Showing posts with label Décor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Décor. Show all posts

Monday, February 25, 2013

Zip Ties, Desks, and Sanity

Back at the beginning of the school year, the only student seating I had were very large, very heavy tables. Here's a photo from the beginning of June, two and a half months before I could go in and do any work in the room:


I hated these tables. Having a full classroom of kids facing four different ways did not work for me, but there was no way to arrange them to avoid that. And then I realized that I had soooo many sewing tables jammed into storage areas.


This got me to thinking...


Now I could see what EVERYONE was doing. Of course, the kids kept opening the tables and messing with the machines, so over Christmas Break...


I removed the sewing machines and wonderful hubby drilled the tables shut. That problem was solved!

At the beginning of the new semester, I decided to try another arrangement:


Love it! The only problem with these "desks" is that five minutes into each class they tend to look like this:


So frustrating! (Credit for the idea of using happy faces for confidentiality purposes goes to The (Un)Caffeinated Teacher) Even more frustrating were the kids who insisted they "couldn't help it" that their desks moved two to three feet every time they were in class.

A couple of months ago I found this idea on Pinterest from an elementary school teacher:


So genius! Yet, my desks don't have legs, so I wasn't able to use it. D'oh!!!

Then on Friday I happened to be looking at the floor (probably because of a mess left by someone), and noticed that there are spaces right above the wheels on my desks, and sooooo....


I gleefully installed these on Saturday morning, then waited giddily today to see how they worked. It was AMAZING - no desk drift whatsoever! A photo right after last bell:


Also enjoyable was how the kids who "accidentally" moved their desks before reacted - haha! 

So anyway, all this to say 1) Zip ties ROCK!, 2) Zip ties SAVE sanity!, and 3) If at first a truly inspiring idea from Pinterest seems like it won't work, don't give up on it - find a way! It's always worth it!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Décor – Flags

An easy way to add a little seasonal color and fun to the classroom are outdoor flags. I am a HUGE Snoopy fan, so thanks to eBay I now have a wide variety (meaning many, many more than any normal person should own) of Snoopy flags to hang throughout the different seasons and holidays. Easiest way to manage is to attach a café rod where you want to hang your flags – that provides a low-hassle way to quickly change them out.

Nice all-purpose flag.

When the leaves start to turn...

Veteran's Day! (With another fall flag to the right).


Décor - Ironing Board Covers

Worn-out and/or hideous ironing board covers in your classroom? Make your own! Very similar to upgrading your desk chair. Turn ironing board upside down on fabric of your choice and trace around, adding approximately 4 inches all around. Cut, sew casing, insert elastic, fit to board. You can leave the old pad on or make your own from fleece, an old blanket, etc. Gives a whole new look to your classroom!

 Hideous, stained, worn-out ironing board cover.

FABULOUS ironing board covers! I can't decide which one is my favorite.

Décor – Pimp My Desk Chair

Time for a little fun - some ideas for classroom decorHave an old, shameful-looking desk chair? Reupholster it! It's a much easier task than you might think. Choose a fabric that can take a little abuse and won't wear or fade quickly. Remove the cushions and trace around them onto fabric adding about 4 inches all around. Create a casing, insert elastic, fit around cushions, reassemble chair. Presto – “brand new” chair, in your choice of covering!


Ugly chair!

Home Ec teachers can't have ripped chairs!

Fun fabric...

Cover ugly fabric...

Ta-da!!!

Sewing room chair (this gets addictive).