A Crayon Monogram

I am really, really, really procrastinating here on a major grant proposal!! It is due online tomorrow and I am not even half way done :( 

So, this afternoon I got a little crafty with a Crayon Monogram! 

I plan on making one for my assistant too. 

Mrs. Misenheimer will have an "M".  Shhh....don't tell her!

I am going to hang them outside of our classroom door.

The shadow box was $6 at Hobby Lobby and the crayons cost mere pennies at a yard sale.  Thanks, Mom!  The ribbon was leftover from a baby shower diaper cake.  I hot glued the crayons and ribbon and printed out my name!

My inspiration came from this picture I pinned on Pinterest.  This picture is linked to the original idea.

I like the ribbon I added to mine- gives it a little *sparkle*! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Link up here and be a part of  "What I'm Loving Wednesday" 

Here is what I'm loving on this last beautiful Wednesday in June........

I'm loving the Wednesday edition of USA Today.  It's my favorite because that's when Craig Wilson's column appears.  Today, "The Final Word" is all about happiness.  Do we choose it or just get caught up in pursuing it? 

I'm loving that I got to go into school today and be a substitute for Camp Invention!  This is the coolest summer camp ever!  The children are there from 9:00-3:30 this week.  The room I subbed in allowed the children to completely take apart an item they brought from home.  With a small group, they will be creating a ball rolling machine from all the parts.  Pretty cool!  I may have to go back at the end of the week just to see how it all turns out.

I'm loving all my favorite new blogs!  And, I'm loving that I started all this in the summertime when I have plenty of time to stalk them!

I'm loving that I just got to talk with Uncle Rob on the phone.  He was down visiting last week, took a trip even further south to Myrtle Beach and called to say that he made it safely back home to PA last night! 

I'm loving that I have the entire afternoon to run errands and hopefully sneak a little "teacher shopping" in there as well! 

I'm loving  that the Moutain Dew slushie machine is back up and running at the Kangaroo Express!  I bought this cup at the beginning of summer for $7 and I get free refils until Labor Day!

What are you loving today?



Extreme Makeover: Kindergarten Closet Edition

So, I was a tiny bit spoiled in my move to Kindergarten last year. 

You see, every two Kindergarten teachers share a very large storage closet between their rooms.  Last year, there was not a classroom beside me and I kind of, well, sort of, "spread out" a little in the closet. 

And, although I couldn't be happier to welcome my friend into the classroom "through the closet", I have been less than eager to get it cleaned up.  Sweet Harding has been so patient with me! 

So, I began today with the help of Supermom, Mrs. Claire B!

Here are some closet before pictures:

What a mess!

This would be the OTHER side of the closet that I have taken over!

I could lie and say that I have no idea how it got like this, but let's be honest, I do.

And it's called: The Life of a Busy Kindergarten Teacher!  I plan on doing a better job of staying organized throughout the year next year and by putting things back in their place right away! 

Claire and I worked for hours!!  I had to turn my head as she did what was best for me and the closet- threw lots of useless and old and ratty junk away.  Why do we have this nagging feeling to cling to the weirdest things and say to ourselves, "But, I might use this one day......"  

We ended up with a very large bag of trash, piles of old workbooks left by the teacher in my room the year before, 4 loads of stuff to donate and a table full of odds and ends for the new teacher on our team!  I feel so much better! 

There is still work to be done, but now, it's not so overwhelming to go into my closet.  I can actually see and know what's in there! 

Here are a few pics from after:

All my thematic tablecloths are on one shelf!

All my letter tubs, together at last!

Books on the bottom shelf.  These still need to be organized in some way.  However, now I can reach them all!

It may not look like much to you, but this closet has come a LONG way, baby!