Monday Made It 6/23

Happy Monday! I can't believe there's only one Monday left in June...this summer break is going by WAY too fast! I am excited to be linking up with 4th Grade Frolics again for Monday Made It:

I missed last weeks Made It linky because I spent the week in Santa Barbara with my mom. It was BEAUTIFUL and it definitely re-energized me to come back and get some stuff done. This weeks first project was...

Student supply caddies!

I got the original idea from this pin and had to make them right away! I love using community supplies in my classroom, rather than having each student keep individual supplies in a desk or crayon box, but I've been wanting something a little more home-y and unique than the typical supply caddies. These mason jars from Walmart were the perfect thing :) They come in packs of four, so I hot glued the four jars together (If you have fewer supplies you could just glue 2 or 3 together to save some money!) and then glued these labels on:

Sorry for the glare...

I made them using these chalkboard labels  and the Kimberly Geswein font called Second Chances Sketch. (Side note: I'd like to post these on Teachers Pay Teachers, but I'm not sure how to change the security options on my PDF so that the clipart cannot be copied. Any advice?) Since I didn't have access to a laminator but wanted these to stay in good shape, I covered them with packing tape on both sides and cut them out again. Cheap lamination for small items! :) Then I hot glued them onto the mason jars.

The signs are for each table - rather than calling them "Table 1" or "Blue Table", I am going to label them as continents because our first social studies unit is maps! I am going to laminate them and then glue them on a popsicle stick with a ribbon tied underneath (like you can see in the first picture!).

I also had time this week to make the labels for my Word Wall!

Obviously these are just the first few letters, but I am so excited about them! I bought the Paisley, Turquoise, Blue and Green Collection from School Girl Style and that's where these come from. They are technically supposed to be table signs, but they are perfect for my word wall. I am going to have a ribbon coming down from each where words can easily be attached, kind of like this. Once I had downloaded the file all I had to do was add the letters, using the Kimberly Geswein font called Primary Italics. It's a good one to know about if you teach D'Nealian like we do! 

I hope you enjoyed my Monday Made-Its this week, and I'm looking forward to looking at all of the fun projects that are linked up with 4th Grade Frolics! Please consider following me via email on the right hand side of my blog if you've enjoyed my last few blog posts :) Thanks!

Monday Made It 6/9

Happy Monday! I can't believe the weekend has already come and gone...I met with my new teammates all last week to plan for the upcoming year and this week I'm attending a training all week. The good thing was, during planning I got to see the room that will be ALL MINE next year! :) It's currently being used as the summer school office, but it's very large with lots of good storage and wall space. I can't wait to get started putting it together for my first year of teaching!

Since I've been a little busy, I only have one Monday Made It again this week, but I'm still so excited to link up:

This week, I made my new schedule cards that I will use for our agenda next year.

You can tell from the bottom, right picture that I had made them on my computer using digital paper, digital frames, and clipart. I simply printed them on card stock, cute them out and rounded the corners, glued them on black card stock, and then cut them out and rounded the corners again. I'm planning to laminate them and put magnets on the back so they can go onto my whiteboard as our schedule everyday. The picture on the left shows what that will sort of look like!

Unfortunately, I can't share this file because the clipart and fonts do not belong to me. However, my original inspiration came from this free file from The First Grade Parade. Enjoy!

Monday Made It 6/2

Today I am linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for my first ever Monday Made It!

Heading into my first year of teaching, I have a lot of projects to work on this summer and I'm hoping the weekly Monday Made It linky will keep me on track. I am very excited about my first project....

 (Actually, I only have 1 Made-It this week, but I wanted to use this cute button anyways!)

Crate Seats!

These were pretty simple to make: all I needed was crates, wood (I used particle board because it is cheaper than plywood), foam, fabric, and a little ribbon. Once I (actually my dad!) cut the wood so that it sat on theinner edge of the crate, I just cut foam to fit on top, covered it with fabric, pulled it tight and staple-gunned it on the back. That easy! I actually bought a mattress topper from Target because the foam at the fabric store was too expensive. A twin-sized mattress topper was enough for all eight seats that I made :) That last step I did was to fold a piece of ribbon and staple it on so that the seat part can be pulled off easily, and these can be used for storage as well! Here is a picture of the first four, so you can see my classroom color choices:

I still need to get the stickers off a couple! They peel of very easily :)

Blue and green! Actually, lime green, bright blue, and teal with black and white as the neutral colors. I am so excited! My classroom is currently being used as the summer school office, so I can't get in and start doing things until the end of the month...until then I am just letting all of my projects pile up in my room and garage :) 

Thanks for stopping by! I have a couple days of planning this week and some training next week, but hopefully I get some time to have several good projects next week...

June Currently

I am SO excited to be linking up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for June's Currently...This is my first Currently AND my first Linky Party ever! This is probably your first time at Good Thing You Were There, so welcome :) See my blog post about naming my blog right here. Without further ado...

Listening: One of my favorite things about the beginning of summer is the French Open! I studied abroad in Paris 2 years ago and actually got to go, so it has been something I look forward to ever since...For me, it's definitely a sign that the school year is over and it is time to celebrate SUMMER :) Which brings me to...

Loving: I am LOVING that it is summer! I so enjoyed my year of student teaching, but I was ready for a break and ready to start preparing things for my own, first classroom!

Thinking: Of course every teacher has plans to get a million things done in the summer, but since I am heading in to my first year of teaching, I am starting from scratch! Yikes! I have a huge to-do list of things to do like mapping out the year, planning the first quarter, and decorating and organizing my room. Any advice for a first year teacher is MORE than welcome!!

Wanting: As a recent college grad, I feel like I have so many friends who headed straight to Europe after receiving their diplomas! I absolutely love traveling, and I don't think I will get to do much this summer, but I am always planning my next big trip ;)

Needing: Between Teacher Appreciation, graduation, and my birthday, I feel like I have been in a constant thank-you-note-writing-mode for the past couple months! I really need to buckle down and get these last few done before they are too long overdue.

Summer Bucket List: 1. I go to the California beach every summer with my family and I just can't wait! Unfortunately, I've got about a month and a half to wait...I'll just have to sweat in my Arizona back yard while tanning until then.   2. Like I said before, I have so much to plan and prep for my classroom next year!   3. I am hoping to take time this summer to learn some more of the ins-and-outs of the teacher-bloggy world! Again, advice is always welcome :)

If it's your summer, too, Happy Summer!! Enjoy your well-deserved break! If not, good luck with your last few days...there is a light at the end of the tunnel :) Thanks for stopping by!