Monkeys and Toucans and Tigers. . . Oh My!

At the beginning of this past school year, my sweet 2nd grade teacher friend asked me if I wanted to help with her back to school hallway display.   I definitely wanted to help because 1) my friend was eight months pregnant with her second little baby girl, and 2) as I have said before, I really do love making things out of butcher paper. :)  The theme was Jungle, but the teachers who were ahead of the game and already finished had each interpreted the theme a little differently.  By the way, who are those always ahead of the game teachers?  How do they do it?  When I taught, I was never ahead of the game.  In the game, sure.  Right in the middle of things, giving it 110%, of course.  But never, ever ahead.  :)  Anyways, a lot of teachers had done an African safari look, which was so cute, but we decided to take the rainforest jungle route.  So I came up with a few ideas and began making these cute little guys!  

And then I got to work on their home.  You've got to have lots of trees and vines and plants in a rainforest of course.   

 And there should be lots be flowers and probably some butterflies too.

 Now in real life it isn't likely that monkeys and toucans and tigers
gather together for afternoon tea, but in the happy hallways
of our city's 1st and 2nd grade school, they do.

 This is the best shot I could get of the whole thing.  There is a classroom straight across, so it makes it hard to get a full length picture, but here it is.  The rainforest jungle is was (It's already March; I'm just a little late in posting these pictures.) ready to welcome all the bright little faces eager to meet their new teacher and begin the school year!

As always, I used the free butcher paper available for all the teachers to use to make almost everything.    I know that most teachers spend a lot of their own money on things for their classrooms, so that is why I set out to make cute decorations as cheaply as possible, and you can't get any cheaper than free!  This time I also used a little bit of tissue paper from my own stash that I have saved after holidays.  Always save that stuff; it can be used for so many things!  Someday I will post patterns for my decorations so other teachers can use them. . . as soon as I figure out how to do that.  

Until next time, Happy Hallways!

Merry Christmas Bulletin Boards

 It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas . . . Bulletin Boards!  

I have really loved helping my friend with her bulletin board this year.  She is a wonderful 2nd grade teacher and is super busy all the time, so it is my hope that doing the board helps make her life a little easier.  This time the other teachers around her asked if they could pay me to do theirs too.  Umm... doing something I love and getting paid?  Yes, please.  So they brought me a TON of butcher paper, and I got to work, and kept working, and working.  It took a while. :)  There was no way that I was going to be able to get it all done before Thanksgiving, so all those rolls of paper made the trip to St. Louis.  It was a time crunch for sure, but they are all finished and look pretty cute!  The teachers told me their vision, and I did my best to bring that vision to life.  

The first one up is a Gingerbread Candyland.

Here is the gingerbread cottage, and

here is the cute little gingerbread couple who lives inside!

The second one up is a peek at life at the North Pole.

And who's our favorite North Pole guy? Santa, of course,

with his favorite reindeer leading the way! 

The third board is a cozy living room scene, complete with a nice, warm fire, 

and sweet little puppy  

and kitty, resting on their beds.

The last teacher wanted two big penguins and a little penguin pattern so all her kiddos could make one. Here is Mr. and Mrs. Penguin.

                   

Now the bulletin boards are finished, Christmas is in the air, 

and paper is EVERYWHERE!! :)

Merry Christmas Bulletin Boards!

Halloween Footprint Plate

Several weeks ago, Emerson and I took a trip to Crowley to visit Aunt Katie, Uncle Stephen, and Cousin Parker, some of our very favorite people.  Katie and I decided that we wanted to make something fun for Halloween.  I saw an idea on Pinterest that we tweaked.  This project was SUPER easy.  I think we actually wished it would have been harder because it was so easy that it didn't take very long at all.  We bought the plates at Target for $3 each.  They already had the black rings.  Then we used a purple paint pen to make the dots and write "Trick or Treat" and "Smell my Feet."  When it was dry, we just used black craft paint from Wal-Mart to make the footprints.  This part definitely takes two people!  We painted our little ones' feet with a paintbrush, then  helped them place them on the plate.  Special Tip: Do the footprints one at a time!  The paint comes off really easily if you mess up and need to redo.  I sprayed mine with a spray sealer when everything was dry.  This is a super easy and super cute way to preserve a tiny foot memory!

Fall Bulletin Boards

At the beginning of this school year I made some hallway decorations for my sweet friend who teaches 2nd grade, and I loved every minute of it.  Seriously.  Giant rolls of butcher paper make me happy. :)

So when she asked if I might be interested in creating a fall display, I said 

Ummm . . . Yes, please.  

So I got to work on Operation Fall Wall. :)

She knew that she wanted to have her kids make cute little owls that she saw on www.learncreatelove.com so that was my starting point.  I got to thinking . . . There's got to be a scarecrow.  How can you have a Fall Wall without a scarecrow?  So I made this guy.  Isn't he cute? :)

And he just had to have some corn to protect from a bunch of pesky crows!

Then I made Mr. and Mrs. Owl and Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel.

Throw in some trees, sunflowers, apples, acorns, and a pumpkin patch, and you've got yourself a pretty fun Fall Wall.  I loved how it turned out!

Earlier this week, my friend went to visit her family, so I subbed for her.  She is a very good teacher, so her little kiddos were so well behaved.  They knew all their procedures and did such a good job.  They were seriously so sweet.  I loved 2nd grade!  We made a surprise Thanksgiving turkey for her and hung it up so she would see it when she came in the next day.  I had the kids write about why they are thankful for their teacher.  It turned out so cute!

Is it just me or does it seem like fall is flying by?  Only a few more weeks and then time for Christmas! I am already dreaming about what to make for a Christmas wall, but in the meantime I will keep enjoying this beautiful fall weather and being so thankful for all the blessings in my life.  

Happy Fall Bulletin Boards, Y'all! :)

Remember When I Taught 3rd Grade?

ABC and 1, 2, 3. . . All the kids around here started back to school last week! It is

hard to believe that a whole year has passed since I taught my last little class. There are times when it seems like it was just yesterday and other times when it feels like a lifetime has passed since I signed

a F.I.S.H Folder or graded a paper.

Looking back I feel so blessed to have had four wonderful years at a school that I loved. Of course there were difficult moments, especially early on...I don't think any college program, no matter how great, can truly prepare you for your first year of teaching!  Can I get an amen?  But even that first year and every year after that, I had a room full of students that captured my heart and still hold a place there.  I am so thankful for all of the kids and the parents and the teachers that came into my lives during my four years.  Okay.  Whew.  Now I am tearing up a little, so let's move on!

*I LOVE the beginning of school*

I am really thankful to be staying home with my sweet baby girl, and I wouldn't want it any other way, but I missed the excitement of the beginning of school a little this year for sure.  I always loved decorating bulletin boards, organizing my classroom, the anticipation of getting my class list, and new school supplies.  Oh my.  I don't think there are many things I love more than school supplies... folders and pens and pencils and notebooks and on and on and on. When I was a kid, I even had a pencil collection.  I know, right?  So cool.  If you are thinking that I must have been the coolest kid at my elementary school, you are definitely right. HA :) Anyways, here is my first day of school (taken after school) picture my third and fourth year of teaching.  So happy and SO tired!

Now I said that there are only a few things that I love more than school supplies, and one of those things would definitely have to be...

Making decorations out of butcher paper! 

As you can see, my coolness continued into adulthood.  I am not kidding, though, I really, really love making things out of butcher paper, so in honor of the first day of school around here, I thought I would share some of my past creations!

We did a 50s theme my third year of teaching so TA DA...

Here is my Rock N Roll Diner.

The fourth year I taught I decided to do a Circus theme!

I just LOVED my little tiger.

Here was something I did for the fall months one year.

Those little ghosts had such sweet hearts. :)

The first year I taught I thought it would be fun to make a gingerbread house for the winter months...

and here is a picnic theme for spring! :)

I had thought my hallway days were over, but a few weeks ago I was excited to find out that they weren't... One of my good friends is teaching 2nd grade, and she let me do her hallway for her.  I was so excited!  Her school is doing an ocean theme, so I got to create some fun little sea creatures.  This is the fish version of the teacher.  Isn't she cute? :)

Here is the whole thing! 

It is hard to get a good picture because the hallway is really narrow, but I love how it turned out!

I don't know when I will teach again, but I sure hope I get to do some more hallway decorations this year!  If anyone wants to hire me, I am available! :)  I just love it so much.  I have already looked around my house for a place to do a mini bulletin board... I am thinking maybe the laundry room. :) In conclusion, I am so thankful for my time as a teacher, and I praying for all the teachers out there as this new school year gets started!  Happy Days and Happy Hallways to you all!