Schoolroom Swag

Elementary Teacher

Having fun in the classroom and "balancing" life!

Monday, February 8, 2016

The Learning Lounge






This is a very student-directed classroom. I love that table next to the loveseat. It looks really homey. But could you pull this off in your school? I think my principal would listen to me if I wanted to implement this. I think I'd have some explaining to do, though, as to the why it's necessary to completely get rid of my desks.  But for this teacher, great!




Her name is Elise Legaspi and she's from California. I think her room is very comfortable, and she has some great furniture! You can clearly see she's a student-directed teacher who wants students to be engaged. And that's what classroom design is all about! Engaging students and transforming not only the classroom, but the students!



Transforming your classroom will transform your teaching!

Glitter Words
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Friday, February 5, 2016

Kids LOVE new school!



..



Check out this innovative school in Florida. What do you think?

I would love to try it for awhile and see how it works.  Or at least visit and learn from them. Would I be able to fit into that model? How do the kids learn and get along? What are test results? Do they test? Are there any traditional aspects? How does it work in the day to day?



I think it's really interesting, in regards to classroom design, and learning!







Glitter Words
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Sunday, January 17, 2016

Budget crunch gift idea


I was in a serious budget crunch at Christmas time. We had some MAJOR car bills (we're talking multiple thousands) come up right before Christmas which ate into our Christmas fund. So I was on the hunt for BARGAINS. And when I say bargains, I mean...what can I make for next to nothing?

So here was one solution...a Christmas decoration for my sister. I think it turned out really cute. In these pictures, it still needs an "M" (for Meyer) as the tree trunk. I decided not to put a star on the top, but you could if you wanted. I couldn't find any that weren't cheesy.

 
 
I made this out of fence post wood slats. About $2.50 from Home Depot for a 5 or 6 foot post. I already had the three pieces as left-overs from a fireplace project, but you only need one board, cut into 12 inch strips. Here are the steps I took:


1-cut the angled edges off (and cut into 12 in. pieces if you need to)
2-stain


3-cover with painters tape to make the chevron
4-stain again with the tape on, to make the pattern
5-screw on a piece of bracket on the back to keep the pieces together

6-glue on the ornaments
7-screw in eyelets on top and insert wire
 


8-add twine bows or accents to the eyelets if you want

Now, I had most of these items at home, so I only had to buy the ornaments for $3 at Michaels. But if you had to buy everything, it would still cost you less than about $15.

I want to make another one, but with the next one, I plan to make the pieces longer, and add an arrow with the word "Permberly". There are a TON of ideas you could use. A heart for Valentines, Eggs for Easter, a simple initial, a plain arrow, an ampersand, (what is it about ampersands that are so cool?) vinyl letters,  you name it.

Thanks for reading!
Glitter Words
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Saturday, January 2, 2016

Easy long range planning

Do you know Linda Kamp? She is awesome. I love her products and her blog posts. Helpful, to the point, engaging. I read her latest, and it taught me a new Pinterest tip. Organize the school year pins by month!  You can't do that for all of your teaching pins, but it's great for those that work! I think it will really make planning my year easier.

Also, being Jan. 2nd, with school a mere 2 days away, it's time to start planning. I'll be honest, I HATE writing lesson plans. Mine are pretty involved, and that's important to me but I need to find a way to enjoy writing them and find passion in my planning! I'm not sure that's possible, but today I came across Linda's January Pinterest board, and a new way to use Planbook.com that I think might help. I've written before about Planbook.com, but my new way to use it: Planning units!  It allows me to create units in any class, date them, add lessons, assessments, objectives, standards, and more.


I just finished Social Studies for the rest of the year. Now I'll just need to add to each individual unit as I go. For example, I purchased 2 MLK projects at TPT, and I added them to the unit. And at Planbook.com, I can upload the unit right to my lesson plan page. So I can plan my unit, go to my weekly lesson plan, attach the items I purchased, along with the unit plan I created, and boom! My week is done. And saved for the next year to tweak as I go. I can also add a link to my monthly Pinterest board (or any Pinterest board) and anything pinned is right there, ready to use!

If you need planning to be a little easier, or you need to do some long term planning, Planbook.com is the way to go.


Glitter Words
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Sunday, December 6, 2015

$1 Christmas sale...it ends in a hurry!

Christmas with the Gang

Ten More Weeks of Winter Morning Work

Two more weeks 'til break!!!! I'm ready already and that is so sad because I just had a full week off for PD over Thanksgiving week! I shouldn't need another break this early. Why is it that I hate planning so much?! I love finding fun stuff to do! I just wish it didn't take so long, or so much brain energy. Or that I had enough money to buy all my stuff on TPT and just use the cute and fun plans I see on the website.


Christmas Around the Globe: A Powerpoint PresentationSo here's my favor for you all...everything Christmas related in my store is only $1 for a quickie flash sale. It will end in a hurry!!!!! Here's a link for your pre-Christmas break sale!








Merry Christmas!
Glitter Words
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Thursday, December 3, 2015

A palace of a school!


Wow! Look at this place! It's amazing. Who wouldn't want to walk down the halls of this school and just discover the details?! I sure would!

Check out the chain on this drawbridge! And the stones! Incredible!

 I love the mix of plastic flowers for a realistic look that contrasts the huge paper ones. So "Alice in Wonderland." Love it.

And check out the insides of these flowers! Are those bunnies??!!
 
Nice work, teachers of Sullivan Elementary. Hats of to you, for sure!

Thanks for reading!

Glitter Words
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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Using Facebook...I'm not so sure about it...plus any freebie from my store!

I'm sure I've shared with you all the fact that I love classroom decorating and organizing that. I've been doing a ton of research on it lately as well. I have so much interesting information to share with you as far as how classroom décor affects learning and test results.

But I'm such a bad blogger! I just have a super hard time getting anything written! And when I do, I write like an 8 year old! It's like I've lost all writing ability. I wonder if it's because it's 10:30 PM by the time I sit down to it...hmm...

Anyway, I started recording the cool stuff  I'm learning and seeing over at Facebook, of all places. I may or may not have shared with you my feelings about Facebook. I'll spare you a trip to my soapbox, but I do see its' strengths, and communicating with other teachers is one of them.

Soooooo.....(Are you a KidHistory fan????!!!! If not, check them out! Hilarious.) if you follow my Facebook page, I'll treat you to any product from my TPT store for free. Just message me your email address at Facebook after hitting my Like button. Or come on back here and give me your address in the comment section.

Thanks for reading!
Glitter Words
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