Project - Bulletin Board

I just finished my second project for my room and I love it! I made these bulletin boards out of old window frames and they will go behind my desk. With the help of my super, duper handy husband, they turned out fabulous! The old window frames have been sitting in my attic for years and I am so happy to have finally found a project for them.

So here's how I did it...

First I painted the window frames. Then super, duper handy husband cut out boards to fit each pane. This was a "pain," as each opening was slightly different. I went to Jo-ann's and bought cork board for 6 of the panels. I used a cement adhesive to attach the cork to the wood and then I covered the boards with a layer of batting and fabric. (I had the fabric left over from two other projects I've been working on and I will post those later.) The bottom, outside panes are strips of folded fabric, duct taped at the bottom of each color. Then you layer the next strip on top to cover the duct tape and repeat until the board is covered. They make pockets.

My favorite is the sayings I had put in the top. Again, super, duper handy husband (who is a graphic designer) designed them for me and then we had them photo printed at Costco. We cut them down to fit this particular frame. I went to Tap Plastic, and had plexiglass cut for the top panes. Again, each pane was a slightly different size, so I took the window frame and they had to measure each opening separately so the plexiglass would fit. We numbered each pane so we could get them all back in the right opening.

The last step was getting them all safely secured inside the frame. Beware of using old windows, because the wood is old and it was difficult to nail in the backs. But it worked out okay and they are very secure with extra wood pieces in the corners to keep the boards in.

I can't wait to get them hung in my room.

Here's the sayings...

Summer Projects

So summer has been in full swing for a few weeks and I have been busy making improvements on my classroom. I just finished my first project which was to empty out and get rid of of my big, tall, lateral file cabinet. So what to do with all the files?

Well, it seemed like much of the things I had filed were also files I had on my computer, so those immediately went into the recycling. Then I put many of my units into binders with 8-tab and 5-tab plastic pocket dividers. We had a lot of binders donated to our school so I didn't have to purchase any binders. SWEET! With our Office Depot discount the dividers were very inexpensive as well.

I color coded all the subjects and then bought colored paper at the local craft store to make binder covers. Each unit went into its own binder. They look so nice on my shelf. The picture above is just a few of the binders sitting in my bedroom bookcase. (When I get them organized in my classroom I'll post another picture.) Here is the color system I use...

Green - Science, Health, Agriculture In The Classroom
Blue - Math
Yellow - Reading, Literature, Vocabulary
Orange - Writing, Grammar, & Spelling
Purple - History & Geography
Red - Teacher Resources

I still have files, especially for math and other subjects in which I use lots of copies for packets, etc. So I still have a few short file cabinets. But I like putting much of my curriculum material in binders. I hope it works out well.