Stress, Classroom and Some Donors Choose

I haven't been this stressed out in a long time.

It's not only the fear of a new year... but it's also a new school and a new grade level.

Let's be honest. There's a BIG difference between 4th and 6th graders.

However, with all that stress, I could not be any happier with my new "family".

This new school has offered nothing but kind words and support.

And it feels amazing to be able to do my own thing.

No more complaints about us not all doing the exact same thing, at the exact same time.

Oh the joys of Middle School.

My classroom is getting closer to being ready to go.

Unfortunately, I don't know when the bookshelves my school ordered me will be in.

It's driving me nuts that I can't finish my room until then.

My lesson plans are just about done too.

Again, it is wonderful to have such a supportive team. :)

 As a secondary teacher, I have the opportunity to receive 24 copies of the Truman Award Nominees.

These books are great for kids this age because it's usually something they can relate to.

When finished, the board will have copies of the covers of all the books.

It's also going to be a tweet was where students can leave "tweets" as reviews of the books.

I can't wait to finish everything!! :)

Did I mention that I'm a 6th grade teacher teaching ALL of the subjects?

This is my science wall.

Scientific method and lab team roles all courtesy of The Science Penguin.

This is probably my favorite part of my room right now. 

I LOVE my expectation frames. <3 <3 <3

The baskets will be for each class to turn in work.

I'm also super excited I was able to get a horseshoe table for small groups!! :)

Anyway... 

I am EXHAUSTED!!!

This week has been super long. I've put in about 10 hour days.

This weekend will be full of much needed rest and relaxation!!!

But first...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check out my first ever Donors Choose project

Visit my Donors Choose Project Page to donate.

I'm really hoping to get more Truman Award Nominee books and the next ones in their series.

Your donation will help my students immensely!! 

Monday Made It!

Well.... it's finally here.

Today is the first Monday of the school year.

We still won't have kids until the 12th but since I'm in a new district this year... 

I get the privilege of attending new teacher orientation today and tomorrow.

On a much, much happier note...

Today is Teachers Pay Teachers Back to School 2014 sale!!!

Who wouldn't be excited?!

Anyway...

I'm linking up with Farley for today's 

My friend and I thought we'd give the Crayon Art a shot.

I was originally shooting for something more original with pictures but

I think my canvas was too small. 

So here's what I ended up with.

Cute, huh!?

Yesterday I posted about my classroom expectations project.

Click the picture to check it out and a *freebie* too! :)

Finally, I know I didn't make it... but my blog is looking pretty sweet!!!

The new layout is courtesy of Lindsay at L. Paull Designs

I think she did a FANTASTIC job and I couldn't have asked for a better person to work with! :)

Thanks Lindsay!!

Crafty Classroom Expectations ... *FREEBIE*!

Let me start by saying that I have ZERO experience with spray paint. I've never even picked up a can before in my life.  Needless to say, I've seen all these super cute projects other teachers do on Pinterest, Blogs, and Instagram and I thought to myself, "Hey! That looks easy! I can do that!" 

I guess I needed to remind myself something I always remind my students:: "What's easy for one person isn't necessarily easy for everyone else."

So last night I created my top 10 classroom expectations courtesy of Lessons With Laughter. She created some super cute ones but they didn't match my color scheme and they wouldn't fit in the frames I bought. So I created my own. I love, love, LOVE them!!!! 

You can download them for FREE here. (Yes, free!)

I found these super cute frames at Michaels for $3.99. They were 70% off plus I had a 20% off entire purchase coupon. So I bought 11 frames (1 extra) for 96 cents a piece!!! Talk about a great deal!

(photo courtesy of Kinder Craze)

I picked up three cans of spray paint from Walmart.

Rust-Oleum in Seaside

Krylon in Citrus Green (which is not green at all but neon yellow)

Rust-Oleum in Berry Pink

And here is where I had trouble. As I already said, I am not a pro at spray painting. I wouldn't even say I'm a beginner. I'm below a beginner.

So here are my top 4 tips for Spray Painting for Dummies.

1. Stand downwind -- Yes, I did have to learn that one that hard way... and so did my poor iPhone.

2. When the directions say "Shake well before use" you better shake well before use.

3. DO NOT use plastic trash bags to paint on to. Not only does the paint not want to dry on the trash bags, but your project will stick to them and when you think you're finished and everything is dry, you literally have to PRY the final project off of the trash bag (thus leaving behind plastic pieces you can not peel off).

4. Although the spray paint cans say your project will be dry(ish) in 20 minutes, believe me... it's not.

Either way.... it wasn't a complete disaster.

This was before I had to peel them off of the trash bag. 

From a distance they look much better. Up close... you can see every little detail. I wasn't able to peel off the tags easily so I just spray painted over them. At this rate, I might just have to sand down and try again. (I think the tri-colored frame actually came out the best and there's only one coat of paint and it was my tester!!)

With a little Mod Podge... this is the final result!!!

Not sure yet how I'm going to present this or hang them yet but I am SUPER excited and proud of how they turned out regardless!!

What are you tips and tricks for spray painting? This dummy would love to hear them!!!