Back To Work Monday Made It

Can I just say how much I have loved my summer break and how productive I have been.  I am very proud of myself for completing most of the To Do list and also making some fun things along the way. I really enjoy the Monday Made It posts from everyone.  Such great ideas and I love getting crafty :)

I am back to work this week with meetings and classroom set up.  I don't have anything too crafty. I finished some items that I needed in my class this year.

The first are some labels for all of my math manipulatives.  I have been sorting and organizing and I needed to get all of my bins labeled.

If you like these just click on any of the pictures to get them from Google Docs.

The next project that I need to complete is labeling my book bins.  I have some plain tags right now, but they really need to be updated.

I purchased this set from Ladybug's Teacher Files.

They match my schedule cards that I purchased from her and they are editable!!

I added my own numbers in the powerpoint program and a few other labels.

I used my new EK tools Scissor Pro Circle Cutter to cut all of these out.  

Center the circle on top of your paper,

  Find the measurement you need.  This circle was 6".  You can see the 6 in pink.

This little tool pops in, you push it down and a blade comes out while you rotate the circle around.

Viola! You have a perfectly cut circle.  It does take a few tries to get it just right so make a few practice circles first to test it out.

This was the cutting board that I used first. It's one of those flimsy plastic cutting boards.  It went right through my board and made a slice in my table!  I grabbed a thicker cutting board from the kitchen to finish the rest.  I heard that you can use a glass cutting mat so that it doesn't snag on the plastic and get dull.  I will have to look into that.

I also made some new surfboard tags to attach to my kids cubbies.  I decided not to do names and just have numbers so I don't have to make these again.

My final project was to beautify my not so pretty shelves in my classroom. 

These are right by my desk to divide the area, but the back looks horrible.

If you have ever been to Hawaii you know that they sell these beach mats everywhere for about $2.

This was in my car from when my sister came to visit and when I saw it I had an idea.

I measured out the size of my bookshelf,

marked and cut,

then put bright tropical green duct tape to finish the edges.

I used a staple gun to attach it to the back.  I covered the rest with white shelf paper.  I love the way it looks and it matches my tropical theme.  Pretty happy with it and it was super cheap since I already had the the duct tape :)

I think this is the extent of my craftiness for awhile.  I need to start planning for the first day/week of school which is August 5th.  I don't get my class list until Wednesday, but I have heard that I have about 17 students.  Sounds like a nice small number to me!

Please stop back tomorrow for a fun blog hop I have planned with some sweet bloggy friends...