Stools

So I know I have seen these DIY stools on a bunch of different blogs so I am in no way taking credit for these but, I also do not know who to give credit to for them so I am sorry. 

Anyways, when I saw these stools, I fell in love with them.  They are a great way to have extra storage and seating for the classroom and something a little different for the kids to sit on.  I used the same fabric that I covered my bulletin boards with so everything matches.

The stools are really simple to make.  I used storage bins, wood from Home Depot (that they cut for me, highly recommend), old egg carton, fabric, and a staple gun.



The wood that I got cut at Home Depot so it was measured perfectly.  I brought the crate with me to make sure they fit.

Cutting the old egg carton for the padding of the stool.



Covering the wood and padding with fabric.

 

My puppy wanted to help!



 

The finished product.

 

Again, the finished product with all of the fabrics matching my bulletin boards.



Like I said above, I am not taking credit for coming up with this great idea but thought I would share my DIY project.

Blog Buttons?

So I have realized that everyone has these really cute "Blog Buttons" and I really like them.  I am new to this blogging thing (I am only on week 2) and I am a bit confused.  I was wondering if someone could help me out.  First, where do you get a "blog button"?  Or do I have to make my own?  Second, how do I put other people's buttons on my blog?  Third, should I be using people's buttons instead of linking their names in my blog posts? 

Please help!  Anyone!

My classroom...as it stands now

So I was back at school again yesterday, it is hard to believe that school starts in about 1 month.  Where did the summer go?  I tried to work in my classroom again, trying to unload boxes, organize materials, decorate, but it is all very difficult because they have not cleaned my classroom yet.  That means that they will be taking everything out of my classroom in order to clean everything from floor to ceiling.  Therefore, I do not want to really start organizing and arranging my materials the way I would like because it will all be shuffled around and I will have to do it a second time.

But, I decided to do as much as I could.  I also took some pictures of how my room is now.  Hopefully in 2-3 weeks I will be able to post new pictures of our jungle themed classroom.


The front corner of my classroom, with 2 huge chalkboards.  I think one of them will be a word wall instead.  I am not a fan of chalk!



The left front corner of my room, with the white board and SMART board.  This is where I will have my kidney table for small group lessons.

One of the back corner of the classroom, this will probably be where our classroom library is.

More of my mess and things to arrange.

My desk...

More stuff in the hallway that needs to be unpacked yet.

Wow, makes me anxious just looking at these pictures again, lots more work to do!

Special Education Blogs

As I become more and more addicted to teaching blogs, I realized it is very hard to find special education blogs.  I am just wondering if anyone knows of any good special education blogs that they would like to recommend?  I have found a couple...A Special Kind of Class & Extra Special Teaching (click on their buttons to check out their blogs).

So, if you know of any other great special education blogs, please let me know!

"Currently" Linky Party

Oh' Boy 4th Grade is having a Linky Party about what you are "currently" doing.  I love this ideas and I like how she turned it into a writing prompt for school, you should really head on over there and check it out. 

Anyways, here is what I am currently doing...

I hear this is a good way for more people to find out about your blog, so here I am.  This is also the first time I have attempted to design something with some of the things I have downloaded. 
Let me know what you think!

Student Strengths Profile

I just wanted to share one more form I plan to send home to the parents/guardians of my students this summer.  This form is adopted from Kluth, P. & Dimon-Borowski, M (2003) Strengths & Strategies Profile.  I have asked parents/guardians to come up with at least 20 strengths, gifts, interests, or talents for their child. 

So much of special education is about what a child cannot do, not what a child can do.  So I decided that this school year we are going to start out on a positive note and start with what each student can do.  This will be a great opportunity to get to know my students better and hopefully learn about some of the things they can do outside of school or things they enjoy that I might not ever find out.

Please feel free to use this form, all I ask is that you follow my blog by entering your email on the right side of my blog and leave me a comment. 

Thanks, enjoy and hopefully you learn something new about your students!  Student Strengths 
Or visit my TeachersPayTeachers site... Student Strengths

Guided Reading Comprehension Cards

I wanted to repost something I found on Mrs. Saylor's Log.  She posted Blooms Cards for Guided Reading that she found on Hello First Grade.  I thought these cards were great and I wanted to repost them so that more people would have the ability to use them.  These are pictures from her blog, just click on them and enjoy!