Free Admission to National Parks (for 4th Graders)

Hi!!!  I'm going to be totally honest.  I'm in over my head right now with all kinds of good stuff and this sweet little blog hasn't been on the list.  But it will happen.  Once I get my school life settled.  I miss you, bloggers and blog readers (but hey, keep up with me on {Instagram} in the meantime to stay connected!).

I've been flying half way across the country to visit family and friends, prepping my classroom for a whole new GRADE, plus going through new math stuff to pilot THREE new programs.  AND I'm trying to figure out my NATIONAL BOARDS stuff.  I see lots of coffee filled weekends in my future.

BUT I'm jumping on here because I just learned of this super cool opportunity for fourth graders and their families (sorry, every other grader).  The National Park Foundation is inviting all fourth graders and their families (in one car) free admission to national parks for the 2015-2016 school year!  How cool is that?

I don't know the details (because they haven't been emailed to me yet), but you can sign up to support the initiative and get all the deets emailed directly to you by visiting the National Park Foundation website.

And just to entice you, here's a few snapshots from my visits to a couple national parks (and one monument- not sure if that one counts for the free visits...) in the past year...

Olympic National Park (Washington)

Olympic National Park (Washington)

Mount Rushmore National Park (South Dakota)

Devil's Tower National Monument (Wyoming)  ...not sure this one counts for free admission, though.

Once again, here's the link:  National Park Foundation 

There is no better learning opportunity than being right there in the middle of nature and historical landmarks!  Go explore!  

Be back soon once my life is together!  In the meantime, happy new school year to all and to all a good class!!

            

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Seat Covers: Oil Cloth vs. Laminate

It's still summer break (well, for me), and time to refresh anything that is starting to show that it's been well loved by children.  This is when I get to repair books, or wipe down bookshelves, and gather new supplies that are worn and now a complete disaster.  Kids are hard on things!  

I decided it was probably time to look at my crate seats again since I had noticed one starting to tear at the corner this school year.  Originally, I had covered these in fabric.  Even at the time, I wasn't completely sold on putting plain fabric on them.  Fabric tears over time with hard use.  But also, it's GROSS after 3 years without being cleaned.  You can't just tear it off and wash it and put it back on.  These were beyond gross, and I had to get it out of my classroom. 

This picture doesn't even make it look that bad!  Tearing them off wasn't too difficult since they were already getting thin at the corners, but OH were they DUSTY!  EW!  

I went back and forth on new cover choices.  Oil cloth is so thick and easy to clean.  It won't tear easily and even the kids could quickly wipe them down for me.  I ordered this great oil cloth on Amazon and was super excited about it.

Super cute!  RIGHT after I ordered it, I happened to start researching oil cloth and discovered that {TEACHER PSA:}  it is NOT CPSIA compliant for kids under the age of 12 due to the phthalates in the coating.  WHAT?  I'm not making bibs out of it, and hopefully none of my students will be chewing on these seat covers, but I still was super uncomfortable knowing that and still using this fabric in my classroom.  I tried to return it before it even shipped, but unfortunately I had to have it delivered just to turn around and have it returned.  Sad face.  

So I had to figure out what my other options were.  I've had friends use tablecloths before and really liked it because they are really easy to clean as well.  In the end, I figured I'd give laminate cloth a try.  You can laminate your own cloth, but I'd rather save myself the time and just buy it.  So I placed another order right away.  

It wasn't what I originally had my eye on as far as fabric is concerned, but they didn't have anything similar to what I had picked out before- although there are lots of nice options.  But when this showed up, I really loved it!  It's just regular fabric underneath with a laminate layer on top.  Easy to clean!  

So I tore off all those old dusty red covers, grabbed my staple gun, and started tucking in those corners!

 They turned out PERFECT!  Now I'll have to see how long these will last...  

Also, don't forget the TpT Sale on August 3/4!  The RTL Store will be 20% off of everything, for a total of 28% off when you use the code BTS15 at checkout!  Start making that wish list!

            

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Welcome to the Teacher's "Busy Season" {hehe}

Busy season is really the entire school year, right?!?! 

It's SaturYAY!  I still have a month or so left before those sweet kiddos walk through the door, but this is my last uneventful Saturday before the August Rush kicks in and I'm taking FULL advantage of it!  Although I feel like I should start putting myself on a bathroom schedule just so my body doesn't go into shock when the school day begins...

So today I sat back and read a book and now I am watching a movie and thinking about the things I have coming up in the next few weeks.  I have book boxes that were supposed to arrive on Friday and didn't, but once they get here, I'm headed to my classroom to get all set up and ready to rock and roll.  In the back of my head, I have my National Board stuff looming over me, and I know I should start thinking about it to stay on top of things.  

I'm playing with the idea of making a back to school trailer for our staff... I've never made one before and they look kind of fun, and it might be a fun email blast to send out in the middle of all the beginning of the year craziness.  Have you ever done one before??  

Check out what other teacher bloggers are up to at Farley's link up!  If you aren't back in the classroom yet, soak it up!!  If you are, then good luck!!  Have a wonderful school year! 

            

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