Robot Classroom Theme

So I have to start back at the beginning...where I left off seven years ago--mainly because I feel my entire style of Classroom décor has evolved.  This school year I went with a robot/science type of theme.  As always, I drew from tons of different brands and resources to put my theme together.  Unfortunately, most of these décor packs are no longer carried by their main suppliers, however, a quick search shows plenty of gear/robot inspired items still out their!  Most of my bulletin board pieces came from:  Robot Talkers by Carson Dellosa, Riveting Robots by Creative Teaching Press, Dollar Tree Décor packs, Oriental Trading, Pacon Bordette and things I carry in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  This theme was so fun to put together.  I would really like to revisit it now incorporating more of STEM/STEAM angle.  It is definitely still relevant today!

These were SO fun to make!  I used a silicone robot mold and melted old crayons down into new, fabulous robot crayons!

The nametags and bookmarks are from my TPT store.

I wish I had a link to the giant robot bulletin board corner huggers because I ADORED them, however, they were from the Dollar Tree.

This Thing Still Exists?!

So...it's been {COUGH} seven years since I posted...SEVEN YEARS people!  I didn't even know how to get back here--however, month after month, I see this blog as a click-through traffic point for my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Weird, right?  People are still passing through...amidst the tumbleweeds and old news.  So I thought to myself, why not go back?  Why not give it a bit of a chance again?  My kids are now {seven} years older so obviously, I should have more free time, right?  Looking at my post stats, I see the most visited posts were the classroom reveal ones, which makes sense--who doesn't love to creep on other teachers' classrooms?  And in the past 7 years, I have had...well...seven different ones!  I'll start there!  I'm not even sure I remember how to navigate this whole blogging thing...but I'll try!  Stay tuned...

Accidentally in Love...

So...I haven't been blogging.  I miss blogging...I miss rambling about nothing to no one...I guess I probably should have separated my personal blog from my teaching blog from the start...because now...it's all muddled and those who care about my personal life don't care two licks about my teaching blah, blahs, and vice versa.  But...that is all hindsight, and I am too lazy to strain one from the other now.  So...personal it is tonight, maybe.

Tonight Neil headed out to the Colby Homecoming game solo--the kids and I thought pjs and coziness sounded better.  This in and of itself was a rarity (not the pjs and coziness), but the Neil part.  Honestly, in ten years, I can count on one hand the times Neil went somewhere at nighttime without me.  So I decided I would make the house all super-clean--nothing my man likes better than coming home to a clean house!  Then I got really crazy and thought, maybe I'd finally bust into the wine I got as a gift...back in June.  So I retrieve it...blow the dust off a wine glass...and stare at the bottle...and realize...I have NO means of removing the cork.  True, sad, story.  Did I mention I don't get around to consuming adult beverages much?  Or...ever?  The hooch was not to be had.  When exactly did I become boring?  (Well, perhaps just dull-at-sundown...my days are still lived out in a caffeine filled haze...boring is probably NOT the best descriptor!)

Either way, I pretended to reenact a nighttime from my pre-mommy days.  Candles, dim lights, loud music, cleaning, and swayin' to and fro.  It was almost believable...except instead of a sticky post-party coffee table I was matching up tiny discarded socks and Squinkies.

As far as the teaching gig goes...it's not that I don't have oodles to share, it's just that my teaching is SO all-consuming right now.  I am literally spending every waking moment thinking, planning, and talking about my job.  All my computer time is sucked up with school-related searches and such, that the thought of actually blogging about it exhausts me.  I'm not complaining--I'm excited and engaged and in love with my job all over again...but at the same time I have SO much racing around my mind at all times that I just don't have the energy to sort it all out on the screen.  So don't expect much from me for awhile...

Back to the personal...on Sunday is the Community Care Walk...huge memory-marker for Neil and I.  Eleven years ago Neil (after much begging and prodding) convinced little ole' then-single-me to walk with him...we walked, and talked, and flirted.  I met his sister, Carolyn, for the first time that day...and...drum roll please...that was the first time Neil and I admitted to "liking" each other.  Yes, I know, we acted twelve, but I can still remember us both standing in the stairwell of the school, bottom landing--he on one side of the stairs, me on the other, going..."Well, I like you..."  and "I like you, too...."  "Now what?"  And seriously, that was it.  I mean literally--he left and I went home, both totally clueless on how to proceed.  In those early days we were like magnets...as hard as we fought to keep our distance, fighting it was fruitless--we were drawn together--and never has it faltered.

Us then...

Us now...

Just a quick Sneak Peek...a bit of a Classroom Reveal

It has been almost a month...I know...no excuse other than I felt I had to cut back on my computer time...so my blog was the one to go.  But I just HAD to share how my classroom is shaping up!  I'm not done...at all. I have a million things I still want to finish...but here's a look at some of the beginning work.  These pictures show it in varying stages of completion!

One of my first jobs--covering my bulletin boards with paper...covered that bookshelf with contact and duck tape...put up vinyl owl clings around the room...and made my deco-mesh wreath.

Next I put up my alphabet line--this is from my TPT store.  I hole punched them and connected them with mini colored brads.

I also covered my cardboard divider with black butcher paper and chevron duck tape.  I use this divider to make the computers NOT visible--otherwise they are too distracting.

I hung up my behavior clip chart, and made tiny clothespins for each student...

I made the magnets for my lunch/milk count boards.

I added the multi-colored background paper to my LONG bulletin board...though I still have not put words on it!

I started (but never finished) my calendar board...

Even though I spent WEEKS making my owl schedule cards...I ended up using my same ones from last year out of pure laziness...My schedule hasn't been made yet, so these are just stuck on here...also notice my owls by my clock!

I started my bulletin boards--I've done my birthday board, job board, and library/prayer board...close ups to come another day!

Notice I put my name tags on the FRONT of my desks--saves on the life of them!

You can't totally see it, but I jazzed up my mailboxes with some neon colored duck tape--my daughter's are in love with it!

And finally...

My door--these little owls took me two whole days--not going to lie.  I used my Tiny Hoots clip art to make an outline template...that printed, cut, and glued all the pars together!  My background paper is a special wrapping paper I found at TJ Maxx...and I am HOOKED!   This will be my door paper until eternity if I can continue to find it!  It was the perfect size--no trimming the edges, and it was paperless paper...made of stone.  It feels, cuts, and lays AMAZINGLY!

When I finish, I will take more detailed shots, these are just my hubby-pics.  Whenever I am at school working, I snap pics of what I worked on so I can show him when I get home!  :)

Rules and Washi Tape

Okay my friends...I am FANATICALLY in love with some of the things I've been working on...and I just had to forget about take a quick break from cleaning my house to share with you!  First off, I am just finishing up making new rule posters for my classroom.  I saw these chalkboard signs http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Just-Frame-It-758093 by Michelle Oakes and thought they were SUPER cute...only I wanted a few different sayings...so I made my own!  I only have three frames finished, as those were the only matching ones I could find around the house...I sanded them, and painted them.  The fourth one will be an orange frame:

(Picture this in an ORANGE frame!)

I have a spot all ready on my classroom wall for them.  I might add a top frame that says "Our Rules" and give it a black frame...but I'm not sure!

Secondly...have I mentioned my ADDICTION to washi tape?  OMG...I can't stop buying it...I just can't.  I have been slowly wrapping my entire world in washi tape...which brings me to my next project.  Ever since last summer I have been desperate for a Stack-On Teacher's Toolkit that are all over Pinterest.  Well...I finally got one!  Here it is!

Ta-Da!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the little owls in this font...which I really want to find...only can't right now...poo...I'll have to add it in later...

See my fun washi-tapes!

I have SO many different school projects going right now...I have been in and out of my classroom the past few days.  I will be heading in tonight with the family to work and have "Family Movie Night."  Yes, that is how much my family adores being in my classroom.  We actually plan nights just to go hang out there.  Sometimes we pick up a little Chinese food or pizza, and eat in the room.  We will put a kid's movie on the projector and watch it while Neil and I do various projects around the room!  My children literally were raised at school.  Even when Payton was a tiny baby, I'd zoom over to daycare (which was two blocks away) as soon as the kids got on the bus, and bring her back to school so I could nurse her!  We have spent countless hours there off the clock...and now, all three of them are students there, as well!  

Wow...I have wasted enough time...I MUST clean my house!

10 Things I've Learned from Teaching {Linky Party}

Okay, even though I've been taking a hiatus from blogging, I saw Miss Kindergarten's Linky Party...and I HAD to join!  So here goes:

1.  No matter how many trips to wash hands or sanitize, you will NEVER break the unabashed nose-pickers from doing their thing...NEVER...that said, keep trying!

2.  Kids will randomly fall off of their chairs--this is normal.  I'll never forgot how shocked I was my first year of teaching (and I had FIFTH graders) how often kids just randomly "fell" out of their seats.  I had no idea--just PLOP and they'd be on the floor.  Now, after 14 years of teaching, I don't even bat an eyelash!  I just calmly ask, "Are you okay?"  Then wait for them to get up.

3.  It is OKAY to sometimes pitch a stack of ungraded papers...it's hard to do at first, but liberating once you get the hang of it!

4.  You'll ALWAYS know when a full moon is coming...so creepy, but true!

5.  Even if you practiced a skill for months on end, your students will ALWAYS tell the next year's teacher that they NEVER learned it...however, try to show a video they saw three years ago, and you will hear a chorus of "We already SAW this!!"  A simple, "Fine.  We won't watch anything." usually quiets them.

6.  School supplies are always exciting--for both teachers and kids--make sure they have time that first day to ooohh and aaahh  over each other's new things!

7.  No age of students are too old for stickers.  

8.  You must believe that everything you are doing is fun AND cool.  Own it.  Sell it.  They'll buy it.

9.  Nothing beats seeing one of your student's faces light up when they spot you off school grounds.  They may try to downplay it and "act" cool after the fact--but those few uncensored seconds prove you are SOMEONE to them!

10.  There is no better life than teaching.  It is not a job, not even a career...it is your life...and if you see it as anything but...maybe you doing it wrong...

Classroom Craziness...

So, as I mentioned, I had BIG plans to head back to Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and the Dollar Tree yesterday with my bestie, Jenni.  Both teachers, we had one thing on our minds...CLASSROOM SHOPPING!  It was great fun, and we found TONS of great stuff!

Big tin standing owl--SO cute...Michaels for like $5.40 or something!  Tiny standing owl came from Hobby Lobby...Owl Cutouts from Dollar Tree...Vinyl Wall Clings from Joann's Dollar bins, two more butterfly swatters from Dollar Tree--now I have all 4 of my colors!  Paper packs of cardstock were also on sale at Michaels.

Owl die--hope he is compatible with our cutter...tissue paper fans from the Dollar Tree, only I won't be attatching the flower in the center, but my own Black & White & Bright circle centers.  Mini paper bags for my birthday board, and borders--green one's on clearance at Michaels for $1.99, and the others were $3.99, but buy 2, get 1 free!

He will be hopefully stuck in a big plant for my room!

Ribbon...was 1 dollar at Michaels...not sure where it will go!

So CUTE.

And...my very FIRST washi tape rolls!  YAY!  Not sure what I'll use them for, but I'm sure I'll find something!

I also got some classroom things for my "robot" theme that I am doing NEXT year...so I keep stockpiling it!  Remember how I said I have my daughter, Payton, in my class this year?  Well, next year I have my son, Carter!  So for him I have picked a robot theme...so I grab everything I can for that whenever I see it.  Claire, my youngest, will be the year after him...and she keeps asking me what HER theme will be...and whoosh...that's just way to far ahead, considering I get bored every five minutes.

One last thing before I go...I realize I have been SUPER negligent on throwing the love and freebies around lately...I PROMISE there will be big, wonderful things on the horizon...I just have to find the time!

A Horse of a Different Color...

It took me nearly ALL day...but I did it.  I created my very first CRAFTIVITY!!!  (Confetti...trumpet blasts)  Well, let me modify that...over 14 years of teaching I have made TONS of my own craftivities.  But you know how it works...folding, cutting, checking, re-cutting, tweaking...until finally you had a usable template for your students to use.  And then, three days later--you throw the pattern in the recycle bin thinking, "I'll just remake that the next time I want to do this activity."  The End.  (True Story.)

So this is the first time I intentionally got it formally and permanently right.  To easily be retrieved at any point and time...and even better than that...to put in my TPT store!

I call it...."A Horse of a Different Color"...

Aren't they SUPER cute!  Payton made the first one, Claire made the middle one, and I made the last one.  I LOVE having my kids test them out for me.  And Claire is five--and she was able to cut and glue the horse together--that is always reassuring to see!

Here's a closer look:

I had intended to just use bright colored paper--however the only thing I could find lying around the house was scrapbook paper--and I discovered that it really kicks the fun value up a notch!

Do you often feel that your students are truly a "horse of a different color"...well, then this is the activity for you! Let's celebrate their uniqueness! 

Simply print out the template pieces--let them pick their combinations--cut and assemble following the step-by-step directions!

Then, using the sheets given, students can add their own "Horse of a Different Color" poem. My age guidelines are as follows (but can certainly be modified by you):

Preschool/Kindergarten: Poem simply needs them to add in their own name in two places.

Claire wanted to write her name on her poem right away...

Kindergarten/First Grade: Poem first has a sheet for them to practice/review writing their color words, then the poem is filled in by linking color words to describe emotions they feel.

Second/Third Grade: Poem has a sheet of prewriting to fill in describing themselves. Then the student uses their answers to fill in their poem sheet.

I really had a ton of fun created this product, and I can't WAIT to start my next one.  You can click on any of the pictures to swing over to my TPT store and check it out for yourself!

Two more things before I go...

FIRST--I have actually started printed and making tangible things for my OWN classroom!  It just occurred to me the other day that I was spending so my time working on my blog and my store, that not much has been making it to my own "done" pile.  So I finally dove in:

I printed and laminated my new months of the year, name tags for their desks, and their reward punch cards (remember, the punch cards are still a freebie in my store)!  And if you are SUPER observant and smart--you may notice that the name on these items above me is none other than Payton Roth...my daughter!  That's right, folks, I get to teach my own daughter next year--how COOL is that?  I am SOOOOO....excited...so is SHE!

Second thing to mention:  Tomorrow my bestie and I have a BIG shopping trip planned to Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Good Will, and the Dollar Tree...I can't WAIT...more about that tomorrow--I hope!