birdies

I am going to have some sort of tree(s) in my classroom. What's a jungle without some trees!?

These birds will be sitting on branches in my tree(s).

(Note: that is why the feathers around his feet are not colored in - that part will be cut out so that the branch can go in between and under.)

(They will eventually be cut out and laminated.)

These were each done on 1/4 of a piece of cardboard and done free handed - no tracing. :)

Whenever I sew, I am so relaxed and happy. I feel the same way when I am drawing and coloring. I am having so much fun creating all of these animals!

Planning Ahead

I haven't decided if I should consider myself a nerd, an over achiever, a perfectionist or prepared. Maybe all of them?

Why is it that the excitement of new binders and dividers excites me? Why is it that it is summer yet I cannot keep myself from doing "school work." Am I just used to it or do I just love school? I don't know!!

Thursday I turned in my contract for my teaching position as well as all the other paperwork. I decided to carry my own insurance as well as switch the kids. Kyle's employer does not contribute to their insurance so by me carrying the kids, we will save a little over $200 a month! (I like to think of that as my added gas expense for the month. :) )

So anyways, the principal informed me that he had decided to have the 3rd grade teachers (myself and 1 other teacher) team teach instead of self-contained. What this means is that now instead of having 1 class where I teach every subject, I will have 2 classes. I will be the math and science teacher and the other teacher will do reading/writing and social studies and then we will switch. After putting together my curriculum binders today, I have to say, I am very pleased with this decision!

With this being my first year, I have no past lessons and experience to rely on. Everything will be new for me. So I think planning for 2 subjects will be A LOT less stressful than teaching 5 subjects. So, I am very pleased.

Going with my jungle theme, these are my curriculum binders:

No, I did not have to start doing this. However, I hear so many stories about how the first year is so overwhelming and first year teachers can barely stay afloat. I want my first year to be as smooth as possible, so I want to be as prepared as possible. So, I would rather start planning what I am going to teach now than wait until school starts. I want to be able to spend time with my family after school and on the weekends and not be doing school work 24/7. So, I am trying to plan and get organized now.

Here is a side shot of my binders....

can you believe this doesn't even include the lesson plans!? This is just the information on what has to be taught.... like I said, very pleased I only have to do 2 subjects. :)  I took the kids with me up to my university this morning. I still have a lot of money on my printing account that is paid with tuition so I figured I should use their paper and ink that I already paid for. I swear I used an entire pack of paper!

I have been very blessed to have gotten a job so quickly in this crazy economy where school districts everywhere are laying off teachers. So, I am just hoping that everything continues to run smoothly and I can stay placed in 3rd grade. There is always a chance that teachers can be moved because your contract has you listed as "teacher" so you can be placed, and changed, into any grade and subject that you are certified. So, I just hope I am not doing all of this planning and then get moved. That would, for lack of better words, suck. lol.

Spotted!

I plan to have a bulletin board titled "Spotted.... Students at work" to display the students' work. I have already cut the letters out onto giraffe/cheetah paper. Below are 2 animals friends that will be on each side of the board. I drew them both free handed by looking at a clip art picture - I did not trace it.

It seems like the more I draw these, the more difficult they get! I think the next thing I will do will be something with less detail.

New Items!

Monkeys are really hard to draw! I had enough space so I drew in the banana on this one. She will eventually be hanging from a tree... Still needs to be cut out and laminated. She is the size of half of a poster board.

What do you think??? I think I found a new hobby!

I also went to hobby lobby today to get fabric to make throw pillows for my classroom library. I guess animal print is going out of season/style because the clearance aisle was full of animal items. I snagged this lamp for $20!! (It was regularly $100!)

Here is one of the few figurines I got. He was on clearance for $4.00! I think it is very fitting - an ape reading a book. :)

No monkey business!

Okay... I admit... I am addicted to my new found talent. I love drawing. I love coloring. I can't get enough of it! Sooooo here is the 3rd addition to my jungle friends.

He will be swinging from a tree in the classroom and will be holding a banana with his clutched hand. (He was done on 1/2 sheet of large poster board.) He still needs to be cut out and laminated.

So far, this one was the most difficult one to draw. I messed up a lot. And it is not any where near 100% symmetrical. BUT I am a beginner and I still think it is cute.

Another Lion!

Got another lion done. I am hoping to build a "Lion's den" for my library... so Lion's Library or something like that. So here is another animal friend for my classroom library. :)

This was also done on a large poster board. I still need to cut it out and get it laminated.

New found Talent!

So this past week I have been working on what theme I want for my classroom. I have decided on a jungle theme. There are so many things I need, and want, and schools don't supply anything "extra" such as decorations. So, I have been trying to think of ways that I can make everything instead of buying premade items.

I have never thought of myself as an artist. I was never good at drawing. But I really want jungle animals in my classroom, so I decided to try.....

I have completely surprised myself! I printed a clip art picture Simba from the Jungle Book. I decided to see if I could draw him free hand by looking at the picture. Below is my finished project.

He is the size of a large poster board. I will eventually cut him out and laminate him. Note: This was not drawn using a projector or tracing it. I did everything freehand by looking at the picture.

This project was so fun and relaxing. I can't wait to start the next one! Oh, and did I mention how cheap this was!? A 30 cent poster  board, 1 marker and a few colored pencils.

Today I discovered a talent that I never knew I had!!

(oh and tayler got the edge with purple crayon. let's just say she was a very lucky girl for getting it outside of the lion lines... :) )