he was rocked in it as a baby and then I was able to rock in it as I read him and his Kindergarten friends their stories each day.  

Last year I was lucky enough to teach his 

terrific twin sisters!      #lovesiblings

It is a white rocking chair with a brown pillow.  

Ya'll know how dusty things get in your Kindergarten classroom over the years...so it was time for a make over! As soon as I took off the brown pillows and saw the white wooden background, 

my "crafty clever mind wheels" started spinning!!!!

I am about to show you just how much I love 

lime green with white polka dots!

Knock...knock...who's there?

Anyone else who has these great ideas but can't do them by themselves?

That would be me!

So I ran to my "Marvelous Mommy" and asked her if she could do the dirty work for me!!!! 

How do you like our finished product?

So....that was so much fun!!!!! We decided to do my 

Teacher Chair for my Guided Reading Table

My Stool that I sit on behind my Projector Cart

My Lockdown Curtain for my Door Window

My mom never stops at just GOOD...she goes all the way to be GREAT!!!!!  She had some extra fabric so she made me...

4 Seat Sacks for my Writing Center!!!!

I can't wait to come back to my classroom after summer vacation and set up my newly decorated furniture in my "Home Away From Home!"

A B.I.G. thank you to my Marvelous Mom!!!

Tidy Up Time

What do the words,  "Tidy Up" make you think of?

Asking your kiddos to clean up their room?

Put away their tools?

Straighten up the centers in your classroom?

Organize their tables?

Well tonight I am going to tell you about:

MY "Tidy Up Time" Experience!!!

Yes...ME...even teachers need some 

extra time to Tidy Up!

I have been teaching Kindergarten for 25 years! This being said... I L.O.V.E. making materials, collecting materials, saving materials, buying materials, inheriting materials and ok...I am saying it...HOARDING materials!

Now close your eyes and let me walk you into my Kindergarten Den at school. I am super fortunate to be teaching in a beautiful classroom with an incredible storage room that I share with my Terrific Kindergarten Teammate. Not only do I teach Full Day Kindergarten, I also present in the Paradise Valley School District, for the AZ K12 Center and Nationally with SDE!  So I am always pulling materials out of my den to use at conferences, share with friends, families and other teachers.  I naturally feel extremely happy when I can put my finger on something to embellish an activity with my kiddos or help a fellow teacher out with a tool they are looking for that they don't already have.  The BEST is when I see an idea & think...I know I have that in my den or I could make that with something in my den! 

Well...Wait for it...Wait for it... O.K. Open your eyes!!!

Did you just let out a scream?

Did your mouth fall open?

Are your eyes popping out of your head!

I know...I know...but I promise you it's all "organized chaos"!

I know what is in every bucket, every box, every corner, every nook and cranny! 

There are just a few PROBLEMS!!!

Problem #1: When I need to grab something it's like I am playing Tetris! (Insert smiley face)

Problem #2: I have collected so much S.T.U.F.F. that I could open up my own store!      (Some of you are thinking right now...is that really a problem?  LOL)

Problem #3: I have no more room for anything! 

Problem #4: I hurt my shoulder lifting a box up on a shelf that was filled to the top with, YES,  you guessed it...something GREAT! That I still need! That I can't get rid of!

Problem #5: da-da-da-da...Fire Marshal Phobia!

So while most of you were enjoying your summer vacation, getting a mani or pedi, shopping, sleeping in, getting your craft on, or traveling to a secluded island...I was at school participating in "Tidy Up Time!"

Thanks to my "Marvelous Mommy", she was right by my side the entire time helping me stay strong and encouraging me all the way through this "Tidy Up Time" process! It took us 1 week, 20 garbage bags & 5 trips to the school dumpster to get to this HALLELUJAH Moment! When we walked out of school on the last day we could actually see and feel the light at the end of the tunnel!!!! 

                                             Ta-Dah!!

                      

                                  How did we do?  

Do we deserve a pat on the back? 

A hip-hip-hooray? 

A gold star? 

Some Happy Chappy? 

Our favorite ice cream?
Should we Kiss Our Brain?

The most important part for me is that I am surrounded by my favorite teaching materials and I can't wait to do the Happy Dance each time I walk into my den to easily grab something from its clean special place! 

Leave a comment and let us know what you think of my "Tidy Up Time" Experience! (:

Letter Pops

Hello Fellow Blogger Buddies!

  In my first post I would like to share my first "Monday Made It" Literacy Craft!  A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Dr. Jean's 2 - Day Summer Camp in Phoenix, Arizona! It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! I am a total groupie! I always learn so much from her. At the end of the conference my brain was filled with such clever ideas and the first one I had to re-create were her Letter Pops! 

They are great for "Read the Room" or for reviewing letters and their sounds. My little lovebugs will use their letter pops during circle time for letter/sound introduction and letter/sound review.  I also love playing her song, Letter Pops  to add some excitement when we are using this literacy tool. This adorable bucket that I found at Target in the $ dollar section $ will hold our letter pops in our literacy station.  My Kinder Kiddos will also be able to use them during Daily 5 stations, while walking around the room finding words that begin with that letter and writing them down in their "Write the Room" book!

I wanted to make sure they can survive all my friends lil hands...so I used the FANTASTIC E6000 glue! 

#bestglueever  

If you haven't invested in a tube yet there's a store 

near you that's waiting for your purchase!!

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