Back to School - Superhero Style!

We are getting back in the swing of things, and I'm exhausted! A new schedule this year has my head spinning...We went from three 85 minute blocks and two preps to four 70 minute blocks and three preps. It's taking some getting used to!

Add this super exciting personal news, and a goal for a March wedding, and I am looking at a whirlwind of a year! (Isn't my fiance handsome!?)

Our theme at school this year is "Superheroes." We are going to have spirit days for teachers and students to wear their favorite Superhero gear. Our first Superhero Day was the third day of school. I have a navy skirt with white stars that I got for the Fourth of July. I really wanted to wear it as part of a Captain American outfit, but all of the Captain America shirts are blue and didn't match.

So, I did what I do best, and I made my own with a red t-shirt and some felt from Michael's! While I was wandering around Michael's I found a blue bow. I decorated it with some puff paint I had at home to add another touch to the costume! (The socks are from Target.)

I used a printed picture of Captain's shield to help me measure and cut out layers for my shirt. I hot glued the felt together, and then I used fabric glue to attach it to my shirt.

One of the other teachers on my team had the same Captain America idea!

Teachers ARE superheroes!

Keeping It Organized

I think one of the best ways to love my students is by staying organized. I am a much better teacher when everything is in its place! Here are some simple ways I keep things in their place!

1. Here are my markers organized by color. I got the cups at the Dollar Store - 4 for $1! I then used Modge Podge to attach strips of scrapbooking paper around the tops!

2. My supply cabinet is my favorite place in my room sometimes. I love how organized and easy to find everything is! #TeamLabelEverything 

3. I always end up with leftover bulletin board letters that I don't want to throw away. I decided to use a shoe organizer to keep all the extras organized. It hangs on the inside of my supply closet.

Polished Look!

As seen in the pictures below, I'm nowhere near finished unpacking, organizing, and decorating my new classroom. Just a week away from teachers' return to school, I'm feeling that "back to school" overwhelming anxiety that I get every year.

To help combat that anxiety, I often find myself working on projects that aren't really necessities but give me a sense of accomplishment. One thing I did this week was put some border up on my walls. We have a long wooden strip that covers the length of one wall in our classrooms. I don't use it to hang anything, so I like to put border up to give the room a put-together look. Here are some before and afters...ignore the chaos everywhere else!

Side note - My back to school wreath found a perfect home between my windows!

If you take a closer look at the walls, you might notice that the left side also has some dowel rods held up by command hooks. I'm going to use them to hang anchor charts for each of my classes. I am going to connect the anchor charts to the dowel rods with metal book rings!

Patchwork Project

For Christmas last year, my dad gave me two bookshelves for my living room and some gray chevron wall paper from Target that I wanted to use to cover the backs of my shelves. It was so easy to do, and it turned out just how I pictured.

I had about half a roll and lots of scraps leftover, so I wanted to try to use it in my classroom. I decided to cover the tops of my two trapezoid tables to add some color to those dull tables.

Unfortunately, because I was patching scraps together, this project wasn't quite as easy as the bookshelves were, but I managed! 

I started by taking the largest pieces I had leftover and piecing them together on top of the table. I used a book and yard stick to help roll the paper out flat as I peeled off the backing. I still ended up with some bubbles, but it isn't too bad. 

Hint - Once you stick the wallpaper on, if there are bubbles, just roll with it. It gets way worse when you try to peel it back up and restick it. 

It isn't perfect, but I still love the way it turned out!

The only thing I wasn't super excited about was the look of the unfinished edges. (Ignore all those bubbles, ha!) 

To cover that up, I got some blue duct tape (only $2 with a 50% coupon from Michaels!) to place around the edges of the table. 

 I am so happy with the way it turned out!