Treasures & Make Overs

First things first, who doesn't love Skippyjon Jones? Well, that is who Kohl's is featuring for their Kohl's Cares Back to School Kids Cause. I was there yesterday and grabbed up my own Skippyjon & friends plushies along with the books for my library.

Skippyjon Plush & "Skippyjon Jones In the Dog House" Book

Bumble Bee Plush & "Skippyjon Jones" Book

Sock Monkey Plush & "Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice" Book

and finally, Penguin Plush & "Skippyjon Jones Class Action" Book

Then I rushed home and placed an order for the online exclusive dinosaur plushie and "Skippyjon Jones and The Big Bones" Book.

Along with a cute little Skippyjon backpack. I figure I can use the backpack to create a take home pack to rotate among my students.

This is a great little resource book to help teach my kiddos how to make healthier eating choices. Since I have a full kitchen in my room we will be able to make some of the offerings and maybe even do some taste comparisons so they can see healthier doesn't have to taste icky :)

Now, on to my makeover... No, I didn't go get a beauty makeover, but three of the chairs I have in my room did. You may have seen one of them in my reading nook post. If you didn't take a look at my lil nook. I am pretty proud of how it is turning out.

These are the chairs that I started out with. They are probably about 25 years old but they are Lazy Boys and are quality pieces of furniture as far as their bones go. We started out by taking them apart. A good friend of mine suggested we leave the old fabric over them and just cover over it so that is what we did.

With my hubby's help, we created the buttons, cut & stapled the fabric on, attached the buttons and reassembled the chairs. I left the nicks and dings because I have a jungle theme going on and didn't want to have them to fresh looking. I can always go back and refinish the wood later. BTW, the fabric was a faux suede I have had for several years just waiting for the perfect project for it :) So check your closets, you never know what treasures you will find there.

Counting the one in my reading nook already, this is 2 of the 3 done.

And this is a picture of the two swivel rockers after they are all done. I can't wait to get them back into my room.



Whew, yesterday was a busy day. Then hubby and I had a birthday dinner party to go to last night. Today has been all about relaxing...zzzz.... and napping ;) Now that nap time is over, time to get back to work creating more fun things for my classroom.


Rita
...and remember to stay 'Wild About School!'

Jungle Reading Nook

Well the past two days have been busy, busy. I have been working hard on my classroom and have the pictures to prove it.

This is the before picture of what is slated to become my jungle reading nook. Take special notice of how bland it is, the lovely old orange chair, etc.

And this is the after picture... doesn't it look sooo much better??? And did you get a good look at that styling chair? Yep, that is the same orange chair, greatly transformed.


I am so excited to continue transforming my classroom into a jungle room.



In addition to decorating, I have been busy organizing my student library and my teacher library. I wish I could share before pictures but I didn't really take any. My books were just a bit of a mish-mash. I tried to categorize but they ended up everywhere. So when I wanted a particular book it meant I had to look through baskets of books. In an earlier post I had talked about the new system I am using called Classroom Organizer. And I still can't say enough about it. I love it and yes, it is free.

Here are a couple of after pictures.

This is part of my student library. Each basket has it's own sign with a distinctive and unique picture that corresponds with the picture of the labels of each book that belongs in that basket. By doing this even my non-readers will be able to independently select a book from our library and return it without assistance. And if something does get returned to the wrong basket, it will be easy to spot.

This is a picture of one of the basket signs.

And this picture shows the label on the back of one of the books that belongs in that basket.

This is how I have organized my teacher library. I like the idea of using the folding baskets (in my school colors) because these are not books that my students will be selecting from so this keeps them out of sight, out of mind while allowing easy access for me. And I think it presents a less 'noisy' view. This is especially important for some of my students who can be over-stimulated by too much visual noise in the room.

Sometimes I want to 'close' the library off to students. I use the library itself to accomplish this. I am able to easily swing the racks so that it closes the reading nook and library off. This is important during classes where other students come into my room for specific instruction in communication. This way they are not as distracted by the cool reading nook.

This pictures show the racks. They are on wheels and I use velcro ties to hold one rack to the other so that I can swing both simultaneously.






I still have much work to complete before I am ready for students, but I feel like I have a good start at least. So I am off to cover 2 more chairs with my hubby. Thank goodness for him... he has the know-how and the tools to help me accomplish all my crazy ideas. But remember to stay 'Wild About School' :)

Jungle

I just can't get my mind off of my jungle room theme. I keep thinking of new things I need for my classroom. I just finished creating Daily 5 Signs in my jungle Series and I love them. All the "wild" little animals are just so cute. I know my students are going to love them as much as I do.

I have uploaded my Doodles & Dots Black & White Set. And my mind is racing with thoughts of it as well, but as Scarlet used to say, "tomorrow is another day" So those thoughts will have to wait while I finalize things for beginning of this school year... which starts in...hmmm... YIKES... next week! So back to the creation grind for me :) Have a wonderful night and remember to get "Wild About School!"

Welcome to My Wild About School Jungle Room...

I am working on creating a jungle theme for my classroom when I go back to school. I have purchased bamboo to make a jungle hut in my reading area. I am so excited to try it out! I have also created a line of classroom helpers to go along with this theme. I have uploaded them to the TPT site and am offering them for sale to others. So far they have been a success! If you are interested in a jungle theme for your classroom, feel free to check them out!
My husband thinks I am crazy and that I spend WAY to much time creating things for my classroom, but honestly, I enjoy it and I find it difficult to find things commercially that meet my needs/wants. So I just make them instead! Then I have what I want and how I want it. Do you get the impression I am a bit picky? Well yes, I guess I am :)