How to Make a Palm Tree

I've had a few request to on how to make a paper palm tree.  Here is a tutorial on building a palm tree. 

 1.  You will need to start with brown bulletin board paper.  I roll out a long piece.

 2.  Cut the paper in half.  It doesn't have to be perfect. 

 3.  Now, crunch up the paper. 

 4.  I start by stapling the top of my tree.  Go down around 8-9 inches and push about 2 inches of paper under the overhand and staple.  Think of a palm to tree, its bark is in layers that overlap.  You could do it by starting at the base and working up but I think this would be harder to work with. 

 5.  Continue to do this all the way down. 

 6.  Time for the leaves.  Roll out a large amount of green bulletin board paper.  Starting at one end of the paper fold it over the width you want your leaves.  In the picture, if you look closely you will see that I folded over about 12-18 inches.  Continue to fold over so you can cut out many leaves at a time. 

 7.  I normally fold this in half and cut out the leave shape. 

 8.  Staple your leaves. 

 9.  You can cut off the end of some of the leaves to make them shorter. 

 Sometimes, I crinkle the base of the smaller leaves to create more interesting layers of leaves. 

I hope this helped! 

Dana

Diary of a Classroom part 2

I've been working hard on putting my new room together.  I planned on sharing each day as I went but, it takes a lot of work  before you see big changes.  I'm big on little details which take lots of time but no one can notice but me.  So, here are some things I feel are complete enough to share. 

I added a pennant I made that was on a previous post. 

This is the only tree at this time in my room so far.  I made this tree by cutting out of cardboard (box) the trunk.  I used lunch sacks that I cut the bottoms off and scrunched onto the trunk.  The leaves are silk fern leaves a friend gave me. 

 

I know we have all seen various versions of this on pinterest.  I bought my frames at Ikea for $1.99 a piece.  They are made for 8 1/2 x 11. 

My favorite.  I had this old microwave cart.  It looked like oak that was pulled off all over it.  I planned on throwing it away this year, but instead I used contact paper to cover the whole thing.  I love the way it turned out! 

Have a great week!

Dana

Download Issues

I'm so sorry some of the items on my last post or not downloading correctly.  If you would like any of the items please email me at djohnston52663@gmail.com and I will be happy to send it to you.  So sorry for the technological issues. 

Dana

Sock Monkey/ Zebra/ Yellow & Gray

Today would of been Day 2, BUT, I was kicked out so they could shampoo my carpet.  So, I spent my time creating some new things.  My BFF, Jill moved classrooms too and she decided to create a new theme.  She wants to do sock monkey.   So, being the creative friend I am, I made her some things for her new theme.  FYI, I created my own sock monkey because I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I had to get crafty. 

For my zebra friends, I made table buttons (to hang from the ceiling) and a pennant for myself too. 

Just in case I have some friends who are into the yellow/gray/ teal I had some fun making a pennant using these colors. 

Hope you can use something!
Dana

Easing Back In

Okay, I know I've been a really  bad blogger in 2012.  My dad had a major stroke on February 5th and has been so ill this year.  Sadly, he passed away 2 weeks ago.   I've spent so much time driving back and forth from the Dallas area to Tyler.  My mind just hasn't been as creative.  But, I'm  ready to start back to work.  Last year the blogs have added so much to my classroom and then came Pinterest.  I love all the wonderful ideas.  To ease back into blogging I decided to keep a Diary of my classroom as I prepare.  I LOVE TO DECORATE MY CLASSROOM!  I have a minor degree in art and certification. So this is my fun time of the year.  I walked into my blank,  box filled classroom today and this is how my day went. 

Special note:  If your fire marshall is a pain about the paper covering the whole wall, lower it to 18 inches from the ceiling and 18 inches from the ceiling and you will still have a great effect. 

Have fun creating,
Dana

Updated Zebra Calendar

I was asked to add the days of the week to my zebra calendar.  So I'm providing you with a link for the zebra calendar for a pocket chart.  If you would like it feel free to download. 
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4fV6xQs82w7MURRa0VtQmNIZ2s

Dana

iPad Classroom Possibilities

You can buy a HGB connector for around $30, that will connect your iPad to your computer for your projector.

Hope your having a great summer,
Dana