Teacher Tuesday: Bookshelf Facelift and ORGANIZATION!

So, I decided to go to school... DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REINACT OR RECREATE THIS STUNT.

I've been itching to get in the classroom and work on a few projects and I love how they turned out!

My first project was this white bookshelf I had in the classroom. It didn't really go with anything else, so I decided to use my leftover wall paint and spruce it up.

Even after the bright paint, I felt like it needed a little something extra! So, I painted some fun Dr. Seuss-ish lines on the side and looked up the word "read" in different languages. This end of the bookshelf juts out into the center of the classroom, so it's going to be a great focal point!

My second project was this GREAT cabinet in the classroom! It had a blue striped curtain hanging over it, which I  used as a drop cloth for painting... WOOPS! 

I decided to go through all the supplies hidden in the cabinet and see what I could use and what needed to GO. I ended up storing most of my math manipulatives and resources in the top portion and my FOSS kits in the bottom.

I also picked up some bright fabric from the sale bin at Wal-Mart and my momma sewed together these fun curtains to replace my drop cloth curtains!

I ended up going off on an organizing tangent and managed to get my social studies resources organized as well! I lined them along our shelf in chronological order. I plan on putting a timeline above them, so the students (and I) have a visual to go along with our lessons through time!

I ended up finding a ton of cool science stuff in the big storage cabinet and decided to take them out and put them on display in our "discovery center." By having these materials out I'm hoping students will be more willing to jump in to science and not be afraid of the different instruments! 

I know it doesn't look like much, but I feel like it's all coming together. My biggest goal right now (one month out!) is to see what all I have to work with! As you see, I still have a long way to go! 

This is my next big project... the classroom library! I want a fun, inviting space that encourages students to discuss and promote what they're reading! I've got a couple ideas in my head, but I'd love to hear yours! 

Happy Tuesday!

Ain't Gonna Paint No More!

Although I did this activity a while back I thought I'd share anyway because it has been one of my favorites!

In my 2D-3D Elementary Art class we read the book Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont and I absolutely adored it! At the time I was working as the lead School Age teach at a child development center and Wednesday was our Art Club day. The first thing I did was read the book to the children. Note: I had children age 5 - 10. This book was perfect because it was hilarious, so it kept my older kids interested, and it included prediction and rhyming which held my younger kids' attention.

After the book was over I told the kids we were going to create our own Ain't Gonna Paint No More! boy. luckily I had a small enough number of kids to assign a body part to each child. (I think it was 11?) Anyway the kids had a BLAST decorating their body parts. I gave each a plain piece of computer paper and they went to town!!

We then assembled the body on our wall to make one unit! It looked hilarious, of course, because the arms end up two different sizes as well as the legs and hands... etc.

What I loved most about this activity is that it not only includes literature and art, it incorporates science (anatomy specifically) and it requires teamwork! I loved it hanging in our room because it was something we all had to do together and without one part it just wouldn't have been right! :)

I feel like this could be a fun way to lead into a science unit on the body! Anyway you use it I think the kids will LOVE it -- mine did!

I did take one picture of the finished project even though I wasn't blogging at the time!

Thank you Miss Taylor for the fun letters! :) 

We had a blast doing this! Please share pictures if you do it! I'd love to see how it would work in a large classroom!