Monday Made It

Granted it's Tuesday I know, but yesterday being the Fourth of July, I was spending time with friends and family celebrating America's Independence. With that being said, here's my first #MondayMadeIt.

I have an obsession with peacocks; the colors, the feathers, I think they're gorgeous! So, my classroom this year is going to incorporate my obsession as to not bombard my house with it all. (you're welcome honey ;) )

I purchased peacock inspired teacher toolbox labels on Teachers Pay Teachers. 

You can find them here. 

In addition to my teacher toolbox, I have a Sterilite 3 drawer system that I spray painted to match my classroom decor. Slight problem though. I couldn't find any labels to fit the length of these drawers.

I looked for some to match or even coordinate, but I couldn't find any that I really liked so, I decided to make my own. And here's the final product:

I purchased the background from JW Illustrations' TPT store and now I've got some more digital papers to play around with for any other projects I want or need to do. 

Wondering how much that will be?

$5 TPT purchase + time on the computer + printing at home = that's it!

If you're interested in purchasing my Sterilite labels, visit my Will Grade for Milkshakes TPT store.

Thrifty Thursday

We all know as teachers, we aren't necessarily paid for all we do and a lot of times, classroom supplies come out of our own pockets. So, we have to come up with tricks of the trade that aren't going to break the bank. (I'm sure our spouses and significant others appreciate the extra money in their pockets too! ;) ) 

Therefore, Thursdays will be "Thrifty Thursdays," where different ways will be shown to save money in the classroom. Please send in your thriftiness and make sure to give credit where credit is due :)

Individual dry-erase boards are a great tool for any classroom, except a complete classroom set can cost $$$. As I was scrolling through Pinterest, (a great place for teachers in my opinion!) I came across a pin that caught my eye titled "Make Dry-Erase Boards for Pennies." I clicked and went to a teacher's blog post about saving money on dry-erase boards. Here's Jan Bernard's link: http://dragonsdencurriculum.blogspot.com/2016/03/dry-erase-boards-are-one-pice-of.html

I went to a nearby Home Depot store and searched for Eucatile. I couldn't find it, but I did find this decorative panel board. 

It has a slick white surface on one side like the blog post described and it was made of eucalyptus. Eucatile=eucalyptus tile; This is the conclusion I came to.

One panel board is 8ft x 4ft and I had a employee cut the boards in 1ft x 1ft squares. Doing the math, that gave me a classroom set of 32 dry-erase boards. So, each board cost me $0.40 before tax. Pretty cheap considering a comparable dry-erase board at my local Wal-Mart is over $3.00.

Here are a couple of the boards. I haven't fully decided if I'd like to add tape to the edges or not. The tape can serve to cover the rough edges and for decoration.

Is there something specific you use or would use individual dry-erase boards for in the classroom? Let me know in the comments.

Lessons in Teaching and Learning

As an education professional, somedays it's all about your dreams, hopes, and visions for the future. But there are some days where life is just about putting one foot in front of the other. 

This blog is a place for the teacher to come and read about those dreams, hopes, and visions, along with the hilarity that goes on in the classroom. Stories will be shared, advice given, teacher fashion put on display; really it's a teacher free-for-all!

My hope is to bring smiles and laughs to the sometimes mundane field of education. Guest stories are welcomed, and are in fact encouraged! So, send in your stories, advice, fashion tips, etc. and we'll share in this crazy adventure in teaching together!

P.S. If you couldn't already tell this is my first go into the blogging world. Constructive criticism and "how-to"s are more than appreciated.