New Decor Coming to A Classroom Near You

Well...if you live close to me that is!  HAA HAA!!

So far I have a new love seat cover that is being tie dyed with purple dye by The Math Fairy.  She is my partner in crime!!  I have my eye on a new carpet for my classroom because I figured the other one has LITERALLY seen enough blood and guts and it is time to move on.  I just need to find one cheap enough for me to afford and that will accommodate about 24 or 25 second graders.  If you know of any sites that I can look at, PLEASE leave me a link in the comment section!!

This past week I printed off and laminated my new classroom decor that incorporates all of the colors of the rainbow since the teacher that had the room before me painted the coat rack a bright green and the shelves the color of 'strawberry fields' which I translate into a hot pinkish color of red.  Very odd.  And then, the trim is all done in purple.  I was able to repaint the shelves a pretty teal color and had planned on painting the coat rack, but I just ran out of steam.  So I just gave up and I throw all of the colors together!!

We went to the hardware store today to get 3 new cinder blocks so that I can add another shelf to my classroom library.  My husband is busy painting them outside as I type right now.  At one point I had the cinder blocks wrapped with material to look like presents, but have no desire to go through that process again....so my daughter and I picked out a beautiful purple color.  I kept sending my daughter outside to take pictures of the blocks being painted with Kilz and then with the purple paint, but my husband and son just never seemed to really get started.  Men!  What do you do with them?  We finally just gave up. So, here is a picture of them ready to paint with just a smidgen of my daughter's finger.  Great eye candy, I know!

I've spent a LOT of time browsing the web looking for neat ideas....living on Pinterest.  (I'll let you in on a secret--I have 2 Pinterest addresses.  One for Best Practices and one that I am reformatting for Charts N Chit Chat and you are welcome to follow both!)  My other favorite of course, is Amazon, because if you've read any of my blog posts you know that I hate to go into stores and shop.  By the time I get done going through a store my anxiety level is up, my back and legs hurt because the Fibromyalgia, and I've usually had to wrangle a couple of kids, too.  So...Amazon, in my point of view, is the bomb!!  Here are some of the things I am looking into and remember you can always click on the pic and go read more about the products I found:

I am REALLY interested in this because my dry erase boards are REALLY scratched up and you can't erase the marker residue off of them anymore.  Does anyone have any experience with this kind of paint?  Does it work??

I love the idea of incorporating this and wish I had enough energy to try it on some cabinets at school.  I think that would be a great way to organize memos and such that I need to be able to grab on the run.

I've seen this around for years and know of teachers that repainted their chalkboards, but I had no idea that you could use it to paint on the regular wall!  Pretty cool!!

I already ordered 2 cans of this glow in the dark paint after seeing the picture on Pinterest showing the glow in the dark planters. To be honest...I am REALLY wishing I could figure out how to use the planter idea in my classroom for days when our power goes out at school <someone is always running into a transformer it seems> or just to turn the lights off and have some ambiance!!  If you have any ideas on how to incorporate some glow in the dark features, leave me a comment and let me know!

Also, just a reminder...don't forget to go by our newest collaborative blog for 2nd and 3rd grade teachers--or if you don't teach those grades, send the link to a friend.  There is a huge giveaway going on right now and there will be about a month of freebies given away, too!  You won't want to miss it.  Just click below to to check it out.

Thanks for coming by!!

Reading Without Limits Book Study--Week 1

Hi, everyone!  Thanks for stopping by to participate in this GREAT book study!  Today's post is going to start with an introduction and some housekeeping.  First, I want to let you know that I have ADDED a new title to the blog and we are now officially Charts 'N' Chit Chat.  We have a new address on the web:  http://www.chartsnchitchat.com and a new website on Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/chartsnchitchat.

Here is the schedule we are going to be following.  You will see that today that we are just getting started and we are going to become familiar with some outside resources that may assist us with the book study.  But first, here is our schedule:

                                    Feel Free to Pin This!


If you haven't purchased the book you can find it at Amazon!  Just click on the link below and you can go straight to the book to purchase it.

Just click here to purchase!

OUR FIRST QUESTION

WHAT WILL I GAIN FROM TAKING PART IN THIS BOOK STUDY?

First of all, you will gain some resources (those are call freebies in a blogger's world!!!), lots of knowledge, a large base of 'internet friends' that have the same struggles as you, and tools for your reading toolbox!!!

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

Here are some questions to think about and to respond to in the comments section later on:

1.  What are the limits your students face when learning to read.  How did these limits get placed on them?  What do you plan to do about these limits?

2.  Who is Maddie Witter and why did she write this book?

3.  Go to this WONDERFUL BLOG and explore.  Tell us about it!

4.  Did you know that there is a website for the book with resources?  Tell us about it!

5.  Did you know that there is a Facebook page just about the book?  Go like it! What is being said on the FB page?

6.  In the preface of the book, we learn the purpose of the book.  What is the purpose of the book?

7.  What do you think of the terms 'mild, medium, and spicy'?  How are they used?

8.  In the preface, we learn what we need to do to help struggling readers.  Choose one to discuss.  How do you or how do you plan to make this happen in your classroom?

9.  What is the Reading Without Limits mission and how can it apply to you, your children, or your students?  Why is it important?

10.  In the introduction we learn about the components of a strong reading program.  What are they?  Which one are you struggling with?  Do you have a plan to improve it?  Can we help you come up with a plan to improve it?

11.  Take a look at the Reading Checklist for Part I.  Can you check those items off?  Do you have plan ready that will make you and your students stronger?

12.  Why was this book chosen for this summer's book study?

Here is a button for you to use on your blog if you would like to incorporate your thoughts into a post:

Thanks for dropping by...don't forget to pick a question or 2 and discuss them in the comment section!  I can't wait until next week when we really get to delve into the book even more! Also, for next week, read Chapters 1 and 2 and look for some great freebies!!!  Also, thanks to 3AM Teacher for the use of the cool orange shell background.