Monday Made It III & Classroom Library

Monday has snuck up on us once again, but in the summer, I tend to lose track of even what day it is.

But it's time for Monday Made it with 4th Grade Frolics! I actually almost finished my pillow project!

I got an email from JoAnn Fabric with their weekly specials and the pillow forms were all 50% off. I knew I wouldn't find a better deal than that, so I bought three 24 x 24 and used my teacher discount for a total of $24. 

Jo Ann Fabrics is definitely my favorite place to go for every craft project I have. Not only do they almost always have what I need, they accept any and all coupons: emails, app, newspaper, & one competitor coupon, plus my teacher discount!  

Here's all three together.

 I measured out black fleece for the back and I'm really happy with how they turned out. The reason I said I almost finished it is, I still need to seal the bottom of the pillows, I'm just not sure if I'm going to add buttons or a zipper.

 Tomorrow is my pre-employment meeting with HR. I'm really looking forward to it because I get all the details of my job, my schedules, and my finger printing and drug testing done. When I get those cleared, I can finally get into my classroom and meet with my team. Right now, I feel like I'm looking into a dark hole for what I'm going to get with my class and curriculum. 

The first dark hole is the reading levels of my students. Teaching kindergarten and second grade for the last four years, I have a small classroom library, mainly of picture books, and easy reads. I was thinking I would need to hit up garage sales to start expanding to higher level readers, mainly reading levels ranging from 2nd grade-5th grade. My friend, and former coworker, told me yesterday that my old school is getting rid of all their teacher's older books; varying all reading levels. I jumped at the chance to go "shopping" for my classroom and I hit the jack pot!

I filled an entire large Costco bag and a smaller bag full of books. I got several copies of Shiloh, Tuck Everlasting, American Girl series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Coming to America, plus tons more!

What are some other books/authors/series that your kids love? 

And on a random note, I signed up for my SECOND half marathon. I ran my first half ever last April in DC: the Nike Women's Half Marathon, and I really enjoyed the experience (I still hate running) but it was a bucket list for me and something great I accomplished. I didn't want for it to stop there, so I signed up for the Disney Princess Half here in Orlando next February. I'm very excited!

Thanks for stopping by my Monday Made It! Head over to 4th Grade Frolics to see the link up party!