Makeover Madness

there is nothing i love more than re-doing a room...okay, lets be honest...there is a lot more i love than re-doing a room...but little compares! that is why i was was stoked when they approved some of the designs i had when it came to re-doing my classroom at school. the teacher that was there before me had some rather...(how to put it delicately)...eye irritating decorations on the walls. (was that delicate enough?) so, after a good therapy session of TEARING IT DOWN, i got to work. it is going to be a work in progress because i dont want to overwhelm the budget, but i am loving the changes THUS far. :)
background info: i am kicking myself for not taking before and after pictures cause you really cant appreciate the difference now...but seriously, they're different! and i, in my little OCD mind, am happy so YOU can be happy for me, right? ...right?
my main class (the one i am in the most) has a stage! i know, right? the stage has a back wall curtain and stairs and a microphone and a  little "sound system" that the kids all think is the coolest thing ever because its secretly a kareoke machine, so if its hooked up to a TV they can see themselves...ANYWAY, all you see when you are facing this stage is a lot of black and white. so, i painted behind the curtain... a burgundy that i am falling in love with more and more the more i stare at it. :) can you tell why?  i love the richness of the color with the contrast of the black...the kids have adored it too. so we are all around a happy classroom. :)

NEEEEXT...i have this really awesome piano in my room that the kids think is so funny to dance to when i pluck out the few songs i actually have memorized...but next to the piano was a WHOLE lot of nothing. each class period, i have the kids silent read for about ten minutes. this has really helped to focus them and get them  more into the stories i have them act out. so, since our first-class seating at pre-school are old church benches, i wanted to create a cozy corner for the kids to do their silent reading in. so, luckily my mother had a BUNCH of fabric she ever so graciously wanted to donate to my cause. and other than what fabric WOULD have costed me, this was sooooo easy and CHEAP!!

materials: whole lotta fabric (it really will vary for how high you want it...so i am not going to be specific)
                closet divider/pole holder (3 dollars and some cents at home depot)
                3 flowers (optional) (1 @ the dollar store for a bunch)
                paint stirrer (free! cause that is what we like to hear!)
                two command strip hooks (3 something? i honestly dont know!?)
                100 twinkle lights (optional)

all you do is fasten the closet divider/horizontal pole holder as high or as low as you want on your wall. drape the fabric over as you desire, place the command strips vertically so the bottom parts of the hooks are facing in (those are what is holding back the fabric) glue the flowers on the command strips because quite frankly, they kill the effect..and if you want to, drape twinkle lights through the fabric and light it up. the kids were so cute when they came in and saw this...they asked me if it was for a wedding. i wish weddings were that simple...but that is just the wonderful example of the world through a childs eyes...and i love it!!

lastly what i have done...this has been the cheapest. :) the dollar store has a VARIETY of frames. i got five black frames in five different sizes and PRINTED (not on photo paper even...) pictures of things that had to do with fame, drama and the performing arts...i de-junked my piano catch all and made use of all of the storage drawers i had and put them on top of my piano. :) the kids didn't really notice...the piano is quite a bit above their eye sight, but i think it makes for a fun accent when parents come to check out the pre-school or are doing tours! and because Broadway is my dream...i absolutely adore it. :) okay, now i am just tooting my own horn. here is the picture! :)

if you haven't read fanny's dream to your kids, i HIGHLY recommend it. what an INSPIRING story!! :)

anyway...those are just a few of the changes i have made thus far...and i will OF course update the changes that i make as i go. i love what i do because i do what i LOVE!

happy teaching!

Ms. Kyli