New products!!! (Monday Made It....on Friday) ;)

I've added two new products to my TpT store!

#1) Common Core Vocabulary Cards. (CCSS Vocabulary - Reading Literature)

These are just cards that you can use on your Word Wall. They have a blue striped background with a black and white frame. The word is in the middle of the card. There are 47 vocabulary words and 3 blank labels with the set.

#2) "I can..." Statement Cards (RI/RL.7.1 only). (I Can Statement Cards - RI.7.1 and RL.7.1)

I've done the statements for the first standard. I will be adding more as I finish them up. They are gorgeous and very useful!

Just thought I'd update you guys on what's going on in my store. Go check it out and see if you can find something you like!

August 20th is a 20% off sale for all of TpT. My store is participating. Here is the link to my personal store. 26 great products to choose from!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Ms-Gardner-Makes-It

<3
Andi

Monday Made It #3, First Day Back, and TpT Sale!

Today is Monday...which can only mean one thing: MONDAY MADE IT!

Honestly, I haven't made anything new since I did my big classroom reveal...but here are the things that I DIYed for my classroom!

My Grade/Copy/File box! :)

Updating my calendar with some duct tape!

The finished product!

DIY bulletin border! I used tissue paper (got the idea here)

Backdrop for my emergency information (fire drill, tornado drill, phone extensions, etc.). I used scrapbook paper, taped it together, and then had it laminated. :)

Phew. That's it. Sorry for the crappy Monday Made It. Next week, I'll do more. I almost promise :)


Today was the first day back for all teachers in my district. WOW! There are so many new faces at my school. There has to be at least 15 newbies! None of them are brand new, 22 year old people, straight out of college. They've all had careers before teaching...but they've decided to start their teaching career at my school! Yay!

Five of the new teachers are on my hall! That's CRAZY! I have one newbie on my team....and one newbie who is also teaching ELA. I'll plan with her and another veteran teacher. I'm really, really excited about the year now that I've met all of the teachers on my hall. They're all incredibly nice. I think that our hall could be AMAZING this year.

However, after today, let me just say that I'M EXHAUSTED. My feet hurt. My head hurts. My brain feels like it almost can't function. I'm not overloaded with information like I was last year...but part of me feels like I'm still brand new. My nerves were still shaky when I walked into the meeting this morning. I don't know why. I sat through a million of those meetings as the year went on last year. I don't know. All I know right now is that I'm exhausted, broken down tired, feeling almost dead. Hopefully this week will help get me back used to the daily grind. My almost whole pot of coffee helped this morning...but, by noon, I still felt like crashing.

Two more days until I get to meet some of my students!!!! :) Yay!


Last item of business...FLASH SALE! I'm putting everything in my TpT store at 15% off! Starting now through Tuesday, 8/21, everything is on sale! :)

Here's the link: Andi's TpT Store. Check it out! :)

XOXO

Monday Made It + B2S Sale (last few hours!)

Yay! I love Mondays. Wanna know why? If it's Monday, that means it's time for Monday Made It! I'm linking up again with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics for my 3rd Monday Made It!

This week was another week that I made something digitally! This week, I have these cute labels for each month of the year. I wanted to make something that I could put over my calendar that would match my classroom color scheme! Here's a sneak peek of the labels!

Super cute, right?! I'm so happy about the way they turned out. I just have to print them out, cut them apart, and laminate them and they'll be ready for the classroom! I added them to my TpT store and they are on sale for the last part of the B2S sale! Go pick them up! :)

Then, I was able to get into my classroom again today. I wasn't there for very long. I probably got in a solid 2.5 hours in my room. Here's what I was able to do:

**My door before**

**My door now! It's wonderful how a little bit of ribbon can make something look so much better!!!*

 Here's my desk area right now. I got the bulletin board up...put the black background up plus my DIY border...tissue paper! How cool! This was an idea someone gave me on Facebook! It turned out really well!**

 **Here's a close up of the "flowers"**

That's it. I have a lot of trouble just going in and getting started. I wish I could go in, get busy, and knock everything out tomorrow. That way, I could stay away from the classroom for the rest of my last week of "freedom" and have it all ready for next week! I'm hoping that I'll be completely done by the end of the day on Wednesday. This will give me Thursday and Friday "off" to get my head in the game for my week of Teacher Workdays starting the 20th. Phew!!!

_____________________________

Ok. Quick reminder about the B2S Sale on Teachers Pay Teachers. It lasts for a few more hours. Everything in my store is 20% off...and then TpT gives you an additional discount if you use the code B2S2012. This makes EVERYTHING 28% off! Those calendar cards are only $3.00 BEFORE the sale. Go check it out! It ends tonight! Here's the link to my store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Andrea-Gardner


Last thing: THANK YOU so much for reading my blog. It means a lot to me! Have I mentioned that I'm currently at 5200+ page views! That's so exciting!!!!! I haven't even had the blog up for a month! I'm also at 33 followers! Once I get to 50, I'm going to have a giveaway! :)


XOXO

Monday Made It #2

Hey guys! I'm linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for the second time for Monday Made It!

Honestly, I haven't been making as much this week. I have been focusing a lot on the documents that I need to have on hand as well as the binders that I keep for organization! I was inspired by Pinterest and some other blogs and made my own binder covers!

After that, I made these inserts for my substitute folder:

Then, I made my lesson plan papers to match!

My other teachers are going to think I'm obnoxious. Lol. They'll live. I love it! I'll be excited about having them displayed on my desk now! :)

Then, I finished up my Teacher Binder Files (I just have to print them off and get them ready!):

 

   
 

I have a super cute calendar that I'll add in, I print off my grades and attendance records from the computer (thank you NCWISE), and then I'm all set! I feel so organized! :)

Thank you Clutter-Free Classroom for the idea. I worship that blog! If you haven't seen it, go...NOW! (well, after you follow me and leave me comments! hahaha)

If I make anything else, I'll add it in!

XOXO

My Very 1st Monday Made It!

So, I keep seeing these Monday Made It posts everywhere! Everyone is linking up with 4th Grade Frolics so, I reckon I will too! :)

I've recently begun DIYing EVERYTHING for my classroom. It's so much cheaper than buying things and it's a lot of fun as well. I'm a really crafty person and love to make things. I just had never thought of taking that into my classroom (which is strange because I feel like a classroom is supposed to be DIY, right?).

Last week, I posted my DIY To-Do Lists with instructions! Here is another picture of those along with a link to the original post!

Original Post :)

I have been admiring this teacher's toolbox that I keep seeing all over Pinterest. Lately, it's been making it's way all over my friends' blogs. Now, it's my turn.

Here is the finished product:

Cute, right? I love it. It is going to be so wonderful to get all of this stuff out of my desk drawer and organized. Best of all, it is absolutely precious. I'll be proud to display this in my room!

Alright, now time for the how-to!

I went to Lowe's (Ugh, how I hate that store) and finally got someone to help me find this storage container. Next time, I'm just ordering online and picking it up at my store. That way, it'll be ready for me when I get there. No searching for someone to help me...only to have them send me on a wild goose chase...and be kinda snotty too...(ok, rant over).

The toolbox was only $16.47 at Lowe's. It's called a Stack-On 22 Drawer Storage Cabinet (in case you're looking for it). I hear that they also carry them at Home Depot. :)

Other than the toolbox, you'll need:

• glue
• Scotch tape
• scrapbook paper
• colored cardstock
• scissors
• a printer

Here is the template for the labels. (Drawer Labels) I printed one page of them on one color cardstock. I printed the second page on a second color that went well with the first color. Then, I cut them out and made the larger boxes look pretty by adding a strip of scrapbook paper to the labels (this is where you'll use the glue).

To stick the labels on the drawers, I used Scotch tape. You can't see the tape and it works fine. (Make sure you stick the label on the inside of the drawer.)

After that was done, it was time to do the handles to the drawers. I did this the same way. I cut strips of scrapbook paper and taped it underneath the little handles. You can't see the tape and it holds the paper in place.

I plan to spray paint the box itself black. They only have this in blue. I have the spray paint that is made for plastic. This means that I don't have to sand or prime anything! Just spray it on and let it dry. It's also supposed to be non-toxic paint. Woo Hoo! :)

I spray painted it black and then coated it with a layer of Mod Podge for a sealant! Here is what it looks like now that it is black! I'm much happier now that it's black!

Ta-da! We have a toolbox! :) Lucky me, I only had to buy the toolbox. I had everything else around the house! :)

Here is the link to the blog where I originally found the instructions! Create. Teach. Share.


I also went ahead and tackled my Student Intervention Box. Here is how that turned out:

How-to:

• Create your labels. I made these really fun labels on PicMonkey. It's free. All I needed was a blank jpg file. I used one that was 2550x3300 pixels (which is the equivalent of an 8.5x11 piece of paper). 
• I then added a few labels in black and white, four flower icons, and my text. 
• I printed them out as 5x7s through Picasa (which is awesome and also free!).
• Then, I cut them evenly using my paper slicer.
• I put a thin layer of Mod Podge on the surface that I was sticking the label to and then laid down the label, making sure to smooth out all air bubbles. 
• I waited until that was dry and added a layer of Mod Podge on top of the label as a sealant. It dries clear so it doesn't matter that I put it over the black parts too!

The pictures above are my finished product! I'm going to use this as a place to store my student behavioral interventions. With 70+ kids, it'll be nice to have a separate area for this!

If you have any questions, please, please, please leave a comment. I will answer you!

Enjoy! XOXO