Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Projects, Canoeing, Awards, etc....

Oh how I've missed you, my blogging buddies!

I promise, I will try to start posting more than ONCE a week. I've just been so busy this past week-but not  busy at all (if that makes any sense).

Whew. So much to cover. Prepare yourselves for (yet another) long post. 'Cause that's how I roll.


For starters, I'm pretty sure that I told you about my seating project in my last post (not the chair, the crate seats!). Since I screwed up with the dimensions that I gave the nice man at Lowes who cut my wood, I had to have my grandpa re-cut the wood for me. (As an FYI-if you buy the cute Sterilite crates from Target and want to have Lowes cut your wood for you, the correct dimensions should be 14 3/4"x 12 3/4")


After a little play time with the foam, fabric, and a terrifying staple gun, I now have these beauties for my classroom next year! And, because my grandpa is awesome, I'm going to have a custom made table that will be just the right height for my super cute crate seating-WOOT!


(P.S. I really tried to make these pictures all fit together in a nice little area like I have in the past, but Blogger is NOT having it tonight. Grrr.)

While I LOVE how these seats turned out, they were a little more expensive than I had originally thought they would be.

To total it up:

Crates-$3.50 each x 6 = $21
Fabric-$7.00/yard x 3 = $21
Particle Board = $10
Foam-$40 X 50% off = $20

Approximate Total for 6 Seats = $72

Yeah.

Not what I had planned.

Granted, I couldn't have bought 6 seats for $72, and I could have gotten cheaper fabric (like the $1 clearance stuff).


Just be warned, these little boogers are cute, but can get pricey very quickly! 


This last week has also been a week of about a bajillion firsts. 

Ok. Maybe not a bajillion. But AT LEAST half a bajillion. 

For starters, Matthew and I went canoeing with some friends last weekend. This may not seem like that much of an accomplishment to you outdoorsy types, but here's the thing-Matthew's a computer guy and I'm more of a surf the web/make stuff/blog kind of girl.

Neither of us are...how do I put it...built for the outdoors? 

But, nonetheless, we survived a 10 mile canoe trip  down Sugar Creek at Turkey Run State Park. But of course, the creek was a little low on water, so there was a fair share of getting stuck on sandbars and in rocks, and a few sunburns to top it off.

So I can now say that I survived a 10 mile canoe trip.

Woot!

We also did a bit of hiking at the park on Sunday. Am I the only one who wouldn't have considered climbing down a ladder part of the hiking experience? 

I am not a big fan of ladders, especially when they're the way off of a rock face. That one took a bit of coaxing. I'm kind of a chicken.

On Monday, a few friends and I decided to try out a yoga class. Again, this girl=lacking athletic ability. 

It probably would have helped to know that we were going to a hot yoga class. News flash: It's called hot for a reason. 

Why is it called hot yoga, you ask? Because all of the lights in the room are replaced with heat lamps, and the doorways are sealed off, and it reaches 100 degrees in that room.

HOLY MOLY.

I have never sweat as much as I did that night. So much sweat. And it turns out that I have ZERO flexibility.

I've also got a couple more firsts lined up for the next week:
-First time meeting with one of my former students in a tutor/mentor role
-First time tutoring a 2nd grader
-First time shooting wedding pictures (but not the wedding itself-whew!)
-First meeting with my principal about our plans to start student council next year (Did I mention that I'm doing student council next year? And that I know NOTHING about student council?)

I'm taking suggestions for the 12 year old boy and the 7 year old girl. The plan is basically to spend about half of my time working on skills, and the other half doing something fun. I'm planning on taking advantage of our library's summer reading programs for the little girl, but for my 12 year old, I'm wanting to think a little more outside of the box. I'm thinking about doing some geocaching with him, walking Charlie in the park, maybe painting some pottery at a local place, but I am totally open to ideas!

I'm really excited about working with this kid; he and I had a great teacher-student relationship this last year, and I really don't want to see him fall between the cracks, so Matthew and I are going to do a sort of Big Brothers/ Big Sisters type deal with him. And I'm going to give him some extra academic help to better prepare him for 7th grade in the fall. I'm SUPER excited!

Ok, only one more thing (I promise-more frequent posts so I'm not cramming SO much in!). 

I have been giving my first blog award!

WOOT!

Thanks to Allie at The Gypsy Teacher for giving my first award! I feel so cool right now!
I'll post my list of bloggers that I'm passing the award along to in my next post!

I'm going to have to do some serious list making for this one!

Time for some ice cream, my bloggy buddies. (And some peanuts, and whipped cream, and chocolate syrup, and whipped cream, and sprinkles...)

Have a fabulous Thursday!

P.S. I only need 13 more followers to reach 100! Hmmm..perhaps that will warrant another freebie...


22 comments:

  1. I wish I could give you a "rocks at yoga" award :)



    CW

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    1. Ha! More like the "Almost Passed Out 3 Times During Yoga Class" award!

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  2. Your crate seats look terrific even if they are pricey :)

    Elizabeth

    Fun in Room 4B

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  3. Love the crates!! They would fit in my room this year. Love zebra print. It looks like the dog, Charlie, loves them too. P.S. Mine dog is named Charlie too!!

    April
    Wolfelicious

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    1. Well let's face it, all the cool dogs are named Charlie!

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  4. Laura,
    Your seats turned out so cute! If only pink and zebra were in style for 8th graders and if only there awkward bodies would allow them to sit that close to the floor. If you could just pass some of your creative energy my way that would be fantastic!
    Alana

    Special Teaching in the Middle

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    1. As far as I'm concerned, zebra and pink are stylish at any age! These probably would be pretty short for 8th graders (I'm probably pushing it with my 6th graders), but I've also seen a variation that uses 5 gallon buckets instead of crates-you might want to check those out!

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  5. I am glad I am not the only one who goes into a project expecting it to be easy- and then it turns out to be a hot mess (or expensive). Those chairs are super cute though! Can't wait to see them with the table!

    A friend is trying to get me to go to hot yoga. I am afraid I will pass out!!!

    Every New Beginning Blog

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    1. Whew! Good luck with that one! Hot yoga is SO not for me!

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  6. Ahhh... I love how your puppy tried out the seats. Mine would probably do the same and try to chew on them. Thanks so much for sharing the cost of it all. I have been wondering and thinking it would add up quickly but wasn't sure. That info was very helpful to have!!

    Misty
    Think, Wonder, & Teach

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    1. It really could have been done for less, but I'm so particular when it comes to what I want that it added up. Cheaper fabric and using batting instead of foam would have knocked the price down a bunch!

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  7. Your seats are FABULOUS! My principal would love them...she is obsessed with zebra print & pink. :) How adorable is Charlie?! My dogs, Hank and Darla, would totally do the same. Hank loves to get in the middle of every project I do...all up in my business! Lol. Darla would definitely be the first to hop up and test them out!

    Thanks for all of the information. Love reading your entries!

    ~Sara~
    Ramblings of a Deaf Ed Teacher's Mind...

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    1. Thanks-I think so too, but I'm a little biased! I love that you love reading my posts!

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  8. Hi Laura:

    Thanks for the sweet comment on my blog today!

    I have been the Student Council advisor at my site for the past six years. I don't know much, but I'd be glad to share...

    You can e-mail me at joyin6th@gmail.com if you want to chat...

    Kim
    Finding JOY in 6th Grade

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    Replies
    1. I may have to take you up on that-I'm sure you're full of TONS of useful information!

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  9. I love the milk crate seats! :)

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  10. The milk crate seats are adorable! I just started following your blog and I love it. Maybe you already have a tutorial and I missed it but if not, do you think you could post some kind of instructions on how to assemble it all?

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    1. You know, I didn't post a tutorial (totally should have taken more pictures so I could have done that!). Here's the link to the blog post/tutorial that I found on Pinterest-it's what I used when I made mine!

      http://adayinthelifeofmisskranz.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-time-and-livin-is-easy-aka-too.html

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  11. Regarding Manning: I surprised that his lawyer decided to bring up the transgender issue. It's characteristic for attorneys to represent their clients in a positive light pending an appeal; that they are additional than just the offense they've been convicted of.
    Awards

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  12. It's a Great poem. I'm the similar with the children. Though I still get oppurtunities to listen to my own stuff when I'm driving to work or going for a walk. I don't listen to Iron Maiden much any longer.
    awards

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