show me a table that R.O.C.S.!

my tables are "labeled" with over head crayons. (see?) so when the time comes to line up, i will call the tables by color by looking for a table that R.O.C.S. (yes the spelling is wrong, but i couldn't find any better anagram!) Ready, Organized, Clean, Silent. When i see a table that R.O.C.S. , i'll call them to line up. to make sure they hear me and for those who may be easily distracted, i made this poster! 

 the crayons all have velcro on the back. they are stored in this little box below the poster until it's time to line up, then i post the tables that are ready to go! yay for visual reinforcement!

i do love my chalk board

 i'm using it as a current projects board. it's magnetic, so it's easy to post up examples (currently color-coded sketch books) and i love using the chalk. i found some magnetic wooden numbers at the Dollar Tree and painted them white for super easy labeling. 

cardboard storage system. heart Pinterest .

and this is also finished! inspired by this image below on pinterest, i spent the last few weeks strategically raiding all of the FedEx stores in town (they never had very many and i got weird looks for taking so many). 

 so after acquiring so many, i set out on the task of assembling the storage system.

then i laid them all out on a long sheet of drawing paper and used spray adhesive to stick it down.

 and ta-done! one cubby for each class. the tubs on top hold supplies for each grade level. right now, they are full of first day sketch book supplies!

the door is done!

finally finished! black butcher paper, bunting, & palette. 

lesson planning is exhausting.....

....for my cat. always supportive, forever laying on my things.

the painting is finished!

and that's the only thing finished...so disregard the blank bulletin boards & the mess. but do check out the lovely new colors!

a peek at the still-not-finished-but-in-progress door.

finally uncovered chalk board!

substitute folder

Doing a semester of substitute teaching was one of the most helpful (and stressful) things I've ever done. so when i started working on my sub folder, i had the much needed perspective to be able to include what i believe to be everything a sub would need to get through my day easily. i will still leave "sub plans", rather than have my lessons and projects continued, for the mere fact that i do too much, based on what i have seen from other teachers and what I've heard as feedback on my own teaching, i simply do too much. too much to expect another individual to come in and do. because i am a control freak. but as long as my sub gets there about 15 minutes early to ready my sub binder and to look over the lessons, i think they should be fine. it's still in the works because i don't have all of the needed information yet (helpful teachers, computer codes, etc.) and i want to take pictures of my finished class to make a wonderful binder such as the one above.

for now though, i'll leave you with the While You Were Out form that i made. hopefully this will be helpful, or at least get you on a start to make your own. full sub binder PDFs to come!

recipe for construction

so  got all the things i need to start the big projects in my room. right now, i can't use the gorgeous chalkboard in the back of the room or the bulletin board next to it because i have these giant plastic storage shelves. 

which are fine shelves. however, i want to use those boards. so i am constructing a long low shelf to go under the boards. this will do 3 things: 

allow me to use my boards. yay. 

provide better looking storage.

make a new surface on which to put things. yay things. 

so i finally got all the wood needed to make my shelves, got them home, all ready to start....but i have no room to make this. so i have to wait until the weekend to build in my classroom. sad. 

cat-approved wood.

we also finally got the paint for the room, which was a challenge. i have to use oil based paint, not latex, for my room. challenge 1: find a store that has oil in my colors. answer: Lowes.

challenge 2: relay to the paint department that i must have oil based. 

challenge 3: ensure that, although i have told them many many times that the paint needs to be oil, that they make it correctly.

challenge 4:  return non-refundable paint because the derp at the paint department still sold me latex after repeatedly confirming that it was oil. (husband confirmed what i had thought. yes it is latex. go return)

challenge 5: convince customer service dept. to refund me before i buy more paint.

and with all challenges completed, i finally got my paint. yay me. 

and with AC in the art room fixed and supplies in hand, the makeover of the art room will begin on 7/14/12.

door inspiration

i have made a decision on my door decor...it will be black (butcher paper) with green patterned bunting & chalk (since chalk shows up so well on black butcher paper). here is some inspiration...pics of mine to come!

how much do i love my Cricut?

so much. so very much. especially since i got it for cheaps from a discount store. i recently used it to make the sign for my classroom. i made it using letters cut from white card stock with the Cricut on a wooden paint palette. my mother bought the palette for me in high school, which was great for then, since i had a lot of painting projects to do. however, i am not that big of a painter now (which makes questions like "Oh you're an artist! Paint my portrait!" all the more fun.) so i used it to make my sign instead! for more on what kind of art i actually do, visit Eclectic Etc. 

simple process: cut letters. glue letters. done.

trash to texture

still working at Taco Bell the summer before i start my first year of teaching does have its advantages. 

one advantage is not, however, the fun of explaining what i do. no one at work can understand what i do. "My last day is coming up, I got a permanent teaching job"....."So you'll just be here on the weekends then?".....NO...."But the summer, you'll be here in the summer?"....NO....."So I bet it's hard teaching math to all the kindergarteners right?"....."Well considering I'm an art teacher...NO." ....no one there understands what I do. I am a real teacher. An art teacher. I teach k-5 ART. All year. and no, I won't ever be back. Seriously, what teacher do you know also works at a fast food place in their spare time?!

That aside, I do love all the freebies I can get, one of those being used glove boxes.

I lined each box with a kind of texture; rough, soft, bumpy. Then I used spray adhesive to cover the boxes with black butcher paper and cut a small line where the original openings were. Now the students can reach in and feel what's inside. The boxes are for a matching game, matching visual & tactile textures...but more on that later. 

I have 3 out of 6 complete. They still need labels and decorating, but the basic structures are finished. 

Just a reminder that you can collect any and all things to make something cool.