Classroom DIY

So...I've been working like crazy in my room again! In fact, tonight when I was leaving school at about 7:00 (I know, I know!!) the alarm keypad was messed up, and I couldn't arm the alarm. I tried to call my principal, but he didn't answer. I texted him and waited...and waited...and waited. He finally answered me, and told me what to do, so I actually got to leave!

I am on a mission this year to spend as little $$$ as possible on my classroom. So, in an attempt to work with what I have, I did a couple makeovers to two of my shelving units. One was easy! One wasn't that difficult, but took me a couple days. Here is what I did:

This is the back of my ABC shelf. Before, it was nasty dirty! You could tell there had been two different signs of some kind attached to it with rubber cement, and the residue would NOT come off. There were also lots of pencil and marker marks on it. It just looked old and tired. I really wasn't going to do anything about it until I found 4 bottled of red acrylic paint in one of my cabinets! So, I started painting! It only took 4 coats to cover everything!! But, the result is well worth it! It doesn't look so nasty anymore, and it added a nice splash of color to my room!

This is the one that wasn't really that difficult, but took some time. This is the back of my play kitchen. I wanted it to be my board for our beginning circle time, but I couldn't attach anything to (at least not easily) as it was. So...my DIY creativity (with some input form my mom) went to work! I got some foam board from Dollar Tree (4 pieces at $1 each). I used spray adhesive to cover the entire surface with the foam board. It was kind of like putting a puzzle together! I had to cut several pieces to fill in the entire space. Once I was done with the foam board, I let the adhesive dry overnight. Then, I used the spray adhesive again to attach cork to the foam. The cork was $14.99 per roll at Hobby Lobby, but I used a 40% off coupon to make it only $9! Now I have a bulletin board on the back of my kitchen! I'm still going to cover it like you would any bulletin board. I mean, who just wants a huge thing of cork board showing?? Not me!! So, the real "after" pics will be coming in a later post once I get my board set up!


Now for my favorite project of the day! I made my center signs that will hang from the ceiling over each center. I was at Michael's yesterday, and they had scrapbook paper on sale 6/$1. Plus, they give teachers a 15% discount! So, I really got my hoard of cute paper for only 14 cents each! That means I made all 8 of these signs for only $2.97!!!!

I am pretty darn happy with how they turned out! I can't wait to get them laminated and hung!!

So...all three of these projects were brought to you for only $16!!! Can you believe it?? And, what a difference that $16 has made! I am super excited about how my room is coming together! But...I'm not gonna lie...I'm ready to be posting about what I'm doing IN my classroom, not what I'm doing TO my classroom! 19 days and counting!!!