Orange You Glad...?

This has been a busy week of readying my room for Open House, which is scheduled for next Tuesday.  Already! Wow.

I spent much of July traveling and attending meetings and returned from this journey rejuvenated and validated.  Then.  The reality of how far behind I was/am sank in, resulting in my beginning to plot and plan, deciding that orange/coral needed to be a part of my life this year.

Since a significant number of hours are spent in my classroom, I have always enjoyed making this space a place I can enjoy.  During my first years of teaching, I spent hours making bulletin boards, choosing a theme and transforming my room.  Then, several years ago, I was afforded a room makeover, choosing this time a cafe theme, one I have maintained until last year when I began adding some beachy items.  This year's additions are the colors of orange and coral.

To the right is my third set of these letters.  These were an easy switch and an easy place to add to my changing color scheme.  I purchased four 11 x 14 canvases and  painted them...then, dry-brushed some additional colors onto them.  The letters are some of my favorite scrapbooking papers, all of which are decoupaged onto the canvas.  My original layout was for the E and A to be switched...which, of course, resulted in READ being misspelled!   Actually had it placed on the table as RAED...also, had a horrible headache last evening; thus, the lesson is...proofread before decoupaging!  I am fairly certain that everyone will just think I meant for the layout be as is in the pic!  Only you now know the truth!

To give the pillows to the right a face-lift, I purchased a throw and sewed new pillow covers.  I saved some money...but...this material made quite the mess as it shed everywhere as I cut and sewed the sides together.  But...well worth the trouble, as you will see in a picture below.

I have several "comfy" chairs and benches on which I keep pillows, mainly, for the purpose of giving the students a surface for a makeshift desktop.  They seem to enjoy them very much!  I really like how these turned out!

I painted this "Everyone Has a Story" to go with an ongoing project that I want to begin with my students on the first day of school.  I used this theme/idea several years ago (still have that painting...but it is too large for the area I now wanted the canvas, so just had to paint another one!).  This idea came back this summer after I attended a session at the ILA conference on infographics.  On the first day, my students will receive two pieces of paper folded in book format and will be asked to create a table of contents for their lives and to write the dedication page.  Throughout the year, in their writers' notebooks, they will draft the chapters of their lives, as I will also, as I write/create the assignments along with my students.  We will then publish the "books"...that I will need to think through a bit more!

I look forward to their stories, to learning about them and their families, to teaching them the features of a narrative.  I have a book or two I might begin, one with English 10 and another with English 12.  Hummmm...more about that as this project continues to develop.  Sounds fun, doesn't it?

See the pillows again?  Love them!

I added these two lamps to my collection  (have I mentioned that in the entire time I have decorated my room this way, I have only received two negative comments, both people mentioned lighting.  During the day, we only use the lamps...kids love it!  So do parents, other teachers, visitors.  I will leave it to you to deduce who does not appreciate them as much as everyone else does!)  Because these lamps were short (which means they were in my budget!), I asked The Man to build these pedestals for them. Then, yes, I decided to add some of the orange to them!  I am very much in like with them!  (Need to purchase another power strip as the cords will not reach the outlet.)

See those yellow candles on the wall in the photo...yes, I am purchasing new ones to add just two more drops of color!

I am feeling much better about my room being ready for Open House...and when all is finished, I will post a "final product" photo!

"Orange" you glad you stopped by and glanced into my classroom?  I am glad you did, also!  Stop back anytime!