Oooops Paint

You might be wondering if someone else's mistakes are worth writing about.   They are.    The oooops paint at Lowes is something to see, every time.   In short, you can usually pay about five bucks a gallon for unwanted colors.  

Put your brush in plastic wrap in between coats.  
Wear something you don't mind getting paint on because you can't worry about that while you work.

Before you continue reading, let me tell you that my taste in decor is questionable and a little on the tacky side.   My color palette is unsophisticated, but it makes me happy, and yours should too.

I don't have the best luck during winter, but spring brings out all of my favorite mistakes.   It's a bonus when the paint is the combination primer and color.   Also, don't worry about using exterior paint on furniture for inside your classroom.   All that means is that it can take more of a lickin'.

A few years ago I rescued some wooden bookcases from local thrift stores and sanded, cleaned, primed and repainted them in cool greens and blues during a Mad Men marathon.   Well, those bookcases were gone before the tornado touched down.   Our school used to host a countywide auction of unwanted school furniture, and I think my sweet shelves got mixed up in that situation while it was in the hall and the janitors waxed the classroom floor.   Dang.   Well, it really doesn't matter anyway.

But I can show you a picture of the rocking chair I just rehabilitated.   If I put it in the classroom, I'll probably have 10 broken toes by the end of the week, but it's the same five dollar color that I'm going to use for a tiny game table I found.   I just need to wait for another humidity-free painting day.   Now that I work a half a mile behind a Lowes, I think my paint collection is about to expand.

Furniture with spindles, rockers, stretchers and splats means patience. You have to move quickly and keep an eye out for drips and paint build up before it dries.   Let it dry between coats.   I painted this chair right side up first and upside down second.   That will let you see any places you missed.   I turned it right side up for a final check at the end.

Putting Kids in the Corner

Well, sometimes it needs to be done.   I'm not talking about a screaming match and banishment.   I'm talking about reducing distractions in order to focus.  

Here's the thinking spot in my old classroom.   Note that it's surrounded by many people who have mastered the art of writing.   (Oh, and there's James Dean as a tribute to teenhood.)   Kris Kristofferson is a Rhodes Scholar, y'all.   This is a power desk.   Behind it is a big, wooden podium that provided some additional privacy.   There's not a "think about what you did" poster in front of the child.   It's Joe Perry being calm and cool while Steven Tyler breaks out into some kind of wacky musical scat-- I'm guessing here.

I would sometimes ask a child to try out this location after several attempts to redirect his/her focus on the task at hand, but there was also the option of a child choosing to sit there if he/she wanted a cozy place to create.   At first, there was some hesitance about the corner, but for some students, it was the most coveted place in the room--and they knew they didn't have to act up to use it.

This isn't a sleeping corner or a quarantine corner.   This is a tool for you and the child.   I have one in my new classroom, but I haven't gotten the corner vibe just right yet.   When the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter finally aligns with Mars, I'll let you know.

Sometimes when I write, I vant to be alone.   It's nice to be able to provide teen writers that option as well.

My desk was at the back corner, directly behind this row of students.   I also had a magnetic mirror that I could place on the white board, so I could check up on the lone writer and wave hello at welcome intervals.