School Excitement! A New Year Beginning...

I have always said that the year I am not excited to go back to school, I will retire. Luckily I still get the butterflies of excitement thinking about my new class of students, new decorations and new activities and lessons to try. This year my goal is to blog weekly the amazing things my students do. I want to use it as a year long reflection of what I want to change and what I will duplicate for next year.

Every summer I think about a new theme for my classroom. I've had superheroes, animals, polka dots, under the sea, and retro. This year I am going to do something a bit different. I am  going to let my students decide.  The beginning of the year holds a lot of testing that is one-on-one with students.  I think that it will be fun to have the students get into groups and design classroom ideas for our year. They can present their ideas and the class can vote.  I am still working out the kinks but I think it could be amazing. I believe that students hold more pride in their rooms when they create the posters and help with the learning environment. My hope is that they feel like part of the process. (Plus, I am excited to see what they come up with!)

I don't want the room to be completely blahhh when they come in so I will have the bulletin board paper and door messages up and I am making small pom poms to hang from the ceiling.  My hope is to make about 40 by September- I'm on a roll....about 11 done! :)

Below I have included step by step directions for these pom poms. I have read and tried various versions but these seem to work the best and are the perfect size.

I got the paper at Homegoods. I tried to use dollar store paper but it was so thin it ripped all the time.  Place two of the same color on top of one another. Fold the paper in half and cut along the fold. You will now have four sheets. 

Fold the papers again and cut along the fold. You will now have eight papers. 

Accordion fold the paper and staple it in the middle. 

Round the edges. You can do a point also- I just like how the corners come out like flowers.  

Holding one end, pull and fluff down one sheet at a time. Don't worry about making them perfect here, at the end you can re-fluff to your liking :) 

Add the string before you fluff the other side. Makes it easier than doing it at the end.
(Trial and error research! haha)

Fluff them up and viola! Pom Poms!!