Help! I have to teach in a temporary building!

Help!  I have to teach in a temporary building!

This is the first in a series of posts about how to survive the trailers... or temporary building.

Tip #1

1.  DECORATE

      The temporary buildings are typically old and ugly.  School districts do not like to put money into these "temporary" buildings.  My first temp that I taught in had orange carpet and the walls were painted 4 different colors.  Each teacher had just painted a different color around each book case.  So, when I moved in, the walls were yellow, blue, brown, and pink.  Of course I wanted to move the book cases, so you could totally tell that someone had just painted around them.

Decorating tip #1: PAINT the walls.

     I know it sucks to have to buy the paint and do it yourself, but it will give your classroom a huge face lift!  Here's my before and after that I just did last week:





     My first thought was to just paint the walls white.  But that just seemed so ordinary... I wanted my classroom to pop!




     So, I spent some time on Pinterest just looking at different classrooms and paint colors.

     I decided I really liked teal and black.  Then, I went to Home Depot.  They have so many different colors and shades!

     I finally chose this one, Fiji.  It's not blue and it's not turquoise- it's in between aqua and teal.  I looooooove it!


     Here's some tips:

*Before buying any paint, ask your school if they will pay for it.  Sometimes the district will pay for the paint (but you still have to do it).  Of course, my school said no.  But I have heard of other teachers getting this paid for!

1.  Instead of taping your whole classroom, just use a wet rag as you paint.  The rag will wipe up areas that you get out of the lines.

2.  After you paint, line your walls with a solid border.  This will hide any painting mistakes and it makes your room look clean and neat.

3.  Go to the Dollar Store!  I bought drop clothes there for a dollar each!  Also, they have paint brushes, rollers, and the soft things that go on your rollers.  Remember- this is just your classroom.  Do not spend hundreds of dollars!

4.  Spend the extra 5-10 dollars and get the paint that has primer in it.  I chose Behr paint, semi-gloss that was about $35 a gallon.  I used two gallons on my classroom- but I only had to do one coat!  I also chose to paint the bathrooms (which you don't have to do).

5.  Here's my most important tip: GET HELP!  Other teachers might be free to help you.  You might have to help them paint their classroom in return, but it's totally worth it!  I was very overwhelmed by this project and having someone else there really helped.

Well, those are my tips.  Paint is the most dramatic way to makeover your classroom!  Are you painting your classroom?  What color?  Post below!  I would love to hear about it.  Also, if you have any tips, please share!

Nala Bella :)