You've Got Mail!

I wish I could take credit for this adorable mail box pictured above but, I cannot. However, I did snag it at flea market for only $5!!! This teacher is pretty excited :) I plan to use this in my classroom for students to turn in doctor's excuses, money, and various signed documents. Last year, students would just run up to my desk at the beginning of the day and throw things onto my desk. This will allow me to keep my desk a little more organized. The best part? It is already painted a cute color. I may change it up on one point but for right now, I think I am going to keep it. Perhaps I should repaint it and add chevron? Thoughts?

I apologize for the short blog post but I needed to show off my awesome purchase. 

No Name Papers!!!

Ugh. The bane of any teacher's existence. No name papers. It doesn't matter how many times you reiterate, please put your name on your paper. You'll still inevitably get those few students who do not put their name on their paper. Then, when you address the class "whose paper is this?," they look at you as if you're speaking an archaic language. Now, I am only going into my third year teaching BUT I have learned to be a reflective teacher and try to fix things that are broken. I have decided this year to make a "No Name" area. Another DIY project. This project was cheap, cheap, cheap and quick to do. I hope it will save me time and annoyance this school year.

Materials Needed:

• Piece of wood
• Clothespins (I bought mine already decorated in the $1.00 section at Michaels)
• Modge Podge (of course!)
• Small Foam Brush
• Scrapbook Paper 
• Cricut (optional, I used it to cut out my letters)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Ruler/Tape Measurer
• Paint
• Medium Foam Brush/Paint Brush

Steps to Create One of Your Own:

(Once again, I apologize for not having pictures as I went through this process but I made this about a month or so ago and did not have the intent of blogging.)

1. Paint your piece of wood so it can be drying as you are completing the other parts of this project.
2. Cut out your letters or arrange pre-cut letters 
3. Once paint is dry, use the small foam brush to apply the cut out letters onto your piece of wood. You may want to use a ruler to measure and center your letters.
4. Then, measure and arrange your clothes pins. Attach them to the board using a hot glue glun.

(You could decorate regular clothes pins using paint pens, paint, Modge Podge, etc. if you do not buy them already decorated)