Got my Crafty McCraft Craft on

I haven't even finished all I have going on today, but I opted to take a break in order to make sure I got my post in before midnight.  I have a personal goal to post everyday until Summer break.  And then, hermmm, I'm not sure.  Will I even give myself a break? Or will I work work work the whole two months? If I know me, and I suppose I really should- I'll spend 95% of it in pajamas watching Netflix and eating frosting out of the jar. Enjoy the productivity while you can, my sweets...

Numeral UNO: I came home yesterday with five copier paper boxes filled with my un-filed papers and empty binders.  My goal for the weekend was to "Binderize" all of my papers.  What the heck is binderizing? I saw the word on a blog somewhere, but it's the basic principal of keeping all of your teacher papers in labeled binders as opposed to files that go into your filing cabinet and die a sad lonely death in the dark because you forget about them there.  Apparently in this new system they die out in the open all neat and tidy inside a binder. And we must remember I sway to group dynamics, and my magical team binderizes.  And now, so must I.  Or I'll just twitch.  And I'm kooky enough without adding a weird tick into the mix.  Also, we must remember I am the Supreme Goddess of Procrastination.  Everything can Always be Put off until Later.  (Somebody needs to put that on a t-shirt) And usually later shows up five minutes before you need it done.  But we must all cheer for me today, citizens- because I have sorted ALL five boxes, and binderized EVERYTHING except Math, and some specific student information.  This is even with a rough start this morning, where my papers got stuck inside my Dad's hole puncher, which then broke, and spilt all the little paper circles all over the floor, and BabyZilla came over to "help".  How I didn't just give up and eat cake all day I don't know- but I managed to occupy myself with other crafts until dear Dad came back from the magic Walmart store with a new heavy duty hole puncher.  "Don't break this one!" were his solid gold instructions.

I am pledging to finish up the math portion tonight after this post.  To be clear, I didn't exactly super organize the papers inside the binders- but I did separate by subject and unit at least.  Dear, sweet, so darn organized Karen, over at Flamingo Fabulous  has her binders organized inside with a corresponding table of contents. And if she at some point is able to zap me with a ray that bijiggers my brain until it comes out with the ability to do that, I will willingly organize the inside of the binders beyond what I've done.  But I don't think that's today.  Oh, but I am super pleased with myself for finishing up the big job BEFORE 9pm on a Sunday.  I am going to sleep well tonight, I tell you!

Dos: I made a mayor sash and three district representative buttons today.  I will have the kiddos wear them during Window of Inquiry time.  I'm not usually one for "cute", but I gush every time I look at them.

I just used two types of ribbon I bought at Walmart, puffy paint, and two fabric covered button kits.  It's safety pins latched on to the button eye on the back.  I can't wait for the kids to wear them.  Maybe I should simulate some shaking of hands and kissing babies pictures...

Tres:  I am nearly finished with making a puppet theater out of cardboard.  I wanted something the the kids could use with the retelling cutouts I have at the retelling station, but they sit on the carpet, and most little theaters you have to bring the puppet up from underneath.  So I took a box from my last Scholastic book order, cut off the four top flaps, turned it on it's side, and cut a hole section on the top so the kids could hold the puppet from above.  In the experience, I discovered that I am better with scissors than with spray paint. I would never make it as a graffiti artist.  I think I held the button down wrong for Pete's sake!  The paint just dripped out and onto my hand, it was a mess.  But I did eventually get the pieces painted.  They are now dry, but smell too strongly to be indoors.  All I have left to do is hot glue gun the curtain pieces on and I'm in business.

I used the side flaps to make curtain shaped pieces, and the top flap to make the valance, and the bottom flap to cut the two stars out of.  I also have a painters stick I'll be using to go across the top on the inside, to clip the backdrop onto.  And I'll get some floss and pony beads to tie around the fake curtain with a tassel before I glue the stars over top as the tie backs.  All in all, start to this almost finish was less than forty minutes.  I'm excited to finish it up tomorrow and post the final picture.

Cuatro: My kids are not getting along at school.  And actually, they've never really been a congealed group.  I started about four weeks into the school year, and they had already adjusted to classes and different teachers before they got all swirled up and given to me.  So becoming a family together has been an uphill battle.  They concentrate on the negative.  We've got some issues with tattling and cooperation to say the least.  So, I was thinking about how to change the tattling into praising.  What would make them hunt for the positive?

A little while ago on Pinterest (looooooooove Pinterest!) I ran across this pin:   They are cute and easy to make, and originally I was thinking about making them as seed idea notebooks from the Lucy Calkins Writer's Workshop- and I might still - in magical next year- but for now, I'm going to try to use them as spy notebooks.  Sticky notebooks
I'm going to assign them a student to catch being good and they can write the events down in their notebooks and then we can share positive messages instead of negative ones.  The idea is still swimming up there in the brain, and not quite ready to be caught yet- but I went ahead and started making the books.  If you click the sticky notebooks link, it will take you to the directions.

 She used scrapbook printed cardstock, but I sort of missed that on my run through and I was planning on using just scrapbook PAPER that I had- but luckily I had plain card stock available, so I still cut and scored the covers based on her design pattern and then pasted the scrapbook paper onto it.  I haven't put the little closure on it yet- but the rest of it is done.  I made 24 within an hour.  And it was relaxing to do as well- felt very calm and centered after the paper hole punch debacle.  I love them.  They make me feel ridiculously PLEASED.  I am glad that I only have 20 students and therefore 4 will be left over to be mine mine mine. I used 12 girly papers and 12 boyish papers, and we'll just see who takes what.  I did not make any of them alike.  And I believe that I will put a label on the back so they can write their name on it.  All that is inside is a standard 3X3 pad of post-its.  And now looking at it- wouldn't it be cute to fit up some sort of small pencil to the top?  Maybe a teeny rubber band on the top flap and an almost dead pencil fitted underneath. Oooo, I'm going to have to play!

Oh, And Cinco: Heh heh heh, I just figured out how to make links instead of writing out the whole big long web address.  Ah me, I am way too big for my britches now.  I feel the smugness just oozing off of me. I am off to finish Math Binderizing, and most likely a cheesecake.