I am beginning to hate bananas

Yes that's right I am really starting to HATE bananas LOL I have punched out, laminated, and cut out about 350 bananas to use in my classroom as part of my AR display board - the kids each have a monkey and for every 10 points they earn their monkey earns a banana - and I still have about 50 to go ugghhhh

Not to mention the 36 monkeys, 7 genre posters, and about 40 book basket labels I have also laminated and cut out. I have scissor blisters on my fingers and while I LOVE having my own laminating machine I HATE cutting it out after it is laminated.

Despite the scissor blisters and hand cramps from all the cutting, I am trying really hard to enjoy this week because my summer basically ends this Thursday when I have a meeting at school, then I get to work in my room Monday and Tuesday of next week. So my plan is to try to squeeze a few more days of summer out of next week Wed. - Fri. I don't want to do ANY school stuff for those last few days, that is my plan but somehow I doubt it will happen LOL

I made the mistake of beginning my Classroom to-do list and had to stop because I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. There is SO much to do and it seems like nowhere near enough time to get it all done. I know I will get it all done because I always do. I always panic about how much I have to do and then I end up getting it all done with time to spare. BUT this year I don't have my daughter to help me, she is busy setting up her own classroom. I know she still has friends in college that are Elementary Education majors, maybe one of them will need some service learning hours and would like to earn them helping me in my classroom set up :-) Otherwise my poor 18 year old son is going to get roped into helping. He acts like he doesn't like it but I think secretly he does, he always volunteers to draw things for my classroom, last year he made an entire football field for my AR board :-)

One of the most daunting tasks I have to do is rearrange the organization of my classroom library from AR levels to genres. I have a LOT of books so I am trying to determine the best way to tackle this to-do. My daughter gave me the great wonderful AWESOME idea of putting a sticker on the genre label that is attached to the book bin/basket and then matching stickers on the books that go in that bin/basket so that it will be easier for the kids to put the books back in the right bin/basket so not only do I have to hot glue the label to the basket but I have to sort out the books and then put the stickers on them.

I'm glad I get excited about back to school, If I had to tackle furniture arrangement, book rearrangement, bulletin boards, and wall displays without being excited and motivated about the new year I would be miserable!