Thumbnail Thursday

Yesterday, Princess commented that she needed to go into school and start working on things.  It always seems that after the fourth of July, teachers start drifting back into school (after checking for the umpteenth time to see if Target has put out their teacher items in the $1 aisle items...no luck here in Indiana yet.)  Our first teacher day is August 8 with students starting on the 13th.  Yikes!

In honor of the coming year, today's thumbnails are two of my favorite spots to check out for ideas.  The first is the motherlode of classroom themes.

Schoolgirl Style is a site by Melanie Ralbusky.  As a teacher she started designing classroom decor to create wonderful classroom environments.  Her site took off big time.  She has partnered with Creative Press and been voted best blog by Really Good Stuff and is a guest columnist on many educational sites.  At Schoolgirl Style you will find pages and pages of real classrooms for inspiration.  Schoolgirl Style also offers many classroom decor items for purchase (in case you are honest with you are not a craft goddess on the side.)  Click on the picture above to go to a wonderland of eye candy.  Be prepared to get lost for a few hours.

Clutter Free Classroom is also written by a teacher.  She also has lots of classroom theme ideas and products to buy to guarantee a room your kiddos will ooh and ahh over.  This site has an emphasis on making sure you have what you need for each area in your classroom and subject area you teach.  There are also articles that help you think through the process of creating a wonderful classroom environment.  In addition, you can find some fun activities and lesson. Click on the icon above to dreaming about your room.

This idea of a classroom theme is relatively new in the education world.  When I began teaching, probably the most creative thing people did was their bulletin board.  Labels, book bins and reading areas were only for the most creative soul in the building.  Things are different now.  Princess began dreaming about how her classroom would look long before she graduated from college.  Her travel theme classroom is such a fun place to be. (In case you missed the big reveal last summer, click on the picture below.)

I have enjoyed this trend toward a classroom theme.  However, my students felt the need to chime in on my decorating decisions.  Tune in tomorrow for that story.