AuburnChick's Adventures

Everyone has probably heard of the American Revolution, and you don’t have to be a nerd like me to have heard of the French Revolution.

But, have you ever heard of the Painting Revolution?

Allow me to enlighten you on how such a revolution began…

Insert dream-land harp music…

Once upon a time, if two weeks can be considered a time unit, in a galaxy not so far away, a principal hired FABULOUS Teacher Wanna-Be #1 (that’s me, in case you are having trouble following along).

Immediately upon signing her contract, Teacher Wanna-Be #1, who had no knowledge of school protocol asked another teacher, who happens to be part time but president of the PTA, if she could paint her room.

Part-Time Teacher said yes, and without thinking to consult the principal, Teacher Wanna-Be #1 painted her room (or rather, watched while other people who had been energized with Krispy Kreme donuts and hydrated with bottled water do the painting)…

Other teachers strolled past Teacher Wanna-Be’s door and stopped to admire the brilliant color.  They proceeded to make their way back to their own classrooms, ruminating on how they could apply color to their own gray walls.

Students began filtering through the school, assisting staff members as the frenzy revved up to get everything ready for the first day of school.  Students stopped in their tracks and admired Teacher Wanna-Be #1’s room.

“Whoa.  Check out the green room!” they exclaimed as they beckoned to their friends.

Teacher Wanna-Be #2 stopped by a few times as well and finally took matters into her own hands.  Three days before school was to begin, she showed up for work, paintbrush in hand…adding the following splash of color to her naked walls…

She threw on touches of  red here and there to make things pop…

Meanwhile, Teacher Wanna-Be #3 had been quietly observing such going-ons and came up with a plan of her own, adding a touch of blue to her room (Teacher Wanna-Be #1 forgot to snap a photo though).

Teacher Wanna-Be #1 was, at this point, sitting back with a smile on her face.

A revolution had begun.

She wondered who would be the next to join in and what colors would be employed.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: painting, teaching | 1 Comment »

Bloom Where You are Planted.

That, my friends, is going to be the theme of my teaching career.

I think it goes along nicely with the color I selected for my walls.

I’ll go ahead and show you a final picture, because I know you’re going to scroll down and peek anyhow.

So, I present to you, my painted room!!

Because I bought Glidden paint (as opposed to the Sherwin-Williams, which I had looked at online), I had to select a similar color.

This shade is called Spring Green.

To fully appreciate the finished room, I must take you through the journey I made today.

I knew I needed help, so I enlisted the assistance of my church’s youth group.  Chicky’s schoolmate, Haley, stepped up to the task and rounded up several other girls.

Talk about responsible!!  She called me a couple of times to secure the time and place.  She even told me I could be expecting four helpers, including herself.

I was beside myself with joy.  I wish I could should you a picture of them, but you know me…protective Mama Bear and all.

Anyhoo.

I went in a couple of hours before the girls so that I could get things out of the room and lay out the supplies.

Here’s what I saw when I approached my door…

Oh

My

Gosh.

The view looked just as imposing from another angle…

Yeah.

Daunting, eh?

Good thing I brought some nourishment…

After sighing heavily, I pulled up my big girl shorts and got to work, dragging every desk, except for those of the teacher, into the hallway…

Every book, book case, and file cabinet was moved…

I single-handedly lined the only hallway in the school…

It was a good thing I got there early, because moving all of the stuff took me 2 HOURS!!!!

Fortunately, I was ready when the brigade of help arrived…not four girls, but SIX!!!  Woo Hoo!!

I was so glad I had brought the donuts and a cooler of water!

And, not only did the girls come to help, but so did my friend, Barbara.  Barb has been a friend of mine for a few years now, and she’s also become my mentor.  She is an incredible teacher.  The district agrees as well and bestowed upon her the Teacher of the Year Award in 2006.

The lady knows her stuff, and I was privileged to sub for her a few times.

So, she came by to help me figure out the best way to set up my room.  She also brought me a ‘prise (that’s surprise, in case you don’t speak English teacher non-correct speak)…

Once we pulled a few nails and staples from the walls, we quickly got down to business.

Here is a closeup of the unpainted wall…

This is “K”, painting the first strokes of my beautiful green paint.  We all took a moment to ooohhh and ahhhh…

Another girl kept herself busy doing the edging with my handy-dandy, fancy-schmancy edging tool…

The girls made quick work of the paint, and the entire job was finished in…

Get this…

ONE HOUR!!!!

I hope to add a few more touches here and there.  If I can find someone who can free-hand flowers, I’d like to have a few drawn/painted on the walls.  I would also like to have the words, “Bloom Where You Are Planted” artfully painted above my white board.

I got this phrase from my high school English teacher, who had this on a plaque in her room.

I want my students to remember that no matter where they are in life, they should make the most of themselves.  Sure, you may not always be lucky enough to get a certain class you want, or you could be flipping burgers in a greasy spoon, but you can still do your best.

It’s been the unspoken motto for my own life…after my main goal of glorifying God in the things I do.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: painting, teaching | 6 Comments »

Look what I picked up at Home Depot today…

So, I’ll bet you’re wondering which color I decided on.

Well, because I’m such a tease, you are just going to have to wait to find out.

I am going to try to paint on Tuesday and will, of course, take pictures of the entire process.

Until then…well…you’ll just have to stay tuned.

But, rest assured that I have now come up with a theme for my room, and the color will play into that.

To say I am psyched is an understatement.

Chicky would change a few letters and say I’m psycho, but what does she know?

Folks, hold onto your horses.  This is going to be a wild ride!

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: painting, teaching | 3 Comments »