Monday made It!

Two weeks of Monday-made it! I'm loving this linky party. I've gotten so many awesome ideas from other teachers and been able to share a couple things myself! 

I am in LOVE with this weeks Monday-made it project. Way back, before school was out for summer, I was inspired by a post written by Maria over at Kindercraze. She did an awesome classroom reveal and shared her amazing classroom! She had her classroom rules in bright colored picture frames that she made herself. I was in love. I immediately added it to my summer to-do list!

I thought long and hard about what exactly I was going to use my frames for. I wanted to add a little inspiration to my walls. I decided to use a little inspiration from Dr. Seuss to spruce up my classroom. I created these printables to go inside the frames. They will be perfect for when we celebrate Read Across America day later in the year! Kids just love Dr. Seuss! 

The frames were pretty simple to make. I purchased some unfinished wooden frames at Michael's and a few cans of spray paint.

Here's the finished product! I love them!

What new decorations are you adding to your classroom this year?

Monday Made It!

Hello! This is my first Monday Made It project and I am super excited to be linking up! I'm sure I'll have plenty more projects to share before the school year starts:).

Do you hate pin holes all over your cutesy bulletin boards? I know I do! I love to frequently change out student work...but hate the holes in bulletin boards.  Last year, I found the perfect solution to this problem. I glued a tack to the back of a clothespin and hung the student work with the clothespin. Time to change up the student work...no problem...no holes. 

I'm changing up the colors and theme in my room this year, which means I need new clothespin tacks. I started by getting some small wooden cut-outs from Michael's. They had tons of different cut-outs to choose from. Don't forget to use your teacher discount:).  I spray painted them with chalkboard paint.

I spray painted the clothespins to match the color scheme of my classroom.

I waited for it all to dry. After it was all dry, I painted the white polka dots on the black cut-outs with a white paint  pen (also purchased at Michael's). I hot glued the black wooden pieces to the front of the clothespin and a tack to the back. 

I'm going to write the students' names on these using chalk pens. Unfortunately, my chalk pens are at school. This will make them reusable for the next school year.

That's it...easy-peasy! How do you hang up student work?

Passion Fruit, Anyone?

Aloha!

I'm back!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share my Five For Friday! 

I've spent the last two weeks with the hubby on the islands of Kauai and Oahu! Kauai was the last of the Hawaiian islands I had not visited yet (I've been wanting to go for the last couple of years). I checked that off my bucket list this summer! It was absolutely gorgeous, humid, but gorgeous! Did I mention humid? We're not talking just "average" humidity! This is the type of humidity that makes you feel sticky ALL the time...oh, and styling your hair in the morning...forget it! There isn't a straightener, curling iron, or styling product that can withstand the humidity! So, my hair went all N-A-T-U-R-A-L! :) 

Here are a couple of pictures of a place we visited on our first day. I can't remember the name of it. I just remember being in a sundress, flip flops, and hiking a very steep hill to get to this "hidden gem" as our tour book called it. The book didn't mention I would need hiking boots and a gallon of water to get to this little gem:-). The views were stunning! I'm glad I didn't let my flip flops get in the way of me hiking up to this awesome spot!

Beautiful! It's pretty easy to forget about the humidity when everything is as pretty as this:).

We also went to Glass Sand Beach. Yep, you read that right, Glass Sand Beach. I know, it was a first for me too. I had heard of black sand, red sand, and white sand...but never glass. I didn't believe it until I saw it! It exists! The entire beach is actually made up of tiny (and not so tiny) pieces of glass. Many years back, a nearby waste facility dumped glass bottles into the ocean. The ocean turned all these broken bottles into green, brown, and clear sea glass! Pretty awesome, right?! The entire beach sparkled in the sunlight. 

Ever heard of Queen's Bath? I hadn't either until I spent a few days in Kauai. I overheard a few people talking about this place the first few days we were there. It caught my attention, so I decided to ask one of the guys who worked at our hotel about it. He said that legally, per the hotel, he was not able to give us directions because it was one of the most dangerous spots on the island. So, I turned to Google and my trusty map app that got us right to the spot! We were greeted with this sign:

If you can make out those tally marks, you will see that there have been 29 deaths at this spot in the last year!

Despite the scary sign, it was absolutely beautiful! I was nervous. I told the hubby there was no way he was jumping in. That lasted about as long as it took me to get my camera out. He saw a few of the locals jumping in and headed down the rocks. He is much more daring than I am. I definitely like to play it safe!

It's hard to believe these calm looking waters can be so dangerous! But, I've learned in previous years just how strong the waves and currents can be in Hawaii. Looks can sometimes be deceiving.

We did a little horseback riding while in Kauai. I LOVE horseback riding. We rode the horses to a couple of waterfalls, went swimming in the falls, had lunch, and some amazing views!

 

Yikes! I just realized I'm already on number 5! Before I share a couple of my favorite spots on Oahu, I have to share my favorite Hawaiian snack! I call it my Hawaiian snack because I can't get passion fruit where I live. Sad, I know. Papaya & passion fruit, or lilioki as the Hawaiians call it. It's amazing. I had at least one of these a day.

I'll quickly share a couple of my favorite spots on Oahu. The first spot, Turtle Beach. I don't actually know if that's what it's called, but that's what I call it. You'll see why:).

That's me! The girl who likes to pose for pictures. In the water. With the turtles. :-).

Next up...Bellows Beach. This is by far the most beautiful beach on the island! It's only open to military and their families, which makes it a little more special. The water is so clear and fairly calm.

Ok, I need a number 6...maybe a number 7! 

 

I'll call this #5 1/2

I have to quickly share with you that my blog got a makeover! You may have already noticed, if you're not on a mobile device. I absolutely LOVE it! Courtney, from Blogs fit for a queen did an amazing job! She was so patient with me (I may, or may not have changed my mind several times). If you're in need of a blog makeover, check her out!

That's my Five (and a half) for Friday! What are your summer plans before going back to school?

Have a great weekend!