Settling In

I'm not sure if anyone I know truly loves moving. It's stressful. Things break. You lose things. You live out of boxes. There is the anxiety of just not feeling settled. That being said, every time I have switched roles/spaces, I have found it somewhat therapeutic. There is definitely something to be said for purging unnecessary items. For digging through and sorting what you truly need.

In my most recent move, I am incredibly thankful for the extra time to settle in. The outgoing principal gifted me with 2 weeks to get in to my new office, unpack, sort, and just be in my new space. It allowed me to go through a period of "nesting" prior to jumping in on July 1. Once my official start date hit, I was able to comfortably work in my office, rather than be anxious about decorating and unpacking.

I'm a believer in making the principal's office a comfortable place to be. There are some very difficult conversations had there (as well as some super fun ones). Maybe it is for my own mental well-being, but I feel more comfortable and safe in a space that reflects that.

So....I walk into this.

It's a gorgeous space with some beautiful, natural light and HUGE pieces of furniture. It even came with a 4 foot tall stuffed giraffe ;) That being said, even when I taught in the classroom, I have never been a "big desk" person. I have always preferred to work at a smaller desk/table, leaving more room in a space for collaboration (example: small desk, but have a larger table nearby to meet with people). In my move, another thing that became painfully obvious is that I have LOTS of books. Like, 6+ boxes full (insert head slap). Professional books, inspirational books, kids books....While this space had lots of furniture, it didn't have enough bookshelves for me. I moved out the behemoth piece in the front left of the picture (cabinets and file drawers), and replaced them with two bookshelves (one tall, one short). Thank you, Target, for having awesome, easy to assemble ones!

I also wanted to turn the small table into a whiteboard table. Kate and I used to do this to many tables in our classroom. When I became a principal, I converted the table in my office, too. You can read about that office makeover HERE. It was a focal point of the space. Kids LOVED to draw on it. I used it when processing with kids or designing behavior plans with them. It kept younger siblings occupied when meeting with families that didn't have childcare. The list goes on. So, moving in here, I got permission to do the same thing.

It's a simple process. You can get the supplies at any hardware store. I got mine at Home Depot for less than $20. We have always used the Rustoleum brand, and have found it to be easy and durable. Steps to follow:

1. Rough up the surface some (I used a 180 grit sandpaper). Clean/dry
2. Coat with a water-based primer. You might need two coats if it is a dark table. Use a dense, foam roller, to prevent "roller lines". Let primer dry overnight.
3. Mix the two cans in the Rustoleum box. It is an epoxy paint, so you have one hour to paint once you mix the two cans. You MUST use a dense, foam roller.
4. I do three coats. I give it about 5 minutes in between.
5. Once you are done, you must wait 3 days for it to "cure" before you write on it. 

If it wears/chips over time, you simply sand it down, and recoat the table. I was in my last office for 3 years, and never had to redo the table. When we were in the classroom, we redid them every 2 years (but we did have 50 kids using them DAILY). It still is way less inexpensive than buying the white board tables that are out there.

After days of unpacking, painting, and decorating, I am so pleased with how my new office turned out. It feels like "home", and I'm excited to welcome kids/families/staff to it.

One of my favorite picture books is Where the Wild Thing Are. My first year teaching (a gazillion years ago), my husband got me the figurines on the shelf. I added the artwork when I moved into my last office.

One of my favorite kid chapter books is Wonder. "Choose Kind" is the most simple, yet effective "rule" I ask EVERYONE to follow (kids and staff). The lower bookshelf is filled with kid books. I often lend them out to students, or smaller siblings pour over the picture books while I meet with their grown ups. The taller shelf is all professional/inspirational texts. The giraffe is just plain awesome and came with the office (giraffes are my favorite animal...how serendipitous is that?)

The "collaboration corner". Multiple white board spaces and a TV screen to project my laptop on to. My new AP and I were already doing a "brain dump" on the board this week!

What do you think? Wanna come hang out and collaborate with me here? You're welcome anytime! I'd love to see your "home away from home" spaces!

Yours in Settling In,

Angela

Personalized Notebook Nerdiness

I will admit...I'm sort of a geek about notebooks and planners. And pens. And stickers. And notepads. And pretty much anything else like that!! (come on, educators...I know I'm not alone:)

So, in leaving my previous district, my amazing PTO gifted me with an Erin Condren gift card! EEEEEK! My paper/planner loving heart did a happy dance. Not to mention the fact that they recently came out with a Wonder Woman collaboration (say, what?! Those that know me well, KNOW that I couldn't resist these goodies!)

Check out these lovelies that I had to own:

Seriously....I now own a Wonder Woman pen bag! All educators know how important the "perfect pen" is, and now I get an awesome bag to tote them around in!

You can find these and more on Erin Condren's site. Seriously....How could I not?? I even got a notebook divider, markers for it, and a fun, faux-leather notebook to write recipes in.

The gem of my finds comes from a new site to me, Plum Paper. Friends, you can create a completely customizable notebook or planner!! It is like Erin Condren on crack! I have always admired Erin Condren's planners, but they never worked for me, as a principal. They are definitely more teacher-driven. Enter Plum Paper!

I used to be a paper calendar gal (raise your hand if you still are??). For many years, in fact--long after the invention of Google. Special thanks to those close to me (ahem...Kate...and my husband), I moved into the digital age. That being said, I still take all my notes by hand. I used to have notebooks for everything. One for meetings. One for behavior. One for my contact log, etc. Last year, I explored making my own custom notebook through Blue Sky. I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, this year, it didn't seem to be an option again. Plum Paper was recommended through one of the principal Facebook groups that I belong to. It is an educator's dream! When you think "customizable", this is truly customizable! You can change the wording on every page layout! For me, I was able to combine all of my needs into one, beautiful notebook (with a few fun extras!) The largest sections are two, separate "NOTES" sections. I used a DOT GRID for the largest section. This is the one in the front. I will use that for meeting notes. I'm a doodler and a diagram maker. I love dot grids for this purpose. The second notes section, I chose LINED pages, and I will use that for my behavior notes. I typically do narrative writing when meeting with kids. That one is in the back. In addition to the basic note pages, there were all sorts of extra goodies to choose from. Check out the ones I chose below.

The first part has special date pages. Great for those appreciation days and staff birthdays! The back holds a 2-sided pocket to store loose papers. The tabs are colorful and easy to ready.

Other fun pages are the Parent communication, the To-Do section, and the COLORING pages (yes, you can add in mindful coloring!!!) The tab for my communication section reads "My Class"--in hindsight, I'm not sure if I could have changed that or not. I clearly would have wanted it to say "Contact Log", so I will put a piece of label tape over that tab name.

I have already started filling my "to-do" list section with ideas/needs for my new job. I officially start next week, and I can't wait to use this to keep me organized! Building it took time, but it was worth it in time and price (in my humble opinion). Maybe someday I'll switch to digital note taking, but until then, I might as well take notes in style!

If you want to learn more about Plum Paper, here is a video on how to personalize their planners/notebooks. I found it super helpful when starting out.

How do you stay organized? Would love to learn from you!

Yours in Notebook Loving Nerdiness,

Angela