Tried It Tuesday {Book Bins Holding Up?}

What have you tried lately?  Link up any ideas you have tried, old or new, and share what worked for you!  I learn so much from all of the creative link ups!

My Tried It:

Book Bins 
This is a pretty simple "Tried It" and I know so many teachers have used bins to hold their books for a long time.  However, this is the first year that I have tried them and was a little apprehensive about how they would work. :)  You can read more about the work I did this summer to my library here.

I thought I would revisit this topic after the bins have been in use for a good 15 weeks.  So far, I really  LOVE having book bins!  I thought that the books might get unorganized and end up in the wrong bins, but they have stayed surprisingly organized!  I have a librarian job that changes every two weeks.  The librarian helps put back books that were returned to the "book return" bin.  The books are also labeled on the inside cover with an Avery label indicating the name of their book bin.

I attached my owl book bin labels using shipping/packaging tape and that has held up great except on these small "holey" bins (all my bins are from the Dollar Tree).  I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but the dust collected on the tape through the little holes and the labels started falling off! I am a tad anal and it was very annoying.

My solution?  I went back to the Dollar Tree and bought these replacement bins (no holes!).  I'm just glad I could find some that they had in stock that matched my other bins and were small enough for this shelf.  Now, there are no holes and the labels should stay put!

I was also worried that the bins would end up in a disarray on the shelves.  I snapped these photos yesterday without straightening the bins on the shelves and they look passable by my standards!  I talk to the students about putting the book bins back neatly and they have listened for the most part. :)  

These bins pictured below are a little easier to keep in line on the shelves since there is not as much extra room for movement.  The bins themselves have held up well (they were only $1 each).  If you look closely at the picture below, the last red bin (closest to the window) has duct tape on the handle.  This actually broke when another teacher grabbed the book bin, so there are no book bins damaged by students yet! :)

The black paint has also held up very well with the clear coat I put on top of the shelves. Again, see this post here for more about that.  The only bookcase that has given me problems with the paint is the tall one in the corner.  That bookcase had the veneer coating all over and there was no real wood.  The other bookcases were higher quality and real wood that I primed first, painted, and then applied the clear coat of varnish on the shelves.  I don't think I could ever go back to not having book bins again!

I also wanted to share these Command Hooks that I have used for two years now on my mantle in case anyone else is looking for a solution to hang stockings.  They really work well and are barely visible.  They remove without leaving any marks on our century old mantle!

 I love Christmas!!  

Tried It Tuesday {book bins and painted bookcases}

Happy Tuesday!!  It is Welcome Back to School for me.  Of course, I am writing this on Monday night at 11 p.m. and am still wide awake.  Trying to switch back to a normal bedtime always makes for a great week back.  We have Open House on Wednesday night but at least we only have students on Thursday and Friday.
Since, we aren't officially back yet, I racked my brain thinking about what I could show you that I've "tried" this week.  I finally decided to share with you how I tried transforming my classroom library!

My Tried It:

Book Bins and Painting Bookcases
When I taught 6th grade, I was teaching social studies for a few years and then math for five.  Having a large classroom library was not a top priority.  Then, five years ago I switched to fourth grade and slowly started collecting books through yard sales, ebay, and donations.  My library has grown every year and this summer I decided that I really wanted to transform it by organizing my books in bins.

There are so many amazing classroom libraries all over the internet.  I have drooled over them, especially this library from Beth Newingham's Scholastic blog post from way back in 2009!  I just love those bookcases and baskets.  The bookcases line up so neatly and you can tell they are great quality.

In addition to not having as many books as I would like, one of my other problems is that I don't have  amazing sturdy bookcases that line up nice and neat in my room.  

Last summer I bought a cheap bookcase for more storage from WalMart ($15) and it broke by the end of the year.

This summer, I found two bookcases at local yard sales and they were both very sturdy.  One was $5 and the other was $7.  However, they were different colors and mismatched, so I knew I would have to paint them.  I decided to go with black because I found some bright bins at the Dollar Tree (for $1 each of course) that would just "pop" against the black.

I got to work priming the bookcases.

These mini foam rollers really do a nice job making the work a little easier.

Next, I used an acrylic black gloss paint.

Then, I went to work in my room painting two other bookcases.  A friend gave me the tall bookcase.  This one is not as sturdy as the other three but it makes a good corner piece.  The other bookcase is school grade quality and super sturdy.

There was one shelf that was not removable in the tall bookcase.  The others were removed and painted on a flat surface using the same foam mini roller.

I am not even sure how many hours I spent painting these four bookcases, but it was many!  Each bookcase took THREE coats of the black paint!  Painting the little nooks and crannies in the "ABCD" bookcase was a complete pain too.  However, they looked awesome when I was done.  So, you can just imagine how disappointed I was when I placed these book bins on the shelves and they scratched the paint and were like sticking to the paint!  The original two bookcases had been drying for like a month and the other two were only drying for two days.  But still!!!  What was I going to do?

My first solution was to spray this Mod Podge adhesive on the shelves to "protect" them from scratches.

It covered the shelves okay but I couldn't spray many coats because it was the stinkiest, toxic stuff on the planet and unless I wanted to haul all the bookcases outside, I wasn't going to be spraying that anymore!  Next, I tried my trusty varnish from my mod podge projects.  I brushed it on the top of each shelf with a foam disposable brush.

I let it dry a few days, went back to school and loaded the bins back on the shelves.  

The varnish has seemed to work and the bins don't "stick" anymore.  I am nervous about how it will hold up to student usage though.  Those fourth graders can sure be tough on furniture and I will have all fifty 4th graders using my library this year since we are departmentalizing.

I already LOVE that the library is organized in bins now.  We are going to do some genre activities at the beginning of the year and explore using our classroom library.  I will have the students help place sticker labels inside each book that names the bin they belong in.  Each group would only have to place stickers in the books of one or two bins and that job will be done. :)  My books already had color coded labels on the binding (sealed with shipping tape) according to their AR (Accelerated Reading) level.

Have you tried painting bookcases?  How did they hold up to the wear and tear?  I would be grateful if you have any tips for me because I might be repainting/sealing next summer!

Book Bin Labels (Pin It to Win It)!

Hi friends!  So, I blogged about the beginning of my classroom library makeover for Monday Made It this week.  I am making the switch to book bins for the first time and am so excited!  

I think it will really make a difference in having a more organized, appealing library.  

I couldn't find the exact bright, colorful labels I wanted in an owl theme, so I made my own.

I just love the bright colors and think they will go well with my bookcases that I painted black 

(still have two more to go) and the bright colored bins from the Dollar Tree!

I finally finished all the book bin labels and sticker templates to go in the books for easy student returns.

Click on the link above or one of the images below to see the description of this pack on TPT.

The adorable owl graphics are by Digital Potpourri and the chevron backgrounds are the talented Megan at I Teach, What's Your Super Power?

If you would like to WIN these labels, Pin one of the images above, leave the URL of your pin in the comment section, and I will choose at least one winner by random number generator sometime this weekend!  We are camping all weekend so sometimes it is tricky to do these things on the iPhone:)

Owls not your thing? 

I will also choose a winner that would like a custom theme!  

I am open to any themes or colors and will choose the first number that comes up of someone who wants a custom theme made too!  It will take me a few days to get the file ready for you:)

So, when you leave the URL of your pin in the comments section, let me know if you would like the owls or a custom theme if you win!

Don't be discouraged if you don't win this time. Be on the lookout for more giveaways coming soon. :)

Thank you for your support friends!!

Monday Made It (Beginning of Classroom Library Makeover!)

I was pretty productive this week, knocking items off my to-do list at home and school!  

My home to-do list items that I accomplished were organizing areas in my home that have needed it for a long time, so I didn't really "make" anything.  

But I have some projects that I have been working on for school!  

I am excited to share them with you for 4th Grade Frolics Monday Made It.  

I just love Mondays over the summer and Tara's linky!  Everyone is so creative and inspiring!

I have desperately been needing a way to keep track of the blogging world to-do list.  

I can't seem to keep straight all the linky parties, the giveaways I donate to, and posting links on Pinterest, Facebook, and so on.  

When I saw this product, I knew I could use it!

Okay, so I didn't make it...but I printed it and stuck it in this handy binder.  

I'd have to say that I "made" a way to organize my blogging! :)  

Here is a page to keep track of giveaways.  There is a new page for each month of the calendar.

Here is a page to keep track of linky parties for the month.

Here is the first calendar page for each month.  The little squares on each date are to check if the post is scheduled and for status updates for Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

I found these two bookcases this summer at two different garage sales!  They are both very sturdy and have real wood.  I bought a cheap bookcase at a department store last summer for $15.  Well, a student sat on the top of it and it broke.  Good bookcases are SO expensive and I was on the lookout for some good garage sale finds that I could spruce up.

This one was $7:

This one was $10.  A father made it from his daughter's old bedroom furniture set!

I already have two other mismatched bookcases in my classroom, and knew that I wanted to paint all of them the same color.  I decided to go with black because I bought some bright book bins at the Dollar Tree and I knew they would look striking against the black! :)

First, I primed both bookcases.

 I love using these little 4" rollers for jobs like this.

Then, I painted them black.  They each took two coats of black.

 I had my 6 year old stand here so you could see how tall the bookcase is. :)

Don't they look better?  I think it looks much more upper elementary appropriate in black.

I can't wait to put my colorful bins on them but need to put a coat of polyurethane on the shelves.

I may even add some fun, bright scrapbook paper to these bookcases or the two I still need to paint in my classroom once I can get back in there.  

I found some bins at the Dollar Tree for $1 each and knew they would make great book bins!  

I have never had book bins in my library before and am so excited for the change.  

Since I am sticking with my owl theme for another year, I had my heart set on owl book bin labels.

I searched and searched but couldn't find what I really wanted that I could customize.

So, I made my own!!  You can find them here on TPT.

Here is a preview of what they will look like. 

 These are not laminated yet, but I wanted to see how they look on the bins.  

I plan on laminating the labels and applying them with double sided tape.

The owl graphics by Digital Potpourri are so bright and colorful.  

They are just what I was looking for!

I hope my students remember where to return the books that they borrow, but, in case they forget, each book will have a label to help ensure it goes back in the right place!  

(Help is the key word...hopefully, my classroom librarians will be right on top of keeping it organized!).  

Here are the labels I printed for Realistic Fiction so far.  I used Avery address labels 8160.

 

On a final note, yesterday we went blueberry picking.  

There was finally a break in the heat and it was cloudy.  Perfect day to pick some blueberries! 

We picked a combined 12.5 pounds. :)

One bucket is my 6 year old daughter's, one is my husband's, and the other is mine.   

Guess who picked the most? 

Yep, me!  Not gonna lie.  That was pretty satisfying.  

My husband and I compete over little things like that.  

Of course, to rub it in a little more, I pointed out that I also took time to take pictures while picking AND he dumped my three year old's bucket in with his (not that it was much...buy hey!). 

I told him he didn't have a prayer because I am so used to multitasking that I can just do my tasks "super fast"!  Haha!!  

I have yet to meet a man that can multitask like the women I know can. :)  Sorry guys!

Don't forget to go back often this week and check out all the Monday Made Its!!