DIY Curtains!

While student teaching, I fell in love with one of my teacher's curtains in her classroom. They were simple really. Just a solid lime green fabric with a cute multicolored polka dot ribbon at the bottom for some trim. Seeing the room with the curtains versus without the curtains was like the difference between night and day. It was quite shocking how something as simple as curtains can really change the look and feel of a classroom.

SOOOOO I decided I would tackle the task of making curtains for my classroom. Now I must admit, I would probably sew my fingers together if I had to use a sewing machine. Lucky for me, my grandma does a lot of sewing and is basically an expert, so I looked to her to help me out.

To make the curtains, all I bought was some fabric and some ribbon. Simple. I have two windows in my classroom, each being 45 inches wide so I got twice the amount fabric for each window, 90 inches per window for those that struggle with math ;) I did this so that I would be able to gather the curtains to make them look more full rather than just having a piece of fabric laying over the window.

Now here is where we get down to business....

• The first step in sewing was to hem the sides of the curtains. Gran hemmed them in a single layer on the sides instead of folding the fabric and then hemming two layers together.
• Next she sewed the ribbon into place. At this point the fabric was folded top to bottom so that the curtains would be thicker. The ribbon was placed about two inches from the bottom of the curtain and sewn on. 
• I wanted to have a little ruffle at the top of the curtain so she sewed along the top of the curtain about an inch down.
• The last step was to sew another line about 1.5 inches from the top line so that it would make a pocket where you would put the curtain rod in. 

I bet you never knew that making curtains could be so simple!! 

Most of you would probably be able to just screw in a regular curtain rod or even use a tension rod, but I had to get creative with how I was going to hang up my curtains because my window is flush with the wall and there is no place to screw in a curtain rod on the side of the window. I got the bright idea to use some large Command Hooks to attach to the wall, then I put the curtains on a thin tension rod that was just small enough to fit in the hooks. 

I mean, I haven't actually hung the curtains in my classroom yet, but I couldn't resist putting them on the curtain rods. Without further ado, here are my curtains!! 

I love the leopard trim!!!

Here is a list of MY materials and cost! Yours will be different depending on your preferences and how you decide to hang your curtains! 

1. Teal Skin Patterned Fabric- $27.34- I got my fabric at Wal-mart for $4.97 a yard... a little pricey. Try to check out their clearance fabric or even go to Hobby Lobby where you can use a 40% coupon that they put out on their Facebook page every Sunday!
2. Leopard Ribbon- I got two spools of ribbon with 9 ft. each for $1.97 per spool.
3. Tension Rods- I got two for $2.17 each. 
4. Command Hooks- I got two packs with 3 large hooks for $5.88 each.

Total cost per curtain is less than $25! You would never find curtains that were exactly the way you wanted them for any less than that! 

I hope this inspires you to make curtains for your classroom! 

Teacher Binder

With this year being my first year teaching, I really want to start out on the right foot and try to keep myself as organized as possible. In previous posts I discussed some ways that I am trying to do that such as creating my teacher toolbox. Today's post is going to be dedicated to showing you all how I created my teacher binder for the upcoming year.

I have seen several examples of teacher organization binders all over Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers, but I could never find one that fit my needs perfectly. Basically, I took some ideas that I loved from a few places and made my own binder from the things that I found.

To get started, I bought a 1 inch 3-ring binder. I knew that I wouldn't be filling a huge binder so I chose to go with a small size and if I need to I can always get a bigger binder. Next, I made a list of some sections that I wanted to include in my binder such as passwords, calendar, lesson plans, grades, attendance, and parent information. Through teacherspayteachers.com I found the following editable teacher binder that included most of the sections that I was looking for: The Ultimate Teacher Organizer. Lucky enough for me it was also decorated with my school's colors. If you are not a fan of this color scheme, I believe the seller of this item will create it in the colors of your choosing if you simply ask her!

Now getting down to business.... There were several things in this organizer that I knew that I would not use (or didn't know how to use), so I started editing a lot of things to make them my own. Below I will include the pictures of my binder and the sections.

Front Cover

First Section

Second Section

Student Birthdays (in calendar section)

 Academic Calendar (in calendar section)

I tabbed each month with Post-it tabs.

Third Section

Fourth Section

Fifth Section

Sixth Section

Seventh Section

I wanted to be able to flip to each section easily so I decided to put the section label pages in sheet protectors to easily flip back and forth.

The next picture is of a blank checklist that I found on Clutter-Free Classroom's blog. The following link will take you to her Teachers Pay Teachers site where you too can download these incredible blank checklists that come in a variety of prints and patterns and are also available with not only blanks for student names but come with student numbers also: Multipurpose Checklists.

The most fantastic attribute of these checklists is that they can be used for such a variety of things. With these checklists there is no longer a need to buy a gradebook! Simply print them and you are ready to write in student names and assignments and begin giving grades. You can also use them to keep up with student attendance and absences. Even better, you can use them to track discipline. All you need to do is develop codes for student misbehavior and next to the students names you can write in the code of their behavior. These checklists are a priceless tool to have for classroom management and organization.

I hope you all enjoyed seeing how I organized my teacher binder and that you all have been inspired to make your own! Have a blessed last few weeks of summer!