Operation: Classroom

I am constantly trying to rack my brain to have my classroom become more organized, functional, and fun.  I feel like as a middle school teacher, this is a much more difficult task than a lower grade teacher.  Should it be?  Is there a difference in how it should be set up?

I feel there are a few ways that make it different.  The students are at an age where they want to be treated as adults, yet still enjoy 'kid things' like stickers and bulletin boards and story-time (yes, I incorporate children's books into my classroom of 7th graders!!).  But I still struggle on where to draw that line.  I also feel like because social media is SO relevant in our student's lives, I try and pull those resources in as well.  Then my mind gets all jumbled on things that I could do, and I get super overwhelmed and stop thinking about it altogether.... back to square one.

This fall, since I am adding 6th grade into my curriculum, I feel that I need to appeal to the 'younger' aspect of everything, while still keeping true to the middle school 'feel' of things.  I also need to become a TON more organized than I ever have been before so that I can really make this year work - especially considering I am adding Student Council,Outdoor Ed Club, and team lead to my plate!!

What do you use to organize your classroom?

The beginning of my 'Happily Ever After'

Today is a special day for my husband and I.  6 years ago, Ryan took me on a vacation that will forever be the start of something so much bigger than we realized at the time.  On Thursday, June 12, 2008, we arrived in Daytona Beach, FL for our first vacation together.  I was completely thrilled to be there with a guy I had grown to love over the past year (we had been dating since March 27, 2007).  We were staying at an amazing hotel resort on the beach (Wyndham's Ocean Walk Resort), and I was in paradise!!

We went to the store and got some groceries to last us the 5 days we were there and then crashed since we were so exhausted from the travelling that day!  The next day, we had a great time on the beach.  We enjoyed the water, and got some much needed sun.  That night we went to an amazing dinner at the Chart House.  Ryan seemed a bit fidgety but I didn't read too much into it since I was so hungry and could only think about the delicious meal and dessert that were in front of me.  When we returned back to the hotel, we decided we wanted to take a stroll on the beach down to the Pier to watch the sunset.  (I didn't take as many pictures as I had liked to during this trip - in retrospect I would have taken a TON more!!)  We decided to take a seat on the beach on our way back and just watch the sun set over the water, and that is when it happened....

Ryan turned to me and said these words:

"Soooo... I kinda like you a whole lot... and wanna keep you around for a long time... soooo will you marry me?!" 

(that might sound childish, but it is totally him and it was absolutely PERFECT!)

(Here is the ring - I took the picture the next day after 

SOO many people were asking me post a picture of it!!)

I freaked out!!  I was so excited and couldn't be more thrilled about everything!  Right after he proposed, there were fireworks going off at the Pier (I would love to brag and say that Ryan had planned that out, but he didn't).  We went back to the hotel, and called EVERYONE!!  It wasn't until the next morning that I realized it had happened on Friday the 13th!!  We had a really good laugh about that one!

We enjoyed the beach for a few more days, got WAY sun-burnt and headed back home.  We always talk about going back there, but haven't made our way just yet - maybe next year.

Sweet Home, Illinois

This week I have had taken the opportunity to visit some extremely important people in my life, as well as knocking some things that have been on my 'to-do' list for a few years!!

Cubs Game
I have been a Chicago Cubs fan since I met my husband in 2007.  I have always been a fan of baseball, but never really had loyalty to a specific team.  After moving to Chicago to do my student teaching, I got to attend games at Wrigley Field, more and more frequently, to a point where I too was converted into a fan.  My husband wasn't able to come with during this trip, but I was able to go to a game and enjoy the day with a few of my friends from college!!  It was a beautiful day, and the Cubs came away with a W (not a usual occurrence - I like to think they won since I was in town)!!

Baby Shower
My friend Jen is pregnant with her first baby and due in August of this year!!  I am so incredibly excited for her and the adventure that will be!!  Her baby shower (the main reason for my trip) was on Saturday, and let me tell you - Madisyn Faith is SOO loved beyond belief!!  Jen opened up a TON of gifts for her baby girl and had a hard time finding a place for everything!!  We were all asked to guess when she was going to have Madisyn - I guessed August 2 (4 days before her due date)... we will see when she arrives!!

Family Visit

As it is with most people ( I imagine), I try and maximize my trips with as much as I possibly can so as to not make multiple trips and only spend what is necessary on airfare.  While I was visiting my family, I was able to attend my church that I grew up going to (and see everywhere there), celebrate the ordination of an extraordinary woman who I have known since Junior High, visit with friends that still live in the area, help my aunt surprise my mother for her birthday (she flew in from Dallas to Chicago and then drove 2 hours to surprise her for the evening before heading back to Chicago for a conference), get 7 inches cut off my hair (I have a problem trusting people with cutting my hair and haven't gotten my hair cut by anyone else but Mary for 15 years!!), and was able to have lunch with a very good friend and her two children (one of which I met for the first time this trip)!!  I was able to get sooo much accomplished in this trip and more!!  Here is a picture after my haircut - while I am enjoying my (month late) Birthday Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks on this gloomy day in Central Illinois!!

The Best Part

My favorite part of my trip was getting to see my nephew!!  He is six years old and just finished Kindergarten!!  I love him to pieces and treasure every moment I have with him, because they are few and far between since I live so far away!!

He is participating in the Summer Reading Program (PAWS to Read) at the local library and we spent some quality time with books during my visit.  One of my favorite things to do is read to children (even though I teach middle school)!!  I shared some of my favorites with him, including a few poems by Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends.  Here is his reaction from "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too."  He absolutely loved it - and thought it was hysterical!!

We also enjoyed building with his Legos while watching Frozen (a favorite of both of ours) and hanging out in the living room watching Polar Express in 3D (just because it's June doesn't mean we can't immerse ourselves in the Christmas Spirit) - we also had a mini-photoshoot in our 3D glasses!  I will miss him SOO much!!!

The Rest...

Tomorrow, I will leave my parents' house to head back up to Chicago on the train.  I will be spending some more time with Jen and her husband (and ALLLL the new baby things - I'm sleeping in the nursery as long as there is room for me on the floor) before attending a wedding of another friend from college on Saturday evening.  And finally will be flying back home to The Valley of the Sun on Sunday evening!  So far it has been great and should be a pretty great ending of the trip as well!! 

(Sorry for the lengthy post, so many great things happening and I have been SUPER busy since my last post!!)  Enjoy!!

DIY Fabric-Covered Cork Board

As any teacher knows, the end of the school year means the purging of unnecessary things in your classroom.  At my school, this means a free-for-all of unwanted things left out in the hallway!!  I always try and pick through some of the things to find little treasures that I could use somewhere in my classroom or elsewhere.  I came across an unwanted cork board that was ugly (because what cork board isn't ugly)...  I decided to take this ugly cork board and up-cycle it into something I could be proud of displaying somewhere - possibly my classroom!!

Originally I wanted to make a functional cork board/chalk board that I could hang in my classroom, but after finishing everything, i decided I wanted to keep it at home, hang it in my kitchen, and make a different one to use in my classroom this upcoming year!!

Since I had a cork board with a frame on it, I had to get the frame off.  I thought this would be easy, just take the frame off... definitely easier said than done!!  After trying to get the frame off for about 30 minutes, I decided to just use a box cutter and cut the cork board out of the frame.  Since the frame I was going to mount the cork board in was bigger than the original size, this thankfully wasn't an issue!!

My first step after cutting the board out, was to paint it with chalk board paint.  I decided to paint the entire surface with the chalkboard paint because I still wasn't sure how much fabric I wanted to use.  I did two coats (one horizontal and one vertical) using Craftsmart 'black acrylic chalkboard paint.'

Then I painted the frame.  I did two coats of paint on the frame - even though I was planning on distressing the frame a bit... I wanted the parts that didn't end up distressed to be even.  I used Americana Decor: Chalky Finish in 'Treasure.'

After allowing for the paint to dry (both the cork board and the frame), I used 120 grit sandpaper to distress the frame.  Then I used adhesive spray (Elmer's Craftbond) to secure the fabric on part of the frame.  I didn't worry too much about how straight the fabric went on since I had planned on hiding the edge under silver thumbtacks.

I secured the cork board in the frame using hot glue (since there were no fasteners on the back of the frame).  After securing the board in the frame, I covered the line of the fabric with silver thumbtacks.

I love the finished product and plan on writing cute quotes on it every now and then!!

Love the end result!!  I am planning on making a much bigger version for my classroom - possibly just a chalkboard!  I am having a fun time crafting this summer - in addition to this I have also made a few mason jar vases in preparation of a 4th of July get-together we will be hosting!

Enjoy your summer!!

The First of Many...

Hello there!

I have never written a blog, but after scouring the web full of blogs on Pinterest, technology training, and all the crazy experience inside (and out) of the classroom, I thought to myself "Why not start a blog?"

I am sure I am not the only person who experiences some of the craziness that is Middle School teaching, and I would love to start networking with other bloggers out there!!  I can't promise to post all the time (in fact, I tend to start a lot of things and end up not finishing them - am I alone in that??), but I can promise to try my best!

So here I am, making my first blog post, of what I hope will turn into, many.  Here's to my adventures that I'm not sure will even take place.  Here's to getting constructive criticism, sharing my ideas, and (hopefully) getting LOTS of new ones to implement!


There are so many teacher blogs out there, so if you are reading this, THANK YOU for coming to my page!!  I hope you come back often to check out what I have to post!!