Spring is In the Air...

Am I the only person who is tremendously excited about the arrival of spring? While I can't say that spring is my "favorite" season (I really don't have a favorite... Unless you count Christmas), I always anticipate the arrival of spring with much excitement and little patience. By March, the charm of bundling up in 3 or 4 layers has completely faded and I am ready to break out the sandals and short sleeves.

 I have never been more ready for spring than I was this year- as a teacher, I had grown weary of freezing my tail off shivering through recess, or worse, having gym time. *cue doom music* Have you ever been in a gymnasium with 45 screaming children? It's no picnic. But, I digress. (Hey...It could always be worse! Ha! I knew this post would come back to haunt me!) More than anything, I was ready to change my winter bulletin boards. 

 Now, I don't like to brag (doesn't bragging always follow those words?), but one thing I take great pride in is my bulletin boards. I work really hard on my room decorations, which is not entirely unselfish. I figure I have to stare at this stuff for 40+ hours a week, so I should probably like it. Plus, there are too many "teacher genes" in my DNA for me to slack off in this area. However, due to laziness "winter-itis" (or as I like to call it, post-Christmas depression), my boards for January and February kind of slipped off the awesomeness radar. Basically my room was a hodge-podge of snowflakes, snowmen, hearts, and dead Presidents. (You know, the typical Washington/Lincoln portraits. I was sorely tempted to put the caption "Party in the USA"... But I resisted the urge. Seriously... wouldn't that have been hilarious???)

 So, after this wintery randomness I was more than ready for spring boards. Off I went to our local teacher supply store, The Learning Center. (Check them out here for some great stuff!) I may take pride in my bulletin boards, but I definitely don't take pride in my ability to draw/cut out/make any bulletin board items. I am THE world's biggest spaz with a pair of scissors. So, even though it costs an arm and a leg (not literally... How sick would that be?), I buy as many materials as possible. After tossing around a few ideas (I work best with a theme) I decided to go with "green" as my main idea. Totally outside the box, right? Or as Miranda Priestly says, "Florals.. For spring. Ground-breaking." Nontheless, I got frogs, bugs, and other springy stuff and went to it. And I love the results! I actually look around the room with a smile now (a far cry from those depressing snowflakes!) Here are a few samples what's new in Mrs. McNeese's room:  

I am so proud of the notebook paper background, because I came up with it by myself, and only had to cleverly position the pieces to cover one hideous mistake! =)

I added writing papers here (OBVIOUSLY. Sorry, I hate insulting your intelligence.)

This is above the bookshelf.

You can't see it, but the baseballs say "Eyes forward, back straight, feet flat, hands folded, ears open, mouth closed." I also added some grass to make it look like a ball field. I'd put the new picture, but some of my downloads are malfunctioning!

This board is always my "sacred" or spiritual board... except at Christmas, when it had a big Grinch on it (which was SO cool!). However, I had a really hard time coming up with something for spring. I know there are tons of Easter boards, but I wanted something a little different from the typical Easter message. (Not that there's anything wrong with those... I just have to complicate my life. And I have an unfortunate penchant for extremely long captions. It's a problem.) I finally landed on this idea at the last minute. On the hearts, I had each student write the day they got saved. I like it! (Minus the lopsided cross... I told you I am the opposite of handy when it comes to hand-made things!)

Our school hosts Grandparents Day every spring; it includes a formal invitation, a big breakfast, and a program with performances by the K4-6th grades. I stole this idea from a Hallmark card (and I got the idea to look at Hallmark from my mom. Thanks, Gigi!) The little cloud shapes have names for grandparents (Papa, Nana, etc.) It turned out pretty cute! Although I wish I had a picture of my best friend Brook's Grandparents Day board. She made (because she is crafty and talented, unlike me!) two kids playing dress-up and the caption was "Our grandparents are just antique little boys and girls." How cute is that??

Well, that's just about it, except for one wall decoration with a big bee and the kids' names on bee hives, with the caption "Bee Yourself!". (Of course this is less of a self-image message than it is a tribute to Aladdin. Some things I do for myself. Heehee!) Finally, thanks to my genius aunt, Mrs. Sloan, I have added a spring behavior incentive board. But I think I'll wait and see how well it works before I advertise it. =) 

I hope you enjoyed a peek into my classroom! I am so loving the new spring look! Now if I could only find a cure for the spring break fever that has infiltrated lately! (Not to mention those kids are getting a little restless!) See what I did there? (insert cheesy laugh) Oh, dear. I think it's time for bed. 

Happy Spring!!!

Ash