August 2, 2011

Classroom Progress, Painful PT, & Positive Thoughts

^The teacher in me WISHES that title could have been complete alliteration...alas... :)

I put in another 4+ hours in my classroom after summer school today and made a TINY bit of progress.  It is still tough to see an end, but it is definitely looking more like a classroom and less like a #$&! pile these days!  (Still kind of a #$&! pile, but less so than yesterday at least!)  Today I decided to tackle one of my absolute least favorite tasks and cover my bulletin board.  Teachers--is there an easier way to do this?!?  I ALWAYS wrinkle the paper.  Our butcher block doesn't cover the board fully and I'm too cheap to buy the fancy fadeless paper at the teacher store, so it always looks a little patchwork.

This will be my Writing Workshop tools and anchor charts board.  Obviously it is still a work in progress, although the real work will be done once the kiddos arrive and start their writing!!!  Check out the sports boarder I snagged yesterday!  I bought it to go with my sports theme for the year.  It's also on my white boards...
Sorry about the awful glare...but look how cute those subject magnets I bought yesterday look!  This board will be for my schedule, HW, and clip chart.  The bulletin board to the right will have our classroom rules and agreements (more on those to come).  (I have another large white board on another wall that I use for teaching purposes.  This one is the miscellaneous board...)

I also got my Word Work station and choice board set up to use with Daily 3 (read more about how I run Daily 3 in this post):

Of course, there is still a layer of rubble littering the room...

But look!  You can actually see the floor!!! :)  After sweating it out in the classroom. it was time to sweat it out at physical therapy!  Seriously, I MISS the days when I first started going when I did like 5 exercises and they were all easy.  Man, they really give me a workout these days!  When I told my PT about the hip flexor pain from yesterday, he showed me a few new stretches to help with that...then inflicted upon me the WORST PAIN I HAVE EVER KNOWN.  Seriously, it was that bad.  He prefaced it by saying he was going to "dig in my abdominal muscles pretty much to my spine" and compared it to "abdominal surgery without anesthetic."  While I don't know if I would go THAT far, it was pretty grueling.  The hip flexor does feel a little better now, but holy god.  It was a rough time.

After that I decided I needed to eat ice cream (obv).  I knew I didn't have any at home, so I stopped at the grocery store on the way back.  Remember how yesterday I showed you what happens when I go to the teacher store without a list?  Well this is what happens when I go to the grocery store without a list...

Not so much overbuying as RANDOM buying.  Fruit, fancy ice cream, and soy products.  Clearly these ingredients will fill my fridge and help me cook delicious meals...  (Who am I kidding, I don't cook anyways.  Hence the fake chicken nuggs.  Which are delicious in case you are wondering!)  Anyways, I'm currently relaxing on the floor with my laptop, ice pack, and a mug of key lime gelato listening to a thunderstorm.  It's been quite a day, so I'm fairly certain I'll be in bed by 10 tonight.  Love those nights. :)


But before I go, I want to share this wonderful pinterest find that is currently my desktop background and my wish to all of you...

Have a wonderful night!

14 comments:

  1. It actually makes me feel better than an elementary teacher is struggling as much as I am with that damn bulletin board paper! I thought the talent was just.. innate with you guys! (I'm a secondary teacher who sucks at decorative stuff.)

    I got kicked out of my room after only 1 hour so they could wax the halls! Hmph!

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  2. FABRIC! Cheap fabric remnants are AWESOME for bulletin boards.

    And I still love that quote/whatever it is. :)

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  3. Ciao Bella sorbet and blueberries! AWESOME! who needs to cook?

    Your room will shape up perfectly... your boards look great :)

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  4. Lauren beat me to the punch - but when I taught preschool I used felt or burlap for my bulletin boards. Since I used flannel board stories for some of my lesson, I tended to use felt.

    I've also seen some rooms where the teacher used left over wallpaper for their backgrounds.

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  5. looking at all your cute stuff totally makes me wish i had gone into teaching/was still in 5th grade. i was such a school nerd, loved it! i am glad PT is hard, that means it is working!!! I know the pain can be bad though but you are getting there. love the quote!!

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  6. Your classroom is looking great!!! :)

    I love that quote from pinterest. Thank you for putting it up and sending a positive message to all your readers.

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  7. Super cute classroom!! I bet you are such a fun teacher! Love the quote!!

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  8. ahhhhhhhhhhh! i seriously love the "hey you"...totally printed it after you sent it to me...I think I told you that?

    ice cream. yum. fixes everything :) my grocery trips look the same way when I head out without a list :)

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  9. I like to use the plastic rectangular table cloths from Party City or the Dollar Store to cover my bulletin boards. They don't fade as bad as the butcher paper, and aren't as expensive as the fadeless paper.

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  10. As suggested earlier, I'd say fabric. It will last longer plus you can so many different kinds of fabric.

    Journey of a Substitute Teacher

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  11. I just have to share... I'm the same with the grocery buying.

    Though my sister is worse sometimes. Once, the deal was that she'd buy the food and I'd cook it. She spent an hour going through cookbooks, but never made a list... and came back from the store with asparagus, eggs, pomegranate juice, and a cheesecake. There was no meal that I could make. So we had asparagus, eggs, cheesecake, and pomegranate juice for supper.

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  12. I am going into my first year of teaching and I will be teaching 5th grade. I am interested in the word watcher poster with the blank slips, but I cannot make out what it says. I am also interested in a older post picture with your book reccomendations from the students. Do you have these on a file? I would love to use them. THANKS ;o)

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  13. LOVE that you post pics of your classroom! I am gearing up to set up mine for the fall. I always use that abc font :) love it!

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  14. HATED stapling paper - definitely converted to plastic table clothes as well, work like a charm!

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