Classroom Transformation....Day 1!

 I know I am breaking a blog rule by posting twice in one day, but I am trying to get my schedule changed and post in the evenings instead of the mornings since school will be starting soon! Please forgive me...:) What's that saying....better to just do it and then ask forgiveness....or something like that!

Well....today was my official first day working in my classroom and boy am I pooped exhausted! I got a lot done though. I am teaching 5th grade science, so I had to go through all the science supplies, clean them out, organize them, and move them around in the cabinets to suit me! Some things started out on one side of the room and ended up on the other. It's all good though because that's what made sense to me! I have to have things clean, neat, organized, and as visually pleasing as possible! These pictures aren't real exciting, but stay tuned.....they will get better! I can't wait to decorate!!!

These are just a few before and afters!

Cabinets & Cubbies.....Before

Cabinets & Cubbies After

Same side....more Before (except for the orange & blue books...I forgot to take a pic before I started!)

Left Side of Room Before

Left Side of Room Before

Left Side of Room After

Left Side of Room After



I still have a few more things to finish up with organizing the supply cabinets, but I should be able to finish in just a few minutes in the morning. I have a training tomorrow, so I only have a couple hours to work before it starts. I also have  several huge boxes of brand new supplies that have never been used to go through, but that's for another day! It is a bit overwhelming! I hope to get my desks set up in the morning, and hopefully a few other things!


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 So, this morning before I started working in my room, I had to make a quick trip to Wally World to pick up a few things I needed! While I was there, I passed by the candle section and on the end cap, they had several warmers. I couldn't believe they actually had a monster themed warmer in the mix! I immediately thought of Amanda from Teaching Maddeness! Her monster themed room is ADORABLE! Check it out if you haven't already...:) Strange how my mind works now that I am blogging.....It's like I am friends with several of you and think of you when I see certain items that would go with your themes...LOL! My hubby thought I was insane when I grabbed my camera so I could get a picture for her! Anywho....are any of you as crazy as me? Please tell me you are! :)

Be Blessed!

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Pocket Chart Revamp a Little Bling, & a Freebie!

Peek-a-Boo! 

That's what this little fella seems to be thinking! Isn't he a cutie? As some of you know from Sunday's post, I went for a mammogram yesterday and my Dr is an animal nut and huge supporter of the Humane Society. She always has a doggie or two in her office...:) This little guy is sitting on the receptionists desk and peeking out the sliding window......:) 

He made me smile!

Some of you probably saw my Home Depot nail apron pocket chart I posted on Monday Made It yesterday! Well, when I went to the Dr yesterday, I also ran by JoAnn's and picked up some ribbon and a couple other goodies. Here is my updated pocket chart! I absolutely love the way it turned out!!!

Here's a close-up of the ribbon. Too cute!

I also picked up some stick-on rhinestones on clearance (not sure what I'm using them for....yet!), and some glittery 12x12 scrapbook papers to use on my Stellar Scientists board. 

Here's a close-up of the glitter! I love all things sparkly....:)

Next up, I finally figured out how to attach an image of the labels I made....thanks to Sara over at Fourth Grade Fanatics. Click on the images to see them larger. I hope this works! If you are interested in having them....leave a comment and I will e-mail you the pdf. Sorry these are off center....still learning!

Oh....I am so excited that I now have 91 followers! I'm getting closer to 100 every day and will be doing a giveaway pretty soon...:) Well, that's all for today! I am off to work in my classroom.....ALL day! I am hoping to get all my junk things moved from the high school to my new school. My son is off work tomorrow so I have some muscles to help! I will post pictures of my progress. Tomorrow I hope to get my stuff moved in, arrange the desks in the room, and weed through all the science supplies and re-organize things to suit me. 
Wish me luck....:)

Be Blessed!

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Monday Made It! & a Preview!

Guess what! It's my favorite blogging day of the week! Made it Monday!!! Make sure you link up with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics and show us what you made!

First up this week is the welcome pennant banner you see above! Isn't it cute? That's a clothespin laying beside it so you can see how small it is. I plan to hang it from the wreath on my door! It turned out really cute! Below, you will see the cabinet I repurposed for task card storage. This used to be wood-look. It had 30 slots to put bills in on the date they needed to be mailed. My sister gave me this years ago and I never could think of a good use for it...until now! I think it will make excellent storage for task cards. I plan to number each slot and have each set of cards numbered to go back in the correct spot. I will also have a "menu" of the cards so the kiddos know what they are getting and don;t have to take them all out to find the right ones. Next to it, you will see the magnet board I covered in chevron fabric. It was a periwinkle colored metal originally. I had my hubby drill two holes in the top, I hot glued the fabric on and strung ribbon through the holes to hang it. I am going to glue the pom poms to magnets and use them on it. What do you think?

Next up is my gallery wall in my craft room. I put two new additions up this week. You might remember this post where I showed these vintage kitty and mouse paintings I bought for .50 each at a thrift store. They were too cute to leave in the store, so I bought them home, took a couple old frames, painted them white and they are now proudly displayed in my very eclectic craft room. You can read about my craft room here and here.

My last project for this week is my handy dandy Home Depot nail apron pocket chart! I've been telling you I had plans for these bad boys! I took 5 of them, at .77 cents each and created this sweet pocket chart!!! What do you think? I plan to get ribbon to go around the edges instead of the border, but I didn't have any to put on yet, so I temporarily stuck a couple pieces of border on. I am out of large lamination sheets so I have to wait to laminate the cards in the center. It was a cinch to make....I just ironed them and then hot glued the bottom edges with a slight overlap. I LOVE it....I knew I would when I first got the idea to make it! 

What do you think?

Here's a close-up!

Here is the Home Depot logo behind the cards.

I can't decide exactly what to use it for yet! I am hoping to get some ideas from you all...:)  In this picture, I just have a composition book in it and some rack cards from Vista Print. I am thinking about storing my Vista Print cards in the pockets. I thought about labeling the cards Monday through Friday and storing something in there that I use each day. The pockets are a little narrow for copies though. They fit a composition book great, but not a regular sheet of computer paper. If I only had one block of students, I would make 2 or 3 charts and store their interactive science notebooks in them, but that won't work for me with 3 blocks!  I know some of you creative teachers will have some amazing ideas for it! Please share them! All in all, not bad for a measly $4! 

The last picture I am going to share is just a preview of my birthday pennant banner. You might remember this fabric that I wrote about here. It is so cute! The sprinkles on it are the perfect colors for my room....

orange, turquoise, hot pink, & apple green! 

I have the triangles cut out, but that's it so far! 

Hopefully it will be ready next week...:)

So....what did you make?

Be Blessed!

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Another Lazy Southern Sunday.....& Another Fabulous Giveaway

Hey y'all! Ok....I couldn't resist, it's a southern thang thing! 
Yeah.....I'm a GRITS (girl raised in the south)! 
Insert big grin here! 
I did live in California and Washington as a teen for a few years too though! Hope everyone is having a restful Sunday.....I know I am. Not too much teachery related today except for a shout-out for an AWESOME giveaway that I will tell y'all about at the end! I am happy to report that my son who has been on a mission trip made it home safe and sound yesterday. I am watching him snooze on the couch as I type this. It is a rainy afternoon.....perfect for catching some Zzzzz's....and he is taking full advantage of it! You can see him and read a little about his mission trip here. I had a wonderful time in my Sunday School class this morning and then came home and we grilled hamburgers and had my mom and dad over to eat with us. Now, we are just lazing around and enjoying the slow pace that Southern Sunday's bring! I am trying to rest up before I hit the ground running tomorrow morning! I have to go for the oh so exciting mammogram tomorrow....oh JOY! I know some of you can relate...;) I like to call it the boobie trap! That's what it feels like...lol! Anywho....I will be spending the day in Gainesville tomorrow and then the rest of the week, I will either be working in my classroom or attending trainings! I'm excited and ready, but I am getting a little overwhelmed! I only have this week and next before I officially go back to work and I have so much to do! I know I'm preaching to the choir! We all have so much to do....more than humanly possible, but we're teachers and we get it done, right? I have three Dr appointments, two days of training, and I have to get my room ready and then on top of it all, I have a graduation party to plan for my daughter Miranda who is graduating from FSU on the 11th! I'm not complaining though....I am excited and so very proud of her! My kids are my heart...:) Speaking of things I need to do, I have a little project I hope to share on Monday Made It tomorrow....it has to do with the Home Depot nail aprons I bought the other day....but they won't be chair pockets! Stay tuned to see what I do with them!

Ok....so I'll stop rambling and whining and tell y'all about an awesome giveaway that Michelle from Mrs. G's Kindergarten in Heels is having to celebrate having 50 followers! Are you ready for it??? She's giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate!!! Who couldn't use that? I know I could....I <3 Amazon! Be sure to click on the link above and go enter!

And one more sweet southern tidbit before I go!

Y'all Be Blessed now....ya hear!.....:)

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Goodies Galore, a Cutie, & a Shout-Out

Well, I got my new hot pink fabric yesterday! Sadly I wasn't able to find a stripe like I wanted, but they did have this gorgeous polka dot so I was happy with that! I also got a rotary cutter (pink for breast cancer awareness) which I need to cut out my triangles for my pennant banner! The sweet cashier at JoAnn's was kind enough to let me use a 40% off coupon that wasn't supposed to be used until Sunday....and my 15% teacher discount! So, I left there tickled PINK with my two pink items! Can't wait to start on that! While I was in town, I ran in the $ Tree and was thrilled to find team caddies and some cute baskets to use for trash when the kiddos are working in their interactive science notebooks. I made some cute labels for the caddies to number them. I'm sharing them if anyone is interested. Just leave me a comment or e-mail me! (I have tried and tried to figure out how to put an image of my labels on here but nothing is working. If you have any advice....please help!) They are super cute and I wanted to show them to you all! I also got my Vista Print order in today. This one was only two items.....there are still a few things I need to order. Here is my banner (which I heart) and a notebook I made for my bills and budget at home! The last picture shows my growing mountain of school stuff! (ook closely and you can see my cat Cruella jumping from the quilt rack to the bed!)I am so ready to get it in my new classroom! I have much more still stored at the high school that I need to move to my new school as well! 

I'm tired just thinking about it!

This isn't teaching related, but I had a blast watching my nephew Jake play lacrosse today! He is really good! His middle school age team won 14-10 and Jake scored 4 of those points!  If you've never watched lacrosse, it is really fun. I would probably end up in a fight though with people trying to steal the ball from me and hitting me with their stick!!! LOL! Here's a pic of him....he's a cutie under the helmet and pads...:)

Before I go, I want to give a shout-out to a couple of awesome ladies....Kathy from Kathy's Coordinated Class is giving away a $20 gift certificate to TPT....WOW! You can get lots of goodies with that! Angie from Timeouts & Tootsie Rolls is giving away a $10 Target gift card to one lucky winner and a second winner will receive a Back to School pack by Ginger Snaps and Angie's own Wild About Learning Take Home Folder covers. Click on their links above to enter! These are some awesome giveaways! I am trying to decide what to do for my 100 follower giveaway....hopefully it won't be long! I'm up to 78 followers!!!!! Not bad after only 3 weeks blogging....:) 

Be blessed!

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Don't you just love those big brown UPS trucks?  I know I do because they always bring me good awesome stuff! This truck is even more special with it's flames down the sides....never seen one like that! I was so bummed because he didn't come before I had to leave for a senior trip meeting (I'm my son's senior class sponsor.) to discuss our cruise for next summer and get it booked! It's looking like a 5 night cruise to the Bahamas...so excited because I've never been on a cruise! 

 Anywho, back on topic, so, he left my package with my cousin across the road and she got it to me! You might remember a few days ago I blogged about the awesome fabric I ordered from this place. You can read that post here. Well, it's here and I am beyond thrilled to have it! It is very nice quality fabric....much better for the price than you can get at your local fabric shop! I can't wait to make some delicious decor for my classroom! My plans are to make a valance for my one lonely window, a bunting or perhaps two to hang somewhere in the classroom, and a skirt for my desk/table. If I have enough of the chevron print left, I might even cover my desk chair to match! Here's a picture of them all together. 

The pink was a piece I had bought at Wal Mart, but I'm going to look for a pink and white stripe to replace it before I start creating! I like the way the other four have white in the fabric and I think the pink needs some white in it too. I am very visual and this just isn't pleasing to my eye! I am hoping to find a pink and white stripe. I know, I know....I have a problem! LOL...:) Good news is, I am going to the big city of Gainesville (home of the Florida Gators) later today and I will run by JoAnn's and see what they have! I also got my handy dandy teacher 25% discount card in the mail the other day, so that will come in handy!

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Before I go, I wanted to let you in on a SWEET giveaway! I really don't want to share but I have to in order to get my name in the drawing 5 more times...lol! I know....I'm selfish! Well, anyway, Tonya, one of my favorite bloggers, from Tonya's Treats for Teachers is giving away some yummy stuff! Check it out! One of the prizes is a $5.00 gift card to DQ....who doesn't love a tasty blizzard!

Here's my favorite! Thank goodness it's only for a limited time...:) 

It's the Chocolate Candy Shop Blizzard! It's filled with tiny chocolate candies filled with caramel, fudge, & hazelnut creme.....MMmmm! OK......wipe the drool off the keyboard and go click on the link above if you want to enter! 

Be blessed....:)

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More Good(will) Deals, 3 Lovely Awards, & Green Smoothie Goodness!

I know I posted about a couple of good deals in yesterday's post, but I found a few more and wanted to share them too! Yesterday, I went to Crystal River with my mom, dad, & my nephew Riley. We went to the movies, ate a yummy lunch at Chili's and made a trip to the Goodwill & Home Depot! The Goodwill in Crystal River is my favorite!!! I came home with  several great deals! First thing I spotted when I walked in the door was a rack of adorable bathroom decorations.

I know I just bought the shower curtain at the Dollar General that I blogged about yesterday, but this one was half the price at $4.99 and it is plastic so I won't have to hem it if I need to shorten it! I'm returning the DG one! If you didn't read yesterday's post, I am using the shower curtain to create a makeshift closet to hide some things behind. Anywho, the colors were perfect for my room.....turquoise, hot pink, orange, and apple green! They had bathroom accessories to match so I bought the cute cup to hold pens and pencils on my desk for $1.99...:)

Too Cute!

I bought this green container to hold flyswatters for our SWAT games we will be playing this year and this brand new set of 3 plastic containers for $1.29 to use in my pantry. 

I got these two books for $3.38....they were a BOGO deal. I love to read and collect good books for my future library! 

I am very excited about these next purchases. I bought 3 tops and two pairs of shoes for school. The tops are all like new and one is new...still had tags, they were $4.27 each! The brands are Pleione which is found at Nordstrom, Lane Bryant, and Westbound Woman from Dillards.  I normally don't buy used shoes, but one pair of these has never been worn and the others look like they may have been worn 2-3 times at most! The brand new ones were Mootsie Tootsie brand! I paid $6.06 per pair and I priced them when I got home. The Mootsie Tootsie sandals cost $40.00 online and the cute little heels were around $24.00 new. I am tickled with these...:)

I also stopped by Home Depot to pick up 5 of these canvas nail aprons that everyone is using for chair pockets in their classrooms. I have other plans for mine...:) Hopefully you will get to see on Monday Made It next week!

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Wow! I feel so special to have been nominated for yet another award! I was nominated by three lovely ladies for the One Lovely Blog award! Thanks so much to Carla from Playful Learning Brooklyn, Mrs. T from Teaching Mrs. T, & Miss Pasqua from Ms. Pasqua's Kinder. Thanks so much ladies....I am honored!

To receive the award you must do these three things.....

~ Follow the person(s) who gave you the award. DONE!

~Link back to the person who gave you the award. DONE!

~Pass this award on to 15 new bloggers! 

So....here are my 15! 

Ashley from Inspire, Dream, Create

Donna from Working 5 to 9....Math & Science

Shasta from The Loop

From the Desk Of.....

Liz from Teaching In the Valley

Karen from Fun Times In Fourth Grade

Heather from Room 4 Imagination

Cindy from Teach With All the Colors of the Wind

Lisa from The Glittery Apple

Sara from Fourth Grade Fanatics

Jessica from Fabulous & Fun 4th Graders

Miss Cayer from Teaching is Love

Sixth & Spectacular

Jane from Hoot-Worthy in First

Jennifer from Darling Little Learners

Congratulations to each of these winners!

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Has anyone else jumped on the green smoothie train? When I first heard of them, I thought they sounded disgusting! I mean who drinks spinach in a smoothie.....YUCK! But, then I read several testimonials of folks who said you absolutely cannot taste the spinach, so I decided to try it. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I dislike spinach.....I don't. I actually love it on a sandwich in place of lettuce, and it's one of my favorite pizza toppings...I'm a meatless white pizza girl and my favorite toppings are cheese, tomato, mushrooms, & spinach......YUM! In a sweet smoothie though? Well, I bit the bullet and made one for myself and my hubby and guess what? They are actually very tasty....and you can't taste the spinach! Healthy and tasty....you can't beat that. Our favorite is Greek yogurt, pineapple (canned in it's own juice), spinach, banana, & a little orange juice. If you can get past the color, you will love them!

Here are the ingredients...I put my pineapple in a jar after I open the can. A good tip I discovered is to slice your bananas, lay them on a cookie sheet and freeze them and then put them in a freezer bag and they won't stick together. Frozen bananas make the smoothie stay cold longer and since they go bad so quickly, this keeps you from having to go to the grocery store more than once a week.

I don't measure anything, but here are the ingredients for one smoothie in the blender. Put a good handful of spinach in!

And....here's the finished product!  What do you think? Are you willing to try a green smoothie? I promise you they are yummy.....and healthy! I plan to drink one every morning on my way to work when school starts! Let me know if you have tried them and what your favorite ingredients are....:)

Be blessed....

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