And the classroom decorating begins...Chevron tags...

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!! I had such an amazing time yesterday with our friends and neighbors! We had a good 'ol block party! You can't go wrong with great food, friends, and fireworks! I took this photo during all the festivities. 

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics, Monday Made it, but five days late...it was a hectic week. :)

Of course being on summer break doesn't stop me from thinking about work (like most of us!) and I've been contemplating what kind of theme I want for my room. When I taught 3rd grade we all had a Safari theme and it was super cute. When I moved to 5th last year, a theme was the last thing on my mind. I was trying to set up a classroom in 100 degree heat with a broken AC. I was tired of the safari theme and just used whatever I had. Now that I am moving school sites I'm excited to set up a new room. The only thing is I have no idea what my room will look like, so it makes it a little difficult to envision the set up.

I'm not really going for a set "theme" I am using certain colors (blue, gray, pink, green) and array patterns (specifically chevron). I thought I would jump on the chevron bandwagon! I went to my local teacher supply store and despite the popularity of chevron, they only had borders. So I grabbed the chevron borders and some rolls of fadeless paper. I LOVE fadeless paper...I can keep it up the whole school year and it still looks brand new at the end of the year. I've even left it up for two years and it still looked great. I know it is a little pricey, but since I don't have to take it down all the time, I feel it is worth the extra money. I still have rolls from 4 years ago!

I've decided to get creative and make things for my room. I went to Michaels Craft store and was in luck! They had a huge sale and I found a ton of nifty things for my room.

When I was at the teacher supply store I was looking for labels or cut outs to write my student's names on them for the writing wall, where I display their work. However, nothing struck my fancy. So while at Michaels I came across some chevron gift tags (in the scrapbooking area) that were the exact colors I'm using for my room!!! I then came across some patterned labels (in the clearance isle) in the same colors...SCORE! The gift tags were a little pricey, but I am thinking about scanning them onto my computer. That way I can use them again if need be. Teachers get a 15% discount at Michaels, even on sale items (at least at my store). 

Recollections Gift Tags (20 pieces): $4.99
Recollections Labels (100 pieces): clearance for .99

All I did was glue a patterned label on the gift tag (easier to see the name this way) and viola!
I think they turned out pretty cute...exactly what I wanted.

 

In the next few days I will be posting some more of my finds. :)