Classroom Library Makeover

Hello.

I have officially been in school for one week.

SIX WHOLE SCHOOL DAYS.

And they have been AMAZING.  Because I have the best class.  Ever.  In all the land.

And yes, I’ve said this before.

But it’s true.

My last post featured my classroom library.

My Current Library

And now I’m getting a TON of questions.  And by TON, I mean six or seven.  Maybe eight.

So I thought I should address those questions now.  And then I can direct people to this post if I get more questions.  Scroll to the bottom for the tutorial.  Or just read through the rest of this for my meandering thoughts.  🙂

I did blog about my library last year {HERE} and I featured my friends’ libraries, as well, if you want to take a peek.  I also have instructions on that post, as well.

This was my classroom library from last year:

Last Year’s Library

Here’s what’s changed.

FIRST OF ALL . . . I am here to tell you that Dollar baskets from the Dollar Tree DO NOT HOLD UP.

It was very disappointing.  But it’s true.  I guess you DO get what you pay for because these $1 baskets ripped as soon as my kids pulled them out a little to see which book they would like to read.

It DROVE ME CRAZY.  I didn’t even last half the year before I ordered REALLY EXPENSIVE MORE THAN ONE DOLLAR BASKETS from Really Good Stuff.  And they are holding up just fine.

Then I had to make regular labels on my regular computer because I don’t know how to use my Silhouette Cameo without Lauren (A Teachable Teacher) and Aris (Sailing into Second) at my house, nor do I have time to figure it out, either.  So whatever.  I’m busy.  Doing other important things that involve ice cream and reality TV, thank you very much.

Second . . . I had NOTHING in that corner between the benches except for some water.  It’s true.  Water.  We’re required to have water in our rooms in case of an earthquake, and that’s where I decided to store the water, and then I put a square foam cushion on top of the water, and then a kid fell in.

A kid fell in the hole between the benches.

Because it wasn’t really a seat.  I mean, I guess you can’t call a square foam cushion on top of water piled up in a corner a seat.

So that was funny extremely upsetting for obvious reasons.

Now I have a little round turquoise table that my partner, Laurie, gave me.  A table in the corner with a lamp and a picture frame is obvious.  It means DON’T SIT HERE.

I don’t think the table was turquoise when she gave it to me. I think I spray painted it, but I honestly can’t remember now.  I already had the lamp and I got the picture frame on sale at Target last year.  Then I printed two Whimsy Clips clip art cuties to put in the frame and I chose those particular Whimsy Clip kids because they matched.

Alright.

So THE BIGGEST CHANGE is the fabric on the cushions.

People.

Not all fabric is created equally.

I didn’t know that because I am not crafty nor do I sew.  I look at fabric and I think NOTHING.  Not one thing comes to mind.  You might look at fabric and think I must make curtains with that fabric.  Or I must make a new skirt.  Or that would be a really cute blanket.

Um.  No.  If I’m being honest, I never look at fabric.  Nope.

So.

The fabric that I chose last year was the THINNEST fabric in the entire world.  It might as well have been TRANSPARENT for how well it held up.  Because it didn’t.

It got filthy.  Filthy dirty.  Disgustingly dirty.

GERMS WERE EVERYWHERE.

I was DYING.

I turned each cushion around and then that side got dirty which meant the whole entire top was dirty by the end of the year.

EWWWWWWW.

This year, I got smart.

Thanks to Steve and my teammate, Rose, that is.  I got OUTDOOR FABRIC.  On sale.  And it wipes clean with soap and water.

Then I got new pillows and a rug from Target.  ON SALE.  I felt like last year’s pillows were a bit . . . how do you say . . . hmmm . . . TOO BRIGHT – AS BRIGHT AS THE SUN – LOOK AT ME – I’M A NEON PILLOW FROM ROSS – BRIGHT.

I realize the new pillows from Target are white.  I know.

But I HAD to have them.  HAD TO.

So I scotch guarded them.

Over and over again.  And over again.

Along with the bench seats.

And now I’m in love.

🙂

By the way . . . because I have 30 kids, and I can have up to 32 kids, here’s what I do.  Table One gets to visit the Classroom Library on Mondays (if they finish work early or whatever).  On Tuesday, it’s Table Two’s turn.  Wednesday, Table Three . . . and so on.  It works perfectly.  I learned this the hard way when we lost our 20 to 1 funding and I had 31 kids for the first time ever in my career and I said if you finish your work, you can go sit in our library and read a book all Mary Poppins-like and THEN A THOUSAND KIDS WERE IN THE LIBRARY AND IT WAS A MOSH PIT.

I learn from my mistakes, people.

Here’s the tutorial on how to make the bench seats:

1.  Buy Ikea bookshelves {HERE}.  I was lucky and got mine on sale.
2. Have your husband, or a woodworking person, or a lumberjack cut wood (preferably wood that you find in the garage so you don’t have to buy any) to the length/width of the top of those shelves.
3. Get foam cushions from JoAnne’s or Hobby Lobby.  Be prepared for the cost.  I had no idea FOAM was so expensive.  I mean.  Hello?  It’s foam.  Gimme a break.  Gimme foam for free, please.  I can make foam out of soap bubbles if I wash my hands in a certain way . . . I am here to tell you — I do not understand the cost of foam.
4. Cut the foam to the length/width of the wood and the shelves.  Use an electric turkey carving knife to do the cutting of the foam.  I don’t know why.  But it works.
5. Buy fabric.  Learn from me and get OUTDOOR fabric (PLUS IT’S CHEAPER!).
6. Place foam on top of wood.
7. Wrap the fabric around both the wood and the foam like a present and STAPLE GUN THE FABRIC TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WOOD.  Place on top of bookshelf.
8. Try not to do any of the above and see if your husband will do it instead.
9. My husband did it all.
10. 🙂