Make it Monday...last year!

So here are the projects that were inspired by Pinterest that I made for my classroom. I made them for Make it Monday last summer, but I never got around to creating a blog, so I'm playing catch up.

First project was really more of Dad's doing than mine... When I entered my classroom, the previous teacher had left an old, rickety disaster of a bookshelf. However, thanks to my wonderfully handy father, he saw the potential in it and fixed it up for me. It took quite a bit of brown spray paint, screws and a whole new backing added to it. But Dad was able to transform this...

 To this... He did such a great job and it's the perfect size for my library.

 

The next project was inspired by Sue at The Very Busy Kindergarten. Sue created this bucket for her kid's library books. Hers looked like this:

I loved the letters and the bucket, but I wanted to add a little jungle twist to it. So I went to my favorite store, the Dollar Tree and went on the hunt. I found these...

 And I created this... My kiddos love it and it makes it so easy to keep track of the kid's library books.

The next project came from...I have no idea. There are so many links on Pinterest. I have no idea who the original idea came from. Anyway... I went to Target and bought this 3-drawer sterilite cart. However, I didn't want something see through, so I decided to do a little work on it.

I started with these supplies...

 

And I transformed it into this...

 I've had it for over a year now and it is still in great condition! However, this cabinet is a teacher's hands only. I am unsure if it would be in AS good condition if the kids used it.

My final project for this belated "Make it Monday" edition...

The left was the pinspiration and the right is my re-creation. I used my cricut machine to create the letters. 

Until next time. :)

Jessica

Classroom Tour 2012-2013....better late than never!

So as promised, here's my jungle/pink and green themed room. I should probably fill you in on one little detail...I teach in an open-concept school. For those of you who have never seen one, it is a very interesting space! There are no interior walls between classroom teams. So my second grade team shared one gigantic room that is divided by half moveable walls, bookshelves and tables. Some say that it must be distracting to everyone, but it is amazing how focused all of my students stay. It also creates a true team approach.

I didn't take too many before pictures, but here's what I have of what my classroom looked like when I first got here...

And here's what it looked like after so many hours of work..

 

This is where students enter the pod. The blue bulletin board starts the classroom of my co-worker. These are my student's mailboxes, coat hooks and supply cubbies. The monkey name tags came from the wonderful Dollar Tree. The green zebra fabric covers a small filing cabinet. 

 

This is standing in the back corner of my room looking in from my reading table. In the right corner is my desk and cabinets. The student tables surround my student's whole group instruction area with my calendar, schedule and ENO interactive whiteboard.

 

This is from the back corner of my room looking at my classroom library and hallway.

 

Sorry this one's blurry...I had to take them with my phone. That's the corner of my classroom where my desk and cabinets are. I share those cabinets with my co-worker.

 Homework folder bin, finished work bin, homework bin, sharp and dull pencil buckets. I got the, "Did you hit the target for top quality?" poster from One Extra Degree. You can get her poster for free at her teacherspayteachers store here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Top-Quality-Target-Writing-FREEBIE-205466

 This is my how we get home board. It's on the back of a file cabinet so I put the kid's names on magnets so I could easily move them. You can get this at my TPT store here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Transportation-Cards-Jungle-Theme-295371

 This is a closer view of my student's tables. The green buckets are from the Dollar Tree and the students keep their guided reading books and "just right" books in them.

 My teacher material cabinets and math center cabinet. I made the valance part of the curtains from fabric at Joann's Fabric. The green curtains are from Walmart. The green buckets are from Target (fabric bins), Dollar Tree (small plastic bins) and Walmart (big plastic basket.)

 My word wall and writing center. You can get the following materials at my TPT store by clicking below. Check them out!

Word Wall Title and Letters: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Alphabet-Jungle-Themed-Letters-Uppercase-and-Lowercase-together-311840

Jungle Birthday Train (updated now): http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Jungle-Theme-Birthday-Train-UPDATED-311837

 Job Chart: The tree and title were from the Happy Helpers collection from Creative Teaching Press. The monkeys were from the Dollar Tree.

 This is my AMAZING new bookshelf for my classroom library. THANKS DAD! The buckets are from the Dollar Tree.

 My classroom library lounging area. I created the pillows and the mat for them to sit on. The ottomans are from Target. The carpet squares are from Target's dollar spot.

Sorry this one is dark. This is my guided reading area. This area was the first to get spruced up once I had a minute from the back to school crazy-ness.

I hope you enjoyed my classroom tour! Make sure to check back for my summer projects and my classroom tour for 2013-2014 in my new first grade class!

The first one to comment and follow my blog will get to pick something  for free from my TPT store. Do it! ;)

It's about time!

So this is my first official post as a blogger. I have been putting off creating my blog because it is a little intimidating when you see how amazing everyone else's blogs are. It was a challenge to find where to start. However, thanks to a few tutorials online, I managed to get a starting point. So here I am. I would love some tips from some successful bloggers from any of my teaching friends out there. Anyone? Anyone? (Bueller...Bueller...hehe.)

Well anyway, I'm currently a first grade teacher in Laconia.  I love it. I taught second grade last year, so this year I get the joy of relocating to a new and HUGE classroom, so I can't wait for the janitorial staff to finish our floors so I can get my hands on it, and I will of course post pictures as I go. I enjoy creating projects for my TPT store, and being crafty. My classroom is completely color coordinated with green and pink with a little touch of jungle. My co-workers laugh at me because I cannot have anything in my room that doesn't coordinate. It drives me bonkers. I feel so much more settled, and my kids are so much more settled when I have a clean, organized and clutter-free classroom.

It's officially my birthday now so I'll post pictures later. :)