Monday Made It {Teacher Chair}

Near the end of my junior fourth year of college I was preparing to marry my wonderful husband (we got married a week after my final exams). I remember talking to one of my professors about how my new name, Cowgill, was kind of a silly, unusual name. I'll never forget the simple advice she gave me. She said that I should just try to have fun with it. So that's what I've tried to do. I've collected a few little cow knick-knacks that I have placed around my classroom.

Last summer, my parents sold their house and we had to clean out all our junk stuff. My sister had this chair, left from her house at college, that she wasn't using anymore so I asked her if I could have it for my classroom. It was kind of beat up and I wanted to repaint it before I took it to school. Unfortunately, last summer I only got as far as sanding it. Then it just sat in my basement all year.

This is the chair after I sanded it. Kinda blah.

So this summer I finally got motivated to paint the chair and I decided to have a little fun with it.

Remember what I told you about having fun with my last name? Well ...

I'm really excited about how it turned out! I want to add my name to the seat before I put the clear coat of sealer on it. However, I haven't decided exactly how to do it. I'm thinking either I'll paint it on my hand (like I did all the spots) or I might try to find some vinyl that I can cut out with my Cricut. I just not sure if I can find some vinyl in the color that I want.

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. I've come this far, I really want to make sure that it doesn't sit in my basement for another year.

Don't forget to check in with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics to see everyone else's creative ideas.

Classroom Preparation Tip

As much as I'm trying to enjoy the precious weeks of summer fun I have left, I can't help but keep my thoughts from turning towards preparations for the upcoming school year. One of the first things that I like to do when I get into my classroom (after I clean the layers of dust) is to get it all setup and decorated. It always makes me feel so much better when my room is ready to go. Unfortunately, we aren't allowed into our classrooms until about two weeks before the students come back and many of those days are spent in meetings, professional development, or just about anything that isn't working in my classroom.

I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head over the summer, that I am easily overwhelmed when I finally get into my classroom. This year I am trying to make things a bit easier and allow myself to work more efficiently.

Before I left for the summer, I took pictures of my classroom. (I like to have a visual of different areas when I'm thinking about them at home.) I decided to print out the pictures and make notes regarding my ideas right on the page. That way, when I get back into my classroom, I can just look at my notes and work my way around the room setting things up.

Here are a couple of my pictures:

By printing the pictures on paper, I can write my notes right on the page. I hope this little tip helps you to make better use of your time as you are preparing your classroom.

How much time do you have left before you'll be preparing your classroom?