Five for Friday...WHAT, WHAT!?!

WOW!  It's been quite a long time since I've posted and I am so sorry for that!  I've missed sharing every Friday with all my internet teacher friends!  Life has thrown me for a loop and a new school year in a brand new school with a brand new teaching adventure ahead means I'm getting my groove back!  So stinking excited about all of it!

So, let's get this party started!

Lower Elementary Montessori!  WOW!  The beauty and amazingness of kiddos who have lived and learned together for at least 3 years but for some as many as 5 years...that's a really good thing!  I started this job just a few days before teachers reported to school and hit the ground running.  I met my kiddos on Monday and the only newbie to the group was me!  These kids rolled in and sized me up and over the last 5 days have tried a few tricks but overall, we are going to have a great year!  They are brilliant and funny and energetic and I am so glad to be on a new professional adventure!!

Five for Friday! Saturday style!

I know, be amazed but I'm breathing agin and feeling pretty saucy so I've been working on this post all week.  I knew all it would take was to get into a little rhythm with blogging and then I'd love it and stick with it!  So, here we go!

This beauty rolled through my FB feed this week and while I got a little teary, I thought of all the people that I wanted to have see it and that was just about every single woman on the planet.  Enjoy!

"if I were a young woman now, I would spend more time being not doing."

A Gamecock win!  I love my Gamecocks and I am so stinking happy it is football season again and time to tailgate and wear garnet and black and yell GO COCKS!  Every Saturday afternoon!

Weekend project that I finally get to tackle!  

I've had this 10 drawer chest sitting unassembled in my garage

for about 6 months now and wanted it in my new classroom this year but rainbow colors isn't my style so I needed to paint it but just haven't had time.  That's what long weekends are for!  After lots of Pinterest hunting about how to, I finally took the plunge and painted the drawers!  It will go in my classroom on Monday and be the spot for all of my 4ks and kinders to keep their work in progress. This is a hallmark of many Montessori classrooms and one that I thought I could control when school stared but it just ain't happening! 

I'll share a picture of the finished project later.  Stay tuned for news on how it holds up!

This kid right here got his restricted permit this week!  

I am so proud of him and pretty sure that he is the safest kid driver on the road!  

He drives like a grandma! :)

no words.

Hope you had a great week!

Check back in with Doodle Bugs Teaching and take a peak at other bloggers weeks!

Tell All Tuesday...on a Saturday! My Dream Classroom!

Back at the beginning of the summer I happened upon this fun blog post from Teach. Talk. Inspire. about sharing your teacher life.  I planned to post at the beginning of the summer about my teacher bucket list but somehow it never happened and summer did and I forgot about it.  Well, I found the cute blog again from my linky party with Doodlebugs and loved the topic!  I know it's supposed to be posted on Tuesday but the link party closes tomorrow so I need to do it today! :)

So without further ado...here are my Dream Classroom plans!

Being a Montessori teacher means that there are specifics when it comes to how you set up your classroom, how much color you use, which materials you include, etc.  My team was moved from portables behind our building to classrooms in our building this summer so we are starting over from scratch.  We have a smaller space with very little storage so that is a challenge.  But I am determined to look past that because it ain't gonna change! :)

The first thing I want to add is a tree!

I'm loving these ideas and working on how I can make one happen in my room!

All are from my Classroom Organization and Classroom Decor Boards on Pinterest.  All are completely different.  I love the Advice from a Tree painting and even have space beside where my tree will go that I could create that!  Not really loving the flat tree on the wall with the circles but really love the branches.  And then there are all sorts of possibilities with the crumpled bulletin board paper!

Of course this would be a dream...but not a reality! :)

Second dream space would include a cozy classroom library.  It's not really a hallmark of a Montessori classroom but it is a hallmark of a chick who knows a lot about literacy development and how to grow readers!  My last space had a little, smidge of a library.  That's gonna change in my new space!

This one has a much bigger-awesomer-fabulouser library.  

I'd like it to grow up to be something like this!

I love all this color and cheery-ness.  It wouldn't fly in a Montessori classroom but the general layout and the awesome coziness is what I really want!  I also love that you can't see all the books.  I know that sounds crazy but tons of book bindings doesn't look cute!

This is cozy too.  Muted colors may work better in my setting as well!

Love these little chairs!  They crack me up!  I feel like a little boy with a pipe, cardigan sweater and the newspaper in his hand should be sitting in them! :)  Great way to store the extra pillows too!

The third thing I am looking at is making my areas beautiful!

I know they are small but these pictures.  Right here.

  My heart sings!  These rooms are bright and airy and spacious!  Oh for the love of BIG. CLASSROOM. WINDOWS!  And don't you love those seats above in the classroom library?!?

And this!  For the love of hard wood floors in a classroom!

Although I am a bright color girl, I have learned to love the clean, natural fibers that are often found in a Montessori classroom.  Children add the color! :)

And this looks much like my classroom will likely look when I get it all together.  It's a typical Montessori classroom and it is Bee-U-tiful!  

So, what is your dream for your classroom?  Share it and if you get it on fast enough you can link up with Tell it All Tuesday but if not, feel free to link it up here!

An InLinkz Link-up

Not Yo Regular Teacher stuff...update!

Okay so maybe the whole, "Let's be cool like Jen from I Heart Organizing and get everything in order real quick like." wasn't quite as fun as I thought it would be.  I spent all week thinking about which of my 4 areas I wanted to tackle first and then had to just default to the car because I could complete it the quickest!  That is so slack!  It's okay though...because it is done!  And let me tell you, it is beautiful!  Check it out!

This was the glove compartment before cleanup. The manual that actually belongs in there is sitting on top of about 87 million napkins.  Who in the world needs this many napkins?! No worries, they were all flattened out and moved to the house for family use. Once I removed all the paper product this is what we were left with.

Such an easy fix!

Next was the center console. What a nasty disaster!  The cup holders were grimy, there was melted gum on the tray along with all sorts of gross! I took all of it out, threw a bunch away and wiped it all down with Clorox wipes!

                   

And now it's all clean and purty!

           

The car door catch alls were just as bad!

                       

Apparently we aren't a family that likes to part with trash.  But it's all good now!

                       

Next I tackled the floors.  I'm really not sure when the floor of the van last saw a vacuum but for Petes sakes!  Ridiculous! This picture doesn't do it justice.  It was covered with crumbs and dog hair and trash!

                       

I had to start with a clean out first.  Every single thing came out in the driveway and the vacuuming began!  I put my big punk on this task (you can see him in the back seat) and he did a great job!

                       

                       

                       

Once the floors were clean I used clorox wipes and dusted every surface. 

Once the inside sparkled I made the punks (big & small) wash the outside and they made that shine too!

The Mr. T Van is back to its fabulous self! Now we are going on vacation for a week! That oughtta ruin everything!

Check back over at I Heart Organizing and see what others have accomplished on this grand organizational journey!

Monday Madness

I don't know about you but I am usually rain and ready to go on Monday.  My to do list is long and I have lots of energy to ge the week started.  I'm one of this girls that hits the wall on Tuesday.  But Monday, boy howdy.  I've got papers to copy and print and laminate and things to finish making and a to z readers to print and folders to stuff...you get the picture.  So, the summer isn't much different for me with the exception that I tend to lose track of the days during the summer.  If we ain't countin' them, I ain't rememberin' them!  Anywho, I decided to get started with a Monday Madness post so it will be habit when school gets started again!  Give me another week and I will have a link party created and you can add your Monday Madness!  In the meantime, feel free to add a comment and link to your blog and tell us what your up to this fine Monday morn!

Here we go!

1.  Creating my to-do list!  I have a few going already but I am going to make a list of all the things that I want to have ready for the first day of school.  Specifically I am thinking about folders, notebooks, labels, etc.  I am a Montessori teacher so I hang with the same kids for three years.  I get new kiddos each year but 2/3 of my class stays the same. That means I can get everything ready with the exception of a few names!  I'm using this form that I made to make that happen!  It's a freebie, so grab it if you'd like to!

And although there wasn't space on the freebie I want to give a HUGE shoutout to http://www.mycutegraphics.com!  What an AMAZING resource for creating things!  She has great freebies and just as many adorable high quality paid clipart on http://www.whimsyclips.com.  I think I like her best because she loves teachers!

2.  I'm going to attempt to paint these babies!  

Turquoise and apple green are my classroom colors of choice this coming year so the rainbow is a little much.  I'm going to do an every other pattern using the paint below!  There was a Pinterest post about paining them but its a dead link so I'm on my own for this one!  Stay tuned for more details!

3.  I'm starting my weekly emails to my families!  Being a Montessori teacher means I get to bug my families all summer as well as during the school year to keep those brains moving.  Each Monday I send out an email with age appropriate books to read, educational apps to check out, summer happenings in our community to get involved in and links to my teacher Pinterest Boards for them to peruse.  It must be worth it because my families that graduate always beg to stay on the list for another summer!

4.  Keep on working on sprucing up this blog.  There are so many little things that I want to do to make it user friendly.  If you are just getting started, don't get discouraged!  There are a zillion awesome people out there in the blogging world who give free tutorials on just about everything!  Search around the blogs you love, make a list of things you want on your blog and then check them off one by one!  It takes time but hey, teachers have the summer off, right!?! :)

My list is getting long and I've got lots to do!  So have a marvelous Monday!

Pantry Do-over...part one

This I So, when you spend all your time dreaming of beautifully organized kitchens and bathrooms and craft rooms.  And you spend all your spare time combing Pinterest and organization blogs for inspiration, there comes a point when you have to push back from the puter and get to work.  

I hit the spice/canned goods cupboards first.  Thi happened because of many mentions about getting the things I use most front and center.  I don't need canned goods hanging out in my prime cupboard space.  They can be moved to top shelves out of the way.  

This is a mid project shot, when I decided to document this undertaking.  The three tiered shelf is a new addition because I decide that this cupboard needed to house spices on the bottom shelf for easy access. 

I then took out all canned goods and overstock sauces, spreads, etc.

This was an eye opener.  Not only do we have a lot of back up but it's stored all over the place.  Not a good use of space nor is it a smart way to keep track of what I have and what I need.  I had cans in the pantry, the cupboards and in drawers for Pete sakes!  

Part of my pantry plan was to get my baking goods down on a lower shelf and the things we don't use (like all those canned goods) up high and out of the way.  Obviously I had a mess to start with.  So I made a plan for what I needed where and started reorganizing.

I knew that the top shelf needed wood on it so the cans didn't get all wonky on me and I knew that I needed to creat some sort of system to keep track of what is up there so that I don't lose things on that shelf.  I also decided to finally make the labels for all the things I have put into containers.  More on this in part two!  So, come back tomorrow for the finished project pictures!

Organizational Ideas

While I was scurrying around my classroom yesterday continuing the getting ready process, I noticed a few of my favorite organization techniques that I love and thought I'd share. All ideas from other smart teachers but great ones at that!
The first is a picture of how we keep pencils in our room. Glass cases of different types are placed around the room with dried beans in them and the pencils live there. Remember, I teach 3-5 year old kiddos. Nope, they don't break them!
The next picture is how I keep colored pencils for the kids. These are all bunched up now but normally sit in a straight row in our art center for all to use. It's just mason jars from the $1 store. I love the color!
Last but not least is my birthday board. It still needs pictures of kiddos but I adapted this idea from someone on Pinterest. It's an old bulletin board that I spray painted and then used scrapbook paper to make the months. Under each month will be a group shot of the birthday kiddos.
Off to work I go!