Snow Day Chalkboard

I went to bed last knowing that we would have a 2 hour delay today. I didn't expect anything more than this since it hadn't snowed a single flake.  I woke up at 6 this morning and peeked out the window to see- SNOW! Just a few minutes later I got the text that we were out for the day. Clearly, the right thing to do was to roll over and get some more sleep. 

I did decide that a snow day was the perfect day to make a craft that I've had in mind for quite some time: a classroom chalkboard.  I already had the chalkboard paint squirreled away waiting for the perfect project so all I had to do was hit up the thrift store to find the perfect board. And, oh boy. Did I ever find the perfect board.

It's perfect- perfectly ugly! I can't imagine what house this ever hung in, with its smudged flowers and unmatching green frame. However, the frame was good quality and it was only two dollars, so it seemed like the perfect subject for my chalkboard attempt. 

Overall, I think it turned out pretty well. What I read online said to wait 24 hours before writing on it so I'm going to try to wait- but I'm not going to lie, I can't wait to see how it turns out. I think it will be just the thing to spruce up my classroom. Perhaps I can switch out literary quotes...what do you think?

Welcome to 510

I feel that, too often, when it comes to high school classrooms, decor gets overlooked. I realize that having stimulating colors and pictures around the room is less important to teenagers than to younger students, but it is my opinion that it does make a difference. I wanted my room to be warm and comfortable and to evoke a safe feeling in my students. 

When it was time for me to begin decorating my classroom, I wanted to be sure that I kept this in mind. I spent months leading up to the start of the school year keeping my eyes open at thrift stores, yard sales, and clearance sections looking for odds and ends to create a cozy feel in my room. I spent a great deal of time over the summer crafting and dreaming up possible plans. When the time came to decorate my room I set out with all of my hoarded decorations and went to town!

About half of my materials.

It took me about 10 hours and several pairs of helping hands to get my room put together, but in the end, I was pleased with the results. Of course, there are about a million more things that I would like to do, but there will be time for that as time goes on. Now- let me take you on a mini tour of my room!

The kid's LOVE the Readbox

My "Readbox" is one of my favorite parts of my room. It is stocked full of a huge variety of books that my students are able to help themselves to. In a high schooler's schedule, it can be hard to find time to get to the library, so I think this is a great solution! The kids think it's great, too.

Adventures ahead!

I love, love, LOVE my sign. My parents made it for me out of a reclaimed pallet over the summer. Pretty much everyone who steps foot in my room is excited about it. It was hard to narrow down which literary places to include- perhaps I need another one!

Computer station

I'm lucky enough to have some student computers in my room. There wasn't a whole lot that I could do with this section of the room- far be it from me to try to mess with that many computer cords. So I tried to spruce it up with some fun signs that I found on Pinterest. 

All my favorite posters

I surrounded my SmartBoard with my absolute favorite posters. They add some fun to the empty space but aren't too distracting for the students when I'm teaching. 

Fun Harry Potter quote.

I'm a Harry Potter fiend, so I try to sneak in references where I can. I love this quote and I thought "How perfect for over the light switch!" 

Posters make ugly cabinets much better!

When I was student teaching, two of my students had all of the teachers in the building sign a good luck poster for me. And true to 8th grade boy form, it was a One Direction poster- because that's what they think all girls like. When I got my own classroom I knew this poster had to make its way in. The freshman girls don't seem to mind it too much, either :)

View of the room

Posters, posters, everywhere. In all the boring, blank spaces I stuck fun colorful posters. I've got a huge variety- everything from Joseph Campbell to Wu Tang. 

Banned Book Shelf

 This is another of my favorite aspects of my room.  I added this section in when we studied Banned Books week. You would not believe how quickly these books fly off the shelf. And don't worry- I have a system to make sure they are allowed to read them, but that's the subject for another post.

That is a quick tour of my classroom. I think that I was able to do what I aimed for in creating a cozy, safe environment in which my students are happy. I know I feel happy when I'm in my room, that's for sure.

Happenstance.

I got my job because I got lucky. The school system that I was hired into is known for hiring within and, if they can't, hiring people that they know.  When I took my application to the central office, I got lucky. It ended up that the secretary was away from her desk for 20 minutes. I sat in her office, in my street clothes and nose ring, expecting to hand over my application packet and be on my way. But then then, an unknown man came up to me and began asking me questions. “Are you familiar with the TEAM assessments,” “Do you know about the EOC’s?,” “What do you know about data assessment,” and several other interview type questions.  

I won’t pretend that I wasn’t thrown off guard. It was lunchtime on a Wednesday, and all I expected to do was to hand the receptionist my information. This was the first time I didn’t dress up to deliver my information- yet this was the time that I ended up having a mini interview with a mystery man.  

                He told me he was happy to meet me- but that doesn’t mean anything. It was when he pulled out a post it and scrawled a note that I started to feel confident. He told me that I would be called in for an interview (I got the call only 2 hours later!). I was thrilled for such a great meeting, but iIt was as he extended his hand to me in farewell that I realize who he was.  He was the superintendent of the school district.

                Like I said, I got lucky to have such a positive meeting with him- street clothes and nose ring aside. I got a call a few hours later, came in for an interview the next day (on Friday), follow up interview on Monday , at which I signed my contract. It was an overwhelmingly fast process, but this close to the school year starting I couldn’t be anything but thrilled.

I finally got the good news that I have been waiting for all summer- I got a job! I will be teaching 9^th grade English for this upcoming school year. It is going to be exciting, overwhelming, exhausting, and exhilarating, but I cannot wait to begin.

I have a lot on my plate right now, trying to plan my curriculum, prepare my materials, and organizing my classroom. It wouldn’t be as challenging, except that I am working on my second master’s degree and am bogged down with so much school work on top of everything else.

I am ready to jump right in and begin my career as a teacher and I know this year is going to be amazing.