Monday Made it- Center signs, curtains, desk skirt, and more!

This is my last summer made-it post! I am going back to school next Monday, where did the time go?!

 

On the bright side, I did get into my classroom last week and have gotten a big chunk of the set-up done. I hope to be able to post my 2015 classroom tour by next week. Here is a little sneak peak!

 

On to the made-it's!

 

My first made-it this week was something I didn't really ever plan on doing. It just sort of popped into my head while I was making some signs on the computer, so I decided to go for it!

 

In years past, I haven't really had specific areas of the classroom for centers. All center supplies are kept in buckets and the teams would bring their buckets to their table to work. I am changing it up a bit this year. They will still do the majority of their center work at their table, but I have a few dedicated areas of the classroom for some centers now.

 

 

 

For this project, I used wooden circles that I painted green, covered with Mod Podge, then added a bow and mini clothespin to. I used the clothespins so that I can change out the center sign if I need to.

 

 

 

Each center area will have one of these as a reminder of the expectations at that center.

Next up is my new desk skirt!

I came across this flamingo fabric in a Joann's sales flyer and knew I had to have it!

My mom designed and sewed the desk skirt for me (thanks Mom!).

I think it is just perfect!

 

 

This made-it is actually another Mom made-it. (as is number 4!) At the end of last year, a glider showed up in one of the pods that my room connects to. No one else wanted it, so I moved it into my room.

The only problem was the navy blue cushions that look like they were about as old as I am!

My Mom made these new green covers with turquoise piping and they really brightened it up!

The old cushions are inside and the covers open with Velcro, so they will be easy to wash.

 

 Now on to the most sparkly of my made-its this week: my curtains.

I was out fabric shopping for my bulletin boards when my mom brought over this sparkly fabric to show me. She had the best idea to layer it over turquoise fabric to make some curtains that would match my color scheme.

 

She made me two for my library windows, two for my door windows and one really long one for my gigantic front window.

I love how sparkly and pretty they look!

 

My last made-it this week is something I made to go with my black pocket chart that I will be using for my poetry and phonics sort centers.

 

I wanted a way to store the pieces for the center that was easy for the kids to work with. There is very little I dislike more than a messy center!

 

I cut some foam board strips for the bottom and sides. Then I used packing tape to put the pieces together and covered it with duck tape to make it sturdier.

 

 

The final touch was some green duck tape to cover my messy edges!

 

 

I attached it to the wall by putting a strip of painter's tape on the wall, then hot gluing the tray to the tape. I haven't tried attaching anything like that before, so I will have to see how it goes!

 That just about sums up my busy week. I have a couple of pretty big made-its that I am working on finishing up for next week. Our meet the teacher night is on the 14th, so they will need to be done by then!

 

Make sure you head over to 4th grade frolics and check out more Monday made-its!

Also, don't forget about the TPT back to school sale today and tomorrow!

 



Monday Made-it: Word Wall part 2, hall pass display, and picture display

Well, this week I have three pretty big made-its to share! I have been working really hard on getting as much work done at home as I can since I don't know for sure when I will be able to get into my classroom.

New classroom colors + 100% bare classroom + unknown start date = one stressed me!

 

 

 

My first made-it this week is a continuation of last week's word wall cards. I had planned on waiting to put together the word wall board until I got back into my classroom, but I am getting too anxious about how much I will have to do!

 

I didn't have the measurements for where I want to put it, so I have fingers crossed that it will fit. I'm about 90% sure that it will...

 

 

I started by cutting some foam board and taping a couple of pieces together so I could get the length I needed.

 

 

I found these corkboard circles at Michael's for 70% off a couple of weeks ago. My first thought upon seeing them- polka dots!

 

 

I began the long task of painting them green.

 

 

I used fleece to cover the foam board and hot glue to stick the corkboard circles on. My last step was to add some ribbon, the letters and pushpins for the sight word rings.

 

 

 

I am so in love with this! I think it may be one of my favorite made-its ever!

 

 

 

 My next project is one that I have wanted to do since last year. I made hall pass/media center pass displays last year, but then I had to change my passes from ones that went around the wrist, to ones that were necklaces (I had some particularly destructive little friends!)



Last year's hall pass storage

 

Anyway, the necklace passes were too long to hang nicely inside the frame and I didn't like how messy they always looked.

 

 

For this project, I found these wooden tags on clearance at Michael's and painted them with craft paint, and mod podge as a topcoat.

 

Next, I used some more of my corkboard circles, some ribbon, and buttons to finish them off.

 

I love how bright they are!
 

 

My last made-it this week is a display that I will use for pictures that we take around the classroom. I have done this for the last few years and the kids LOVE it!

 

I started with this plain wood frame and painted it green.

 

 

Once it had dried, I stuck those little circle labels on and painted over the top with turquoise.

 

 

I removed the circles when the turquoise paint was dry to make the green polka dots. I had to touch-up a couple of the polka dots, but it was still way faster than doing them all by hand!

 

 

For the backing, I used part of a cardboard box that I had broken down for recycling and covered it with two layers of green felt (I seem to have gotten a bad batch of felt, it was very thin and you could see the brown box through one layer).

 

 

The last step was to add the ribbon (glued at both ends, and in three spots) and, mini clothespins for hanging the pictures, and wide ribbon for hanging.

 

 

That's it for this week's made-its. Next week will feature some made-its that I had some help with!

Best classroom helper ever (aka Mom) hard at work on next week's made-it!


Make sure you stop over at 4th grade frolics and check out all of the great made-its!

Classroom Tour 2014!

Well, here it is! I have FINALLY finished my classroom and have the pictures to prove it! For some strange reason it took me longer this year than it ever has before, even though this is the first year I am returning to both the same grade level and same room!

Here we go!

This is the inside view of the front door.

Last year we read a story in our reading series where the characters were decorating their classroom and the writing prompt that came with it was- "What could you do to make your classroom a brighter place?" For the most part, my poor little friends were at a loss! I did have one student who came up with the idea for adding border around the front door and he was SO excited when he came in the next day to see that I had added it!

 

Here we have my hall/media center passes, guided reading baskets, snack basket and turn-in bins.

This is the back wall of my classroom. I have three "bulletin boards" I created out of fadeless paper with scrapbook paper and clothespins for hanging work. I have the pocket chart that my mom made me a couple of years ago for content area vocabulary and our supply station.

 

 

This is a close-up of the cubbies, I used ribbon along the edges to fancy them up a bit. The back of the cubbies is covered with black wrapping paper that I added polka dots to.

 

 

I keep textbooks and our reading series materials in the extra cubbies. I covered them with the wrapping paper so that it looks a bit neater.

 

 

 

Here is our supply area. I am very picky about how we keep supplies, especially extra crayons! They are organized by color into the small drawers so they are easy to find.

 

 

This is our writing/notebooking area. We keep our portfolios here too.

 

 

Right by my writing center I have my listening center set up. I use the crate seats to store extra supplies and listening center stories. The black on the table is a vinyl table cover my mom made for me last year. We also display our sight word scoops on the wall here. The flower is something I made last year- once I get the mini stickers of my student's yearbook pictures, I add them to the wreath.

 

 

Here are my supply cabinets. I use them to display classroom jobs, behavior chart, table points, homework club, brownie points, hall of fame, student of the month, related arts schedule, and my noise level chart. We also have our mailboxes here.

 

 

I added the bathmat under our behavior chart because I was tired of the magnets falling apart whenever a student dropped one on the floor. It works wonders!

 

 

This is my pride and joy, my library! The rug, ottoman, and green bean bag are all new this year. The tree is our reading tree, we add a leaf with the title of every book we read together throughout the year. It is pretty full by June!

 

 

 

This is my birthday display. Students get their name and birthdate on a tag on the present for their month. Below that we have my classroom community display. We add pictures throughout the year. That is probably one of the most popular things that kids show their parents on student led conference nights!

 

 

 

I will need to get a better picture of this, it came out pretty blurry. This is my word work station and word wall.

 

 

I used scrapbook paper for the back and black giftwrap ribbon to section them off.

 

 

 This is the front board. I display my activity direction cards on the far left and the learning goal/scale on the right.

 

 

Here we have my center board and center group display. I also have my share chair (which needs a few minor repairs) and my brag tag display.

 

 

 

I keep my brag tags organized in the drawers. The students are responsible for hanging their brag tag back up on their number at the end of the day.

 

 
This is my desk area. I keep my teacher stool right next to my desk so that it is close to the rug and perfectly positioned for using the document camera. The white drawers by the window are going to be for our classroom tablets.

Here is my guided reading area. I have the gigantic science kits covered with the green felt to form a table of sorts. My TEs/materials are stored on the bookshelf behind the felt curtain.

 

 
Here are my student computers. Please excuse the mess of wires, I can't stand setting them up every year so I always leave them until last... :)  I have my classroom and school rules on the bulletin board overhead. I like it there because it is something I will never have to change!

The baskets are something new this year. I attached them to the felt-covered foam board to store student headphones. I have my mystery walker poster/chart on the wall as well as my new reminder board.

 

 

 
This is the group table. It is most often used for guided reading extension. My center groups are not the same as my guided reading group, so I just send my guided reading group here to work on their extension activity. I also use it on those days when we have to split a class and I end up with extra students. The pocket chart stand (laundry rack!) holds chart paper on one side and our 120 pocket chart on the other.


Last, but certainly not least, I have my table supply shelves. I have made some modifications to them this year (including a removal of the polka dots/fresh coat of paint), but you can read about how I use them here .

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

Well, there it is! I am really happy with my classroom this year. It was a TON of work to get set up, but the kids and parents have all seemed to like it so far!

 

 Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

 

Victoria